School board announces names of three new Horizon West schools

Orange County School Board members approved the official names for each of the three new Horizon West-area schools set to open to students this fall.

During the school board meeting on Tuesday, March 12, members voted unanimously to approve each of the school names District 4 School Board Member Pam Gould chose from the suggestions.

Castleview Elementary is the official name for the elementary school at site 25-E-SW-4. Located at 9131 Taborfield Ave., Orlando, it will relieve Bay Lake and Sand Lake elementary schools. The name Castleview, which pays homage to the nearby Walt Disney World Resort, won over fellow suggestions Lake Mabel Elementary and Seven Seas Elementary.

"I, too, love the name Castleview and I think it is just a wonderful way to really honor some of the heritage in West Orange County that we have, especially because you can see (Disney) right from that school site," Gould said.

Site 49-E-W-4, located at 16000 Water Spring Blvd., Winter Garden, will now be known as Water Spring Elementary. It is named for the street it is located on and won over the other suggestions of Horizon West Elementary and Storey Grove Elementary.

"With this one I was kind of torn between Storey Grove and Water Spring, but we don’t have any Water Spring (around) and I think that’s kind of a cool name, and we have a lot of water in West Orange County," Gould said. "I think a lot can be done with that name, too, with the kids — I think it could be very fun for them."

The new middle school, site 37-M-SW-4, is now named Horizon West Middle School. It is located at 8200 Tattant Blvd., Windermere, and relieves Bridgewater Middle. The name prevailed over the other suggestions of Windermere Middle and Lakeside Village Middle. 

"Here’s the challenge that I have for those of you who aren’t as familiar with our area," Gould told meeting attendees. "It is located in the ZIP code of Windermere; it’s not located in the town of Windermere. We have Windermere Preparatory School, Windermere High School, Windermere Elementary…I think there’s going to be some name confusion out there with so many Windermere schools. I’d like to see this school have a unique identity.

"…I think Horizon West (Middle) is probably the best choice for this school at this point," Gould said. "I think it truly is the best name that came out of them. They’re all great names but I don’t want any more confusion between all of our various Windermere schools."

For more information on each of the schools, click here.