Historic Sites of Manitoba: Maple Leaf School (251 McIvor Avenue, Winnipeg)

Link to:
Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

Located in the North Kildonan area of Winnipeg, this school was commissioned by the North Kildonan School District No. 2116 at a cost of $35,000. The four-classroom facility opened to students in 1956. Based upon architectural drawings of Ward and Macdonald, six more classrooms and an auditorium were added in 1961 at a cost of $160,000. It later became part of the River East School Division. An expansion in 1974 included a ten-class open area, gymnasium, theatre, multi-purpose room, staff lounge, science laboratory, offices and storage rooms, and a double kindergarten room. The original four-room portion of the school was later gutted and the previous auditorium was renovated and turned into the new library.

Principals

Period	Principal
1956-1966	None
1966-1968	Guenter Strempler (1937-2024)
1968-1971	Mosie Nicholas “Moe” Tobin (1933-2007)
1971-1975	Robert James “Bob” Harris (1934-2019)
1975-1990	Norman “Ted/Teddy” Grywinski
1990-1991	Donna Margaret Cochrane

Vice-Principals

Period	Vice-Principal
1956-1960	Hedwig Margaret Billson Strand (1908-2003)
1960-1963	Helen Hopko
1963-1966	Jacob David Reimer
1966-1971	?
1971-1974	None
1974-1976	Ronald Arthur Ford
1976-1981	?
1981-1983	Christopher Ralph “Chris” Capper
1983-1986	?
1986-1991	Gerhard George Reimer

Teachers

School Year	Teachers
1956-1957	Oscar John Epp (grade 5), Patoricia J. Kelln (grade 2), Ida Penner (grade 1), Hedwig Margaret Billson Strand (grades 3-4)
1957-1958	Annie Colville Douglas Henderson (grade 2), Lillian Susanna Morgan (grade 1), Hedwig Margaret Billson Strand (grades 3-4)
1958-1959	Annie Colville Douglas Henderson (grade 2), Lillian Susanna Morgan (grade 1), Thuridur Olafson (grades 3-4), Hedwig Margaret Billson Strand (grades 5-6)
1959-1960	Annie Colville Douglas Henderson (grade 2), Lillian Susanna Morgan (grade 1), Thuridur Olafson (grades 3-4), Hedwig Margaret Billson Strand (grades 4-5)
1960-1961	Annie Colville Douglas Henderson (grade 2), Helen Hopko (grade 4), Lillian Susanna Morgan (grade 1), Hope Kristine Paulson (grade 3)
1961-1962	Joseph Ramon Bahr (grade 5), Annie Colville Douglas Henderson (grade 2), Helen Hopko (grade 6), Lillian Susanna Morgan (grade 1), Ruth Elizabeth Nikkel (grade 3), Joyce Ann Schinkel (grade 4)
1962-1963	Joseph Ramon Bahr (grade 5), Annie Colville Douglas Henderson (grade 2), Helen Hopko (grade 6), Lillian Susanna Morgan (grade 1), Ruth Elizabeth Nikkel (grade 3), Joyce Ann Schinkel (grade 4)
1963-1964	Annie Colville Douglas Henderson (grade 2), William Alex Lebedeff (grade 6), Lillian Susanna Morgan (grade 1), Susie Pauls (grade 5), Jacob David Reimer (grade 7), Joyce Ann Schinkel (grade 4), Toby Star (grade 3)
1964-1965	Annie Colville Douglas Henderson (grade 2), Herma Jenny Keyzer (grade 5), William Alex Lebedeff (grade 7), Lillian Susanna Morgan (grade 1), Susie Pauls (grade 6), Jacob David Reimer (grade 8), Joyce Ann Schinkel (grade 4), Elaine Marianne Toews (grade 3)
1965-1966	Herma Jenny Keyzer Gibson (grade 5), Annie Colville Douglas Henderson (grade 2), Olga Kormilo (grades 1-2), William Alex Lebedeff (grade 7), Susie Pauls (grade 6), Jacob David Reimer (grade 8), Joyce Ann Schinkel (grade 4), Rosella Schroeder (special education), Elaine Marianne Toews (grade 3), Alida Zaal (grade 1)
1966-1967	Alida Zaal de Jonge (grade 1), Reinhard Fershau (grade 7), Mrs. H. Gibson, Herma Jenny Keyzer Gibson (grade 5), Miss S. Kolizenberg, Mrs. O. Kormilo, William Alex Lebedeff (grade 8), Joanne E. Reimer (grade 2) Joyce Ann Schinkel (grade 4), Guenter Strempler (grade 6), ? (grade 3)

Photos & Coordinates

Maple Leaf School (August 2017) Source: Nathan Kramer Maple Leaf School (September 2017) Source: Nathan Kramer Site Location (lat/long): N49.95197, W97.07034 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Manitoba Business: Prain and Ward / Ward and Macdonald / Macdonald, Cockburn, McLeod, and McFeetors / MCM Architects

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Collegiate Institute / Maple Leaf School (Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Maple Leaf School No. 83 (Morden)

Sources:

Birth registrations [Hedvig Margaith Billson], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

Manitoba School Records Collection, River East School Division No. 9 (Maple Leaf School) - Daily Registers, GR8245, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, River East School Division No. 9 (Maple Leaf School) - Daily Registers, GR9482, Archives of Manitoba.

“Car overturns, farmer killed,” Winnipeg Free Press, 25 May 1944, page 4.

“North Kildonan to vote on school bylaw,” Winnipeg Free Press, 21 October 1960, page 13.

“Tenders - Addition to Maple Leaf School,” Winnipeg Tribune, 6 February 1961, page 18.

“N. Kildonan teachers listed,” Winnipeg Free Press, 13 September 1966, page 13.

Obituary [Margaret Strand], Winnipeg Free Press, 30 August 2003, page C14.

School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.

School division student yearly attendance reports (E 0758A), Archives of Manitoba.

Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer, Jim Smith, and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 19 January 2025