History
William Berczy Public School is named after William Moll Berczy, the founder of Markham. He was born in Wallerstein, Germany in 1744, and died in 1813. In the late 1700’s, William Berczy used his architectural skills to design roads. He designed Yonge Street, built the first bridge over the Don River, as well as a saw mill and a grist mill for his band of settlers. Berczy remained in the Markham-Toronto area until about 1798. He moved to Quebec and later Montreal. In 1802, Berczy return to York. He painted the portrait of Joseph Brant that now hangs in the National Gallery in Ottawa. Today, there are parks and a street named after him, plaques commemorating his contributions, a house at the Tender Care Living Centre in Scarborough, and of course William Berczy Public School!
William Berczy is an established elementary school located in the village of Unionville. The school is within walking distance of Toogood Pond and its surrounding parkland, as well as the quaint historic homes, shops and restaurants located on Main Street.
Our school currently has a population of approximately 600 students, approximately 180 of whom are in our partially self-contained gifted program. Students graduating from William Berczy Public School usually attend Unionville High School, Markville Secondary School or Markham District High School.
Our school motto is: “Berczy is a school where children want to learn, teachers want to teach, and parents want to be involved.” We regularly celebrate “It Costs Nothing to be Kind”.
Our school mascot is Wilber the bear, and our school colours are blue and gold.
Facilities
William Berczy Public School is a two-storey structure, built in 1968, with a portapak of four classrooms. The upper floor houses partially open concept classrooms, along with our learning commons and makerspace area. An addition of six classrooms on the main floor, an independent work area (which currently houses our primary bookroom), extra washrooms and lockers were added and completed in the fall of 2002. An elevator was installed in 2014.
