About Ontario Public School
Our History
Ontario Public School officially opened at its present location on Allanburg Road on Thursday, March 8, 1973.It was a replacement for the original Ontario School which had been located on the property of the former Ontario Paper Mill, currently called Donohue Paper.
In 1995, to accommodate the rapid residential growth of Thorold South and surrounding areas, the school was expanded and upgraded to meet the new provincial building standards. These changes included four new classrooms, extra washrooms, and a computer lab.
Ontario School Today
Today, Ontario Public school is a wheel chair accessible facility and is consistently used by the community in the area. Ontario School continues to strive to achieve excellence in all areas of education.
Boundary Changes
Dear Ontario Families,
Over the past few years as a result of the new housing developments on the East Side of Thoro
ld the enrollment at Ontario has increased significantly. Currently we have 9 portables on site and will add an additional 3 for the 2025-2026 school year to help accommodate the significant growth. However, the maximum capacity of portables that can be placed at Ontario will have been reached and there is still continued construction and growing enrollment. In order to alleviate capacity pressure until the new school is constructed for September 2027, a boundary change and a host school will be utilized.
A host school is an out of boundary school that can help manage enrollment pressure from new housing developments and is a temporary solution until the new school is complete. Kate S Durdan will be the host school for the Thorold East elementary school boundary. The school boundary change involving Ontario Public School and Kate S Durdan Public school was developed, proposed, and approved during the May 6th, 2025, Program and Planning Committee meeting and approved at the Board Meeting on May 27th, 2025 .
Effective today, May 28, 2025, all new registrations from the Thorold East elementary school boundary will go to Kate S Durdan.
Current Students:
Students living in the boundary area that currently attend Ontario will continue until the new school opens. To support keeping families and households together, students may request to attend Kate S Durdan if their younger sibling and/or household members are directed there. Once this attendance is in place students must stay at Kate S Durdan until the new school opens.
I am confident that this will support capacity issues at Ontario in the interim.
Sincerely,
Becki Falardeau
Principal
IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT INCLEMENT WEATHER PROCEDURES
There are times in Niagara when weather conditions are so poor that we must cancel student transportation, and/or close schools to preserve the safety of students and staff. The decision to cancel transportation and/or close schools is not taken lightly; a variety of factors are considered when making this choice.
To learn more about how these decisions are made, please go to
https://www.dsbn.org/inclementweather.
Transportation Cancellations: Information about transportation delays and cancellations are posted to https://portal.nsts.ca/Cancellations.aspx. When transportation is cancelled, every effort is made to communicate the decision by 6:00 am on the day of the cancellation. There are times when transportation is cancelled, but schools remain open. If, on those days you feel it is best for your child to stay home, please report your child’s absence https://dsbn.org/safearrival/ so we can make sure they are safe at home.
School Closures: When the decision to close schools is made, it refers to all schools. Every effort will be made to share school closure information before 6:00 am on the day of the school closure. You will find it on www.dsbn.org, all school websites, DSBN social media, and local media share the news widely as well.
Forms
Important Dates
Supervision begins at 8:45 so please do not drop your children off prior.
Parking lot SAFETY everyday!
Be vigilant in the parking lot. Watch for students. Drive slowly. Follow the signs of Enter and Exit as indicated.