Our History
The ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥ grew out of three different legacy divisions: the St. Vital, St. Boniface and Norwood School Divisions. In a broad sense, the creation of ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥ began in 1998 with the voluntary amalgamation of the Norwood School Division and the St. Boniface School Division.
Four years later, the ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥ was established when Manitoba's premier at the time, Gary Doer, directed a number of school divisions - rural and urban - to amalgamate. This brought together the new St. Boniface School Division with the St. Vital School Division. The new division was named the ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥ on February 5, 2002 and officially amalgamated on July 19 of the same year.
Important Dates
The following are a few key events that have shaped the ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥ over its twenty years of history.
Creation of ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥
- November 8, 2001: Minister Drew Caldwell announces that the St. Boniface and St. Vital School Divisions be amalgamated.
- February 5, 2002: "Divison scolaire ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥" (DSL-R, ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥) is chosen as the name of the new school division.
- July 19, 2002: Amalgamation of the St. Vital and St. Boniface School Divisions
- October 22, 2002: Creation of the first ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥ board of nine trustees following the civic elections.
- March 2003: School Board adopts the operating procedures and policies for the new school division.
Growth and Change
2004-2005
- November 2004: School Board adopts ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥'s Statements of Mission and Vision and the ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥ motto (2004-2018)
- January 2005: School Board hires a social research company, , to identify the strengths of existing programs and services, and to suggest improvements
- May 31, 2005: Initiation of a study on overcrowding at Island Lakes Community School, eventually leading to the school's expansion
2005-2006
- September 2005: It's All About Me partnership with the St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre begins
- January 2006: School Board considers the findings and recommendation of the Student Services Review.
2006-2007
- Opening of the Legacy Conference Centre
- September 2006: Implementation of a divisional framework for assessment, evaluation, and reporting (AER) after a one-year pilot in eight schools
- September 2006: Introduction of ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥'s Middle French Immersion Program in Grade 4 at École Julie-Riel
2007-2008
- September 2007: Creation of the Clinical Services Unit (CSU)
- October 30, 2007: Official opening of the René Deleurme Centre
2008-2009
- September 2008: Implementation of the French Immersion program at École Provencher
- September 2008: Beginning of the transition for all Grade 9 students from elementary schools to high schools
2009-2010
- September, 2009: Implementation of ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥'s Social-Emotional Learning Framework (SELF)
- November, 2009: Survey on the division's Vision and Mission
2010-2011
- September 2010: Beginning of ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥'s multi-year literacy and numeracy focus
2011-2012
- December 20, 2011: The School Board adopts the Policy AC-1-2
2012-2013
- Implementation of the division's three priorities to guide Student Learning in ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥
- April 24, 2013: Province approves the construction of an Early Learning to Grade 8 school in Sage Creek to serve ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥ families
2013-2014
- January, 2014: After several community meetings, the School Board voted to repurpose George McDowell School as a 6-8 middle years French Immersion school to alleviate over-population in South St. Vital French Immersion elementary schools
- April, 2014: After several community meetings, the School Board voted in favour of a school building exchange between Hastings School and École Marie-Anne-Gaboury, to alleviate population pressures in the latter
- June 17, 2014: After a year of conversations, meetings and collaboration, the School Board approved the
2014-2015
- Architectural design plans developed for expansions at Collège Béliveau and Collège Jeanne-Sauvé to help make room for growing French Immersion programming.
- ASPIRE Program is introduced, offering a fun summer educational opportunity for students in grade 1 - 5.
- Transitioned École Provencher to K - 3 and École Henri-Bergeron to 4 - 8 to help grow capacity at Collège Béliveau and better serve the surrounding community.
- July 2015: Construction begins on École Sage Creek School.
- School Board makes significant investments in facilities updates and developments, addressing aging infrastructure and population growth in the Division.
2015-2016
- Nelson McIntyre Collegiate begins program as an incubator for project-based learning in all schools in ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥.
- École Van Belleghem journeyed to transition to a K - 8 school to help continue building capacity at Collège Béliveau and within our French Immersion community.
- RIEL-EVATE Foundation is introduced, providing school community support across ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥.
- School Board approves a Full Day Kindergarten pilot at École Provencher, Saint George School, Lavallee School and Victor H. L. Wyatt School.
- Division continues consolidating on-going journey to develop Indigenous Education programming.
- February 2016: New Special Needs Initiative is announced to begin for the 2016-2017 school year.
- June 13, 2016: Division hosts its first Graduation Powwow at Dakota Collegiate.
2016-2017
- Division welcomes Elder Jules Lavallee as Elder in Residence and as Indigenous Scholar in Residence.
- November 2016: Division students create Blanket of Remembrance containing thousands of hand-made poppies for Remembrance Day.
- January 2017: Division hosts two French Immersion forums with the goal of finding sustainable solutions to overcrowding in the Division.
- Division offers Immigrant Teacher Education Program (ITEP) for internationally trained teachers that are new to Canada and looking for employment opportunities.
- June 20, 2017: Division signs .
- Board invests in significant updates and improvements to facilities.
- The in 8 schools discontinued student specific funding applications and forged a new model to support students with special/additional.
2017-2018
- August 2017: Provincial government announces that will be added to École Guyot to accommodate growth in French Immersion.
- September 2017:École Sage Creek School (K-8) opens.
- The reimagines a new model to support students with special/additional in all 40 schools.
- Division launches website portal with Treaty Education resources.
- ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥ launches its first Powwow Club!
- Division reviews Safe Routes to School planning.
- May 2018: École Sage Creek School Community Update provides parents with information about managing growth and overcrowding at the school in the 2019-2020 school year and beyond.
- As part of the initiative to reimagine the René Deleurme Centre's mandate, the Boys and Girls Club of Winnipeg partners with a second school in the ÌðÐÄÖ±²¥.
- June 2018: Collège Jeanne-Sauvé officially breaks ground on important updates and expansions.
Our Legacy
Our Name
The historical figure from which our Division draws its name, , grounds our Division in Manitoba's tradition, culture, and history; however, and in keeping with this visionary figure, we strive for progress and innovation. The name for our Division emerged from several suggestions provided by the residents of both communities.