Gary Allan High School

(Adult, Alternative and Community Education)

Gary Allan (1946 – 2001) was an incredible teacher who had a lifelong passion for learning. Gary began his career path as a chef and then entered the teaching profession in 1969, first in Hamilton and then at General Brock High School in Burlington in 1976, becoming the first Technical Director at E.C. Drury High School in Milton.

In 1983 Gary was appointed first Head of the Self-Reliant Learning Program, an innovation designed for students who were having difficulty in school, with programs where learning was tailored to the individual’s needs. Flexible timetabling provided opportunities to take classes during the daytime, as well as evenings and weekends. Under Gary’s leadership the program grew and the Milton site was soon added.

Gary understood that students entered the programs for a variety of reasons and with diverse needs. If they needed something that was not offered, he was determined to find a way to help them and thus Gary and the staff committed to "do whatever it takes" to encourage their students. Adults and adolescents alike responded to the opportunity to return to school and an extraordinary learning environment was nurtured.

Gary Allan High School provides a variety of alternative learning opportunities for students outside the traditional high school setting. These programs provide many of the same credit courses found in high schools but the mode of delivery or the location is different. Most programs are available in each community in Halton - Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville.

George Kennedy Public School

George Kennedy (1799-1870), was one of the original settlers in Georgetown and whom Georgetown is named after. George Kennedy settled in the area in 1821 and built a sawmill, gristmill, foundry and a woolen mill, which fostered the early economic development of the area.

Gladys Speers Public School

Gladys Speers was the first female Inspector of Schools in the Oakville Board and donated the land on which the school is located. She also donated a piano to the school. Gladys Speers was a School Trustee for Trafalgar Township and also taught school in the Town of Oakville. She used to come to the volunteer tea at the school between 1976 and 1984. She resided in Oakville until her death in 1995.

J.M. Denyes Public School

James Malcolm Denyes had been a public school inspector in Halton from 1913 to 1938. Mr. Denyes, confined to a wheelchair at that time, opened the school on December 6, 1955. Because of his confinement, Mr. Denyes began needlepoint as a hobby and in September 1957, presented his own handiwork -- a needlepoint chair -- to the school. J.M. Denyes died on February 25, 1960.

James W. Hill Public School

The Underground Railroad secretly transported fugitive slaves from the southern United States across the border to freedom in Canada. From 1820 to 1865, thousands of African-American slaves escaped into Canada. Although Oakville was a small terminus for the Underground Railroad, hundreds of African-Americans came to this area, including Maryland-born James Wesley Hill, also known as Canada Jim. After crossing the border in a packing box, Hill settled on a farm in Oakville. He helped many slaves who followed by giving them work on his strawberry farm, helping make Oakville the one-time strawberry industry capital of Canada. Hill became an agent for the Underground Railroad, returning to the United States several times over the next few years and leading an estimated 700-800 African Americans back to Oakville. He became known as 'Canada Jim' for his escapades. Hill built a house which still stands today at 457 Maple Grove Dr. Hill's memory is honoured in Montgomery County, Maryland.

John T. Tuck Public School

When John T. Tuck and his family came to Canada, they settled in Vinegar Hill, Waterdown before moving to a strip of land in southeast Burlington that extended from the lakeshore north to what is now Fairview Street. John Tuck was a farmer as well as a school trustee and donated the land for the school to be built on in the late 1950s.

Joseph Gibbons Public School

Joseph Gibbons Public School named in honour of Joseph Gibbons, the Mayor of Georgetown in the mid to late 1960s.

Lester B. Pearson High School

Lester B. Pearson High School was named after the 14th prime minister of Canada who was also once the president of the United Nations. When it comes to Canadian Prime Ministers, few accomplished so much in so little time as Lester B. Pearson. During his five years in office, Pearson oversaw the introduction of the Canada Pension Plan, a national system of universal Medicare, the Commission on bilingualism and biculturalism and the Maple Leaf Flag. Moreover, he did it all without ever winning a majority government.

