The Conseil scolaire catholique des Grandes Rivières (CSCDGR) welcomes more than 5 elementary and secondary students every day. Our 500 elementary schools, 24 secondary schools and 8 alternative education centres are located on a territory covering nearly 3 square kilometres, from Hearst to Temiskaming Shores, including Foleyet, Gogama and Timmins.

Our name

When it was created in 1998, our council chose the name “Grandes Rivières” in homage to one of our great local riches. This name had been suggested by Mr. Jos Matko, school councilor at the time. Our name reminds us of the beauty of the nature that surrounds us, which we must protect.

Our great rivers also have a lot of history! At the end of the 17th century, Sieur d'Iberville traveled on the Abitibi River to reach James Bay. Also, for hundreds of years, Voyageurs navigated the Missinaibi River, between James Bay and the Great Lakes, to trade furs. This river is now known worldwide for canoe excursions.

Today bordered by the majority of the cities of our beautiful region, several rivers crisscross our territory. From Calstock, in the west, to Marten River, in the east, we find:

“The CSCDGR is a French-speaking board, but it is also Catholic. At the time of our baptism, the priest pours water on our foreheads and says: ‘I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.’ Through this sacrament, we become children of God, loved by Him with a boundless love. The water of our baptism and the water of the Grandes Rivières of northeastern Ontario flow within our schools. They permeate all the education that is transmitted there. The Conseil scolaire catholique des Grandes Rivières has its source in the resurrected Jesus, from whom flows the new life that is communicated to us through baptism. In turn, all students and staff members of the Board can become, by loving others, sources of life in their community. Be proud of your school board! It has a beautiful name. Do it justice.”

— adaptation of the speech by Monsignor Gilles Cazabon, OMI, Bishop of Timmins, at the official opening of the Head Office on November 19, 1999

Our logo

The emblem of the Conseil scolaire catholique des Grandes Rivières was originally created by Madame Carmel Arsenault, a teacher at the École catholique St-Charles in Timmins. It was modernized in 2010 by Chabo Communications and Design, a Franco-Ontarian creative agency. Our logo represents our local riches:

forests

water

mines

agriculture

catholicity

French language