Ottawa - Ottawa Catholic School Board
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TABLE OF CONTENTS<br />
TABLE OF CONTENTS<br />
Foreword ..................................................................................................................5<br />
Archbishop’s Message..............................................................................................7<br />
Chairperson’s Message.............................................................................................9<br />
OCCSB <strong>Board</strong> of Trustees....................................................................................................9<br />
Director’s Message .................................................................................................11<br />
In Appreciation .......................................................................................................13<br />
Introduction to <strong>Catholic</strong> Education in the Province of Ontario...............................15<br />
The Struggle Begins ..........................................................................................................15<br />
The Taché Act and the Scott Act .......................................................................................16<br />
The British North America Act...........................................................................................16<br />
The Tiny Township Case....................................................................................................16<br />
The <strong>Catholic</strong> Taxpayers’ Association..................................................................................17<br />
The Hope Commission ......................................................................................................18<br />
Working Together towards One Goal................................................................................18<br />
The Blair Commission........................................................................................................18<br />
Bill 160..............................................................................................................................18<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education — A Gift not to be Squandered ..........................................................19<br />
Highlights of <strong>Catholic</strong> Education in Ontario ......................................................................19<br />
History of the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>..............................21<br />
History of the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> ............................27<br />
History of the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>..........................................33<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education Foundation of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton...............................................37<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> Child Care Corporation.................................................39<br />
NECTAR Foundation ...............................................................................................41<br />
Derry Byrne Teacher Resource Centre.....................................................................43<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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TABLE OF CONTENTS<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education Museum of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton...................................................45<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> Children’s Choir ......................................47<br />
History of Ontario Association of Parents in Education .........................................49<br />
History of Ontario English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’ Association.....................................51<br />
Special Education....................................................................................................55<br />
Continuing and Community Education...................................................................57<br />
St. Nicholas Adult High <strong>School</strong>...............................................................................59<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> Chairpersons.....................................................................................61<br />
Director of Education Commendations...................................................................63<br />
<strong>School</strong> Histories<br />
All Saints High <strong>School</strong> .......................................................................................................69<br />
Assumption .......................................................................................................................73<br />
Bayshore <strong>Catholic</strong>..............................................................................................................75<br />
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha .................................................................................................77<br />
Brother André ...................................................................................................................79<br />
Chapel Hill <strong>Catholic</strong>...........................................................................................................81<br />
Convent Glen <strong>Catholic</strong> ......................................................................................................83<br />
Corpus Christi ...................................................................................................................85<br />
Divine Infant .....................................................................................................................89<br />
Dr. F.J. McDonald <strong>Catholic</strong> ................................................................................................91<br />
Frank Ryan <strong>Catholic</strong> Senior Elementary ............................................................................93<br />
Georges Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong> ....................................................................................................95<br />
Good Shepherd .................................................................................................................97<br />
Guardian Angels..............................................................................................................101<br />
Holy Cross.......................................................................................................................105<br />
Holy Family.....................................................................................................................107<br />
Holy Redeemer ...............................................................................................................109<br />
Holy Spirit .......................................................................................................................111<br />
Holy Trinity <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>....................................................................................115<br />
Immaculata High <strong>School</strong> .................................................................................................119<br />
Jean Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong> Intermediate ...................................................................................125<br />
John Paul II .....................................................................................................................127<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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TABLE OF CONTENTS<br />
Lester B. Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> ...........................................................................129<br />
McMaster <strong>Catholic</strong>..........................................................................................................133<br />
Monsignor Paul Baxter....................................................................................................135<br />
Mother Teresa High <strong>School</strong> .............................................................................................137<br />
Notre Dame High <strong>School</strong> ................................................................................................139<br />
Our Lady of Fatima.........................................................................................................141<br />
Our Lady of Mount Carmel ............................................................................................145<br />
Our Lady of Peace ..........................................................................................................147<br />
Our Lady of Victory ........................................................................................................151<br />
Our Lady of Wisdom ......................................................................................................153<br />
Pope John XXIII...............................................................................................................155<br />
Prince of Peace ...............................................................................................................157<br />
Sacred Heart High <strong>School</strong>................................................................................................161<br />
St. Andrew ......................................................................................................................167<br />
St. Anne..........................................................................................................................169<br />
St. Anthony.....................................................................................................................171<br />
St. Augustine...................................................................................................................175<br />
St. Bernard ......................................................................................................................177<br />
St. Brigid .........................................................................................................................179<br />
St. Catherine ...................................................................................................................181<br />
St. Clare ..........................................................................................................................185<br />
St. Daniel ........................................................................................................................187<br />
St. Elizabeth ....................................................................................................................191<br />
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton...................................................................................................193<br />
St. Emily..........................................................................................................................195<br />
St. Francis of Assisi..........................................................................................................197<br />
St. George.......................................................................................................................199<br />
St. Gregory......................................................................................................................203<br />
St. Isidore ........................................................................................................................205<br />
St. James.........................................................................................................................207<br />
St. Jerome .......................................................................................................................209<br />
St. John the Apostle ........................................................................................................211<br />
St. Joseph High <strong>School</strong>....................................................................................................213<br />
St. Leonard......................................................................................................................215<br />
St. Luke (Nepean) ...........................................................................................................219<br />
St. Luke (<strong>Ottawa</strong>) ...........................................................................................................221<br />
St. Marguerite d’Youville .................................................................................................223<br />
St. Mark High <strong>School</strong> ......................................................................................................227<br />
St. Martin de Porres ........................................................................................................229<br />
St. Mary (Gloucester) ......................................................................................................233<br />
St. Mary (<strong>Ottawa</strong>)...........................................................................................................235<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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TABLE OF CONTENTS<br />
St. Matthew High <strong>School</strong> ................................................................................................239<br />
St. Michael (Corkery) ......................................................................................................241<br />
St. Michael (Fitzroy) ........................................................................................................243<br />
St. Michael (<strong>Ottawa</strong>).......................................................................................................245<br />
St. Monica.......................................................................................................................249<br />
St. Patrick........................................................................................................................251<br />
St. Patrick’s High <strong>School</strong>..................................................................................................253<br />
St. Patrick’s Intermediate.................................................................................................259<br />
St. Paul High <strong>School</strong>........................................................................................................261<br />
St. Peter High <strong>School</strong> ......................................................................................................265<br />
St. Philip..........................................................................................................................269<br />
St. Pius X High <strong>School</strong>.....................................................................................................271<br />
St. Rita ............................................................................................................................273<br />
St. Theresa ......................................................................................................................275<br />
St. Thomas......................................................................................................................277<br />
St. Thomas More ............................................................................................................279<br />
Thomas D’Arcy McGee <strong>Catholic</strong> .....................................................................................281<br />
Uplands <strong>Catholic</strong>.............................................................................................................283<br />
Faith Development ...............................................................................................285<br />
Index of <strong>School</strong>s by Families of <strong>School</strong>s...............................................................289<br />
Index of <strong>School</strong>s by Zone .....................................................................................291<br />
Bibliography .........................................................................................................293<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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This history of <strong>Catholic</strong> education<br />
in the <strong>Ottawa</strong> and Carleton areas<br />
is dedicated to all those who have<br />
shared its vision and life in the community<br />
over the years. Its inspiring record came<br />
about as we know it today, only through the<br />
hard work and dedication of everyone who<br />
made sure that <strong>Catholic</strong> schools existed and<br />
were solidly entrenched. A special role in<br />
all of this, especially in the formative early<br />
years, was played by members of various<br />
religious communities of sisters and<br />
brothers, along with the local clergy.<br />
We would like to acknowledge<br />
the contribution to this history by all those<br />
people who have taken the time and put<br />
forward the effort to help bring this project<br />
to reality. All of the submissions and input<br />
received are appreciated and has contributed<br />
to the extensiveness of this history.<br />
We do not pretend that this effort<br />
covers everything that should be known or<br />
recorded about the history of Englishlanguage<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton. Much of the story still remains<br />
to be told, such as the individual records of<br />
all of the <strong>Catholic</strong> schools, which have been<br />
closed. There are also, we are sure, many<br />
stories and events relevant to <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education in this area that are not<br />
chronicled in this history. That is why<br />
we encourage anyone with additional<br />
information, corrections, or improvements<br />
to what is recorded here to provide the<br />
data and stories. These will be included in<br />
subsequent revisions to this initial effort.<br />
Any additional information and/or<br />
corrections should be e-mailed to the<br />
Historical Committee at<br />
Cynthia_Montgomery@occdsb.on.ca.<br />
The collection of information about<br />
English-language education in <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton and the telling of its story will<br />
continue, so this project must be seen not<br />
as the end of a process but rather as its<br />
FOREWORD<br />
FOREWORD<br />
JOHN CURRY<br />
ARTHUR J.M. LAMARCHE<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
5<br />
beginning. Much is recorded about Englishlanguage<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in the following<br />
pages; much remains to be told. It is an<br />
historical journey on which it is hoped we<br />
will all travel together, as the inspiring<br />
and faith-filled story is fully unveiled.<br />
The history of English-language<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
area is very much a work in progress, not<br />
only in terms of new things of an historical<br />
nature happening all of the time, but also<br />
in terms of our discovering more and more<br />
about past struggles, challenges and<br />
successes. It will continue to evolve and<br />
unfold. The Historical Committee of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
hopes to be there to shine a brighter light<br />
on the accomplishments of the past and to<br />
highlight the achievements of the present,<br />
so that <strong>Catholic</strong> education will be there,<br />
vibrant and alive, to nurture the success<br />
of students in the future.<br />
John Curry<br />
Chairperson<br />
Historical Committee<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
Arthur J.M. Lamarche<br />
Chairperson, Sub-Committee<br />
Historical Committee<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>
In reading this history of the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, you<br />
will be engaging in a process that is<br />
at the heart and soul of Christianity:<br />
remembering, celebrating, and drawing<br />
strength from our story.<br />
The Gospels are the first attempts<br />
of the early Christian communities to come<br />
to terms with the Jesus that they knew,<br />
His life, His teachings, His death and<br />
resurrection. What was the original impulse<br />
to write things down? One aspect, no doubt,<br />
was a care and concern for the fragility and<br />
sacredness of human experience. By writing<br />
it down, the story can be passed to the<br />
generations, not completely, but written so<br />
that it will never be lost.<br />
All the efforts to establish, enrich<br />
and maintain <strong>Catholic</strong> education in Ontario,<br />
and specifically in the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton area,<br />
are certainly the ingredients of a story worth<br />
telling and hearing. How can we really<br />
appreciate who we are without some<br />
understanding of where we come from? This<br />
history will help shape an appreciation of<br />
the gift of <strong>Catholic</strong> education, in some ways<br />
fragile, but in other ways strong in its<br />
commitment to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus<br />
Christ to a troubled world.<br />
ARCHBISHOP’S MESSAGE<br />
ARCHBISHOP’S<br />
MESSAGE<br />
Photo credit: Jean Levac and The <strong>Ottawa</strong> Citizen<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
7<br />
The Gospels tell the story of Jesus<br />
calling the children to Himself. One wonders<br />
what He said to them, but we know for<br />
certain what His gestures communicated –<br />
a warm welcome. Over many years in our<br />
area, with many teachers and with many,<br />
many children and young people, the Gospel<br />
of Jesus Christ has been shared with care<br />
and gentleness. May this history of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education in our area stir your hearts and<br />
renew your commitment to keep this gift<br />
of <strong>Catholic</strong> education alive for future<br />
generations.<br />
Archbishop Marcel Gervais
On behalf of the <strong>Board</strong> of Trustees<br />
of the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, I invite you to<br />
explore the pages of this book and discover<br />
the history of <strong>Catholic</strong> education in <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton.<br />
Over the past 150 years of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education in <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton, people<br />
have grounded themselves in a life-giving<br />
spiritual tradition. Parents, students,<br />
inspired leaders, and milestone organizations<br />
created historic moments that have been<br />
captured and are revealed in this book.<br />
The Holy Spirit has truly been<br />
at work in the voices of literally thousands<br />
of people who have given of their time and<br />
insight to help shape the future of our<br />
children. As we go forward, we must<br />
consider our part and prepare for the new<br />
challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.<br />
Chairperson<br />
Zone 4<br />
(Bell-South Nepean)<br />
June Flynn-Turner<br />
Vice-Chairperson<br />
Zone 9<br />
(River/Capital)<br />
Kathy Ablett, R.N.<br />
Zone 1<br />
(West Carleton/Goulbourn/<br />
Rideau/Osgoode)<br />
John Curry<br />
CHAIRPERSON’S MESSAGE<br />
CHAIRPERSON’S<br />
MESSAGE<br />
JUNE FLYNN-TURNER<br />
OCCSB BOARD OF TRUSTEES<br />
Zone 2<br />
(Kanata)<br />
Arthur J.M. Lamarche<br />
Zone 3<br />
(Orléans/Cumberland)<br />
Des Curley<br />
Zone 5<br />
(Beacon Hill-Cyrville/Innes)<br />
Jacqueline Legendre-McGuinty<br />
Zone 6<br />
(Knoxdale-Merivale/Baseline)<br />
Gordon Butler<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
9<br />
My thanks and appreciation is<br />
extended to the Historical Committee of<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
in recognition of their work to produce<br />
this book.<br />
Yours truly,<br />
June Flynn-Turner<br />
Chairperson<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
Zone 7<br />
(Kitchissippi/Bay)<br />
Betty-Ann Kealey<br />
Zone 8<br />
(Alta Vista/Gloucester-Southgate)<br />
Mark D. Mullan<br />
Zone 10<br />
(Rideau-Vanier/Rideau-Rockcliffe/<br />
Somerset)<br />
Thérèse Maloney Cousineau
As you read through A Faith-Filled<br />
Mission: 150 Years of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Education in <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton,<br />
you will discover a long and proud history.<br />
Parents welcomed an education for their<br />
child that was anchored in faith and they<br />
willingly invested to establish a <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education system in <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton. They<br />
united in the belief that every child is a gift,<br />
and every child deserves a <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education.<br />
Our history began with the work of<br />
the women and men in the religious orders<br />
who taught in parish schools. The <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> was<br />
established in 1856. The Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> was formed in 1969.<br />
Our amalgamated board, the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, began in<br />
1998. We have grown in numbers to over<br />
41,000 students and 2,400 teachers. We are<br />
blessed to have had pioneers who led the<br />
way and devoted individuals of today who<br />
have made strong commitments to <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education and its mission of teaching the<br />
message of Jesus Christ.<br />
DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE<br />
DIRECTOR’S<br />
MESSAGE<br />
JAMES G. MCCRACKEN<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
11<br />
I would like to recognize the<br />
dedicated work and contributions of the<br />
Historical Committee of the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in preparing<br />
this book to mark the 150 th anniversary of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton.<br />
With the assistance of staff, former staff and<br />
students, parents, parishes and community<br />
members, this keepsake filled with<br />
memories of our past came to fruition.<br />
Our God is with us yesterday,<br />
today and forever.<br />
God Bless,<br />
James G. McCracken<br />
Director of Education<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>
The Historical Committee of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> has been able to undertake<br />
this project about 150 years of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education in the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton area due<br />
to the dedication and historical enthusiasm<br />
of the members of the committee, both past<br />
and present. A most sincere thank you is<br />
offered to each and every one of them for<br />
their wisdom and their guidance in bringing<br />
this project from idea to reality.<br />
Present Members<br />
John Curry, OCCSB Trustee<br />
Arthur J.M. Lamarche, OCCSB Trustee<br />
Jacqueline Legendre-McGuinty,<br />
OCCSB Trustee<br />
Sister Jean Goulet,<br />
Sister of Holy Cross, Resource<br />
Fred Chrystal, Superintendent of Planning<br />
and Facilities<br />
Sam Coletti, Principal (retired)<br />
Ralph Watzenboeck, Principal (retired)<br />
Anna Yates, Principal (retired)<br />
Alana Schryburt, Assistant to the Director<br />
of Education<br />
Cynthia Montgomery, Records Management<br />
Administrator<br />
IN APPRECIATION<br />
IN APPRECIATION<br />
Former Members<br />
Betty-Ann Kealey, OCCSB Trustee<br />
Jim Shea, Superintendent of Corporate<br />
Affairs and Information Technology (retired)<br />
Michael Strimas, Superintendent of <strong>School</strong>s<br />
– Operations (retired)<br />
Bill Gartland, Former Assistant to the<br />
Director/Manager of Corporate Affairs<br />
Georges Bouliane, Principal (retired)<br />
Bert O’Connor, Principal (retired)<br />
Lucille Pummer, Principal (retired)<br />
Faye Powell, Principal (retired)<br />
(representing Millennium Museum<br />
Sub-Committee)<br />
Marilyn Kasian, Research Officer<br />
Carol Thibault, Research Officer (retired)<br />
Trevor Arnason, Former Student<br />
Representative<br />
Rita Boutros, Former Student<br />
Representative<br />
Jubilee Jackson, Former Student<br />
Representative<br />
Jonathan Ng, Former Student<br />
Representative<br />
Historical Committee Members (pictured left to right): John Dorner, Anna Yates,<br />
Arthur J.M. Lamarche, John Curry, Jacqueline Legendre-McGuinty, Cynthia Montgomery,<br />
Ralph Watzenboeck.<br />
Missing from photo: Sister Jean Goulet, Fred Chrystal, Sam Coletti and Alana Schryburt<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
13<br />
Additional Resource<br />
Des Curley, Trustee<br />
John Dorner, Principal (retired)<br />
Bob Kendall, Principal (retired)<br />
Donna McGrath, Principal (retired)<br />
Mae Rooney, Principal (retired)<br />
Mardi de Kemp, Communications Officer<br />
Lauren Rocque, Communications Assistant<br />
Particular thanks must go to<br />
the members of the History of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Education Working Sub-Committee —<br />
Trustees John Curry, Arthur J.M. Lamarche<br />
(chair), and Jacqueline Legendre-McGuinty;<br />
John Dorner, Ralph Watzenboeck, Anna<br />
Yates, and Cynthia Montgomery — for their<br />
extended and dedicated work in reading<br />
draft articles and tracking down needed<br />
clarification or missing information.<br />
Appreciation is also extended to Trustee<br />
Des Curley for his support and involvement<br />
in sub-committee meetings as his schedule<br />
permitted.<br />
A special thank you is directed<br />
to Bob Kendall, a retired <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> principal,<br />
for his dogged but good-natured<br />
perseverance, his expertise and his<br />
conscientious work in editing this extensive<br />
publication and ensuring that it reflects<br />
literary standards that are consistent with<br />
a school board that strives for excellence in<br />
all that it does.
