New French school coming to old Our Lady of Good Counsel site in Sharon

Yorkregion.com
August 21, 2019
Simon Martin

A new school is coming to East Gwillimbury this fall and a new building isn't needed.

The Toronto French School Board, known as Conseil Scolaire Viamonde, is opening up Ecole elementaire Chantal-Benoit at the old Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Elementary School site in Sharon.

York trustee Karine Ricard said the board has been seeking a location in northern York Region for awhile.

Currently the board has Ecole elementaire La Fontaine in Vaughan as well as Academie de la Moraine and Ecole secondaire Norval-Morrisseau, both in Richmond Hill.

When the Our Lady of Good Counsel came up, it fit what the board needed, Ricard said.

Ward 2 Coun. and Sharon resident Tara Roy-DiClemente said many people have been asking what's going to happen to the old school site and this is the best case scenario.

Some people were worried it was going to be developed, she said.

The town and school board are working to ensure parking and public access to the park will be maintained.

Ricard said the board plans to open the school in September.

Chantal Benoit was labelled the Michael Jordan of women’s wheelchair basketball and is widely considered to be the best woman to ever have played the game. She won three gold medals for Canada at the Paralympic Games in 1992, 1996 and 2000. She was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2018.

Back in the 1950s, 23 families moved into a co-op housing village in Sharon. The co-op group saw the need for a Catholic school in Sharon and formed the East Gwillimbury Separate School Board.

In the fall of 1959, Our Lady of good Counsel opened with two classrooms and 61 students. As the population grew, the school was expanded to six classrooms in 1965. In 1981, an addition with five classrooms, a library and a gymnasium was built.

In June 2017, the final classes were held at the old school. A special farewell was held and many former students came to say goodbye to their elementary school.

Our Lady of Good Counsel moved to a new site on Murrell Boulevard in September 2017. The new school features a daycare facility, outdoor classroom and soccer field.