Fisher Park Public School
Encyclopedia
Fisher Park Public School is a public middle school
in Ottawa, Ontario
, Canada
, offering English and French immersion
education for grades seven and eight. The building is shared with the Summit Alternative School and the Fisher Park Community Centre.
. The road to the park was known as Holland Avenue. The park was first called "West End Park" but later renamed Victoria Park in honour of Queen Victoria's jubilee in 1897. Rides included a "Shoot the Chutes" ride which was a type of log flume
ride as well as early showings of motion pictures. The park closed by 1905 because of competition from Britannia Park
and Queen's Park in Aylmer.
Fisher Park was one of the sites used for early demonstrations of film (or motion pictures). Thomas Edison launched his Vitascope
projected film invention in 1896 and gave the Holland brothers exclusive rights to put it on exhibition in Canada. The Vitascope made its debut on July 21st 1896 at West End Park (Fisher Park)..
Fisher Park is the site of a baseball diamond as well as a soccer field. Amateur baseball was played in the park as early as the 1920s when church leagues and city leagues played games in the park.. Amateur boys soccer was also played as early as the 1920s.
Fisher Park was originally built in 1949 as the city's fifth public high school, to serve Ottawa's west end, but was closed in 1987 in a controversial decision by the Ottawa school board. The school was reopened in September 1994 as a middle school, feeding students into Nepean High School
and Glebe Collegiate Institute
.
Between 1987 and 1994 the school was the site of Notre Dame High School
which is part of the Ottawa Carleton Catholic School Board. Notre Dame relocated in 1994 to a site on Broadview Avenue.
Before Fisher Park opened, Connaught Public School was the only school in the area which taught classes in grade 7 and 8. In 1993 the former Connaught Public School building on Gladstone avenue was demolished and replaced with a state-of-the-art school. When the new building was constructed the school only offered grades 1 through 6 with Fisher Park taking on the role of a middle-school for grades 7 and 8. During the year of construction Connaught students attended the site of the former Champlain High School off Island Park Drive
at the Ottawa River Parkway
.
The school's sports team is known as the Fisher Phoenix
, a name which represents the death and rebirth of Fisher Park. The logo was created by Monsak Lok, a student attending the school the year it re-opened in 1994-95.
Barbara Brockmann, a teacher at the school, was a recipient of the 2002 Governor General's Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History.
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
in Ottawa, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, offering English and French immersion
French immersion
French immersion is a form of bilingual education in which a child who does not speak French as his or her first language receives instruction in school in French...
education for grades seven and eight. The building is shared with the Summit Alternative School and the Fisher Park Community Centre.
History
In the late 19th century, the Ottawa Electric Railway Company (OERC) bought the farms of Andrew and George Holland and started an amusement parkAmusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
. The road to the park was known as Holland Avenue. The park was first called "West End Park" but later renamed Victoria Park in honour of Queen Victoria's jubilee in 1897. Rides included a "Shoot the Chutes" ride which was a type of log flume
Log flume
A log flume is a flume specifically constructed to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain to a sawmill by using flowing water. These watertight trough-like channels could be built to span a long distance across chasms and down steep mountain slopes...
ride as well as early showings of motion pictures. The park closed by 1905 because of competition from Britannia Park
Britannia Park
Britannia Park is a forest and recreation area in Israel, in the Judean lowland. The forest was planted by the Jewish National Fund starting in the 1950s, and with the financial aid of British Jews, after whom the park was named....
and Queen's Park in Aylmer.
Fisher Park was one of the sites used for early demonstrations of film (or motion pictures). Thomas Edison launched his Vitascope
Vitascope
Vitascope was an early film projector first demonstrated in 1895 by Charles Francis Jenkins and Thomas Armat. They had made modifications to Jenkins patented "Phantoscope", which cast images via film & electric light onto a wall or screen...
projected film invention in 1896 and gave the Holland brothers exclusive rights to put it on exhibition in Canada. The Vitascope made its debut on July 21st 1896 at West End Park (Fisher Park)..
Fisher Park is the site of a baseball diamond as well as a soccer field. Amateur baseball was played in the park as early as the 1920s when church leagues and city leagues played games in the park.. Amateur boys soccer was also played as early as the 1920s.
Fisher Park was originally built in 1949 as the city's fifth public high school, to serve Ottawa's west end, but was closed in 1987 in a controversial decision by the Ottawa school board. The school was reopened in September 1994 as a middle school, feeding students into Nepean High School
Nepean High School (Ottawa)
Nepean High School is a high school in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located in Westboro, at 574 Broadview Avenue. There are 1180 students enrolled for 2006-2007. Rene Bibaud is the current principal . The two vice principals are Peter Wilson and Jean Fulton-Hale.The school began as a continuation...
and Glebe Collegiate Institute
Glebe Collegiate Institute
Glebe Collegiate Institute is a high school in the Glebe neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Administered by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, Glebe Collegiate Institute has approximately 1,500 students; students and sports teams are referred to as "Gryphons".The school offers many...
.
Between 1987 and 1994 the school was the site of Notre Dame High School
Notre Dame High School (Ottawa)
Notre Dame High School is a Catholic high school in Ottawa's west operated by the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board. The school is one of the first in the area to use a uniform and one of the first in the board to ban the use of cell phones and MP3 players on the campus.The school is mainly two...
which is part of the Ottawa Carleton Catholic School Board. Notre Dame relocated in 1994 to a site on Broadview Avenue.
Before Fisher Park opened, Connaught Public School was the only school in the area which taught classes in grade 7 and 8. In 1993 the former Connaught Public School building on Gladstone avenue was demolished and replaced with a state-of-the-art school. When the new building was constructed the school only offered grades 1 through 6 with Fisher Park taking on the role of a middle-school for grades 7 and 8. During the year of construction Connaught students attended the site of the former Champlain High School off Island Park Drive
Island Park Drive
Island Park Drive is a short, but important and scenic, north-south street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is one of several parkways in Ottawa administered by the National Capital Commission providing scenic routes throughout Canada's capital region....
at the Ottawa River Parkway
Ottawa River Parkway
The Ottawa River Parkway is a four-lane scenic parkway along the Ottawa River in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs from Carling Avenue near Connaught Avenue, to Booth Street at the Canadian War Museum. It is maintained by the National Capital Commission. The speed limit is , enforced by the Royal...
.
The school's sports team is known as the Fisher Phoenix
Phoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
, a name which represents the death and rebirth of Fisher Park. The logo was created by Monsak Lok, a student attending the school the year it re-opened in 1994-95.
Barbara Brockmann, a teacher at the school, was a recipient of the 2002 Governor General's Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History.