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education in the Province<br />
of Ontario was written by Mark<br />
G. McGowan, PhD, of the<br />
University of Toronto and St. Michael’s<br />
College, and is reproduced in this<br />
publication with permission from the author.<br />
He has written numerous articles on the<br />
history of the <strong>Catholic</strong> Church in Canada<br />
and is a past president of the Canadian<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Historical Association.<br />
A native of Nepean, Mark<br />
McGowan was a student of the Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>,<br />
having attended Our Lady of Peace <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> and St. Pius X <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>.<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education in the Province of<br />
Ontario<br />
By Mark G. McGowan, PhD.<br />
The Enduring Gift<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education in the Province of<br />
Ontario<br />
Written by: Mark G. McGowan, PhD.<br />
University of St. Michael’s College<br />
Toronto Ontario<br />
Published by: Ontario <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
Trustees’ Association, Toronto, Ontario<br />
The Struggle Begins<br />
The creation of a state-supported,<br />
universally accessible, and comprehensive<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education system in Ontario was<br />
never anticipated by the first pioneers in<br />
what was then called Upper Canada. In the<br />
1830’s, <strong>Catholic</strong> education — for that matter,<br />
any education — was considered to be<br />
within the realm of the few young men<br />
training for the Church, public service, or<br />
the professions. Bishop Alexander Macdonell<br />
of Kingston secured some financial support<br />
from the Crown for schoolmasters, some of<br />
whom were his priests. Small groups of<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
TO<br />
CATHOLIC<br />
EDUCATION<br />
IN THE<br />
PROVINCE<br />
OF<br />
ONTARIO<br />
children undertook a classical and<br />
catechetical education in their parish<br />
rectory, in a local home, or in log school<br />
houses often shared between <strong>Catholic</strong>s and<br />
their non-<strong>Catholic</strong> neighbours.<br />
In 1841, Macdonell’s dream of<br />
more permanent funding for <strong>Catholic</strong> schools<br />
by the State was partially realized, when<br />
the new <strong>School</strong> Act for the United Province<br />
of Canada (a union of Upper and Lower<br />
Canada, today’s Ontario and Quebec)<br />
included a clause that permitted <strong>Catholic</strong>s<br />
and others to establish denominational<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
15<br />
schools. The growth of <strong>Catholic</strong> schools over<br />
the next twenty-five years was punctuated<br />
by sectarian violence, linguistic conflict,<br />
and political maneuvering within the poorly<br />
conceived and constitutionally flawed<br />
legislature of Canada. These schools also<br />
emerged at a time in the 1840’s and 1850’s<br />
when Egerton Ryerson, the school<br />
superintendent of Canada West, pushed<br />
for a free, universal, and academically<br />
progressive public school system in Upper<br />
Canada. He believed such schools would<br />
promote loyalty to the Crown, solid<br />
citizenship, a sound curriculum, and<br />
a generic Christianity.<br />
The latter point was troubling<br />
to many <strong>Catholic</strong>s, who believed that the<br />
nonsectarian Christianity promoted in<br />
public schools, and fostered by the large<br />
numbers of Protestant schoolmasters,<br />
amounted to little more than Protestant<br />
proselytization. Bishop Armand de<br />
Charbonnel of Toronto (1850-1860) went so<br />
far as to call public schools an “insult” to the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> population and he urged his flock to<br />
establish and support distinctively <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools. All of this squabbling over education<br />
came at a time of troubled relations between<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>s and Protestants in Canada.<br />
Although these were caused, in part, by<br />
sectarian bitterness imported from Europe,<br />
Upper Canadian Christians created their<br />
own reasons to prey upon one another; the<br />
arrival of thousands of Irish <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
refugees from the potato famine was<br />
regarded as a scourge upon the land, while<br />
French-Canadian <strong>Catholic</strong> legislators were<br />
accused of furthering the interests of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>ism by means of their strong<br />
presence in the Canadian Assembly. In the<br />
1850’s, expressions of sectarian bitterness<br />
varied from hateful rhetorical exchanges<br />
between Protestants and <strong>Catholic</strong>s in the<br />
public press, to full-fledged riots in the<br />
towns and cities of Ontario.
The Taché Act and the Scott Act<br />
The extension of <strong>Catholic</strong> schools<br />
in Upper Canada was often at the heart of<br />
the bitterness and bloodshed. In 1855, by<br />
the weight of French-Canadian <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
votes, the Assembly passed the Taché Act,<br />
which extended the rights of Upper Canada’s<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> minority to create and manage<br />
their own schools. Similarly, in 1863, the<br />
votes of French-Canadian <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
legislators and their moderate Anglophone<br />
allies passed the Scott Act, which, among<br />
other things, confirmed that <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
trustees possessed the same rights and<br />
privileges as their counterparts in the public<br />
schools, and allowed <strong>Catholic</strong> schools a share<br />
of the Common <strong>School</strong> Fund provided by<br />
the Canadian Government. What infuriated<br />
English-speaking Protestants in Upper<br />
Canada was that they did not want these<br />
schools in their section of Canada, but<br />
were forced to accept them because of the<br />
preponderance of French-Canadian <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
legislators (from the Lower Canadian section<br />
of the Assembly) who were determined to<br />
secure educational rights for their <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
brothers and sisters who were a minority in<br />
Upper Canada.<br />
The British North America Act<br />
The sectionalism that helped to<br />
create <strong>Catholic</strong> schools also prompted Upper<br />
Canadian Protestants to demand the end to<br />
the farcical union between Upper and Lower<br />
Canada. In 1867, the British North America<br />
Act (BNA) created Canada, with both federal<br />
and provincial governments, the latter of<br />
which were solely responsible for education.<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>s in the new Province of Ontario<br />
now faced a hostile Protestant majority,<br />
without the security of their old French-<br />
Canadian allies from the new Province of<br />
Quebec. In advance of Confederation, with<br />
their fragile minority rights to <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools in mind, Archbishop John Joseph<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
Lynch of Toronto (1860-88) and politician<br />
Thomas D’Arcy McGee initiated a process<br />
to secure the rights of <strong>Catholic</strong> schools.<br />
Under section 93 of the BNA Act, all the<br />
educational rights held by religious<br />
minorities at the time of Confederation<br />
would be secured constitutionally thereafter.<br />
For <strong>Catholic</strong>s in Ontario this meant the<br />
right to establish, manage and control their<br />
own schools, and to share proportionally in<br />
the government funds allotted to education.<br />
In time, this Section 93 would become the<br />
touchstone for most constitutional and legal<br />
debates regarding Ontario’s <strong>Catholic</strong> schools.<br />
Ryerson never thought<br />
denominational schools would survive. In<br />
the late nineteenth century, <strong>Catholic</strong> schools<br />
were chronically under-funded because of<br />
their small tax base, their inability to share<br />
in the business tax assessment, and their<br />
securing of only a tiny share of government<br />
school funds. Moreover, after Confederation,<br />
Ontario grew rapidly and emerged as<br />
Canada’s industrial and urban heartland.<br />
The population increased dramatically and<br />
new strains were placed on the education<br />
system. Ontarians demanded progressive,<br />
high-quality education commensurate with<br />
the commercial and industrial advances of<br />
their society. <strong>Catholic</strong> schools survived the<br />
stresses of the new Ontario because of the<br />
dogged dedication of <strong>Catholic</strong> leaders to<br />
fight for legislative changes favouring their<br />
schools and, because of the generosity of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> religious orders whose members<br />
dominated the teaching ranks in these<br />
schools, adapted to the new curricular<br />
changes, and donated much of their salaries<br />
back into the schools. Women in religious<br />
orders were notable in their ability to attain<br />
provincial teaching certification, despite the<br />
popular belief (particularly among <strong>Catholic</strong>s<br />
themselves) that “nuns” would never expose<br />
themselves to the dangers of “Protestant”<br />
teacher’s colleges (Normal <strong>School</strong>s).<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
16<br />
The Tiny Township Case<br />
In no other instance was the selfsacrifice<br />
of <strong>Catholic</strong> school supporters more<br />
evident than in the case of high schools.<br />
Created by an act of the Ontario Legislature<br />
in 1871, Ontario’s high schools would<br />
emerge as one way in which young<br />
Ontarians could be moulded to meet the<br />
demands of their burgeoning urban<br />
industrial society. Because they had not<br />
existed as such at the time of Confederation,<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> high schools were not eligible for<br />
provincial grants. Before Confederation,<br />
however, some <strong>Catholic</strong> schools offered<br />
instruction to older students under the<br />
auspices of the common school. Later,<br />
several <strong>Catholic</strong> schools offered fifth book<br />
classes (closely resembling grades 9 and 10)<br />
and were in a legal position to do so after<br />
1899, when the government broadened its<br />
regulations regarding schools that offered<br />
a “continuation” of the curriculum beyond<br />
what is now grade eight. In reality, however,<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>s could direct their taxes only to<br />
public high schools and, if they so desired,<br />
could pay tuition fees to have their children<br />
receive a full high school education in<br />
“private” <strong>Catholic</strong> schools, usually run by<br />
religious orders. After decades of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
lobbying and sectarian fighting over this<br />
injustice, the <strong>Catholic</strong> bishops and the<br />
Ontario Government agreed that a test case<br />
be brought before the courts to establish<br />
whether or not <strong>Catholic</strong> high schools were<br />
entitled to government funding under the<br />
terms of the BNA Act.<br />
In 1925, <strong>Catholic</strong>s in the Township<br />
of Tiny (Simcoe County) launched the legal<br />
challenge poetically named “Tiny vs. The<br />
King.” By 1928, the highest court of appeal<br />
in the British Empire — the Judicial<br />
Committee of the Privy Council — offered<br />
a bittersweet decision on the <strong>Catholic</strong> high<br />
school issue: <strong>Catholic</strong>s, due to the pre-<br />
Confederation precedents and the
subsequent development of the “fifth<br />
book” continuation classes had just claims<br />
to funding for grades nine and ten; but<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>s had no constitutional right<br />
to funding beyond that, although the<br />
Provincial Government was at liberty<br />
to grant it, if it desired.<br />
The disappointing result of the<br />
Tiny Township case came at a time of<br />
financial crisis and faltering morale within<br />
Ontario’s <strong>Catholic</strong> schools. Since 1912,<br />
English-speaking and French-speaking<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>s had been torn apart by the<br />
Ontario Government’s attempt to eliminate<br />
“bilingual schools,” the majority of which<br />
came under the jurisdiction of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school boards. Regulation 17 restricted<br />
French-language education to grades one<br />
and two, and Regulation 18 threatened<br />
to withdraw provincial funding from any<br />
boards that violated the new restrictions<br />
on French-language education in the<br />
upper grades. Fearful of the maelstrom of<br />
linguistic and religious politics that swirled<br />
about the bilingual schools issue, the<br />
Government of Premier James P. Whitney<br />
terminated its negotiations with the Ontario<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> bishops on issues of financial relief<br />
for separate schools. The bishops were<br />
shocked that the intensity of the language<br />
issue scuttled what they thought was an<br />
imminent agreement with the Government.<br />
The <strong>Catholic</strong> community was frustrated,<br />
divided and angry; on the one side,<br />
Francophone <strong>Catholic</strong>s desperately tried<br />
to preserve their distinctive schools while,<br />
on the other, their Anglophone co-religionists<br />
appeared more supportive of the<br />
Department of Education’s effort to anglicize<br />
and “improve the quality of education” in<br />
the bilingual schools. In 1927, after nearly<br />
fifteen years of litigation, appeals, protest<br />
and even the suspension of the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, the Ontario<br />
Government relaxed Regulation 17, and<br />
limited funding for French--language<br />
education was preserved. Few at the time<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
would have imagined that, within sixty<br />
years, Francophone children would enjoy<br />
state-supported <strong>Catholic</strong> education from<br />
junior kindergarten to grade 13. In the<br />
1920’s, however, <strong>Catholic</strong> bishops,<br />
particularly Neil McNeil of Toronto, and<br />
leading laypersons endeavoured to ease<br />
the strained relations and the lingering<br />
bitterness between English-speaking and<br />
French-speaking <strong>Catholic</strong>s.<br />
Amidst these heightened linguistic<br />
tensions and the failed appeals to the courts,<br />
it became increasingly clear that the<br />
financial pressures on <strong>Catholic</strong> schools<br />
threatened the survival of the system itself.<br />
In 1900, there were 42,397 students in the<br />
system; twenty-five years later, the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school population had more than doubled to<br />
95,300 students. A low municipal tax base,<br />
a minute share of the business tax (from<br />
only those <strong>Catholic</strong> businessmen who wished<br />
to direct their taxes to separate schools),<br />
slim government grants, and a caution to<br />
keep their tax rates competitive with the<br />
affluent public school boards collectively<br />
spelled financial hardship for <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools. Facilities were old, classrooms<br />
