How would you like to send your child to a school named Schooly McSchoolface?
There’s just one day left until Central Okanagan Public Schools closes the call for suggestions to name a new Upper Mission middle school.
Thus far, said district secretary-treasurer Larry Paul, there have been 650 entries and the most frequently found moniker is Schooly McSchoolface. The name is clearly a nod to Boaty McBoatface, the most popular suggestion given in 2016 to the Natural Environment Research Council in the UK when they held a contest to name a ship. Boaty McBoatface crashed the site with 124,109 votes.
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Despite its popularity, it wasn’t chosen as a name. Nor likely will Schooly McSchoolface be chosen.
When the survey was announced Moyra Baxter, the chairperson of the board of education, said there were some expectations that needed to be met.
“The name will reflect the area and its residents, which will increase the community’s sense of ownership and identification with the school,” said Baxter.
Paul said the district will likely remove some of the “silly ones” from the list.
“Most of the ones that are reasonable are focusing on a geographic landmark or history,” said Paul.
Those suggestions include landmarks like Bellevue Creek, Okanagan Mountain Park and there are some historical figures like Father Pandosy and WC Bennett.
While the pranksters may not influence the name as they hoped, they have made the survey process more interesting.
“This is probably the highest level response we’ve ever had,” said Paul.
They had a similar survey process for a school on the Westside and there were only a couple hundred responses for that.