Suddaby Public School, originally known as Central School, is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

Kitchener, Ontario Kitchener is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, about west of Toronto. It is one of three cities that make up the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and is the regional Administrative centre, seat. Kitchener was known as Berlin until a ...

( formerly known as Berlin). It is located at 171 Frederick Street, in the city's downtown. It serves grades Junior Kindergarten (JK) through grade 6. The school building opened in January 1857, and its first principal was Alex Young. Initially, the school building also accommodated the Berlin Grammar School (later the Berlin High School, now Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School) in the second-floor room in the northeast corner of the building. In 1871, due to the growth in population of Berlin and due to school attendance having been made mandatory in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, the school became quite crowded and the high school relocated elsewhere. Attendance continued to increase, and classes had to be held in Berlin's fire hall in 1874. In 1876, a four-room addition was built at the back of the school. In 1877, Ontario's

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

chose the school as a model school for the training of third class teachers. At that time Alex Young stepped down as principal and was replaced by Jeremiah Suddaby. In 1882, the first

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

in Ontario, taught by Miss Janet Metcalfe, was opened at the school. In 1886, accommodations again became inadequate. The Berlin Public School Board decided to resolve this problem by opening new schools—Agnes Street School (now King Edward Public School) in 1886, Courtland Avenue Public School in 1890, and Margaret Avenue Public School in 1894. The concept of model schools came to an end in 1908. Suddaby remained principal until his death in 1910, at which point the school was renamed in his honour. In 1921 plans were made for a large addition to the school. The cornerstone of the new building was laid on June 10, 1922, and the addition was formally opened on September 24, 1923. The school celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1957. At that time, the school's original bell was donated to Doon Heritage Crossroads. On November 17, 1980, the school building was designated as a heritage property by Kitchener's city council under the provisions of the ''

Ontario Heritage Act The ''Ontario Heritage Act'', (the ''Act'') first enacted on March 5, 1975, allows municipalities and the provincial government to designate individual properties and districts in the Canadian Province of Ontario, as being of cultural heritage ...

''. The designation noted the facade, the archway between the main foyer, the archway between the main foyer and the original kindergarten, and the oil painting of Jeremiah Suddaby that was painted in 1912 by A. Y. Jackson, one of the original members of the

Group of Seven The Group of Seven (G7) is an Intergovernmentalism, intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non- ...

. The basement was home to a special-ed program called McQuarrie Enrichment Program. Unfortunately, the McQuarrie Enrichment Program was transferred to Cederbrae Public School and A.R. Kaufman Public School in 2011. The school's most famous alumnus is

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...

, former

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...

References

*(1942). "Suddaby School formerly Central School, Kitchener". ''Thirtieth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society, Kitchener, Ontario'' 30: 228–239. *Lamb, Kathryn Hansuld (1982). "Suddaby School Celebrates 125 Years". ''Waterloo Historical Society, Kitchener, Ontario'' 70: 127–129. ISSN 0315-5021. * /www.wrdsb.ca/our-schools/schools/ Waterloo Region District School Board - Schools - R-T Retrieved February 24, 2006. {{Waterloo Region schools Waterloo Region District School Board Elementary schools in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo Schools in Kitchener, Ontario 1857 establishments in Canada West Educational institutions established in 1857

See also

References