generally were crowded, the growing ranks<br />
of lay teachers were paid less, and<br />
programmes of study were limited in both<br />
breadth and variety. Despite the fact that<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools matriculated students who<br />
were competitive with their peers in the<br />
public system, and although <strong>Catholic</strong> youth<br />
moved on to university in greater numbers<br />
by the 1930’s, <strong>Catholic</strong> schools were still<br />
saddled with the label of “inferiority.” The<br />
onset of the Great Depression in the 1930’s<br />
threatened the very existence of the system.<br />
The <strong>Catholic</strong> Taxpayers’ Association<br />
As it had so many times in its<br />
history, the <strong>Catholic</strong> community rallied to<br />
save its schools. By the 1930’s, the mantle of<br />
leadership in the fight for <strong>Catholic</strong> education<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
17<br />
was passed from the clergy to the laity.<br />
Martin J. Quinn, a Toronto businessman,<br />
organized the <strong>Catholic</strong> Taxpayers’<br />
Association to lobby the Provincial<br />
Government to secure the equitable<br />
distribution of corporate and business taxes<br />
to <strong>Catholic</strong> school boards. With chapters in<br />
over 400 parishes across the province, the<br />
CTA helped to elect Mitchell Hepburn’s<br />
Liberals in 1934, and subsequently his<br />
government passed the much-sought<br />
legislation in 1936. The victory on the<br />
corporate tax issue, however, was shortlived.<br />
In December 1936, a wild by-election<br />
fight in East Hastings, reminiscent of the<br />
sectarian explosions of the 1850’s, spelled<br />
disaster for the Liberals and convinced<br />
Premier Hepburn that the fair distribution<br />
of business taxes to <strong>Catholic</strong>s would defeat<br />
his government in the next general election.<br />
The bill was withdrawn and the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
community’s hope for economic justice<br />
was dashed.<br />
Canada’s involvement in World<br />
War II (1939-45) effectively ended the Great<br />
Depression. The post-war situation, however,<br />
merely heightened the crisis facing <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools. Renewed migration from Europe,<br />
particularly from the <strong>Catholic</strong> communities<br />
of southern and central Europe, and the<br />
natural increase in population that came as<br />
a result of the “baby boom” placed increased<br />
demands on Ontario’s <strong>Catholic</strong> schools.<br />
More spaces were needed for the increasing<br />
number of students in Ontario’s cities,<br />
particularly in Hamilton, <strong>Ottawa</strong>, and<br />
Toronto. The suburbanization of Ontario in<br />
the 1950’s necessitated new <strong>Catholic</strong> schools<br />
in rural areas. A decline in religious orders<br />
and the increase in the numbers of lay<br />
teachers placed additional financial burdens<br />
on school boards that were already trying<br />
desperately to keep their school facilities<br />
and programmes up to provincial standards.
The Hope Commission<br />
In 1950, the offer of the Hope<br />
Commission (Ontario’s first Royal<br />
Commission on Education) to fund <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools fully to the end of grade six, but not<br />
to subsequent grades, was indeed tempting.<br />
Such ideas posed an interesting dilemma for<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> leaders: an abbreviated but equally<br />
and fully funded system at the primaryjunior<br />
level or a complete system from<br />
kindergarten to Grade 13, only partially<br />
funded, and ever-struggling at the secondary<br />
level. The <strong>Catholic</strong> commissioners, after<br />
much deliberation with the Ontario bishops,<br />
decided to dissent from the Commission;<br />
they submitted a brief minority report,<br />
highlighted by historian Franklin Walker’s<br />
readable and concise (less than 90 pages)<br />
outline of the history and constitutionality<br />
of <strong>Catholic</strong> schools. In contrast, the overdue<br />
and oversized (900 pages plus) majority<br />
report of the Hope Commission was<br />
generally ignored, as was its demand for<br />
a scaling back of government funding to<br />
separate schools. The system would survive<br />
but would continue to struggle, given the<br />
many demands placed upon it by a growing<br />
and increasingly upwardly-mobile <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
population.<br />
Working Together towards One Goal<br />
Given the demographic, economic,<br />
and social pressures facing the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools, <strong>Catholic</strong>s once again rallied for<br />
justice. The Ontario Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
Trustees’ Association (OSSTA), the fledgling<br />
Ontario English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’<br />
Association (OECTA) and the English<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education Association of Ontario<br />
(ECEAO) worked hard as individual groups<br />
and, at times, cooperatively, to better the<br />
situation of their schools. Cooperative<br />
lobbying efforts bore fruit in the late 1950’s<br />
and early 1960’s when the Ministry of<br />
Education initiated such programmes as<br />
“equalized assessment,” the “growth-needs<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
factor,” and the Ontario Foundation Tax<br />
Plan (1963) to “have-not” boards. Many<br />
separate school boards gleaned additional<br />
funds by means of these progammes. In<br />
1969, rural boards were amalgamated into<br />
larger county-based units with the hope<br />
that larger boards would have access to<br />
more funds, be more efficient, and provide<br />
improved progammes and facilities.<br />
Together, the funding provided by the<br />
Foundation Tax Plan, and the opportunities<br />
created by board restructuring, meant a<br />
new influx of cash into <strong>Catholic</strong> elementary<br />
schools.<br />
The Blair Commission<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> high schools, however,<br />
continued to suffer, because their junior<br />
grades were funded only at an elementary<br />
level, and their senior grades were sustained<br />
principally by tuition fees. <strong>Catholic</strong>s were<br />
forced to develop innovative ways to keep<br />
the high schools afloat. To make matters<br />
worse, the late 1960’s and early 1970’s<br />
witnessed a decline in vocations to religious<br />
life, and a slow erosion through increased<br />
retirements within the existing cadre of<br />
priests, brothers, and sisters in the schools.<br />
High schools depended on lay teachers<br />
accepting lower salary levels, parents<br />
operating lotteries and bingos, and students<br />
helping to clean and maintain school<br />
facilities. In the election of 1971, the<br />
Progressive Conservative Government<br />
of William Davis won a healthy majority,<br />
sustained, in part, by its public refusal<br />
to extend funding to <strong>Catholic</strong> high schools.<br />
When this same government proposed<br />
changes to Ontario’s tax laws that would<br />
see <strong>Catholic</strong> high school property subject<br />
to taxation, it appeared that <strong>Catholic</strong> high<br />
schools were about to sing their death song.<br />
In 1976, the Blair Commission traveled the<br />
province to assess the reaction to the tax<br />
plan and was greeted at each stop with<br />
formidable submissions by the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
“partners.” Through the combined efforts<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
18<br />
of clergy, trustees, teachers, parents and<br />
students, the tax plan was scrapped and<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> high schools dodged a bullet.<br />
Ironically, in 1984, William<br />
Davis surprised his own caucus when he<br />
announced that there would be extended<br />
funding to grades eleven, twelve and<br />
thirteen in Ontario’s <strong>Catholic</strong> schools.<br />
Davis regarded the decision as “justice”<br />
to <strong>Catholic</strong> schools; the cynical saw the<br />
Government fishing for <strong>Catholic</strong> votes.<br />
Within three years, having faced and<br />
survived constitutional challenges, Ontario’s<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools finally enjoyed extended<br />
funding from junior kindergarten to the<br />
end of grade thirteen. Funds poured into<br />
the <strong>Catholic</strong> system and the landscape of<br />
Ontario bore the imprint of new schools,<br />
complete with facilities, equipment, and<br />
comforts scarcely imagined in previous<br />
generations.<br />
Bill 160<br />
In our own time, both the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
and public education systems have<br />
witnessed an unprecedented “revolution”<br />
of institutional and curricular change.<br />
In 1995, school councils were instituted to<br />
bring parents and teachers together for<br />
the local management of their community<br />
schools. Shortly thereafter the Progressive<br />
Conservative Government reduced the<br />
number of school boards, in addition to<br />
cutting the number of school trustees,<br />
while placing a cap on their salaries. In<br />
1997, in a move that may have startled<br />
Ryerson himself, the Provincial Government<br />
suspended the right of trustees to raise<br />
taxes for schools and placed educational<br />
funding exclusively in the hands of the<br />
Province for the first time.<br />
In Ontario’s educational history,<br />
funding is no longer a shared responsibility<br />
between the local community and the central<br />
government. For <strong>Catholic</strong>s, however, the new
financing model means equality of funding<br />
for <strong>Catholic</strong> and public schools. Those who<br />
have reflected upon the history of their<br />
schools have realized that, finally, justice<br />
has been accorded to <strong>Catholic</strong>s, under the<br />
terms of the Constitution (BNA) Act. Not all<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>s, however, have been in favour of<br />
the changes; teachers and others have seen<br />
this new centralization as jeopardizing the<br />
ability of <strong>Catholic</strong>s to control and manage<br />
their own schools. There is some fear that<br />
the Provincial Government will take an<br />
increased role in dictating to <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools, perhaps to the detriment of their<br />
distinct denominational character. In the<br />
current ideological climate dominated by the<br />
proverbial “bottom line” and secular values,<br />
it is believed by some that the taxpayers<br />
of Ontario will be loath to support two<br />
education systems. In addition, the demise<br />
of publicly-funded <strong>Catholic</strong> schools in<br />
Quebec and Newfoundland has contributed<br />
to a growing uneasiness about the future<br />
of Ontario’s <strong>Catholic</strong> schools.<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education —<br />
A Gift not to be Squandered<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>s in Ontario must be<br />
awake to the “signs of the times.” With<br />
legislation supporting funding equity in<br />
hand, <strong>Catholic</strong>s cannot afford to become<br />
complacent about their education system.<br />
In a secular and pluralistic society,<br />
denominational rights, particularly in the<br />
matter of schools, are not widely supported.<br />
Those who know the story of the<br />
development of <strong>Catholic</strong> schools in this<br />
province must realize that these schools<br />
are a gift that should not be squandered.<br />
Ontario’s <strong>Catholic</strong>s have a<br />
responsibility to nourish, improve and<br />
defend their schools as a distinctive and<br />
valuable contribution to the vitality of their<br />
faith community and to Ontario society as<br />
a whole. As history has demonstrated, and<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
as Vatican II has confirmed, the laity have<br />
a vital role to play in the development of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education.<br />
There is a need for schools that<br />
place Gospel values at the centre of an<br />
holistic education. In Ontario, our<br />
inheritance as <strong>Catholic</strong>s has been<br />
considerable, but so are the challenges that,<br />
no doubt, the future will bring.<br />
Highlights of <strong>Catholic</strong> Education<br />
in Ontario<br />
1817 – Bishop Alex Macdonell promotes<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in the Kingston area<br />
as early as 1817.<br />
1841 – The Act of 1841 establishes the<br />
Common <strong>School</strong> System of Ontario which<br />
had three sectors – a non-denominational<br />
sector which would become known later as<br />
public schools, a Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> separate<br />
school sector and a Protestant school sector.<br />
1843 – Legislation in Ontario retains the<br />
school rights granted in 1841. Subsequent<br />
amendments to the law, up until 1863,<br />
improve the conditions for both public and<br />
separate schools.<br />
1863 – The Scott Act is passed, bringing all<br />
aspects of existing legislation on Protestant<br />
and <strong>Catholic</strong> schools into line with<br />
legislation governing common schools.<br />
1867 – The British North America Act<br />
creates Canada. This legislation required<br />
that the rights granted in Ontario and<br />
Quebec to denominational schools are to<br />
be protected and retained.<br />
1871 – The province of Ontario introduces<br />
district secondary school boards apart from<br />
the Common <strong>School</strong> System, which are to be<br />
responsible for the new high school system.<br />
No provision was made for <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
19<br />
secondary schools, deviating from the spirit<br />
of the commitments made both before and<br />
at the time of Confederation.<br />
1890 – The non-denominational common<br />
school system and the separate school<br />
system are both given the authority to offer<br />
continuation classes, i.e. grades nine and ten<br />
to students who graduated from elementary<br />
school.<br />
1908 – Legislation allows common schools<br />
to operate continuation schools offering<br />
programs from grades nine to 13. These<br />
continuation schools could only exist where<br />
there is no district secondary school board.<br />
1927 – The Privy Council decides that<br />
separate school supporters cannot assign<br />
their secondary school taxes to support<br />
certain schools. It also decides that the<br />
Provincial Government has the right to<br />
determine which kinds of schools will offer<br />
secondary school programs.<br />
1964 – The Robarts Foundation Plan<br />
rectifies some of the financial difficulties<br />
for separate schools, as the funding of the<br />
kindergarten to grade eight program in<br />
separate schools is made equal to that of<br />
public schools. Grades nine and ten continue<br />
to be funded as elementary grades.<br />
1969 – The Provincial Government requires<br />
that every county or city have one board of<br />
education to administer both elementary<br />
and secondary schools, meaning that<br />
common or public school trustees now<br />
govern secondary education. This authority,<br />
though, is not given to separate school<br />
trustees. This is a deviation from the<br />
practice of equal treatment for both sectors<br />
of the publicly-funded provincial education<br />
system.
