Bluewater District School Board (known as English-language Public District School Board No. 7 prior to 1999) is a school board in the
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
province of
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, with jurisdiction for the operation of schools in
Bruce
The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...
and
Grey
Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...
Counties.
Its head office is located in
Chesley, in the Municipality of
Arran-Elderslie of Bruce County.
Bluewater District School Board has approximately 16,500 students in 41 elementary schools and nine secondary schools. The BWDSB has approximately 3,000 permanent and casual staff, including teachers. There are nine elected trustees on the board and one appointed First Nations trustee.
Early years of education in Bruce and Grey
Bruce County
The county's first school was established in Kincardine in 1851, followed by Southampton and Walkerton in 1852. At that time, the United Counties of Huron and Bruce comprised one school district, but Bruce County would receive its own superintendent in 1853, and the county itself would be divided into three school districts in 1855:
The first
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
would be established at Kincardine in 1860, followed by others in Walkerton (1872), Wiarton (1892) and Chesley (1904).
Model schools would be formed in 1877 for the training of teachers, at Kincardine and Walkerton.
In the 50 years to 1901, the network of schools had grown to the following size:
Grey County
After an initial division into three school districts in November 1854, Grey County was reorganized into four districts two years later:
Owen Sound established its first primary school in the early 1840s, and its grammar school in 1856.
Schools in 1960
The Ontario Department of Education reported in 1960 that the school network in Bruce and Grey consisted of the following:
County and district reorganizations (1969 and 1999)
The Bruce County Board of Education and the Grey County Board of Education were constituted at the beginning of 1969, as a result of legislation passed by the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1968.
As part of the province-wide restructuring of Ontario's school boards as a consequence of the passage of the ''Fewer School Boards Act, 1997'', the "English-language Public District School Board No. 7" was created to take over the schools of the former county boards. It was merged with the former boards at the beginning of 1998, and was renamed as the "Bluewater District School Board" in 1999.
Athletics of the Bluewater District School Board
![Baa logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Baa_logo.png)
Sports at the secondary level are played through the Bluewater Athletics Association.
They are offered at high schools in the BWDSB and the Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board. The winning team (BAA Champions) will go onto a
CWOSSA
{{notability, date=November 2011
Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association, or CWOSSA, is the governing body of all secondary school athletic competitions in Bruce, Grey, Wellington, Dufferin, Waterloo, Brant and Norfolk counties of On ...
Tournament.
The following sports are played through BAA:
*Volleyball
*Football
*Gymnastics
*Basketball
*Tennis
*Soccer
*Badminton
*Wrestling
*Rugby
*Swim Team
*Cross Country
*Curling
*Hockey
*Golf
*Nordic Skiing
*Track and Field
Student Senate
From each high school in the BWDSB, a representative or student senator goes to monthly meetings at the school board office in Chesley, Ontario and brings ideas and suggestions from their school. They are a part of the Student Senate.
In May 2012, the Student Senate held their first conference, "SOS (Support Our Students) - Voices and Choices" in Owen Sound, Ontario with a focus on student mental health. A sequel titled, "Rumour Has It", followed in May 2013.
Organization of schools
Fraser Institute rankings
The 2020
Fraser Institute
The Fraser Institute is a libertarian-conservative Canadian public policy think tank and registered charity. The institute describes itself as independent and non-partisan. It is headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Calgary, T ...
report on comparative secondary school rankings in Ontario gives the following data for Bluewater:
Further reading
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See also
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List of school districts in Ontario
This is a list of school districts in Ontario.
There are 76 public school boards in Ontario, including 38 public secular boards (34 English boards and 4
French boards (ACÉPO)), 38 public separate boards (29 English Catholic boards, 8 French Cat ...
*
List of high schools in Ontario
The following is a list of secondary schools in Ontario. Secondary education policy in the Canadian province of Ontario is governed by the Ministry of Education. Secondary education in Ontario includes Grades 9 to 12. The following list includ ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Bluewater District School Board official website
School districts in Ontario
Education in Bruce County
Education in Grey County