C. F. Cannon Public School
Dr. C. F. Cannon Public School is located in the Lakeview neighbourhood of Oshawa. It officially opened in May 1958 and is still active today. The elementary school offers classes to kids in grades K-8 and was named in honour of Oshawa’s previous Director of Education and Public School Inspector, Dr. Cecil. F. Cannon. He was in attendance at the opening, at the time serving in the role of Director of Education for Ontario. His contributions to educational policy, and school development helped shape public education in Durham.
The school was built during a post-war “baby boom” that demanded more educational facilities. As Cannon noted around the time of the school’s opening:
“In 1944 there were 640,000 children attending elementary and secondary schools in Ontario. Now there are 1,200,000 and more than 3,500 new schools and additions.”
Dr. Cannon believed that education should extend beyond academic knowledge. He emphasized that schools must prepare children to make a living while also passing on cultural traditions and a commitment to truth and heritage.
He once stated: “Education is what you don’t forget after you finish school.”
And quoting Queen’s University’s principal, he said: “We are never completely educated, as life is in itself an education bringing new experiences each day.”
Less than two years after its opening, the school underwent construction for an addition, which opened in November 1959.
Dr. C. F. Cannon Public School continues to thrive as a diverse and active learning community. It promotes student involvement through programs like Crime Stoppers, and in June 2023, a Grade 6 music class performed Indigenous music using hand drums, xylophones, and flutes to celebrate the Scugog Carrying Place Trail.
With info from:
J. Douglas Ross, Education in Oshawa: From Settlement to City, (1970), 178.
Olive French, The Story of the Oshawa Schools: 1800 to 1967 (unpublished manuscript, 1968); Oshawa Museum archival collection.
Correction in regards to the image provided
Hello, I was looking at the image linked to the article and I couldn’t help but notice that the image attached to this post is listed as Dr C.F Cannon in the 1990’s. however the presence of the white building across from it, the side street turning into it in the bottom right corner and the absence of the modern addition including its kindergarten pen, indicates this is something much rarer. You have, in your possession, an aerial shot of Lake Vista Senior Public School. Which opened in the late 1960’s on 1196 cedar street and closed in 1998. (Included as a footnote in the Olive French Manuscript) You are correct in that Dr C.F. Cannon public school opened in 1958, May 9th 1958 to be precise, however it was at the Emerald avenue location and moved to the Lake Vista building after Lake Vista closed and reopened as Dr C.F. Cannon in 2000. Lake Vista itself opened in 1967, has a 1992 25th anniversary bench that still exists inside the modern Dr C.F. Cannon school and the Local History Collection at the McLaughlin Branch of the Oshawa public library has a 1970 Cornucopia yearbook, the only Lake Vista yearbook confirmed to exist as of writing this. In addition the cornerstone of Lake Vista senior public school has survived on the exterior structure of the modern Dr C.F. Cannon school.
Sources:
https://archive.org/details/vernonscityofoshawadirectory1958/page/n50/mode/1up
https://images.ourontario.ca/whitby/3888281/page/4?q=Cannon&docid=OOI.3888281
https://archive.org/details/vernonscityofoshawadirectory1968_202003/page/n231/mode/1up?q=School
Thank you for this comment! I’ll have to go back, take a look at the photo, and adjust this listing as neccessary!