1978 – The Provincial Government<br />
introduces a grant weighting factor for<br />
students in grades nine and ten of the<br />
separate school system.<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
1982 – The new Canadian Charter of Rights<br />
and Freedoms is enacted. It states that<br />
“nothing in this Charter abrogates or<br />
derogates from any rights or privileges<br />
guaranteed by or under the Constitution<br />
of Canada in respect of denominational,<br />
separate or dissentient schools.”<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
20<br />
1984 – Ontario Premier William Davis<br />
announces that the Provincial Government<br />
will grant separate schools the same rights<br />
and privileges that were granted to the<br />
non-denominational public school system in<br />
1969, namely authority to govern secondary<br />
education.
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in Bytown existed<br />
before the formation of the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> (ORCSSB) in 1856. This earliest of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in what is now the core<br />
of the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong> was very much a result<br />
of initiatives by the religious establishment.<br />
The Grey Sisters of the Cross founded a<br />
school in 1845, while Bishop Guigues<br />
established the Bytown College for Boys,<br />
a forerunner of the University of <strong>Ottawa</strong>.<br />
The Grey Sisters of the Cross opened a<br />
second school for girls in 1848.<br />
Although separate schools were<br />
legally permitted in Upper Canada, there<br />
was always the question of funding.<br />
Legislation such as the Scott Act of 1863,<br />
drafted by Richard William Scott, helped<br />
entrench the principle of separate schools in<br />
what would become the Province of Ontario.<br />
Scott had been mayor of Bytown in 1852<br />
before becoming a member of the Provincial<br />
Legislature for <strong>Ottawa</strong> and later a longtime<br />
federal senator. But it was still the common<br />
schools, which prevailed, although the<br />
religion of the majority of the students in<br />
these schools usually determined the religion<br />
of the teacher.<br />
Towards the end of the 1840s, this<br />
principle of coordinating the religion and<br />
language of the teacher with those of the<br />
majority of the students at a school began to<br />
erode. This caused disenchantment among the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> community and led to the formation<br />
of a separate school board in <strong>Ottawa</strong> in 1856,<br />
in which the Grey Sisters of the Cross played<br />
a key role. The first six teachers hired by this<br />
new <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, all<br />
Grey Sisters, had no guarantee of a salary.<br />
Other religious communities became involved<br />
in the <strong>Catholic</strong> schools of <strong>Ottawa</strong>. For<br />
example, the Brothers of the Christian<br />
<strong>School</strong>s established a school in 1864, and the<br />
Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame<br />
opened three schools before the turn of the<br />
HISTORY OF...<br />
HISTORY OF THE<br />
OTTAWA<br />
ROMAN<br />
CATHOLIC<br />
SEPARATE<br />
SCHOOL<br />
BOARD<br />
1856-1997<br />
century. Indeed, the beginnings of a formal<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education system in <strong>Ottawa</strong> came<br />
about largely through the efforts of various<br />
religious communities. This, of course,<br />
helped offset to some degree the virtual lack<br />
of public funding which flowed to these early<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools and meant that <strong>Catholic</strong>s<br />
paid school taxes well in excess of those<br />
required of public school ratepayers.<br />
Struggle and growth were two constants in<br />
the provision of <strong>Catholic</strong> education in<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> through these early years.<br />
While <strong>Catholic</strong> schools continued<br />
to struggle with finances and internal<br />
challenges, mainly associated with the French-<br />
English reality of <strong>Ottawa</strong>'s population, these<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
21<br />
same schools continued to grow, a fact which<br />
must be attributed, ultimately, to the desire of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> parents to have their children<br />
educated in schools where religious values<br />
and the <strong>Catholic</strong> faith played a dominant<br />
role. The first budget of the new ORCSSB<br />
was $2,985.47, of which only $300.30 came<br />
from provincial grants, with <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
ratepayers providing the rest; a substantial<br />
amount in those years when the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
populace of the city was generally anything<br />
but prosperous. The vast majority of the<br />
<strong>Board</strong>'s expenditures went toward salaries.<br />
Yet, despite these obvious financial<br />
challenges, the <strong>Catholic</strong> school system in<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> grew. By 1867, the year of<br />
Confederation, there were 1,780 students in<br />
schools under the jurisdiction of the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, although the<br />
<strong>Board</strong>'s budget of $3,029.38 had remained<br />
about the same as when it was formed in<br />
1856. Provincial grants had tripled to $934.<br />
By 1895, there were seven English <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools and 13 French-language schools<br />
operated by the ORCSSB. Ninety-two<br />
teachers were employed to instruct<br />
4,980 students. The English schools at this<br />
time were St. Patrick (boys), St. Patrick<br />
(girls), St. Brigid, St. Joseph (boys), St.<br />
Joseph (girls), Our Lady, and Youville. By<br />
1900, there were 23 schools (English and<br />
French) under the jurisdiction of the <strong>Board</strong>,<br />
educating 5,487 students.<br />
In those early years, the differing<br />
interests and outlooks of the two linguistic<br />
groups, which made up the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
population of <strong>Ottawa</strong>, took a dominant<br />
position. The initial single administration of<br />
the school board was changed in 1886 when<br />
it was divided into English and French<br />
sections, each of which had control over the<br />
funds required for its schools. This worked<br />
for a number of years, but early in the new<br />
century, linguistic friction boiled over,<br />
resulting in an agreement where each
language group elected only its own trustees.<br />
These trustees controlled the appointment<br />
and supervision of teachers within their own<br />
jurisdiction.<br />
The very existence of French or<br />
bilingual schools was threatened by the<br />
implementation of the infamous Regulation<br />
17 by the Provincial Government in 1912.<br />
This regulation forbade the use of French<br />
in the classroom after the first two years of<br />
schooling. The ORCSSB had about 4,300<br />
students attending its 17 French (bilingual)<br />
schools at that time. Resistance boiled over<br />
and the <strong>Board</strong> did not comply with the<br />
regulation. As a result, the province cut off its<br />
grants to the <strong>Board</strong>. A variety of legal actions<br />
ensued. There were demonstrations, including<br />
a march by 4,000 students through the streets<br />
of <strong>Ottawa</strong> in protest. Guigues <strong>School</strong> became<br />
the focal point of this resistance to Regulation<br />
17, as the students followed their discharged<br />
teachers, leaving the classrooms empty. This<br />
was followed by parents re-taking possession<br />
of Guigues <strong>School</strong>, resisting police efforts to<br />
have them withdraw. Eventually, Regulation<br />
17 was repealed and the French- and Englishspeaking<br />
communities of <strong>Ottawa</strong> continued to<br />
work together in the one <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
board, although linguistic tensions continued<br />
beneath the surface, with trustees of both<br />
groups wanting to have exclusive control<br />
over the management of the schools serving<br />
their language group as well as the setting<br />
of tax rates for those schools.<br />
Despite these difficulties, the one<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school board remained in place<br />
and the French and English communities<br />
cooperated as best they could. Linguistic<br />
challenges did not impede expansion of the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school system, which grew from its<br />
23 schools in 1900 to 44 in 1930, with a doubling<br />
of the number of students from 5,487 to 10,468.<br />
The <strong>Board</strong>'s budget, likewise, rose<br />
from $75,000 in 1900 to $395,000 in 1930, as<br />
staffing grew from 80 teachers in 1900 to<br />
HISTORY OF...<br />
265 teachers in 1930. The system remained<br />
relatively unchanged from 1935 through<br />
to the years immediately following the<br />
Second World War. In 1935, there were<br />
4,376 English students in <strong>Catholic</strong> schools in<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>, and in 1950 this number had grown<br />
only slightly, to 4,597 students. On the<br />
French side, the 7,060 students in <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools in 1935 increased to 7,201 by 1950.<br />
However, it was then that the post-war<br />
growth in <strong>Ottawa</strong>, including municipal<br />
annexations in both the Nepean and<br />
Gloucester areas, accelerated, with <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school enrolment bursting at the seams.<br />
The five-year period from 1950 to 1955 saw<br />
a growth in English student enrolment from<br />
4,597 to 7,748, an increase of over 3,000<br />
new students in that period. The French<br />
schools also saw growth, adding more than<br />
2,000 students in this five-year period as<br />
they grew from an enrolment of 7,201 in<br />
1950 to 9,330 in 1955. The total <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school population in 1955 stood at 17,078.<br />
It was at this same time, despite<br />
the easing of linguistic tensions following the<br />
repeal of Regulation 17, that the ORCSSB<br />
and its ratepayers struggled with serious<br />
financial problems. <strong>School</strong> construction was<br />
a particular concern, with the <strong>Board</strong> issuing<br />
debentures to meet its capital needs.<br />
Guarantees from the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Episcopal Corporation (the Diocese) gave the<br />
school board access to some bank financing,<br />
while there were some special grants from<br />
the province to help the <strong>Board</strong> meet its<br />
salary obligations. The <strong>Board</strong>'s<br />
administration was taken over by the<br />
Provincial Government for the 1942-44<br />
period. Funds allocated for building<br />
maintenance and urgent repairs were cut<br />
back. The <strong>Catholic</strong> school system was able<br />
to survive these financial struggles only<br />
because teaching staff at the time accepted<br />
much lower salaries than those in the public<br />
school system. This, combined with <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school tax rates that were usually at least<br />
twice and sometimes almost three times as<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
22<br />
high as those in the public school system,<br />
was what saved <strong>Ottawa</strong>'s <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
system in those difficult financial years<br />
before, during, and after the Second World<br />
War. In addition, the <strong>Board</strong> was rescued from<br />
financial collapse by the onset of the postwar<br />
era, beginning a period of phenomenal<br />
enrolment growth and school construction<br />
that lasted well into the 1960s. Two hundred<br />
and thirteen new classrooms were added in<br />
the system between 1946 and 1956, as<br />
student enrolment grew from 9,944 to<br />
18,318. Continued population growth in the<br />
west and east ends of the city in the 1950s<br />
and 1960s allowed the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> to soar, as it were;<br />
a far cry from the linguistic and financial<br />
struggles which had beset the <strong>Board</strong> in the<br />
first decades of the 20th century.<br />
In 1964, the <strong>Board</strong> introduced an<br />
adult education department. September 1965<br />
saw the introduction of the first special<br />
classes for handicapped children. An audiovisual<br />
department was established in 1965<br />
and, in the fall of 1966, the Centre<br />
Polyvalent Vanier opened for students who<br />
wanted technical studies in Grades 7 to 10.<br />
In 1968, the seemingly impossible<br />
happened. For the first time in the history<br />
of the <strong>Board</strong>, <strong>Catholic</strong> school taxes were<br />
identical to public school taxes: $21.96 per<br />
$1,000 of assessed property value.<br />
In 1969, the <strong>Board</strong> introduced as<br />
an option its innovative French-language<br />
Program for English-speaking students.<br />
This laid the groundwork for the French<br />
Immersion program, which flourished in<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> schools<br />
in the last three decades of the twentieth<br />
century. In 1970, the <strong>Board</strong> took the separate<br />
school system in Vanier under its wing.<br />
The 1970s turned out to be a<br />
decade of dynamic innovation for the<br />
ORCSSB. A Student Services Centre was
created in 1971. In the same year, 23 junior<br />
kindergarten classes for four-year-old pupils<br />
were opened. It was a busy year, as audiovisual<br />
services, educational television and<br />
library services were all integrated into a<br />
resource centre. In 1972, a bilingual<br />
exchange program began, enabling students<br />
to improve their French during summer<br />
exchanges in Quebec. The year 1972 was also<br />
when the <strong>Board</strong> developed the basic planning<br />
for four junior high schools which opened in<br />
1973: St. Raymond's, St. Joseph's, St. Jude's<br />
and Heron Road Intermediate.<br />
The next decade brought different<br />
challenges before the <strong>Board</strong>. Declining school<br />
enrolments required that the <strong>Board</strong> develop<br />
a consolidation policy. It was during the<br />
1982-83 school year that a decision was made<br />
to close several schools under this policy.<br />
The <strong>Board</strong> also had to meet the challenge of<br />
advances in computer education. A two-year<br />
pilot project on the use of computers in<br />
classrooms resulted in the placement of<br />
83 computers in schools in September 1983.<br />
New legislated responsibilities meant that<br />
the <strong>Board</strong> was required to set up special<br />
program for students with learning<br />
difficulties and for gifted students. Ontario<br />
legislation required that school boards had<br />
to meet the needs of all their exceptional<br />
students by 1985. With this in view, the<br />
<strong>Board</strong> set up a special pilot program for<br />
gifted students in the 1983-84 school year.<br />
The initial program was developed by<br />
Teachers Janice Lemire and Anne Philion<br />
in collaboration with Consultant Denise<br />
Marquis and Psychologist John Dorner.<br />
Called the Program for Advanced Learners<br />
(PAL), the program involved 80 gifted and<br />
potentially gifted students from Grades 3<br />
and 4. The students were withdrawn from<br />
their home school one day a week and bused<br />
to and from a PAL class at one of two central<br />
schools, Corpus Christi <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> or<br />
St. Daniel <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. Classes were kept<br />
to a maximum of ten students. Students<br />
studied an extension of the regular school<br />
HISTORY OF...<br />
curriculum as well as areas of special<br />
interest. Each student was encouraged to<br />
