Conseil scolaire public du Nord-Est de l’Ontario has officially changed École secondaire publique Northern’s name.
The high school's new name, as of September 1 will be. École secondaire publique Nipissing Ouest.
The school serves the community of Sturgeon Falls and surrounding areas.
This choice was approved by school board trustees after consultations held with students and staff members last April.
Chair of the Board Denis Labelle, says the fact that Northern is also the name of the English high school where Francophones coexist is the underlying reason for the request for a name change by the school council. The parents indicated that the community seemed to believe that it is a bilingual school instead of a French public school in its own right.
"The request to CSPNE by the school council therefore proposed to create a distinct Francophone identity at École secondaire publique Northern," said Labelle.
CSPNE covers an area of 46,453 km2 and provides the communities of Timmins, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing, Hearst, Temiskaming Shores, Sturgeon Falls, and North Bay.
Close to 2,200 northeastern Ontario students are enrolled in French-language public schools.
