Cold Lake Junior High new name of CLMS starting next year

As the current Cold Lake Middle School transitions to offering different grade levels, students worked on a new name, as well as school colours and a mascot to give the center a new identity. 

Cold Lake Middle School will have a similar, but new name at the start of the next school year.

Northern Lights Public Schools approved the suggestion from Grade 7 and 8 students to rename the facility Cold Lake Junior High for the beginning of the 2022-23 school year.

Other names suggested were Kinosoo Junior High, Eagle Junior High, and Northern Lights Junior High. 

“Those are the ones that they narrowed it down to those four and then they had a vote and Cold Lake Junior High got the most votes. It got 111 votes, so that was the one that they brought to the board for consideration,” said Nicole Garner, Communications Officer, Northern Lights Public Schools to Lakeland Connect. 

Garner said the main idea was to engage the students that would be a part of the new school for multiple years to give them a sense of pride and ownership in the new culture they were forging.

The school is transitioning from a Grade 4 to 8 school to a Grade 7 to 9 school that will host students from all parts of the city, as part of configuration discussions that took place over the past few years.

The changes started in 2021-2022 with North Star Elementary becoming a K to 4 school and Cold Lake Middle School shifting to Grades 5 to 8 (from 4 to 8).

The bulk of the changes will occur this September when Cold Lake Elementary changes to a K to 3 school (from a K to 4), Nelson Heights becomes a Grades 4 to 7 school (from 5 to 8), Cold Lake High shifts to a Grades 10 to 12 school (from 9 to 12), North Star Elementary becomes a K to 5 school and Cold Lake Middle (Cold Lake Junior High) becomes a Grades 6 to 9 school.

The final configuration changes will take place in September 2023 when North Star Elementary becomes a K to 6 school and Cold Lake Junior High becomes a Grades 7 to 9 school.

“We were very impressed by the students’ presentation to the Board and the work they did to brainstorm potential names and build a consensus about what the new name should be,” said Board Chair Karen Packard in a press release. “We hope that Cold Lake Junior High will be a welcoming, inclusive space for all of our students as they form a new school community together.”

The changes go beyond a new name, but focus on a new identity.

Students will also select school colours, a mascot, and naming designated areas of the school as well.

Those will be announced in the coming weeks.

“We appreciate all of the input we have received from the community from the start of the configuration consultation process through to our recent engagement on changing the name of the school,” said Packard in the release. “Our staff are working hard to ease the transitions for students and we are grateful for the support we have received from families throughout this process.”