Our Mission Statement

“Mustangs matter! We are a respectful, caring and committed community striving for academic, artistic and athletic excellence.”

History of Our School

 

Welcome to MacGregor Senior Public School. MacGregor school began as a farm belonging to Abraham Erb, the founder of Waterloo, and is located at the corner of King Street and Central Streets in the heart of Waterloo.  In 1820, Mr. Erb built a log schoolhouse on his property and Jonathan Good was the first teacher. In 1828 Erb sold the land, but the Central Schoolhouse was maintained until 1842.  The log house was moved to Kitchener and was eventually moved to its present location in Waterloo Park and was designated a historical landmark. In 1842 the old schoolhouse was replaced with a stone schoolhouse.

Thirteen years later a two-story brick schoolhouse was built along with a small home for the schoolmaster. By the 1860s, pine trees were planted at the school and some still stand today despite suffering a tornado several years ago. Expansion to Central School occurred in 1880.

 

 

 

Eventually MacGregor Elementary School was built in 1951.  It was named after Charles J MacGregor, who came to Waterloo in 1921 as an educator and later became principal of Central, Alexandra and Elizabeth Ziegler public schools.  A generous expansion occurred in 1981 and MacGregor School has prospered ever since.  2020 marked the 200th anniversary of a school on this Uptown Waterloo property.  A garden in front of the school holds the bell that once hung in Central school.  The plaque states “The first school bell in Waterloo placed on Central School – build in 1855, being the second school on this property, donated in 1929 by Abraham Erb.”

 

 

Our Staff

The proud legacy of MacGregor School has been built on an exceptional staff. They are extremely well qualified. Teachers love being here because of the rich tradition that exists and the dedication to excellence that all staff members embrace. We have many specialists on staff, and all staff members are conscientious, caring and supportive of student success. Teachers constantly participate in Professional Development Activities to remain current with research, trends and effective teaching strategies.

 

Our Students

Our school population is currently at approximately 500 students, but has been as high as 600 students at times.  Our students come from the following feeder schools: Westmount, Empire, Sandowne, Keatsway, Elizabeth Ziegler, Cedarbrae, Winston Churchill and N.A. MacEachern.  MacGregor is a French Immersion school with approximately 33% or our students enrolled in the program.  Upon graduation, our students go to many different high schools. The majority of our graduating students go to K.C.I. and W.C.I., with others attending board-designated programs at Bluevale, Eastwood, Cameron Heights, Sir John A. MacDonald and Forest Heights.