A Grande Prairie Catholic School in the Arbour Hills area that was originally going to be named after Bishop Emile Grouard has been changed. The Grade 8 to 12 school will now be called St. John Paul II Junior-Senior Catholic High School after numerous meetings that started in April.
The Catholic School Board and representatives of the Aboriginal Community met to discuss concerns of Residential schools. There were personal experiences discussed of people from Residential Schools. In order to respect the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, they chose to name the school after Pope John Paul II instead.
Archbishop Gerard Pettipas was at the meetings and says that he acknowledges Grouard as a pioneer but further research would need to be done before assigning his name to a school.
The new school is set to begin construction this summer and be completed by September 2018.