plan his or her own method of study and<br />
way of researching the information, thus<br />
becoming an independent learner. Topics<br />
studied included computer programming,<br />
arts and crafts, drama, environmental<br />
studies and ecology. The program proved<br />
successful and grew to become the <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
Program for Gifted Learners (PGL). At this<br />
same time, the <strong>Board</strong> also became involved<br />
with continuing education for adults,<br />
athletics meets for students, intramural<br />
sports competitions, outdoor education,<br />
enrichment courses, religious activities,<br />
science fairs, public speaking competitions<br />
and multicultural initiatives.<br />
In 1984, the Provincial Government<br />
announced full funding for <strong>Catholic</strong> schools<br />
resulting in senior high school grades being<br />
added to the <strong>Board</strong>'s jurisdiction. In 1986,<br />
its 130th anniversary, the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> was operating<br />
23 English elementary schools (Assumption,<br />
Corpus Christi, Dr. F.J. McDonald, Holy<br />
Cross, Holy Family, Immaculate Heart of<br />
Mary, McMaster <strong>Catholic</strong>, Our Lady of<br />
Fatima, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Our<br />
Lady of Victory, Prince of Peace, St. Anthony,<br />
St. Augustine, St. Brigid, St. Daniel,<br />
St. Elizabeth, St. George, St. Leo, St. Luke,<br />
St. Margaret Mary, St. Mary, St. Michael<br />
and St. Victor) as well as three high schools<br />
(Immaculata, St. Joseph's and St. Patrick's),<br />
and St. Raymond’s Intermediate <strong>School</strong>.<br />
There were also 19 French elementary<br />
schools, one French high school and two<br />
French special schools. In 1988, provincial<br />
legislation mandated that all French schools<br />
(elementary and secondary, <strong>Catholic</strong> and<br />
public) in the area were to be merged into one<br />
school board with two semi-autonomous<br />
branches, <strong>Catholic</strong> and public. This<br />
arrangement, begun in 1989, did not work<br />
out. Consequently in 1995, two autonomous<br />
French school boards, one <strong>Catholic</strong> and one<br />
public, were created for the area.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
23<br />
In 1998, the ORCSSB and the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> (CRCSSB) were combined by<br />
provincial legislation to form the new<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> (OCCSB). A new funding formula<br />
accompanied this province-wide<br />
amalgamation process, resulting in fewer<br />
but larger school boards. Thus began a new<br />
chapter in the governance of <strong>Catholic</strong> schools<br />
in the <strong>Ottawa</strong> area.<br />
In compiling this overview of the<br />
history of the ORCSSB, reliance was placed<br />
on two outstanding previously published<br />
works about the <strong>Board</strong> and <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education in <strong>Ottawa</strong>:<br />
130 Years of Dedication to Excellence,<br />
by Paul-François Sylvestre, A History<br />
of the ORCSSB from 1956 to 1986.<br />
The chapter entitled <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Education in the Diocese: An Overview by<br />
Lionel Desjarlais in the book Planted by<br />
Flowing Water: The Diocese of <strong>Ottawa</strong> 1847-<br />
1997, authored by Pierre Hurtubise, Mark<br />
McGowan and Pierre Savard, and published<br />
by Novalis Publishing for the Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Archdiocese of <strong>Ottawa</strong> in 1998.<br />
Directors of Education and/or<br />
Secretary-Treasurers<br />
William Ring was the first<br />
Secretary-Treasurer of the ORCSSB, serving<br />
from its start in 1856 to 1857. Unfortunately,<br />
due to the loss of the initial archives of the<br />
<strong>Board</strong> caused by fire, the secretary-treasurer<br />
of the <strong>Board</strong> is unknown.<br />
The 13 Directors of Education<br />
and/or Secretary-Treasurers of the <strong>Board</strong><br />
from 1888 until the end of 1997, when the<br />
<strong>Board</strong> amalgamated with the Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> to<br />
form the new <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> were:
1888-1904 – William Finley<br />
1904-1911 – Achille McNicoll<br />
1911-1915 – J.E. Doyle<br />
1915-1917 – Albert Foisy<br />
1917-1920 – Albert Carle<br />
1920-1940 – Ernest Desmormeaux<br />
1941-1962 – Aime Arvisais<br />
1962-1969 – Raymond Groulx<br />
1969-1975 – Roland Beriault<br />
1975-1979 – Lionel Desjarlais<br />
1980-1988 – Pierre Xatruch<br />
1989-1992 – George Moore<br />
1992-1997 – Dennis Nolan<br />
Administrative Offices<br />
During the tenure of J.E. Doyle<br />
as Secretary-Treasurer of the ORCSSB<br />
from 1911 to 1915, his personal offices at<br />
202 Queen Street served as the <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
administrative headquarters.<br />
From 1915 onwards, Guigues<br />
<strong>School</strong>, located at 159 Murray Street,<br />
was used as the <strong>Board</strong>’s head office.<br />
Subsequently, the administration offices<br />
were housed on the site of a former school on<br />
Bolton Street. An extension to this facility<br />
in 1958 resulted in the address changing to<br />
140 Cumberland Street, which was the<br />
address of the <strong>Board</strong>’s administration offices<br />
until 1998 when it joined with the Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> to<br />
become the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>. This building continued to be used for<br />
<strong>Board</strong> office purposes, along with the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>’s administration offices facility on<br />
Merivale Road in Nepean, until 2002 when<br />
the <strong>Board</strong>’s administration staff was<br />
centralized at the <strong>Catholic</strong> Education Centre<br />
at 570 West Hunt Club Road in Nepean.<br />
HISTORY OF...<br />
Religious Orders whose members taught<br />
for the ORCSSB from<br />
1856 - 1996<br />
Since 1856 Soeurs de la Charité d’<strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
1856 – 1968 Oblats de Marie-Immaculée<br />
1864 – 1985 Frères des Ecoles chrétiènnes<br />
1868 – 1983 Congregation de Notre-Dame<br />
1891 – 1983 Filles de la Sagesse<br />
1911 – 1970 Soeurs du Sacre-Coeur-de-Jesus<br />
1911 – 1985 Frères du Sacre-Coeur<br />
Since 1928 Grey Sisters of the Immaculate<br />
Conception<br />
1928 – 1934 Frères de l’instruction<br />
chretienne<br />
Since 1929 Sisters of Holy Cross<br />
1929 – 1972 Oblates of Mary Immaculate<br />
1935 – 1969 Soeurs de Sainte-Croix et des<br />
Sept-Douleurs<br />
1940 – 1975 Soeurs de Sainte-Marie de<br />
Namur<br />
1940 – 1980 Sisters of St. Joseph of<br />
Peterborough<br />
1954 – 1972 Soeurs du Bon-Pasteur<br />
d’Angers<br />
1958 – 1972 Basilian Fathers<br />
1959 – 1967 Religieuses de Jesus-Marie<br />
1970 – 1972 Sisters of St. Joseph of<br />
Pembroke<br />
1970 – 1972 Sisters of St. Ann<br />
Former ORCSSB <strong>School</strong>s<br />
Following is a list of former English<br />
elementary, intermediate and secondary<br />
OCRCSSB schools that have been closed over<br />
the years:<br />
• Canadian Martyrs, 20 Graham Avenue (now<br />
operating under the Adult <strong>School</strong> program of<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>)<br />
• Holy Rosary, 35 Melrose Avenue (now operating<br />
as St. Francois d’Assise under the Eastern<br />
Ontario French <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>)<br />
• Immaculate Heart of Mary, 445 Pleasant<br />
Park Road (vacant)<br />
• St. Peter Intermediate, 1480 Heron Road<br />
(sold to the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong>)<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
24<br />
• Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 22 Eccles Street<br />
• Our Lady’s Primary, 287 Cumberland<br />
Street (vacant - unknown ownership)<br />
• Queen of the Angels, 1481 Heron Road (now<br />
operating as one of the Adult <strong>School</strong>s of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>)<br />
• Queen of the Angels Annex, Briar Hill<br />
• Sacre-Coeur (Holy Rosary Annex) – (vacant<br />
for sale)<br />
• St. Joseph Centre, 339 Wilbrod (sold to<br />
International <strong>School</strong>)<br />
• St. Agnes, 18 Louisa (used as an OCCSB<br />
Adult <strong>School</strong> – recently became vacant and<br />
was sold by the <strong>Board</strong> in 2006)<br />
• St. Andrew, 1119 Lazard Street (sold to<br />
Tohra Academy)<br />
• St. Basil, 1774 Kerr Avenue (sold to Jewish<br />
Academy)<br />
• St. Christopher, 335 Lindsay Street<br />
• St. Ignatius, 1151 River Road (sold to<br />
St. Peter and Paul Parish)<br />
• St. Joseph, 200 Wilbrod<br />
• St. Leo, 860 Colson Avenue<br />
• St. Leonard, Rob Roy Avenue<br />
• St. Louis, 1435 Larose Avenue<br />
• St. Margaret Mary, 88 Bellwood (sold with<br />
site redeveloped for residential purposes)<br />
• St. Mark, 803 Canterbury<br />
• St. Patrick, 290 Nepean Street (now<br />
operating under the Adult Education<br />
program of the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>)<br />
• St. Raymond’s Intermediate, 1303 Fellows<br />
Road (transferred to the French Public <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>;<br />
• St. Theresa, 156 Waverley Street<br />
• St. Victor, Brookfield Road (transferred to<br />
the Eastern Ontario French <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>)<br />
• Notre Dame High <strong>School</strong>, 1487 Heron Road<br />
(was operated by the ORCSSB but owned<br />
by the Grey Nuns and was sold to the<br />
federal government as the Campanila<br />
Study Centre)<br />
• St. Joseph’s High <strong>School</strong>, 881 Broadview<br />
Avenue (was operated by the ORCSSB but<br />
owned by the Grey Nuns and was sold to<br />
the Jewish Academy)
A future project of the Historical<br />
Committee of the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> is to research and record as<br />
much as possible, the history of these closed<br />
schools where many students received their<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education, guided by dedicated<br />
teachers.<br />
HISTORY OF...<br />
As an integral part of the story of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
area, we ask that if anyone has any<br />
information or stories about any of these<br />
closed schools, please pass them along to the<br />
Historical Committee for possible inclusion<br />
in future editions of this historical<br />
publication. Information or stories about<br />
these schools should be e-mailed to:<br />
Cynthia_Montgomery@occdsb.on.ca or sent<br />
via regular mail to Cindy Montgomery,<br />
Records Management Administrator, <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, 570 West<br />
Hunt Club Road, Nepean, Ontario K2G 3R4<br />
(Phone 613-224-4455, extension 2328).<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
25
The Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> (CRCSSB)<br />
was formed in 1969 but this was<br />
not the beginning of <strong>Catholic</strong> education in<br />
Carleton County, the rural area surrounding<br />
the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong>. Indeed, <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education in Carleton was a reality almost<br />
from the days of the earliest settlers.<br />
Wherever there was a settlement<br />
of sufficient numbers of <strong>Catholic</strong>s, there<br />
almost invariably emerged <strong>Catholic</strong> schools.<br />
This is what happened in the South March<br />
area of March Township, in the Corkery region<br />
of Upper Huntley, in the Fallowfield and<br />
Merivale parts of Nepean, in the West Osgoode<br />
area, in the Metcalfe vicinity of Osgoode and<br />
in the Gloucester South neighbourhood of<br />
Gloucester. <strong>Catholic</strong> schools existed in these<br />
regions, run by local school section school<br />
boards, well before anyone thought of a<br />
county-wide system. In addition, there were<br />
situations such as at the Jockvale <strong>School</strong> (S.S.<br />
No. 10) in Nepean, where nine out of ten<br />
students were <strong>Catholic</strong>s, as was the teacher.<br />
In such a situation, there was no need to<br />
establish a separate school because the<br />
existing public school was, in essence, <strong>Catholic</strong>.<br />
Formal separate schools tended<br />
to be created only where the numbers of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> and Protestant families were fairly<br />
balanced. In circumstances such as this,<br />
there were sufficient student numbers for<br />
the minority group to establish a viable<br />
school of its own. If one religious group or<br />
the other dominated an area in numbers, the<br />
school invariably reflected the beliefs of that<br />
group. Nepean, with its burgeoning post-war<br />
growth, saw a number of <strong>Catholic</strong> schools<br />
opened. By 1969, when county-wide school<br />
boards were imposed by the province, there<br />
were ten <strong>Catholic</strong> schools in Nepean. It was<br />
these schools, in addition to the far-flung<br />
schools operated by other small <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school boards, that formed the basis of the<br />
newly-established Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
HISTORY OF...<br />
HISTORY OF THE<br />
CARLETON<br />
ROMAN<br />
CATHOLIC<br />
SEPARATE<br />
SCHOOL<br />
BOARD<br />
1969 - 1997<br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in 1969. At its birth,<br />
this county-wide <strong>Catholic</strong> school board had<br />
a student enrolment of 9,978 students and<br />
a staff of 443 teachers.<br />
From its inception, the CRCSSB<br />
experienced growth, reflecting the suburban<br />
development that was taking place in the<br />
Carleton area, including such fast-growing<br />
locations as Kanata, Barrhaven and Orléans.<br />
By the 1988-89 school year, the <strong>Board</strong> was<br />
operating 34 elementary schools and five<br />
high schools with a total enrolment of 18,317<br />
students, 1,010 teachers and approximately<br />
400 other administrative and support staff.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
27<br />
By 1997, the last year of the<br />
operation of the <strong>Board</strong> before its provincially<br />
mandated amalgamation with the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>,<br />
it had grown to an enrolment of 26,100<br />
students ranging from junior kindergarten<br />
to the Ontario academic credit year<br />
(formerly Grade 13). The <strong>Board</strong> employed<br />
1,487 teachers and 585 support staff, and<br />
operated 37elementary schools, seven high<br />
schools and one adult school. It covered an<br />
area of approximately 1,100 square<br />
kilometres.<br />
C. Basil MacDonald of Nepean<br />
was elected as the first Chairman of the<br />
CRCSSB in 1969, while René Lefebvre was<br />
the first Vice-Chairperson. The original<br />
trustees, each one representing a different<br />
part of the <strong>Board</strong>’s far-flung area, included<br />
Harry Beingessner, James Colton, Leo Coté,<br />
Lorne Gignac, Carmel Kasper, Michael<br />
Kelly, Bernard Labelle, Roch Lafleur, Lionel<br />
McCauley, Mathias Pagé, Norman Wilson<br />
and Vernon Zinck.<br />
Dr. William Crossan, a former<br />
provincial school inspector, was the <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
first Director of Education, serving from<br />
1969 through to 1991. Subsequent Directors<br />
of Education were Derry Byrne (1991 – 1995<br />
and Philip A. Rocco (1995 – 1997).<br />
Under Dr. Crossan’s guidance,<br />
supported by senior staff such as educator<br />
Michael Revells and Ronald P. Larkin, as<br />
Superintendent of Planning and Facilities,<br />
the CRCSSB not only managed its rampant<br />
growth but also became an innovative school<br />
board that accomplished much despite its<br />
meagre tax base. Dr. Crossan’s legacy<br />
includes the junior high school concept, the<br />
media integration project, the integration<br />
of all students, a balanced French-language<br />
program, and the provision of new school<br />
facilities.
