News Release
September 1, 2011
For Immediate Release
School year begins Sept. 6 for 85,000 Dufferin-Peel students
321 students to attend new Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Elementary School in Brampton
On September 6, summer vacation ends for approximately 85,000 Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board students as the 2011-12 school year gets underway at the board’s 146 schools. For 321 Brampton students, September 6 marks the opening of Dufferin-Peel’s newest school, Our Lady of Lourdes, located at 25 Mount Royal Circle.
Our Lady of Lourdes, a JK to Grade 8 school, whose boundary ranges from Countryside Drive to Mayfield Road, and from Airport Road to Goreway Drive, is a feeder school for Cardinal Ambrozic Catholic Secondary School.
The opening of Our Lady of Lourdes brings the total number of Dufferin-Peel Catholic schools to 146, including 120 elementary and 26 secondary schools. Construction is also underway on the new Loyola Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga. The new building, located on Sladeview Avenue in the Erin Mills area of Mississauga, is slated to open in September 2012.
The Ministry of Education has also approved capital funding for the construction of two new Catholic elementary schools in high-growth areas of Brampton. The two schools will be located in west Brampton (Credit Valley) within the current catchment area of St. Roch Catholic Secondary School, and east Brampton, within the Cardinal Ambrozic Catholic Secondary School catchment area. Both schools are scheduled to open in September 2013.
Dufferin-Peel is also introducing an additional 21 full-day kindergarten classes at eight schools this year, bringing the total number of schools offering the program to 24. Next year, the board will expand the program to an additional 31 sites, which would bring the number of full-day kindergarten classes to 172 at 55 schools by September 2012.
“We’re pleased that we can continue to grow with our Dufferin and Peel communities,” says John Kostoff, director of education. “The beginning of the school year is an exciting time for students, parents and educators alike. Our schools consistently produce high levels of student achievement, and students are taught the virtues and values of the Catholic faith – including community, responsibility, accountability, collaboration, caring and family – making them not just good students, but good citizens.”
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board is one of the largest and most diverse school boards in Ontario. It serves approximately 85,000 students in 146 schools located throughout Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon and Orangeville. With over 10,000 employees, the board is also one of the largest employers in the region.
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Media Contact: Julia Seeratan, Communications Officer
(905) 890-0708 ext. 24278