Halton public school trustees have selected Emily Carr Public School as the name for the new elementary school currently under construction in northwest Oakville.

The name was selected from a shortlist of names collected in ballot boxes that were placed in neighbourhood schools and public libraries.

Emily Carr Public School is located at 2255 Pine Glen Rd. in the West Oak Trails community in Oakville. The school is scheduled to open in September 2008.

"Emily Carr is a Canadian artist, writer, teacher and lover of nature," says Kathryn Bateman-Olmstead, Trustee, Ward 4 in Oakville, where the new school is located. "She lived at a time when there were limited career options for women, yet she followed her passion for painting and writing, and is recognized as a nationally renowned artist."

Emily Carr (1871-1945) was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and studied art in San Francisco, London and Paris. She also taught art to children between 1893-1907. She painted in a unique and modern style that was rejected at the time. Her art was profoundly influenced by the First Nations people of British Columbia and The Group of Seven, who named her "The Mother of Modern Art."