In January 1989, the media<br />
integration project began with the secondment<br />
of Dale Henderson and Brent Wilson. The<br />
venture focused on mathematics, language<br />
arts and environmental science in Grades 4, 5<br />
and 6, by treating them in an integrated<br />
manner. In the high schools, the project<br />
focused on the Ontario Academic Credit (OAC)<br />
Calculus course, the Technological Journalism<br />
course and the Grade 12 General-level<br />
English course. In May 1989, the first<br />
units were tested in a pilot classroom at<br />
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton <strong>School</strong> in Barrhaven.<br />
By October 1989, five additional classrooms<br />
were implemented at Convent Glen <strong>Catholic</strong>,<br />
Thomas D’Arcy McGee <strong>Catholic</strong>, St. Rita,<br />
St. Mary (Gloucester) and Georges Vanier<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>s. This preceded the <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
initiative to open a media integration<br />
classroom in all of its schools.<br />
Beginning with programs that<br />
were developed in the early 1970s such as<br />
mathematics, language arts, religion and<br />
science, the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> came to be<br />
considered by others, including the Ontario<br />
Ministry of Education, as a leader in the<br />
field of programming.<br />
A music coordinator was hired in<br />
1969, followed by the development of a music<br />
department and, in 1972, publication of the<br />
Let’s Sing songbook for primary students.<br />
Industrial Arts and Family Studies classes<br />
were first offered by the <strong>Board</strong> at Frank<br />
Ryan <strong>Catholic</strong> Senior Elementary <strong>School</strong> in<br />
1970, expanding to other schools by 1972.<br />
Initially, in 1969, the new<br />
CRCSSB set up its administration office<br />
in a Merivale Road strip mall. This<br />
changed in 1972 when the <strong>Board</strong> built an<br />
administration office and resource centre<br />
farther south on Merivale Road.<br />
The first ten years of the life of<br />
the CRCSSB were years of rapid growth and<br />
HISTORY OF...<br />
expansion. The increase in enrolment to<br />
17,141 students in 1979 from the 9,978 in<br />
1969 resulted in the building of 15 new<br />
schools and ten major school additions.<br />
But it was not constant growth<br />
all of the time. In 1983, the CRCSSB closed<br />
Our Lady of Good Counsel <strong>School</strong> on Bowhill<br />
Avenue, which had opened in 1965. The<br />
<strong>Board</strong> also closed St. Nicholas <strong>School</strong> in the<br />
St. Claire Gardens area in 1990 due to<br />
declining enrolment in this older area of<br />
Nepean. In the ten years from 1979 to 1989,<br />
student enrolment grew by fewer than<br />
500 in total, with the <strong>Board</strong>’s enrolment<br />
in 1989 totaling 17,622 students. However,<br />
by 1994, the <strong>Board</strong>’s 25 th anniversary year,<br />
there were 45 schools housing a total of<br />
more than 21,000 students.<br />
The county-wide school board<br />
concept was a target for criticism right from<br />
the start. The Mayo Commission on regional<br />
government, along with Nepean Mayor<br />
Andrew Haydon, recommended regional<br />
school boards, just as this new county-wide<br />
school board was getting its feet wet. In<br />
1985, a CRCSSB trustee, Rick Chiarelli, who<br />
was to play a prominent role in the fullfunding<br />
debate for <strong>Catholic</strong> schools, led a<br />
group of trustees in asking for a plebiscite<br />
on uniting the <strong>Ottawa</strong> and Carleton public<br />
and <strong>Catholic</strong> boards into two regional school<br />
boards, one for the public schools and one<br />
for the <strong>Catholic</strong> schools. It was thought that<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong> schools, which were losing<br />
enrolment, would benefit from the addition<br />
of the growing Carleton schools, while the<br />
Carleton schools would benefit from access<br />
to the city’s large corporate tax base.<br />
However, the Carleton school boards resisted<br />
this move, fearing negative consequences<br />
for their suburban and rural students. Hal<br />
Hansen, Chairman of the Carleton <strong>Board</strong><br />
of Education, the coterminous public board<br />
with the CRCSSB, frequently proposed, as<br />
an alternative, merging the Carleton public<br />
and <strong>Catholic</strong> boards because they shared the<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
28<br />
same rural and suburban residents. The<br />
CRCSSB rejected this suggestion, citing<br />
religious reasons. However, their position<br />
was not enhanced when the province created<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton French-Language<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in 1989 to serve the<br />
educational needs of Francophones in the<br />
area. This was a combined <strong>Catholic</strong> and<br />
public school board. History would vindicate<br />
the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> when the combined French<br />
board was divided into two separate boards,<br />
one public and the other <strong>Catholic</strong>, in 1995.<br />
While 1989 saw the Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
become for the first time, an English-only<br />
school board, the loss of its Francophone<br />
students, ratepayers and facilities was<br />
something of a setback. The division of assets<br />
and the loss of students (28 percent of its<br />
enrolment) meant that the <strong>Board</strong> had<br />
even fewer resources to meet its constant<br />
challenges. There was an ongoing and<br />
persistent campaign for more and fairer<br />
funding for <strong>Catholic</strong> schools. This inequity,<br />
as seen by the CRCSSB, centred around five<br />
issues: revenue inequity, because some public<br />
school boards were able to spend over<br />
$1,000 more per elementary student than<br />
their neighbouring <strong>Catholic</strong> boards due to<br />
access to a larger tax base; assessment<br />
inequity, because some public school boards<br />
had tenfold the commercial assessment of<br />
similar <strong>Catholic</strong> boards even though student<br />
enrolment could be identical; grant inequities<br />
at the grades 9 and 10 level, because<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school boards had to provide<br />
education for students in those grades with<br />
less funding in grants than were available to<br />
their public school board counterparts; grant<br />
inequities for Grades 11, 12 and 13, because<br />
no funds were provided to <strong>Catholic</strong> boards for<br />
these grades; and a capital grant allocations<br />
inequity for school facilities, because <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school boards were receiving approximately<br />
20 percent less in capital grants than their<br />
public counterparts.
In 1988, the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> had a budget<br />
totaling $143,911,688. It received its<br />
revenues from government grants (69.6%),<br />
local taxes (23.3%) and other sources (7.1%).<br />
A total of $13,214,810 or 9.2 percent of this<br />
budget was allocated to student<br />
transportation as the <strong>Board</strong> provided bussing<br />
for its students at all grade levels if they<br />
lived beyond a required walking distance. It<br />
provided this student transportation through<br />
its own fleet of school buses, as well as via a<br />
number of contracted services. These vehicles<br />
traveled more than 28,000 kilometres a day,<br />
serving a vast jurisdiction. By 1997, the<br />
<strong>Board</strong>’s operating budget had grown to<br />
$160,404,654, along with a capital budget<br />
of $14.3 million, with the majority of these<br />
monies directed to the construction of a new<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> high school in Barrhaven.<br />
The <strong>Board</strong>’s Program Department,<br />
just prior to the amalgamation with the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> in 1997, was responsible for all<br />
curricular and co-curricular programs from<br />
junior kindergarten through to OAC.<br />
This included the review, development<br />
and implementation of curriculum in<br />
every subject area, the support of all intrascholastic<br />
and inter-scholastic activities, the<br />
coordination of a number of special programs<br />
such as English as a Second Language and<br />
Cooperative Education, and leadership for<br />
a number of student activities such as peer<br />
helpers and the children’s choir. The Staff<br />
Development, Evaluation and Technology<br />
Department of the <strong>Board</strong> focused on staff<br />
professional development. It piloted the new<br />
provincial report card because of its<br />
combination of expertise in staff<br />
development, evaluation and technology.<br />
To meet the needs of students with special<br />
learning requirements, the <strong>Board</strong> embraced<br />
the goal of inclusion, meaning that most<br />
students with special needs spent all or<br />
most of their day with age peers in regular<br />
classrooms in neighbourhood schools. At the<br />
HISTORY OF...<br />
same time, the Continuing Education<br />
Department was growing, as enrolment in<br />
the Adult High <strong>School</strong> reached approximately<br />
700 students and nearly 20,000 people took<br />
continuing education courses. The Child<br />
Care Services Foundation also continued to<br />
grow in that year, providing services to<br />
approximately 500 students at various<br />
school-based centres under its control.<br />
The Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> grew to achieve very<br />
high retention rates in its high schools.<br />
In 1995-96, for instance, the <strong>Board</strong> placed<br />
in the top five in Ontario for retaining<br />
students, the second straight year for this<br />
achievement. The dropout rate was only<br />
about three percent, well below the Ontario<br />
average of 16 percent and the national<br />
average of 18 percent. The <strong>Board</strong> attributed<br />
this success in part to a variety of strategies<br />
designed to keep students in school. These<br />
included programs for early identification of<br />
at-risk students, teacher in-service training<br />
regarding learning styles, mentorship,<br />
apprenticeship, a mini-course in association<br />
with Algonquin College, peer helpers, and<br />
an alternate school.<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
Highlights<br />
1969: Twenty-four Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
boards in Carleton County are<br />
reorganized to form the Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> with 40 schools and<br />
10,000 students<br />
1970: First Industrial Arts and Family<br />
Studies classes are offered<br />
First summer school courses are<br />
offered<br />
1971: Music and Art Departments are<br />
developed<br />
1972: <strong>Board</strong> Administration Office and<br />
Central Resource Centre built on<br />
Merivale Road<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
29<br />
St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary<br />
becomes St. Pius X High <strong>School</strong><br />
1978: Central Resource Centre moves<br />
to Pope John XXIII <strong>School</strong><br />
Personnel Department is created<br />
1979: <strong>Board</strong>’s tenth anniversary is celebrated<br />
First psychologist is hired<br />
1981: First heritage language classes offered<br />
1982: First French public-speaking contest<br />
for Immersion students<br />
1983: First <strong>Board</strong>-wide public-speaking<br />
contest<br />
1984: <strong>Board</strong> adopts a logo<br />
Bill 30 for full public funding for<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> secondary schools is<br />
introduced<br />
1985: First full year of grade 11 classes at<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> schools<br />
Developmentally Disabled Centre<br />
opens at Thomas D’Arcy McGee<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
1987: Supreme Court supports Bill 30 full<br />
funding for <strong>Catholic</strong> secondary schools<br />
1988: <strong>Board</strong> adopts multicultural and racial<br />
equity policy<br />
First night school program offered<br />
Bill 109 creates <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
French Language <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
1989: First <strong>Board</strong> child care centres open at<br />
St. Francis of Assisi and Holy Spirit<br />
<strong>School</strong>s<br />
Fresh Start part-time work and school<br />
program for adults is introduced<br />
Media Integrated Curriculum<br />
Department formed<br />
Department of Continuing Education<br />
is established<br />
1990: Apprenticeship/co-op program<br />
established<br />
Transition Years curriculum for<br />
Grades 7 to 9 is introduced<br />
First Adult Secondary <strong>School</strong> diploma<br />
graduation ceremony is held<br />
1991: Founding Director of Education<br />
Dr. William Crossan resigns<br />
Derry Byrne is appointed as Director<br />
of Education
New school bus safety program and<br />
training are introduced<br />
1992: Mobile Adult Learning Centre for<br />
Literacy is introduced<br />
1995: Philip A. Rocco is appointed as<br />
Director of Education<br />
1996: The Teacher Resource Centre is<br />
dedicated as the Derry Byrne Teacher<br />
Resource Centre in honour of the late<br />
Derry Byrne, Director of Education<br />
at the time of his death<br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> No. 7, Nepean<br />
(Fallowfield)<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in the<br />
community of Fallowfield in Nepean goes back<br />
over 130 years and is one of the examples of<br />
how <strong>Catholic</strong> education existed in various<br />
pockets in rural Carleton County over the<br />
years. It provided a base of support, which<br />
was essential when township-wide school<br />
boards, and then a county-wide school board<br />
came into being in the 1960s. <strong>School</strong>s similar<br />
to S.S. No. 7, Nepean at Fallowfield existed in<br />
such far-flung areas as South March, Corkery,<br />
Kelly’s Landing and South Gloucester.<br />
S.S. No. 7, Nepean was built<br />
in 1871 near the intersection of today’s<br />
Fallowfield Road/Richmond Road<br />
intersection. It was a one-room school heated<br />
by a wood box stove, with the students<br />
sitting according to age, the younger ones<br />
in front and the older students at the back.<br />
This school building was closed in 1959.<br />
A new S.S. No. 7 opened on a site on Steeple<br />
Hill Crescent across from St. Patrick<br />
Church, comprised of two classrooms, one<br />
on the main floor and the other on a lower<br />
level. The grades 1 through 4 students were<br />
housed on the main floor so that the smaller<br />
children did not have to climb stairs. The<br />
grade 5 through 8 students occupied the<br />
lower level classroom.<br />
HISTORY OF...<br />
Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day<br />
concerts were always highlight events in<br />
the life of S.S. No. 7, Nepean.<br />
The school eventually closed, and<br />
the facility became a depot building for the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
With the coming of the new millennium, the<br />
need for this depot facility had diminished,<br />
resulting in the <strong>Board</strong> selling the property<br />
and facility.<br />
French <strong>School</strong>s<br />
The Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> operated both French<br />
and English schools during much of its<br />
history until the province moved to create<br />
French-language school boards in 1989.<br />
In the 1986-87 school year, the<br />
<strong>Board</strong> operated 18 French-language schools<br />
as well as 34 English-language schools<br />
with enrolment of approximately<br />
6,200 Francophone students and<br />
13,900 English-language students.<br />
French-language schools under the<br />
CRCSSB in the 1986-87 school year were:<br />
Des Pins, Gloucester<br />
Des Voyageurs, Orléans<br />
Intermediate Leo D. Coté, Orléans<br />
Intermediate Pauline Vanier, Gloucester<br />
Laurier Carrière, Nepean<br />
La Verendrye, Gloucester<br />
Notre Dame du Cap, Orléans<br />
Notre Dame des Champs, Navan<br />
Preseault, Orléans<br />
Reine des Bois, Orléans<br />
Roger Saint-Denis, Kanata<br />
Ste-Bernadette, Gloucester<br />
St-Gabriel, Gloucester<br />
St-Guillaume, Vars<br />
St-Hugues, Sarsfield<br />
St-Laurent, Carlsbad Springs<br />
Ste-Marie, Gloucester<br />
Ste-Thérèse d’Avila, Marionville<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
30<br />
The Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> Logo<br />
The Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> logo was created in<br />
1984, 15 years after the establishment of the<br />
<strong>Board</strong> itself. From 1969 to 1984, the <strong>Board</strong><br />
did not have an official logo but an outline of<br />
the Carleton County map was incorporated<br />
in letterhead and other <strong>Board</strong> printed<br />
materials. In 1984, the <strong>Board</strong> adopted a<br />
logo, which was developed under a $750<br />
contract with John Cook Industrial Design.<br />
The logo featured a double “C”<br />
along with an offset flame and a cross inside<br />
the flame. The two C’s, with the outside one<br />
black and the inside one white, represented<br />
“Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong>.” The red flame signified<br />
a modern version of the lamp of learning<br />
and also the Holy Spirit. Inside the flame,<br />
the white Celtic cross signified a belief in<br />
the redemption of the people of the world<br />
through the crucifixion, death and<br />
resurrection of Jesus Christ. The cross and<br />
the flame also symbolized the gift of the<br />
Church, established on the first Pentecost<br />
when the Holy Spirit gave to Peter and the<br />
Apostles the knowledge needed for them to<br />
be heirs of the Kingdom of God.
