The new Cowichan Secondary School will have the traditional First Nations spelling of its name, the Cowichan Valley School Board has decided.
The $86-million replacement school, expected to be completed by September, will be known as Quw’utsun Secondary, with a similar pronunciation.
Cowichan is an anglicized version of the Hul’q’umi’num’ name of Quw’utsun, the nation where the school is located, the board said. The change in spelling follows consultation with the Cowichan Tribes Vision Committee, made up of elders, the Cowichan Valley School District’s senior staff and Indigenous education staff, and Indigenous students .
“The board is grateful for the knowledge and teachings passed on to us from the Cowichan Tribes Vision Committee,” said board chair Cathy Schmidt. “Each member of the board had strong support for this spelling adjustment and we are grateful that our next school will so accurately reflect our commitment to our First Nations’ students and partners.”
The current secondary school was built in 1950 and underwent several additions through to 1998. It was identified as needing seismic work in 2004.
The replacement school is being built across the street on a site that previously served as municipal baseball fields adjacent to the Cowichan Community Centre, Cowichan Aquatic Centre and Vancouver Island University. The 5.3-hectare site for the school was purchased by the Cowichan Valley School District in 2012.
Ground was broken for the school project in December 2021.
The new building will accommodate 1,100 students, with the ability to expand to 1,500 students with the addition of new classrooms.
The province is providing $83.8 million for the project as part of its Seismic Mitigation Program, while the Cowichan Valley School District is providing $2.2 million.
Students will remain in the existing school until the new school is complete.
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