Lorne Skuce Public School

Lorne Skuce Public School was named in honour of Lorne P. Skuce, inspector of Halton public schools within the provincial Ministry of Education from 1938 to 1958. In 1958, he became the Superintendent of the Oakville School System, a position he held for four years before retiring feducation to be the manager of the Halton and Peel Trust Company.

M.M. Robinson High School

M.M. Robinson High School was named after Melville Mark (Bobby) Robinson (1888-1974). A Burlington resident, Robinson made significant contributions to education, sport and agriculture, locally and globally. He was the Chair of the Burlington Board of Education and the first chair of the amalgamated Burlington Board in 1958.

Robinson was the sports editor of the Hamilton Spectator and he founded the British Empire Games (later the Commonwealth games) in 1930. He was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame in the 1950s. Robinson was also a fruit farmer in the Burlington area, founded the Ontario Food Council and co-founded the Ontario Food Terminal. He was inducted into the Ontario Agriculture Hall of fame in 1984. rom

McKenzie-Smith Bennett Public School

From the early 1940s to 1957, Garnet McKenzie and Elmer Smith (fondly known as Pat and Smitty to those who knew them well) worked side-by-side as the Grade 7 and 8 teachers at Acton Public School (now known as Robert Little Public School). Garnet McKenzie, later became the principal of Acton Public School.

In 1957, Elmer Smith was appointed as principal of the newly opened M.Z. Bennett School (M.Z. Bennett was named after Mini Bennett who had been principal of the school for a number of years).

In 1977, the new Acton District High School was built and the old Acton High School – situated beside M.Z. Bennett -- became a middle school. The middle school was named McKenzie-Smith in honour of Garnet McKenzie and Elmer Smith.

The McKenzie-Smith Bennett name was given to the school when the two schools, M.Z. Bennett (a Kindergarten to Grade 5 school) and McKenzie-Smith (a Grade 6 to 8 school) were joined together in the mid 1990s.

Munn’s Public School

Munn's Public School honours Daniel Munn, the original settler of a two hundred-acre land grant at the southeast corner of Dundas Street and Sixth Line. He received a land grant in 1808 to build a log structure to serve as both church and school. Land for a new church and school on the north side of Dundas Street was deeded by Jordan Munn, one of his sons, in 1842. In 1844, a frame church was built and in 1952, a school at the present-day Munn's Church site was built. A new location for a school was found on Daniel Munn's original land grant, so a new one-room school was built in 1900. An eight-room school replaced the one-room school in 1955 and six additional rooms were added to the school in 1959.

Palermo Public School

The village of Palermo, at the intersection of Dundas Street and Burloak Drive, is considered the oldest remaining urban centre in Oakville and one of the town's only original remaining villages. The Palermo community is referenced back in the 1841 census. According to the Oakville Historical Society, there are many places in Halton named in connection to Lord Horitio Nelson, British Admiral (1758-1805). Lord Bronte was one of his titles and Palermo, Italy (Sicily) was where he met his mistress, Lady Hamilton, after the Battle of the Nile. They eventually married. There is a Palermo Schoolhouse located on 2431 Dundas Street W., which has been recommended for heritage designation (according to 2009 Town of Oakville documents). Constructed in the early 1940s, complete with the cornerstone of the previous schoolhouse built in 1875, it served as a school in the village of Palermo for a couple of decades. Since its closure, the building was used by the Trafalgar Police Department however Trafalgar Historical Society currently occupies the school. The former Halton Board of Education had previously owned a school named Palermo Public School, located on Bronte Road, on the east side and south of Hwy. 5. The school was closed and sold in 1978

Paul A. Fisher Public School

Paul A. Fisher Public School was named after a man who loved his family, his work and his community. In his later years, Paul Fisher contributed greatly to the community life of Burlington. He was for a time a member of the Burlington School Board, served on the local Horticultural Council and Fruit Marketing Board. He was a charter member of the Rotary Club and helped establish the Halton and Peel Trust Company. For his work as Chairman of the Water Commission, he was presented with a Citizenship Award. He served on the Building Committee of the Joseph Brant Hospital and was its second Chairman of the Board.

