History

The community of North Winnipeg was growing substantially in the early 1990s. Winnipeg School Division was delighted when Manitoba Education approved the construction of a new school on Lucas Ave. Prairie Rose School is located on land which was once the Prairie Rose Dairy Farm owned by Edwin and Alice Fardoe. The name was proposed by Allice Williams, a community member. At the official opening, she held one end of the ribbon at the cutting ceremony on October 7, 1993.

The Prairie Rose School welcomed its first students in September 1993 to meet the needs of the growing community in North Winnipeg. The building was constructed as a two-level school with nine regular classrooms, Nursery and Kindergarten rooms, a resource room, multi-purpose space, gymnasium, life skills area, administrative offices and ancillary spaces. Prairie Rose School currently has a population of 275 students from Kindergarten to Grade 6. The school model emphasizes integration of all students at every level, with specialized programs such as Adapted Education. Individual Education Programming is provided to students who have multiple disabilities and/or have significant cognitive disabilities including communication, physical, behavioural or functional challenges which prevents them from working independently in a regular classroom.

Prairie Rose School offers additional supports to these students and access to specialized staff including an Occupational Therapist, a Physiotherapist, a Speech/Language Pathologist, a Reading Clinician, a Psychologist, a Social Worker, and a Music Therapist. Students in the Adapted Education program are integrated into the regular classroom as much as possible, but alternative programs in Music Therapy, Life Skills, Sensory-Motor Training and Adapted Aquatics are also offered.

In 2018, Prairie Rose School had a substantial population growth as a result of the development of two communities, Castlebury and Waterford Green. Two portable classrooms facilitated the accommodation of additional students while a new school, Waterford Springs, was being built.

Prairie Rose School has a lengthy tradition of involvement and support of the Annual Terry Fox Run. In 2018, Terry's older brother Fred Fox made a special visit to Prairie Rose to thank the school for participating in the event for over than 25 years. This was an amazing opportunity for our students to feel even more connected to the Terry Fox Run, said Principal Ken Romaniuk. 

In 2019, school patrols at Prairie Rose were recognized as one of the top teams in the City of Winnipeg for its work in helping pedestrians cross the street and get to and from school in a safe banner. Each year Winnipeg Police Service selects teams in four districts, and, in 2019, Prairie Rose received first place honour in the North District.

In 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing students to go online for classes, Prairie Rose community found ways to stay connected. In the spring, Physical Education teacher Scott Smoke used a video conferencing platform to hold virtual gym classes and lead students through fun activities. Students participated in activities such as juggling or throwing including two students who were at that time living in India. The school also held its fifth annual Prairie Roses Got Talent concert in a virtual event.   Music  teacher Mara Porco said the online nature of the event allowed students to reveal some hidden talents. They got to share their talents that maybe they would have been nervous to display in front of people in a gym, Porco said.  A lot of the students that participated have never been in the show before. I think being in front of a camera instead of in front of 300 kids was a little easier for them.

In 2021, Prairie Rose celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Winnipeg School Division by unveiling an Outdoor Art Exhibition on the school fence. All classrooms explored and learned about the Seven Sacred Teachings: Honesty, Respect, Wisdom, Humility, Love, Courage and Truth. Each class and cohort created a wooden feather to be displayed on the fence.