STEELE CREEK NEWS
Berewick, River
Gate Chosen as New School Names
(April 28, 2009)
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education approved official names
of six new schools at its regular meeting on April 28. Two of these
are in Steele Creek and are scheduled to open this fall.
The new school on
Dixie River Road is now Berewick Elementary School. The ballot
provided to families with children who will attend the new school
had the following description:
Berewick Elementary School:
Charlotte’s Steele Creek area was established
in the late 1700’s by Scottish settlers. Steele Creek is now one
of the fastest growing areas of Mecklenburg County. To support
this growth, in 2002, Mecklenburg County purchased 195 acres of
land in northwest Steele Creek to house a new elementary school
and one of the county’s largest district parks, to consist of
soccer and baseball fields, playgrounds, walking trails, and a dog
park. The new park has since been upgraded to a regional park
classification and named, Berewick Regional Park. Through a
shared-facility partnership with CMS, the Berewick Regional Park
will have offices within the new school and access to its 30,000
sq. ft. recreation center when school is not in session. Berewick
is a Scottish term meaning “village” or “small town”. In addition
to the regional park, Berewick is also the name for a residential
community and eventually, a town center that will have office
buildings, retail shops and restaurants. Naming the new school
Berewick Elementary will pay tribute to Steele Creek’s Scottish
heritage, and simultaneously represent the community’s developing
future through a name shared by the school, regional park, and
town center.
The
other two top recommendations were James K. Polk Elementary School
and Shopton Elementary School.
The
Board approved the name
River Gate Elementary School for the new school on the corner of
Hamilton and Smith Roads. The naming ballot had the following
description:
River Gate Elementary School:
River Gate is known as the gateway to the
Catawba River. Since Childress Kline Properties opened RiverGate
shopping center the surrounding area is becoming synonymous with
this prosperous development. Many of our neighbors have come to
refer to River Gate as the area they live. Some examples of
schools being names after developments today within Charlotte
Mecklenburg schools include: Ballantyne Elementary, Cotswold
Elementary and Crown Point Elementary. In the future, as our area
continues to grow, the River Gate name will become that much more
recognized as the Gateway to the Catawba River/Lake Wylie area.
When RiverGate shopping center expands, city transportation
planners anticipate extending RiverGate Parkway to connect to
Hamilton Road in proximity of our new school. River Gate
Elementary will help to solidify the connection.
Other
names considered were Hamilton Smith Elementary School and Walker
Branch Elementary School. |