Bluewater District School Board

Bluewater District School Board (known as English-language Public District School Board No. 7 prior to 1999) is a school board in the Canadian province of Ontario, with jurisdiction for the operation of schools in Bruce and Grey Counties.

Its head office is located in Chesley, in the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie of Bruce County.

Bluewater District School Board has approximately 18,900 students in 41 elementary schools and nine secondary schools. BWDSB has approximately 3,700 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:

+ Initial school districts in Bruce County (1855) District TownshipsWesternHuron, Kincardine, Bruce and KinlossNorthernSaugeen, Arran and ElderslieEasternBrant, Carrick, Culross and Greenock

The first grammar 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:

+ Schools and students in Bruce County (1901) Type of school Schools StudentsPublic schools24612,614High schools4480Model schools238Separate schools8735Totals26013,867

Grey County After an initial division into three school districts in November 1854, Grey County was reorganized into four districts two years later:

+ School districts in Grey County (1856) District Townships1Derby, Sydenham, Holland and Sullivan2Bentinck, Egremont, Glenelg and Normanby3St Vincent, Euphrasia and Collingwood4Artemisia, Osprey, Melancthon and Proton

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:

+ Schools, teachers and students in Bruce and Grey counties (1960)Type of schoolBruce CountyGrey County Schools Teachers Students Schools Teachers StudentsPublic schools1492316,35021438810,379High schools (rural)9932,1987761,801High schools (city)–––2641,471Separate schools15351,455821658Totals17335910,00323154914,309

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.The Secondary Schools and Boards of Education Act, R.S.O. 1960, c. 362, Part VI, as inserted by

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

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 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 + BWDSB schools (grouped by type and school area) School area Community,generally JK-12, except for 4-12 at Georgian Bay seniorgrades 7-12 and secondarygrades 9-12 schools Primary schools1 Bruce Peninsula District School, Lion's Head Grey Highlands Secondary School, Flesherton Peninsula Shores District School, Wiarton Amabel-Sauble Community School, Sauble Beach Beavercrest Community School, Markdale Bluewater Outdoor Education Centre, Wiarton Dundalk & Proton Community School, Dundalk Hepworth Central Public School, Hepworth Highpoint Community School, Dundalk Holland-Chatsworth Central School, Chatsworth Keppel-Sarawak Elementary School, Owen Sound Macphail Memorial Elementary School, Flesherton Osprey Central School, Maxwell St. Edmunds Public School, Tobermory2 Owen Sound District Secondary School, Owen Sound Alexandra Community School, Owen Sound East Ridge Community School, Owen Sound Hillcrest Elementary School, Owen Sound3 Georgian Bay Community School, Meaford John Diefenbaker Senior School, Hanover Saugeen District Senior School, Port Elgin Beaver Valley Community School, Thornbury Dawnview Public School, Hanover Egremont Community School, Holstien G.C. Huston Public School, Southampton Hanover Heights Community School, Hanover Normanby Community School, Ayton Northport Elementary School, Port Elgin Port Elgin-Saugeen Central School, Port Elgin Spruce Ridge Community School, Durham4 Kincardine District Senior School, Kincardine Walkerton District Community School, Walkerton Arran-Tara Elementary School, Tara Chesley District Community School, Chesley Elgin Market Public School, Kincardine Hillcrest Central School, Teeswater Huron Heights Public School, Kincardine Kincardine Township-Tiverton Public School, Kincardine Lucknow Central Public School, Lucknow Mildmay-Carrick Central Public School, Mildmay Paisley Central School, Paisley Ripley-Huron Community School, Ripley Sullivan Community School, Desboro

Fraser Institute rankings The 2020 Fraser Institute report on comparative secondary school rankings in Ontario gives the following data for Bluewater:

+ Bluewater secondary schools (2020 Fraser Institute Rankings) Name Area Enrollment 1-year ranking of 709 5-year ranking of 630Bruce Peninsula 1 80 605 n/aGeorgian Bay 3 310 595 336Grey Highlands 1 610 587 544John Diefenbaker 3 620 420 373Kincardine 4 510 614 402Owen Sound 2 1,190 72 177Peninsula Shores 1 155 495 377Saugeen 3 600 72 159Walkerton 4 395 503 488

Bluewater District School Board

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