School Profile

School Profile

Home of the Colts

Charles C. McLean Public School is an English program public school serving approximately 170 Kindergarten to Grade 8 students living on Western Manitoulin. Our school is named after Charles C. McLean, who served as school Principal for many years. Initially the building was the Gore Bay Continuation School, and later the Gore Bay Public School. The official renaming of the school to “Charles C. McLean” changed on October 12, 1973 and is familiarly referred to as C.C. McLean Public School. We are a “community” school in it’s true meaning of the word. Our students are provided with many opportunities and experiences due to our dedicated staff, committed volunteers, and generous community partners.

Charles C. McLean Public School is located in the scenic town of Gore Bay. Our school is surrounded by a bluff and one can see the incredible waters of Gore Bay and the Eastern bluff from our school yard. We believe in fostering the love of the outdoors in our students and take advantage of the many wonderful opportunities our natural playground has to offer. Students are often seen snow shoeing, hiking, and interacting with nature. C.C. Mclean was recently acknowledged and certified as an Eco School in April, 2019. Our students are leaders in our “Go Green” initiatives and lead various projects and programs such as our salmon fish hatchery, composting, recycling, and gardens. We also work with our local township to eliminate the invasive species, purple loosestrife, along our waterfront.

The staff and volunteers at C.C. McLean denote a great deal of time and effort to develop a well-rounded program for students. In addition to providing an exemplary academic experience, our school boasts an instrumental music program for intermediate students and one-on-one technology for our students in Grades One through Grade Eight. We also offer intramural and extra-curricular activities to encourage active, healthy living beyond the scope of school. Some of our extra-curricular activities include robotics, baseball, basketball, cross-country running, soccer, track and field and volleyball. Students also participate in choirs, public speaking competitions and literary contests.

Nurtured business partnerships have enhanced student learning. Manitoulin Transport sponsor our Island Track and Field Championship, which is held at our school, by providing both volunteers and financial aid to support our local athletes.

The Royal Canadian Legion sponsors the public speaking contest for all ages and awards cash prizes and financial support for students who compete in Regionals and Provincials. Students also take part in the Legion’s Remembrance Day Poetry, Essay and Poster Contest.

Our school has a unique partnership with The Township of Gore Bay. We are fortunate to have a Senior’s Centre located on site as one of our valued community user groups. We have a reciprocal partnership in place for our students and seniors to learn from each other. Our students teach seniors computer and internet skills and the seniors teach our students how to knit, play cribbage and bake. The township also donates ice time to our students once/week in the winter months beginning in November.

Through all of these experiences, our students have an opportunity to build leadership skills and develop their personal character by showing their commitment to our school, community and planet. We consider ourselves very fortunate to be the community school that we are.