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Saskatoon Public Schools (SPS) announced the official name of the new city centre school on Feb. 13, as misiwe-kisik | One Sky.
The school, set to open in 2027, is taking over the site of the former Princess Alexandra School at 210 Ave H S. It’ll serve up to 400 students from kindergarten to Grade 8 and include 74 childcare spaces, combining the student bodies of King George, Pleasant Hill, and Princess Alexandra schools.
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Pronounced mis-ih-wee kee-sik, the name misiwe-kisik is a Cree phrase meaning “under one big sky,” and is a combination of the Cree phrase followed by its English translation.
Marnie Ross, SPS superintendent of education, said the naming process began last year with the help of the Cultural Guidance Advisory Committee.
Students at King George Community School, which has a student body currently comprised of all the kids from the three amalgamating schools, were involved in thinking up names.
They received lessons around, “why they need a new name, what should that name be reflective of, and how does it honour the students and the community and the history of the school,” Ross said.
Teachers worked with classes to generate names, with parents also participating in the process as well as the First Nation, Métis, and Inuit Education Unit which provided some options.
It was a “big brainstorm,” Ross said about the process.
The Cultural Guidance Advisory Committee reviewing the names last fall before putting forward a shortlist of nine options for the Board of Education to pick from.
Ross explained misiwe-kisik | One Sky was chosen because of how the idea of “one family under one sky” was a theme that kept on being referenced when looking at the different names suggested.
“So when you start looking at a bunch of different names, you start seeing different themes arise — and that was a really big one. It really fits with the idea that this school is for everybody,” she said.
For Ross, the name is about, “a school coming together under one sky, because you’re bringing three different communities together.”
While she acknowledged people always have concerns when a school is named, Ross said this decision to combine Cree and English strikes the balance.
“It’s inclusive. So, people can call it One Sky, or misiwe-kisik, or as we start learning other languages to translate the term One Sky,” she said those could also be used.
The expected opening date of the new school is fall 2027 and Ross said construction is moving along at a good pace.
“You see the skeleton of the school coming together right now,” she said.
According to Ross, misiwe-kisik | One Sky is designed with the intention of reflecting nature and Indigenous ways of knowing.
The inside of the school will be open, allowing for different gathering spaces. Additionally, Ross said repurposed wood from an old grain elevator is being used to both honour the province’s history in the build, while also bringing in a sense of nature.
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