http://www.orilliapacket.com/2015/03...-of-creativity
It’s rare for people to immediately embrace a new name for almost anything — whether it’s a sports team, a restaurant or, evidently, a school. However, it’s also relatively rare for a proposed name to be so universally panned.
But that seems to be the case when it comes to the decision, announced this week, to name Orillia’s newest high school Orillia Secondary School (OSS).
The “new” school, expected to open midway through the next school year, is on the site of the former Park Street Collegiate Institute and replaces both Park Street and Orillia District Collegiate and Vocational Institute.
A naming committee comprised of 15 people — including students, staffers and community members — voted unanimously in favour of the new moniker. In fact, they felt so strongly about the name, they flaunted board policy and opted not to provide two options in addition to their preferred choice, which is curious in and of itself.
Trustee Jodi Lloyd likes the name, noted it was agreed to by each member of the committee, which is meaningful, and pointed out these mostly volunteer committee members put in a lot of time and effort before coming to their conclusion.
“They felt it recognized the history of the two schools, was inclusive of both communities and acknowledged that students wanted the name to identify where they were from,” Lloyd said, noting it is consistent with names of other high schools in the area, citing Midland Secondary School and Collingwood Collegiate Institute.
If there was just one high school in Orillia, OSS might be more palatable. But there are two others — neither of which, ironically, includes Orillia in its name.
While the committee members are to be applauded for volunteering their time, if a report card was being given on the end result, a teacher might write the following: “While accurate and technically correct, the name lacks creativity and individuality. Bland. Banal. Try again.”
That, however, is unlikely to happen. The school board is expected to rubber-stamp the unanimous decision just as its business and facilities committee did earlier this week.
It’s not only that the name is disappointingly unimaginative; it just seems like such a missed opportunity to choose a name that is unique to Orillia and reflects the community in a meaningful way.
Lloyd said she will lobby to honour some esteemed graduates of the former schools within the new school — perhaps a Gordon Lightfoot Music Room or a C.H. Hale Library or a Donald Tapscott Technology Wing or a P.B. Rynard Science Lab — which would be a great step.
Perhaps the name, Orillia Secondary School, will catch on. Right now, though, that seems doubtful.
— Dave Dawson
david.dawson@sunmedia.ca