Pauline Johnson Public School

Emily Pauline Johnson (1861-1913) was one of Canada's most popular and successful entertainers at the turn-of-the-century. She was the daughter of a Mohawk Native-Canadian father and an English mother. At the age of 31 when society expected her to marry and have children, she began to tour the country. She gave popular recitals of her poetry, comedy routines and theatrical performances from Halifax to Vancouver. She was the first Native poet to have her work published in Canada. She was also one of the few female writers at the time who could make an independent living by writing and performing.

P.L. (Peter Lymburner) Robertson Public School

In the early 1900's, Milton inventor and businessman Peter Lymburner Robertson (1879-1951) established the Robertson Manufacturing Company in the town of Milton and began producing the Robertson screw and screwdriver - at the time, a unique square recess impression in the head of a screw. It was a revolutionary change in the fastener industry. The first patent was issued in 1909 and the last patent expired 55 years later in 1964. His firm was the largest employer in Milton for more than 50 years. Robertson screws and screwdrivers carry his name to this day. An innovator, industrialist and astute businessman, Robertson's products became widely used, from the wooden bodyworks of Henry Ford's model T to ships built by the British Navy in WWII. Robertson Manufacturing Company also became one of the first firms in the fastener business to pre-package screws and nails. Robertson's 40-year career transformed the Haldimand Country farm boy into a millionaire-philanthropist. He remained in control of his company until his death in 1951. While P.L. Robertson is known throughout Canada as the inventor of the Robertson screw, to the people of Milton, he was simply P.L.

Robert Baldwin Public School

Robert Baldwin (1804-1858) was called to the Bar in 1825. In 1829, he was elected a member of Parliament of Upper Canada for the town of York. He had pure and unselfish motives and devoted himself to bringing about a good understanding between the English and French-speaking inhabitants of Canada.

Robert Bateman High School

Robert Bateman, now a British Columbia resident, is an exceptionally well-known artist, specializing in realistic paintings of birds, animals and our natural surroundings. He was born in Toronto and earned a degree in geography from tUniversity of Toronto. After graduating, Bateman was a teacher for the next twenty years, including a two-year stint in Nigeria. He taught Art and Geography at Nelson High School until the late sixties, when he became an Art Consultant tthe former Halton Board of Education. In 1970, he became a part of the origstaff at the new-opened Lord Elgin High School, where he taught until 1976. At that time, he teaching to paint full time and to travel widely to many remote natural areas with his artist/conservationist wife Birgit, also a teacher, whom he met at Lord Elgin High School. When General Brock High School and Lord Elgin High School were combined in 2004, the newly-created school was named Robert Bateman High School.

Robert Little Public School

Robert Little was born in England in 1835. At the age of 13, he was appointed as Junior Assistant at the Lancastrian Night School in Edinburgh and two years later, Assistant Teacher in Sessional School of St. Andrew’s Parish. In 1852, Robert Little and his family came to Canada and he took a teaching position at S.S. No. 5 Esquesing. In 1856, he married Sarah Johnson, one of he o inal left

his pupils and was appointed as Principal at Acton Public School in 1863. In 1871, Robert Little was appointed Inspector of Public Schools for Halton County and acted as the Town Inspector of the Board of Education for Milton and Oakville. In 1884, he helped prepare the New Series of Ontario School Readers, but would not accept any remuneration for his work. Following an attack of typhoid fever, Robert Little died in 1885. In 1900, 15 years after his death, Robert little’s former pupils raised $300 to build a granite monument at his gravesite in Fairview Cemetery, Acton.

Ryerson Public School

Ryerson Public School is named after Rev. Dr. Egerton Ryerson (1803-1882). Rev. Dr. Egerton Ryerson was the Superintendent of Education for Upper Canada from 1844 to 1876. As the Chief Superintendent of the Department of Education of Ontario, he established free and compulsory education for all children. He was also responsible for much of the basic legislation that governs the educational system in Ontario.

