École Elsie MacGill Public School

Completed one year ago in September 2020, École Elsie MacGill Public School is Lakehead Public Schools’s newest contemporary learning facility in Thunder Bay. Built on the former site of Sir Winston Churchill Collegiate & Vocational Institute, the 15-acre property retains many of the site’s mature trees. Additional native species trees have been added to the landscape as well as multiple natural gardens, including three stormwater retention ponds. Along with keeping a large green space, the site also features accessible play structures, hard and soft play areas, and a basketball court and soccer field.

The $30 million state-of-the-art school accommodates dual-track (English and French immersion) programming for up to 745 junior kindergarten to grade eight students and replaces two former school buildings, Agnew H. Johnson and Edgewater Park public schools. The structure also houses day care facilities for infant, toddler, and preschool children operated by Schoolhouse Playcare Centre, along with before and after school programs operated by both Schoolhouse Playcare Centre and Little Lions Waldorf Child and Family Centre.

Designed by architectural firm +VG to be extremely energy efficient, the building uses long-life, low-maintenance exterior materials with a concentration on woodgrains and earth tones to create a pleasing visual that fits with the site’s natural environment. Fully accessible, the two-storey school structure covers 78,523 square feet with each floor built on a single corridor layout. A total of 30 classrooms include dedicated rooms for art, music, and science, while multiple meeting and breakout rooms, the large library and learning commons, as well its substantial gymnasium add flexible spaces built to inspire exploration, collaboration, the use of technology, and a sense of community. Design input from future students, parents, and educators was taken into consideration not only in creating its learning spaces but also with the school’s team name and logo—the Hurricanes and its fierce rendition of the aircraft. The name “Hurricanes” is directly associated with the school’s namesake Elsie MacGill and her professional endeavours while living in the former City of Fort William, now Thunder Bay.

Elizabeth “Elsie” Muriel Gregory MacGill, recognized as the world’s first female aeronautical engineer, arrived in Fort William in

1938, at the age of 33, to take on the role of chief aeronautical engineer at Canadian Car & Foundry (Can Car). It was her work here, in particular, the factory retooling and production of more than 1,450 Hawker Hurricane fighter planes for Canada during World War II, which inspired a comic series earning her the nickname “Queen of the Hurricanes.” Beyond her pioneering success for women in the engineering field, Elsie MacGill was also a leading feminist who served on the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada from 1967 to 1970.

You can learn more about Elsie MacGill and her substantial contributions through the Women’s History Month web exhibit on the City of Thunder Bay’s website at thunderbay.ca/en/city-hall/elsie-macgill.