Nicholson Catholic College has a new nickname with teams to now be known as the Nicholson Nicks.
In January, the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board announced it would be seeking submissions for a new name, stating that the Crusaders moniker no longer reflected the diverse cultural tapestry of the school or Canadian society.
A survey inviting suggestions for the name change was sent out directly to NCC community members, staff, alumni, and students and those suggestions were narrowed down to 11 choices.
Staff and students were asked to rank those suggestions and they were further narrowed down to three.
A final survey was sent out to staff and students to vote for their favourite.
“I love that it is Nicks – because it takes us right back to who we were as a community. It was our name before and is a reflection of our history,” says Evelyn Shakell, a student at Nicholson.
Fellow student Cyptin Lambert says, “It’s cool that we are going back into history and relate to our parents and grandparents if they went here. It is an inclusive name because you can choose what Nick means because it is not really a specific thing.”
Like Nicholson, Kingston’s Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School, which was also known as The Crusaders, has chosen a new nickname – The Saints.
“The new nicknames for Holy Cross and Nicholson reflect the inclusive and welcoming communities that our schools prioritize,” says David DeSantis, Director of Education. “I am excited to see how these schools embed this new nickname in their schools where every member is loved, inspired, and successful.”