Historic Sites of Manitoba: Dalhousie School / Aniibiminan School (262 Dalhousie Drive, Winnipeg)

Link to:
Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

This Fort Garry school, now in the Pembina Trails School Division, opened for grades K-6 in the fall of 1970. In addition to open area classrooms, the building featured a material resource room along with music and science facilities. The 180-student school was overcrowded within two years, and although the Department of Education initially rejected plans for a 12-room expansion, plans were later commissioned from Ward MacDonald Cockburn McLeod McFeetors (1973) for an addition and the tender process begun.

In June 2026, the School Division changed the school’s name to Aniibiminan, an Indigenous word meaning “summer berries”.

Principals

Period	Principal
1969-1972	Robert Melville “Mel” Gunson (c1926-1972)
1972-1973	John Dean Finlay (1906-2001)
1973-1979	Thelma Jean Opseth Call (c1928-1981)
1979-1981	Terry Angus (1945-2022)
1981-?	?
?-1988	Bryant Moloy Hasker (1932-1999)
1988-?	?
?-2004	Gerard Gill
2004-2008	Peggy Hobson
2008-2010	Cintra Ragoonanan
2010-2017	Marina Wilson
2017-2022	?
2022-2025	Dawn Thompson
2026	Evi Klostermaier
2026	Jane Rowland

Vice-Principals

Period	Vice-Principal
1969-1978	None
1978-1981	Frank Edward Wynes
1981-2004	?
2004-2007	Judy Pirnie
2007-2008	?
2008-2010	Marina Wilson
2010-2014	Troy Calder
2014-2017	Jennifer Bracken
2017-?	?
?-2022	Heather Eby
2022-2024	Marlo Kozak
2024-2025	Evi Klostermaier
2026	Deborah Dykstra
2026	Sarah Hampton

Teachers

Period	Teachers
1969-1970	Beverley Kathleen Birt (grade 5), Yvonne Marie Bakkelund (French), William Arnott Day (special education), Verena Carolyne Enns (grade 3), A. Lorraine Glenesk (kindergarten), Mona Katherine Haselhan (grade 4), Merrianne Lyn Helgason (grade 1), Bonnie L. McGibbon (special education), Ethel Audrey McLennan (remedial reading), Marian Elizabeth McSween (grade 2), Bettie Jean Merrell (grade 2), Lorraine Evelyn Rowe (grade 3), Carol Anne Shanks (special education), Murray Robert Smith (grade 6), Cluzyna Mary “Zyna” Steggles (grade 4), Bonnie Helen Stephenson (grade 1), Yvonne Kathleen Stephenson (grade 6), Tamara Joan Sweeney (grade 2), Myrna Lois Trinder (special education), Brian Edgar Laurence Wyatt (grade 5), Lynda Helen Wyatt (grade 1)
1970-1971	Philip Arnold Baker (special education), Yvonne Marie Bakkelund (French & library), Darlene Esther Coyle (kindergarten), George Norman Daviduk (grade 5), Verena Carolyne Enns (grade 3), A. Lorraine Glenesk (kindergarten), Judith Margaret Goodman (grade 5), Mona Katherine Haselhan (grade 4), Merrianne Lyn Helgason Holm (grade 1), Carol Louise Hunter (grade 5), Bonnie L. McGibbon Kraigsley (special education), Janita Rae Lalit (grade 2), Nancy Gay Last (grade 6), Harvey Wayne Lyons (grade 6), Bettie Jean Merrell (grade 2), Ella Jean Mierke (grade 4), Phyllis Ellen Morgan (grade 1), Marian Elizabeth Pschadel (grade 4), Dorothy Anne Poublan (grade 3), Lorraine Evelyn Rowe (grade 3), Carol Anne Shanks (special education), Murray Robert Smith (grade 6), Bonnie Helen Stephenson (grade 1), Tamara Joan Sweeney (grade 2), Myrna Lois Trinder (special education)

Photos & Coordinates

Dalhousie School (September 2017) Source: Nathan Kramer Dalhousie School (June 2020) Source: Nathan Kramer Aerial view of Dalhousie School (August 2025) Source: George Penner Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.79513, W97.14705 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.

“Johnny isn’t a bad boy any more, he’s busy in an open-area classroom,” Winnipeg Free Press, 25 January 1969, page 21.

“Still to seek addition,” Winnipeg Free Press, 12 September 1972, page 3.

“Fort Garry School Division No. 5,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 January 1973, page 23.

“Tender notice - Dalhiousie Elementary addition - Fort Garry School Division No. 5,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 April 1973, page 74.

“Students from middle-income families,” Winnipeg Free Press, 9 April 1979, page 3.

“New name chosen for Dalhousie School,” Winnipeg Free Press, 25 June 2026.

We thank Steven Christianson, George Penner, and Lorie Srivastava for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer.

Page revised: 30 September 2026

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