At the Board Meeting on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, Thames Valley District School Board Trustees supported changing the name of Lord Roberts French Immersion Public School to Woodfield French Immersion Public School. Plans will soon be underway to update the school's signage and logo.
The new name was chosen using the Board's public process for renaming schools. The process was initiated after Trustees received input in the fall of 2023 from the school community that families would support renaming the school.
In the spring of 2024, school community members were invited to submit suggestions to replace the Lord Roberts name. A Naming Selection Committee made up of school administration, Trustees, staff from the Indigenous Education team and Human Rights and Equity portfolio selected a short list of three names, which were put forward to the school community to vote on.
Woodfield French Immersion Public School was the first choice of survey respondents, receiving 55% of the votes.
"Selecting a new name for the school reflects Thames Valley's commitment to creating safe and welcoming learning environments for all students and staff. This new name was selected after careful consideration of all suggestions received and following consultation with stakeholders. Thank you to the selection committee and school community for their thoughtful participation in the renaming process," said Beth Mai, Chair of the Board of Trustees.
In 2022, Trustees passed a motion to seek community input about whether 12 schools should be renamed. Lord Roberts FI Public School was one of the first schools to go through the input process.
The Board's decision followed its motion to conduct a review of all Thames Valley facilities named after individuals in 2021 as well as a report from the School Name Review Committee.