25th Anniversary of the CRCSSB<br />
(1969-1997)<br />
The Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> marked its<br />
25 th Anniversary in December 1994. In<br />
recognition of the 79 employees who had<br />
been with the <strong>Board</strong> since its very existence,<br />
special tribute was made to the following<br />
individuals:<br />
Grace Anderson<br />
M. Lee Armstrong<br />
Ronald Avon<br />
Marilyn Beckstead<br />
Lyle Bergeron<br />
André Blain<br />
Beverley Box<br />
Sandra Boyer<br />
Lorna Brisson<br />
Derry Byrne<br />
Terry Ann Carter<br />
Leah Cassidy<br />
Nancy Jane Cawley<br />
Maurice Charron<br />
Dorothy Collins<br />
Robert Curry<br />
Julien de la Durantaye<br />
John Delorme<br />
Michelle Desjardins<br />
Richard Despatie<br />
Alan Dickinson<br />
Nicole Dickinson<br />
Mildred Donnelly<br />
Irene Doth<br />
Theresa Dubien<br />
Claude Dubois<br />
Marion Fuder<br />
Louise Gallagher<br />
Margaret Girgrah<br />
Helen Gordon<br />
Patrick Jennings<br />
Suzanne Mary Jones<br />
Deanna Lynn Kelly<br />
Starr Kelly<br />
Lois Keon<br />
Janet Laba<br />
HISTORY OF...<br />
Daniel Lahey<br />
Rolland Lapointe<br />
Ronald Larkin<br />
Linda Legault<br />
Gerald Leveque<br />
Peter MacKinnon<br />
Monica McCarthy<br />
Patrick McEvoy<br />
Ruth McGretrick<br />
Andrew McKinley<br />
Michael McNally<br />
Kathryn McVean<br />
Elizabeth Anne Moore<br />
Noreen Murphy<br />
Terrence Murphy<br />
William Murphy<br />
Stephen Newton<br />
Phyllis O’Neill<br />
Barry Olivier<br />
Rita Ovington<br />
Leo Payant<br />
Gregory Peddie<br />
Ann Read<br />
Susan Rheaume<br />
Kathleen Robillard<br />
Elizabeth Rock<br />
Martin Rollocks<br />
Claire Rondeau<br />
Gayle Sadler<br />
Patricia Scrim<br />
Helen Sheehan<br />
Robert Slack<br />
Kathleen Stauch<br />
Gloria Sterling<br />
Patrick Sterling<br />
Patricia Switzer<br />
Sandra Tischer<br />
Susan Vail<br />
Garry Valiquette<br />
Theodorus Vandenberg<br />
Ralph Watzenboeck<br />
Mary Whiticar<br />
Philip Yates<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
31<br />
Reflections<br />
In compiling this history of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education, we have had the good<br />
fortune to receive personal reflections from<br />
past employees.<br />
With sincere appreciation to all<br />
who took the time and effort to submit their<br />
thoughts and memories, we would like to<br />
share their stories.<br />
Bernadette MacNeil<br />
Superintendent of Education (retired)<br />
Bernadette MacNeil worked as<br />
a teacher, vice-principal, coordinator of<br />
the Family Life program, principal and<br />
superintendent of education during her<br />
career in education in the <strong>Ottawa</strong> area.<br />
She worked for the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> from 1957 to 1959<br />
and for the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> and its Nepean<br />
predecessors from 1960 to 1994.<br />
Among the highlights of her career<br />
in education are the following:<br />
Working with the Nepean Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> prior to the formation of the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> in 1969. Trustees had a real sense<br />
of “community service,” family values were<br />
honourable and teachers were respected.<br />
Family Life education began with this<br />
<strong>Board</strong>.<br />
Amalgamation of the smaller<br />
school boards in the Carleton area to form<br />
the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in 1969 brought a whole new<br />
dimension, with excellent administrative<br />
leadership, new initiatives and a desire to<br />
achieve full funding for <strong>Catholic</strong> schools.<br />
New programs were continually developed<br />
and the <strong>Board</strong>, under the direction of
Dr. William Crossan as Director of<br />
Education, was respected provincially as<br />
a leading school board. The Family Life<br />
program was a model for Ontario and the<br />
<strong>Board</strong> developed the first Ontario Ministry<br />
of Education course in Family Life for<br />
teachers in Ontario in 1972. The<br />
kindergarten program was also an<br />
outstanding initiative, along with French<br />
as a Second Language & Technology in the<br />
classroom, to mention just a few. All of these<br />
developments were exciting because staff<br />
always felt “ownership.” There was a<br />
wonderful balance of “grass roots”<br />
involvement and real leadership at the top.<br />
Everyone always felt proud to be employees<br />
of the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
The <strong>Board</strong> weathered all of the<br />
normal but difficult challenges with “class<br />
and concern,” for example, governance of<br />
the French schools, full funding for high<br />
schools (the <strong>Board</strong> was ready with its junior<br />
high schools) and amalgamation with the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> in 1998.<br />
“My memories are those of<br />
wonderful colleagues, tremendous families,<br />
strong leadership and dedication and lots<br />
of fun.”<br />
HISTORY OF...<br />
Claude Dubois<br />
Coordinator (retired)<br />
French as a Second Language<br />
Throughout most of its existence,<br />
the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> operated a French as a Second<br />
Language program (FSL), which proved<br />
highly successful and was the envy of many<br />
school authorities both provincially and<br />
abroad.<br />
Starting with a strong half-English<br />
and half-French language program in the<br />
two kindergarten years, students then<br />
progressed to a three-quarter English and<br />
one-quarter French language program<br />
during the primary and junior divisions.<br />
This allowed students to develop strong<br />
skills in their mother tongue while acquiring<br />
solid fundamentals in the French language,<br />
thus enabling them to pursue their second<br />
language aspirations in high school.<br />
All three FSL program options<br />
were made available to students beginning<br />
in Grade 7 and extending to the end of high<br />
school, namely: core, extended and<br />
immersion.<br />
In particular, the success of the<br />
Late Immersion option (50%-50% and later<br />
75% French and 25% English) was such a<br />
resounding success that many institutions<br />
from across the country and Europe lauded<br />
our practice and acquired our curricula.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
32<br />
Helen & Gerry Coulombe<br />
Teacher/Principal (retired)<br />
Our careers with the Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
spanned from the late 1970s through to<br />
amalgamation with the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in 1998 –<br />
a time of staggering growth and enthusiasm<br />
for <strong>Catholic</strong> education.<br />
Full funding brought expansion<br />
to the high school level. Because of Bill 81,<br />
we gave expression to an inclusionary focus<br />
for special needs students.<br />
What stands out above all is a<br />
strong thread of community, friendship<br />
and solidarity. Christian Community Days<br />
brought us together every fall, a time of<br />
thanksgiving both literally and figuratively,<br />
reminding us of our mission.<br />
The way in which we pursued<br />
professional development, upgrading and<br />
in-service during those years was part of<br />
an overall plan. Religious education courses,<br />
special education and technology kept us on<br />
a steady course. The conviction that we were<br />
a school board where heart, mind and soul<br />
kept children at the centre, was the vision<br />
which steered us.<br />
At a personal level, we were<br />
both blessed with leadership and career<br />
opportunities beyond the cherished<br />
classroom walls. We look back with pride,<br />
a sense of satisfaction and feelings of<br />
gratitude that we spent our working years<br />
with the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>. Teaching as a profession<br />
remains dear to us and passing the torch<br />
to our son keeps the passion for it alive.
The amalgamation of the two<br />
English <strong>Catholic</strong> school boards in<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong> area, legislated by the<br />
Provincial Government, took effect in 1998,<br />
launching a period of uniting two entities<br />
with different structures, philosophies and<br />
programs. However, three constants eased<br />
the transition and formed the basis on<br />
which the new board could move forward<br />
to become a provincially-recognized leader<br />
in education: student success, staff<br />
development and the wise use of resources.<br />
It was not easy in the early years<br />
of amalgamation to develop one entity where<br />
previously there had been two. Along with<br />
the amalgamation was a new provincial<br />
funding formula for education that<br />
presented challenges in implementation<br />
but also, at least for <strong>Catholic</strong> school boards<br />
across the province, brought equity to<br />
funding. The right to tax was removed from<br />
school boards, with the Provincial<br />
Government providing revenue based on a<br />
student per capita formula. In other words,<br />
each board in the province, whether <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
or public, rural or urban, English or French,<br />
was funded equally.<br />
For <strong>Catholic</strong> school boards, this<br />
usually meant an increase in funding, a fact<br />
that was very significant for boards like the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> which had previously been dependent<br />
on a tax base with a low commercialindustrial<br />
assessment resulting in smaller<br />
revenues than some more assessment-rich<br />
school boards. In some respects, this was<br />
preferable because these school boards knew<br />
how to make do with less, while still<br />
providing quality education. These practices<br />
would ultimately benefit the newlyamalgamated<br />
school boards, since the new<br />
provincial funding formula would lag behind<br />
real costs as the post-amalgamation years<br />
unfolded. Amalgamated school boards had<br />
to become imaginative in their programming<br />
HISTORY OF...<br />
HISTORY OF THE<br />
OTTAWA-<br />
CARLETON<br />
CATHOLIC<br />
SCHOOL<br />
BOARD<br />
1998 TO PRESENT<br />
and efficient in their management in order<br />
to maintain a financial equilibrium.<br />
Amalgamation itself was opposed<br />
by the CRCSSB, with the issue becoming a<br />
major topic of study and concern during the<br />
1990s. The <strong>Board</strong> contended that the real<br />
problem facing school boards in the province<br />
was the disparity of assessment wealth<br />
among boards, as well as shortcomings in<br />
the provincial funding program that was<br />
in place. This, in the view of the CRCSSB,<br />
failed to distribute resources equitably<br />
among school boards. Little did the CRCSSB<br />
know that, when forcing the amalgamation<br />
of school boards, the province would<br />
radically alter the education funding<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
33<br />
formula, removing them from dependence on<br />
assessment wealth and providing equal<br />
funding for every student in Ontario.<br />
The Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> entered<br />
amalgamation with more <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
ratepayers than its new partner, the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, as<br />
well as with more students, but with less<br />
assessment wealth. In 1991, the CRCSSB<br />
had 77,462 <strong>Catholic</strong> ratepayers in its<br />
jurisdiction. This included the rural and<br />
suburban portions of the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
area, including the Townships of<br />
Cumberland, Goulbourn, Osgoode, Rideau<br />
and West Carleton and the suburban cities<br />
of Nepean, Gloucester and Kanata. The<br />
ORCSSB, in 1991, had 69,536 ratepayers<br />
located in what was then the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong>,<br />
as well as the Village of Rockcliffe Park and<br />
the City of Vanier. It had access to more<br />
than twice the equalized assessment wealth<br />
per pupil at both the elementary and high<br />
school levels compared to the CRCSSB.<br />
This difference was reflected in the level of<br />
expenditure per pupil by each board. Again<br />
using 1991 figures, the ORCSSB spent<br />
$437.55 more per pupil at the elementary<br />
level and $914.35 more at the high school<br />
level. With regard to student enrolment, the<br />
CRCSSB had about twice as many students<br />
as the ORCSSB.<br />
The 1991 figures, used here<br />
because they are the best available<br />
comparable data on the two former boards,<br />
show that the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> had 20,729 students<br />
while the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> had 10,080 students.<br />
If amalgamation were just a<br />
matter of board assessment wealth and<br />
number of ratepayers and students, it would<br />
have been a relatively easy transition. But<br />
the real challenge to the amalgamation
process came in bringing together the<br />
different programs and philosophies of the<br />
boards; programs and philosophies, dictated<br />
by the unique history, geography and<br />
clientele of each board. Fortunately, both<br />
boards had the same philosophical and<br />
theological foundations with regard to<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education, so this most basic and<br />
relevant of considerations, the provision of<br />
an education based on Gospel values and<br />
the teachings of the Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Church,<br />
was the common bond upon which the<br />
success of amalgamation was based. The<br />
belief was strong in both boards that a<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school must be one in which God,<br />
His truth and His life are integrated into<br />
the entire syllabus, curriculum and life of<br />
the school. But there were challenges to<br />
the amalgamation.<br />
There were differences in school<br />
structure and organization, French as a<br />
second language, the curriculum delivery<br />
model, special education programs and<br />
services, the evaluation of student<br />
achievement, kindergarten programs and<br />
English as a second language. All of these<br />
had to be rationalized and harmonized across<br />
the jurisdiction of the new board, a task<br />
which, in some cases, such as French as a<br />
second language, took until 2005 to resolve.<br />
The most contentious issues facing<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
was the rationalization of school space<br />
and facilities. This was an issue that was<br />
driven more by the new funding model<br />
implemented by the Provincial Government<br />
than the actual amalgamation of the two<br />
former school boards. A school board could<br />
not qualify for capital funding to build<br />
needed new schools unless it had more<br />
students than pupil places in the system.<br />
Inevitably, the need for new schools in the<br />
amalgamated board existed in the suburban<br />
growth areas of the former Carleton board<br />
jurisdiction, while the vacant spaces, mainly<br />
but not exclusively within the area of the<br />
HISTORY OF...<br />
former <strong>Ottawa</strong> board, were bloating the<br />
overall pupil places count. The exception to<br />
this urban-suburban distribution of spaces<br />
was in some of the older sections of Nepean<br />
and Gloucester, where enrolment was<br />
declining. This stemmed the flow of capital<br />
dollars for the needed new schools, and<br />
resulted in a prolonged and at times heated<br />
process, which led to the closing of a number<br />
of schools, eliminating pupil places, thus<br />
providing the OCCSB with access to capital<br />
funding so that new schools could continue<br />
to be built in growth areas within its<br />
jurisdiction. This was accomplished, but the<br />
school closure and rationalization situation<br />
was the overriding issue in the first years<br />
of the new board.<br />
At its birth in 1998, the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> had<br />
61 elementary schools, 11 high schools, five<br />
intermediate schools, one adult high school<br />
and four adult day schools. In total, there<br />
were 38,528 students guided by a staff of<br />
2,217 teachers, vice-principals, principals<br />
and other education staff. Trustee Ronald P.<br />
Larkin was the first chairperson of the new<br />
board, which had been reduced to only ten<br />
members. Trustee Thérèse Maloney<br />
Cousineau was the first vice-chairperson of<br />
the <strong>Board</strong>. Other trustees serving from 1998<br />
to 2000 were John Chiarelli, Mary Curry,<br />
June Flynn-Turner, Arthur J.M. Lamarche,<br />
Catherine Maguire-Urban, Des Curley, Mark<br />
Mullan and Patrick Mullan. Philip A. Rocco,<br />
the former Director of Education for the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>, was selected as the first Director of<br />
Education of the new OCCSB.<br />
The <strong>Board</strong> established its head<br />
office at the C.B. MacDonald <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Education Centre on Merivale Road in<br />
Nepean, the former headquarters of the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>. The budget for the new school board<br />
for the 1998-99 school year was<br />
$235.8 million. In addition, the <strong>Board</strong> had<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
34<br />
a restructuring fund budget of $4.4 million<br />
and a capital budget of $17.4 million.<br />
By the 2003-04 school year, the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> had<br />
rationalized many of its operations, had<br />
moved into a new headquarters facility on<br />
Hunt Club Road in 2002, had a new director<br />
of education and was continuing to grow.<br />
