New public school near Fredericton to be called an academy — but 'not in a snobby way'
CBC
Love it, hate it, or just don't care, the new school being built in Hanwell now has a name.
It will be called Hanwell Park Academy.
Darren MacKenzie, a Hanwell councillor who was also on the naming committee for the new school, likes the name, although he has heard that not everyone does.
He said the use of "academy" adds some class, making it seem "like an institution of higher learning" rather than just a school.
"It would be an academy, something where you're more prestigious."
But, he said, "not in a snobby way."
He said he's glad the committee decided to go with something a little more "elevated" in the name.
"It could have been just called Hanwell School, right? It wouldn't make it sound very classy."
The kindergarten to Grade 8 school is under construction on Hanwell Road, next to the community centre and nature park, and is scheduled to open in September. It will hold 650 students.
According to the province, about 450 students from the Hanwell catchment-area are bused to schools in Fredericton every day. Some students spend as much as an hour on a bus each way.
The school is also supposed to help alleviate overcrowding in schools on Fredericton's south side, where modular classrooms make up 16 per cent of all classrooms.
MacKenzie has read some negative comments about the name on social media but said it politics has taught him anything, it's that you can't please everyone all the time.
The mayor of Hanwell doesn't see what all the fuss is about either.
Dave Morrison said Hanwell Park Academy "has a nice ring to it."
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