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Lord Roberts
Elementary School
Principal: Ms.
Valerie Coopersmith
Vice Principal:
Ms. Andrea Zeitz
The first Lord Roberts building
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Lord Roberts school was opened in the Spring of 1901 at a time when the city was
growing rapidly. The building was a wooden structure containing eight
classrooms, located at the centre of the existing playground. Sixty three trees
were planted around the school grounds to mark the opening day celebrations and
a few of the trees are still standing. The original structure was removed when
the new wing was added to the present brick building.
The enrolment in the Spring of 1902 was 263. By 1905 it was 501, necessitating
another temporary building. In 1907 the brick building (newly renovated) was
built and opened without ceremony on August 24, 1908. It contained ten
classrooms and a large attic auditorium.
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The school's population peaked in 1919 with an enrolment of more than
one thousand students. Three temporary buildings were erected to
accommodate the increase in population.
The school drew its students from the West End's many houses and large
mansions but this was to change and the enrollment would begin to
decrease. As the area became busier, the wealthy abandoned the West
End for Shaugnessy and their estates became rooming houses. This
marked a change for the area as it would become a densely populated
apartment district.
In 1950 the Parent Teacher Association was formed. The group was
successful in getting both a lunchroom for the children in 1951 and
the existing auditorium-gymnasium in 1954. The enrollment at this
time was about 500 students and in 1975 it was up again to over 900.
At present there are approximately 440 students at the Main school
and 150 at the Annex.
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Lord Roberts
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The Lord Roberts school several years ago (it was since renovated).
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The Annex was built in 1978. It houses students from Kindergarten to
grade three. The design of the school allows for team teaching and
the development of numerous activity centres. Although the Annex is
located at 1150 Nelson Street, five blocks away from the Main School,
both the Annex and the Main share a common philosophy and work
together on many issues.
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