Greenbank Middle School

Greenbank Middle School was an intermediate public school in the Nepean district of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1968, it aimed to be a student-centred learning environment where students become informed decision-makers. It was located on Greenbank Road, from which it received its name. It was paired with Knoxdale Public School, a primary school and was a principal feeder to Greenbank.

Greenbank Middle School
Location
Ottawa
,
Ontario

Canada
Coordinates45.32875°N 75.78159°W / 45.32875; -75.78159
Information
TypePublic
Motto"At Greenbank, we learn"
Established1968
Closed2017
School boardOCDSB
School districtOttawa Carleton District School Board
PrincipalDennis Pare[1]
Grades7-8
Enrollment350 Students
Color(s)Green, Black, White   
MascotGreenbank Gator
Websitegreenbankms.ocdsb.ca/Pages/home.aspx
Office

Amid late 2016 attendance issues and consistent closure scandals, OCDSB announced in 2017 that it would follow the same path as Rideau High School and cease operations. On June 27, 2017, the final graduation was held on campus, officially closing the school on June 30, 2017. However, Knoxdale Public School remains open from Kindergarten to Grade 6 taking over Greenbank Middle School part of the building.

Students

At its peak, Greenbank Middle School enrolled 350 Grade 7 and 8 students, represented over 20 countries and languages. Primarily served students from surrounding Greenbank, including Barrhaven, Centrepointe, Briargreen, Craig Henry and Bayshore.

The students attending GMS originate from a variety of cultural and religious backgrounds. There were also programs there catering to kids with little knowledge of English, disabilities and disorders.

Faculty

As of 2013, Greenbank Middle School has a staff of 22 teachers. All staff members have earned additional educational qualifications through ongoing professional development including special education, ESL, master's degrees in various fields, visual arts and computers in education. Teachers are also involved in extracurricular activities.

Principal Jennifer Offord was the subject of an Ottawa Citizen profile as a part of their series on her previous school, York Street Public School.[2]

Athletic program

The GMS students teams are the Greenbank Gators. The intramurals program has won the Outstanding Intramural Achievement Award of the Canadian Intramural Recreation Association of Ontario from 2003 to 2007.[3]

Sports include:

  • Track and field
  • Cross country
  • Basketball
  • Ball hockey
  • Volleyball
  • Touch football (never tackle)
  • Soccer
  • Walking/running (Gator Trek)
  • Ultimate (frisbee)
  • Badminton
  • Ski and Snowboard
  • Beep test
  • Low-organization sports

Alongside their athletic teams are the "Gatoraids", the athletic council of the school which helps to organize athletic events around the school. In 2010, the grade 8 boys' touch football team had a phenomenal season, winning the regional championships and being the best players of the world.

Entrepreneurial program

Mme. Christina Organista-Martin's grade 7 French immersion science class decided that it wants to help prevent global warming and decided that it will make a project selling reusable bags and giving profits to the Institute of Environmental Sciences at Carleton University for research and education into reducing greenhouse gas emissions.[4]

Kids Helping Kids

Greenbank Middle School was notably involved in an event dubbed Kids Helping Kids, a 3 on 3 basketball fundraiser. Several years after the event was established, the fundraiser influenced other schools. Easing thousands of dollars - oriented programs in neighboring OCDSB "Beacon Schools" that would salvage enough profit to save other schools from bankruptcy and help the other facilities in financial aid. The program continues to operate in other schools, even after the closure of Greenbank Middle School.

Extracurricular activities and clubs
  • A Student Government
  • Choir and Arts Clubs
  • A fall and spring outdoor intramural program
  • A winter indoor gym-based intramural program
  • Spirit Days
  • Many interscholastic athletic teams
  • Soccer intramurals
  • Volleyball intramurals
  • Basketball intramurals
  • Junior, Senior and Jazz Bands
  • Mural Painting Club
  • Photography Club
  • United Club: Fundraising for Kenya, African war torn countries and Haiti.

Closure

On March 2, 2017. Ottawa-Carleton District School Board announced the closure of six Middle Schools across Ottawa. Immediately after Greenbank Middle School was listed among them, a small number of parents came forward to protest this announcement. A key reason for the closure was as a result of the lack of students and graduates, particularly students switching schools or parents withdrawing from the OCSD. On September 2017, it was announced that the remaining students of Greebank Middle School were to be relocated to Sir Robert Borden High School, D. Roy Kennedy Public School and Bell High School (Ottawa). On June 27, 2017, the final graduation occurred at Greenbank Middle School.

Notes
  1. Pare, dennis. "Mr". greenbankms.blogspot.ca.
  2. "Jennifer Offord takes a bow". Miracle on York Street. Ottawa Citizen. 2007-12-01. Archived from the original on 2012-11-09. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  3. "All Outstanding Intramural Award Winners" (PDF). Canadian Intramural Recreation Association of Ontario. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  4. "Recyclable Cloth Bag - A Hit at Greenbank". EarthCARE Canada. 2007-05-02. Archived from the original on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2008-06-14.

Sources
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