Two Rainbow Schools are among the top 25 schools in Canada. Valley View Public School and Jessie Hamilton Public School are featured in the annual survey of Canada's stellar schools in the September 2008 issue of Today's Parent magazine.
Valley View Public School is highlighted in the "one of a kind" category. The magazine states: "The first green school in northern Ontario boasts occupancy sensors that switch off lights and sun screening devices to maximize natural light, attract solar heat in winter and deflect it in the summer. The blue-hued hall floors have seven tonnes of crushed glass that students and parents collected from a neighbourhood bottle drive." Valley View Public School in Val Caron has 475 students in Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8.
Jessie Hamilton Public School is featured in the "clubs that kick" section. The magazine states: "In its busy gym, Jessie Hamilton produces championship soccer, volleyball, basketball and floor hockey teams. In the last four years, the school has also offered black light theatre, which gets students creating sets, props and costumes from fluorescent bristol board and paper for the Christmas concert or Halloween fun fair." Jessie Hamilton Public School in Lively has 240 students in Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6.
Rainbow District School Board Director of Education Jean Hanson commended the staff, students and parents/guardians of Valley View Public School and Jessie Hamilton Public School on being selected for the "25 Great Schools" feature.
"We are delighted that our schools have received national recognition as class acts," she said. "We welcome the opportunity to share our success stories with Canadians from coast to coast."
