History of Nelles Public School

Nelles Public School students have been making history since 1968 and have shown no signs of slowing down since.  In the theme of many great school-day classics, it was in that year the North Grimsby School Board purchased nine acres of peach trees between Nelles Estates and Centennial Park and began to grow a future, a school to meet the needs of a growing population of young families in the area. 

Nelles Public School became the seventh school in Grimsby and was named after the family of Colonel Robert Nelles, one of the first United Empire Loyalist families to settle in Grimsby following the American Revolution.

Nelles Public School was officially opened on February 12, 1968 with a staff of four teachers, one principal and an enrolment of 102 students, grades 1 through 8. By 1969, there was a need for portable classrooms due to the growing student population.  It was also at that time that the Lincoln County Board was created to serve the needs of all schools in the Niagara Region.  By 1983, the school itself had grown to over 150 students and was utilizing St. John’s School in Beamsville for home economics/industrial arts programs for grades 7 and 8 as well as the auditorium of neighbouring Centennial Park Baptist Church for physical education classes.
In 1984, the rising student population necessitated moving the grades 7 and 8 to Central Public School and the addition of several more portables.  Further growth in the residential area near Nelles School brought together parents and school board personnel to plan the construction of an addition to the original school building.  By 1995, after a memorable year in the old Calder School building (which could have used some renovations of its own), Nelles Public School had grown again to include a gymnasium, library resource centre, much needed classrooms, and a new front office.

Over the years, Nelles Public School students have been active in their school and the community.  Excellence in academics and athletics are only part of the Nelles Public School student achievement story.  Nelles students have been junior reporters for The Independent, have participated  in a neutral Indian burial site, have written letters to prominent politicians, including Prime Ministers and other notable Canadians, have excelled in contests of skill and creativity, and have taken on naturalist and environmental causes with aplomb.  Nelles students have supported families in times of need, honoured teachers and staff, past and present, and are known throughout Grimsby for giving their all.  Witness the spirit and drive to have bright new playground equipment installed on the grounds of the school.

Nelles Public School  serves approximately 330 students from Junior Kindergarten through grade eight enriching the strong staff, student, parent and community bonds.  This commitment to growth through education is what makes for a shining future at Nelles Public School.