Historic Sites of Manitoba: Varennes School / École Varennes (22 Varennes Avenue, Winnipeg)

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

Voted on and approved by St. Vital voters of the Glenlawn School District, Varennes School was constructed to handle the educational demands of the post-Second World War “baby boom” and new housing developments in the area. Under construction as of September 1951, on a design by architect Walter Katelnikoff of the firm Smith Carter and Katelnikoff, the six-classroom structure cost around $83,000 to complete and opened its doors to students on 3 January 1952.

On 1 February 1952, the school was opened officially by Minister of Education William Conrad “Wally” Miller. Also present at the opening ceremony were St. Vital Mayor Henry Southwood “Harry” Paul, Elswood Fredrick Bole, Chairman of the Municipal and Public Utiliities Board David Leopold Mellish, Department of Education Chief Administrator Bernice Scott Bateman, School Inspector Hugh Connolly, School Board Chairman Samuel Burland, MLAs Joseph Gustave Van Belleghem and Edwin Arnold Hansford, and Principal John Dean Finlay.

Upon opening, the building’s capacity was unable to meet enrollment demands, and expansion with a new wing containing seven classrooms began almost immediately. The new section was opened in December 1953, before which the school employed staggered hours and off-site classes in the Windsor and Glenwood Community Clubs to accommodate the large student body. A further expansion occurred in 1959 with the addition of a two-storey section with two-thirds of a gymnasium, also designed by Smith Carter and Katelnikoff.

In 1977, the gymnasium was expanded to its full extent on a design by Winnipeg architect John Mahan Venables of the firm Pratt Lindgren Snider Tomcej and Associates. The school later handled a dual-immersion program before converting to exclusively French-immersion, operated by the Louis Riel School Division. Between 2009 and 2022, the student population increased from 264 to 355.

Principals

Period	Principal
1952-1953	John Dean Finlay (1906-2001)
1953-1956	Alvin Corbet Heaney (1911-1989)
1956-1957	Walter Nowosad (1918-2003)
1957-1975	Wilfred Arcadius “Arky” Perron (1916-1994)
1975-1979	Ray Halstead
1979-1981	Eileen Wilson
1981-1983	Peter Derenchuk (c1928-1983)
1983-1990	Eva Dupont
1990-1995	Omer Fontaine
1995-1999	Suzanne McCarthy
1999-2001	Denis Gautron
2001-2005	Robert Lussier
2005-2008	Bruce Waldie
2008-2014	Jeff Anderson
2014-2019	Joanne DeCruyenaere
2019-2022	Amy Haworth

Vice-Principals

Period	Vice-Principal
?-1975	Wayne Ruff
?-?	Ron Parsons
?-2009	?
2009-2015	Sharad Srivastava
2016-2017	Andrea Leger
2017-2022	Michelle Bacon

Teachers

Among the teachers of Varennes School were Kathleen Marion “Kay” Smith (?-1972), Colette Daley (c1998), and Al Thiessen.

Photos & Coordinates

Architectural drawing showing changes to Varennes School (1977) Source: Debbie Duncan Varennes School (September 2019) Source: Rose Kuzina Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.85795, W97.10995 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: John Mahan “Joe” Venables (1936-1998)

Manitoba Business: Smith Carter and Katelnikoff / Smith Carter Architects and Engineers / Architecture49

Manitoba Business: Pratt Lindgren and Associates / Pratt Lindgren Snider Tomcej and Associates

Sources:

“St. Vital votes Friday on school bylaw Monday,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 June 1951, page 3.

[Photo caption], Winnipeg Free Press, 20 June 1951, page 3.

“Windsor students move to clubroom,” Winnipeg Free Press, 13 September 1951, page 28.

“Classes to start in new school,” Winnipeg Free Press, 2 January 1952, page 3.

“Official opening set for Varennes School,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 January 1952, page 3.

“Miller opens new school in St. Vital,” Winnipeg Free Press, 2 February 1952, page 8.

“Building of new schools expected to route bogeys of crowded classes,” Winnipeg Free Press, 22 July 1953, page 3.

“New wing opened in St. Vital school,” Winnipeg Free Press, 18 December 1953, page 5.

“Tender notice [addition to Varennes School],” Winnipeg Tribune, 20 April 1959, page 26.

“Board upholds transfer of two,” Winnipeg Free Press, 8 May 1975, page 46.

“Call for tenders,” Winnipeg Free Press, 14 May 1977, page 49.

“The St. Vital SD #6,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 April 1984, page 25.

Obituary [Kathleen Marion Smith], Winnipeg Free Press, 16 January 1986, page 51.

“The St. Vital SD #6,” Winnipeg Free Press, 21 May 1988, page 68.

“Students, staff at Ecole Varennes bring Christmas to Chad child,” Winnipeg Free Press South Community Review, 13 December 1995, page 1.

“First aid training credited when Ecole Varennes teacher saves choking student,” Winnipeg Free Press South Community Review, 1 April 1998, page 3.

“Manitoba Maritimers meet for fall feast,” Winnipeg Free Press North/Northeast Community Review, 26 September 2001, page 8.

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

We thank Rose Kuzina and the grades 5 and 6 class of Debbie Duncan at École Varennes for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 27 December 2022

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