Sam Sherratt Public School

In the early 1980s, Milton Trustee Ivan Armstrong suggested the new Timberlea area school in Milton be named after former Milton resident Sam Sherratt, "a great admirer of children." Sam Sherratt worked as a member of the caretaking staff at J.M. Denyes Public School from 1954 to 1970 and died of cancer in 1971.

Sir E. MacMillan Public School

Sir Ernest Alexander Campbell MacMillan (1893-1973) was one of the most influential Canadian musicians of his time, having devoted his life and energies to the service and advancement of music in our country. MacMillan was conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1931 to 1956 and conductor of Toronto’s Mendelssohn Choir from 1942 to 1957. He appeared as guest conductor in North and South America, Europe and Australia. He served as president of the Canadian Music Council from 1947 to 1966 and of the Canadian Music Centre from 1959 to 1970. In 1935, he was the first Canadian musician to be knighted, an honour conferred upon him by King George V.

Syl Apps School

Charles Joseph Sylvanus "Syl" Apps, CM (January 18, 1915 – December 24, 1998) of Paris, Ontario was a Canadian professional hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1936 to 1948. At the end of his hockey career, he was appointed as the athletic commissioner for sport in Ontario. Apps was elected as the Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario, representing Kingston. He appointed Minister of Correctional Services in 1971.

Tecumseh Public School

Tecumseh (c.1768? - October 5, 1813), whose given name might be more accurately rendered as Tecumtha or Tekamthi, was a famous Shawnee native leader. He spent much of his life attempting to rally disparate Native American tribes in a mutual defense of their lands, which eventually led to his death in the War of 1812.

Tiger Jeet Singh Public School

Tiger Jeet Singh is a Milton resident and former wrestler who fought in the Canadian, U.S. and international wrestling circuits from 1965 to 2005. During that time, he wrestled professionally in Japan for 22 years. He has used his public image to deliver a message of peace and unity through sport and to promote an education and anti-drug/gang message to children. His many philanthropic activities include a $200,000 donation to community of Sujapur, India to build water and sewer infrastructure; $35,000 raised through his leadership with Kopz4Kids (monies were shared between Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington and Halton Healthcare facilities in Georgetown, Milton and Oakville); as well as being a generous donor to the Milton District Hospital Foundation. Singh's many humanitarian activities include serving as a non-governmental ambassador (in trade) to United Nations in 2000-2001, with a mandate to reach out to southeast Asian countries.

Thomas A. Blakelock High School

Thomas A. Blakelock was a prominent citizen of Oakville who served the community in a variety of roles. He came to Canada in 1906, founded a lumber company with his brother. While a resident of Oakville he held the positions of Councillor, Deputy Reeve, Reeve and Mayor of Oakville. He served as a Liberal MPP from 1929-1944 and was Building Commissioner for the Oakville Board of Education, personally overseeing the construction of T.A. Blakelock High School in the mid-fifties. He died in 1974 at the age of 91.

Tom Thomson Public School

Tom Thomson (1877-1917) is considered one of the most important and influential early Canadian artists. Together with members of the Group of Seven, he created a distinct approach to portraying rugged Canadian landscapes.

W.H. Morden Public School

William Hardy Morden (1863-1940) was Councilor of the Township of Trafalgar from 1914 -1916 and 1935-1939. He was Deputy Reeve from 1917-1918 and Reeve from 1919-1934. He was also Warden of Halton County in 1920 and 1930. Mr. Morden generously donated the land on which W.H. Morden Public School was built in 1953 – on Morden Road.

W.I. Dick Public School

W.I. Dick Public School is named in honour of Mr. William Inglis Dick, Q.C. Mr. Dick practiced law in Milton from 1894 to 1953. He was the secretary of the Milton Public School Board from 1902 to 1908 and served as a trustee from 1909 to 1912. He was the Crown Attorney of Halton from 1904 to 1949.