By this time, it had 60 elementary schools,<br />
14 high schools, three intermediate schools,<br />
one adult high school and four adult day<br />
schools. Student enrolment reached<br />
approximately 40,900, supported by a<br />
professional staff of more than 2,400 teachers,<br />
vice-principals, principals and education staff.<br />
James G. McCracken was appointed Director<br />
of Education for the OCCSB in July 2003,<br />
implementing an era of focus on student<br />
success, staff development and the<br />
responsible use of resources.<br />
The Educational Programs<br />
Department of the <strong>Board</strong> developed<br />
initiatives aimed at these three goals. Success<br />
for students initiatives included programs<br />
focused on literacy and numeracy, such as<br />
completion of an early literacy initiative<br />
for grade 3 teachers and continued<br />
implementation of the Primary 4 Blocks<br />
initiative for teachers of French as a second<br />
language. There was also a focus on helping<br />
at-risk students through the development of<br />
a department model for the implementation<br />
of remedial programs, the creation of an<br />
assessment manual and the use of PM<br />
benchmarks for the tracking of student<br />
progress and the continuation and expansion<br />
of the <strong>Board</strong>’s “Everybody Learns” project.<br />
There was also a focus on literacy and<br />
numeracy at the secondary level with ongoing<br />
support for the “Pathways for Success”<br />
initiative. Enhancement of programs in the<br />
area of technology was also a focus at the<br />
secondary level at this time. Professional<br />
development and support for all Educational<br />
Programs Department innovations continued<br />
including support for elementary teachers
of Religious Education, Family Life, and<br />
sacramental preparation. There were also<br />
adult faith initiatives for staff.<br />
The Information Technology<br />
Department of the OCCSB was also busy<br />
at this time developing communications<br />
infrastructure, connectivity among schools<br />
and to the internet, deployment of hardware<br />
and software to all <strong>Board</strong> facilities and the<br />
professional development of staff in<br />
technology matters. Academically, department<br />
staff developed the RoboDome program,<br />
video conferencing in high schools, the rollout<br />
of the new teacher performance appraisal,<br />
replacement of computer labs in high schools<br />
and continual upgrading and replacement<br />
of computer hardware and software.<br />
The Student Services Department,<br />
at the same time, continued to promote the<br />
goal of inclusive programming for students<br />
with special needs. This meant that<br />
wherever possible, special needs students<br />
would be educated in regular classrooms<br />
with age-appropriate peers in their<br />
community schools. The department was<br />
in the process of developing programs for<br />
autism and for developmentally challenged<br />
adolescents.<br />
In 2003-04, the Continuing and<br />
Community Education Department provided<br />
programs and services for more than<br />
45,000 students annually, including four<br />
daytime adult schools for English as a<br />
second language (Queen of the Angels,<br />
St. Agnes, St. Joseph’s and St. Patrick’s),<br />
and 22 community locations offering English<br />
as a second language programs, with over<br />
15,000 adult learners benefiting from them<br />
over the course of the year. There were also<br />
five federally-funded language instruction<br />
classes for newcomers, 27 languages<br />
provided to over 2,500 students at<br />
11 elementary sites each Saturday, and<br />
13 languages and 55 credits available to<br />
more than 750 secondary students each<br />
HISTORY OF...<br />
Saturday at St. Pius X High <strong>School</strong>.<br />
Elementary summer schools and camps were<br />
provided to over 1,000 students. Literacy<br />
and numeracy programs, operating in seven<br />
locations, served up to 400 adults each year,<br />
and night and summer school credit courses<br />
had an enrolment of more than 10,000<br />
students. On-line credit courses, youth<br />
camps during March break and summer and<br />
a driver-education program were offered to<br />
about 600 high school students annually.<br />
The operating budget for the 2003-<br />
04 school year totaled $316.1 million, in the<br />
service of approximately 39,200 students.<br />
This budget represented an increase in<br />
spending of about $34 million over the<br />
previous budget year due to additional<br />
funding provided by the Provincial<br />
Government. The <strong>Board</strong> at this time<br />
employed 2,439 active permanent teachers<br />
including 126 who were newly-hired for<br />
2003-04. There were also 850 teachers on<br />
the occasional teachers’ list. Also employed<br />
were approximately 1,000 non-teaching staff<br />
comprised of teaching assistants, library<br />
technicians, secretaries, custodians and<br />
central board office staff. Continuing<br />
Education staff numbered upwards of<br />
1,400 personnel.<br />
In 2006, the <strong>Board</strong> approved a tenyear<br />
Capital Plan that included a number<br />
of projects in its first five years aimed at<br />
providing school accommodation in those<br />
areas of the <strong>Board</strong>’s jurisdiction where<br />
student enrolment growth was straining<br />
existing school facilities. These new school<br />
facilities include a new 30-room addition at<br />
Mother Teresa High <strong>School</strong> in South Nepean<br />
in 2007, a new 24-room addition at Holy<br />
Trinity <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> in Kanata in<br />
2007, a new 30-room addition at All Saints<br />
High <strong>School</strong> in Kanata in 2007, a<br />
renovation-conversion program at St. Mark<br />
High <strong>School</strong> in Manotick in 2006 (followed<br />
by construction of a new addition in 2007),<br />
construction of a new elementary school in<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
35<br />
Stittsville in 2008, construction of a new<br />
secondary school in Riverside South in 2008,<br />
and additions to St. Michael <strong>School</strong> in<br />
Corkery, Lester B. Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> and St. Matthew High <strong>School</strong> in<br />
2007-08.<br />
Trustees of the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
1998 to 2000<br />
John Chiarelli, Des Curley, Mary Curry,<br />
June Flynn-Turner, Arthur J.M. Lamarche,<br />
Ronald P. Larkin, Catherine Maguire-Urban,<br />
Thérèse Maloney Cousineau, Mark Mullan,<br />
Patrick Mullan<br />
2000 to 2003<br />
Kathy Ablett, John Chiarelli, Des Curley,<br />
John Curry, June Flynn-Turner, Betty-Ann<br />
Kealey, Arthur J.M. Lamarche, Jacqueline<br />
Legendre-McGuinty, Thérèse Maloney<br />
Cousineau, Mark Mullan<br />
2003 to 2006<br />
Kathy Ablett, Gordon Butler, Des Curley,<br />
John Curry, June Flynn-Turner, Betty-Ann<br />
Kealey, Arthur J. M. Lamarche, Jacqueline<br />
Legendre-McGuinty, Thérèse Maloney<br />
Cousineau, Mark Mullan
The <strong>Catholic</strong> Education Foundation<br />
of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton (CEFOC) was<br />
created in 1999 as a registered<br />
fundraising entity operating at arms-length<br />
from the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>.<br />
The Foundation was set up initially<br />
with the view that it would undertake a variety<br />
of fundraising initiatives. These included a<br />
capital campaign to help pay off the debt<br />
related to the construction of the Sacred Heart<br />
High <strong>School</strong> theatre, an upgrading of computer<br />
technology, and the provision of help to<br />
alleviate poverty in schools. Dr. David Pfeiffer<br />
was the inaugural Chairperson of the <strong>Board</strong> of<br />
Directors of the <strong>Catholic</strong> Education Foundation<br />
of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton. Philip A, Rocco, the<br />
Director of Education for the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> at the time, was the first<br />
President and Secretary. Wayne Bishop, the<br />
recently retired Manager of Corporate &<br />
Administrative Services with the OCCSB, was<br />
the first Vice-President and Treasurer.<br />
Inaugural members of the <strong>Board</strong><br />
of Directors of the <strong>Catholic</strong> Education<br />
Foundation of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton were Bill<br />
Collins of the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Centre for Research<br />
and Innovation, June Flynn-Turner, <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> Chairperson,<br />
OCCSB Trustee Mary Curry, Rev. Joe<br />
Leclair, and lawyers James Leal and Peter<br />
Vice. Lisa Hopkins was the Administrative<br />
Officer in charge of the development office<br />
of the school board, which administered the<br />
Foundation.<br />
By 2004, the <strong>Catholic</strong> Education<br />
Foundation of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton had honed its<br />
focus to concentrate on helping to alleviate<br />
poverty in <strong>Board</strong> schools. By 2006, the<br />
Foundation had awarded a total of $205,000<br />
to 20 innovative programs and projects under<br />
its “Helping To Alleviate Poverty In Our<br />
<strong>School</strong>s” campaign. Some of the projects<br />
receiving assistance included the following:<br />
FOUNDATION<br />
CATHOLIC<br />
EDUCATION<br />
FOUNDATION<br />
OF OTTAWA-<br />
CARLETON<br />
• Summer camps coordinated by the<br />
Children’s Support Committee of the<br />
<strong>Board</strong> - $25,500<br />
The Committee coordinated six one-week<br />
camps over the course of four summers in<br />
six different school locations, providing an<br />
opportunity for students from each school<br />
to attend a week of fun-filled activities.<br />
Priority for attendance was given to<br />
students whose families were financially<br />
disadvantaged and would not normally<br />
have the opportunity to attend such a<br />
summer camp.<br />
• A school readiness project by the Child<br />
Care Services Department of the <strong>Board</strong> -<br />
$6,000, with the funds matched by the<br />
Ontario Ministry of Community and<br />
Social Services<br />
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This three-year pilot project offered home<br />
visits by trained early-childhood<br />
professionals to families whose children<br />
were entering kindergarten in designated<br />
high-needs schools.<br />
• A Big Sisters, Big Brothers of <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
mentorship program at Immaculata High<br />
<strong>School</strong> - $21,500<br />
This co-op mentorship program matched<br />
highly-motivated secondary school student<br />
leaders with “at risk” elementary students<br />
between the ages of seven and 11.<br />
• An early literacy project at Our Lady<br />
of Mount Carmel <strong>School</strong> - $21,500<br />
This multi-year project focused on<br />
improving the literacy of children in the<br />
primary grades in a partnership with<br />
students from the University of <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
and Carleton University<br />
• A Rich Mind Club at Brother André<br />
<strong>School</strong> - $7,305<br />
This after-school club was designed for<br />
45 grades 2 to 6 students, offering a safe,<br />
nurturing and accepting environment to<br />
concentrate on homework, reading and<br />
computer skills.<br />
• A junior division swim program at<br />
St. Anthony <strong>School</strong> - $4,000<br />
The funds provided four nine-week<br />
swimming programs for a total of<br />
80 impoverished or at risk students<br />
at a local swimming pool.<br />
• A program called “Holistic Education:<br />
Making A Better World One Child At<br />
A Time” at Bayshore <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> -<br />
$7,100<br />
This is part of an ongoing literacy<br />
initiative at the school, contributing<br />
funds to purchase additional reading<br />
materials and incorporating “Second<br />
Steps,” a research-based curriculum<br />
designed to teach social and emotional<br />
skills to help prevent aggression and<br />
violence. The program also includes<br />
a three-day trip to camp.
Besides its “Helping To Alleviate<br />
Poverty In Our <strong>School</strong>s Campaign,” the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education Foundation of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton also has emergency response funds<br />
which provide immediate assistance to<br />
impoverished children and their families.<br />
This assistance includes the provision of eye<br />
glasses, EpiPens, medical supplies, food and<br />
clothing, transportation and other financial<br />
needs resulting from situations of family<br />
crisis.<br />
Fundraising efforts of the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Education Foundation of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
to support its assistance to these educational<br />
programs and emergency response<br />
situations include special events, in<br />
memoriam programs offered through all<br />
local funeral homes, payroll deduction via<br />
the United Way, partnerships with other<br />
organizations and corporate-sponsored<br />
Broadway musical productions which<br />
FOUNDATION<br />
annually include over 600 <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> students. Having the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education Foundation of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton included as a United Way agency<br />
and eligible to be assisted through directed<br />
United Way payroll deductions began in<br />
2005 and resulted in a substantial increase<br />
in funding provided to the Foundation.<br />
CEFOC’s major fundraising event<br />
is the annual Broadway musical involving<br />
students from schools across the <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
jurisdiction. This tradition began in 2003<br />
with the production of Joseph and The<br />
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, presented<br />
at the Sacred Heart High <strong>School</strong> Theatre. In<br />
2004, the musical The Music Man was<br />
presented, again at the Sacred Heart High<br />
<strong>School</strong> Theatre. In 2005, the venue changed<br />
to the St. Paul High <strong>School</strong> Theatre where<br />
Annie was presented. In 2006, the musical<br />
featured was Anything Goes, which was held<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
38<br />
at the St. Paul High <strong>School</strong> Theatre. Another<br />
fundraising event benefiting the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Education Foundation of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
is the annual O.C. Idol singing competition<br />
organized by the <strong>Board</strong>’s student trustees<br />
in cooperation with the student council<br />
co-presidents from the high schools across<br />
the system. In 2006, this O.C. Idol<br />
competition was held at St. Paul <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
High <strong>School</strong> with 12 singers involved, with<br />
Student Trustees Phillip MacDougall and<br />
Lisa Daly serving as the Masters of<br />
Ceremonies.<br />
In 2006, Trustee Arthur J.M.<br />
Lamarche serves as Chairperson of the<br />
<strong>Board</strong> of Directors of the <strong>Catholic</strong> Education<br />
Foundation of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton. James G.<br />
McCracken, OCCSB Director of Education,<br />
is the President and Secretary and Lisa<br />
Hopkins is the Executive Director.
Over the past 17 years, the<br />
provision of child care services<br />
has become an increasingly<br />
significant initiative. This has been<br />
accomplished through the work of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> Child Care<br />
Corporation, an arms-length corporation<br />
first established by the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, developing<br />
a variety of programs and services. This<br />
involvement with child care programs and<br />
service really began in June 1987, when<br />
the Ontario Ministry of Education and the<br />
Ministry of Community and Social Services<br />
launched an initiative called “New<br />
Directions in Child Care,” which was aimed<br />
at involving schools and school boards more<br />
fully in the provision of child care services<br />
and programs.<br />
At that time, the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> studied the matter and,<br />
following the hiring of a child care manager<br />
in November 1988, established the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> Child Care Corporation<br />
in April 1989. Its role was to facilitate the<br />
development of child care services.<br />
The new corporation took its first<br />
steps in this regard in September 1989, with<br />
the opening of the first child care centres at<br />
Holy Spirit <strong>School</strong> in Stittsville and at<br />
St. Francis of Assisi <strong>School</strong> in Orléans.<br />
This was followed in February 1991,<br />
with the opening of the Katimavik Preschool<br />
Resource Centre at Holy Trinity <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
High <strong>School</strong> in Kanata. Several months<br />
later, in July 1991, the Corporation opened<br />
the Katimavik Kindergarten/<strong>School</strong> Age<br />
Program at Holy Trinity <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong>. Next came the Charlemagne<br />
Preschool Resource Centre at St. Peter<br />
High <strong>School</strong> in Orléans in February 1993,<br />
followed by the expansion of school age care<br />
at both the St. Francis of Assisi Child Care<br />
Centre and the Katimavik Kindergarten/<br />
<strong>School</strong> Age program in September of that<br />
same year.<br />
CHILD CARE CORPORATION<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC<br />
CHILD CARE<br />
CORPORATION<br />
The Corporation was busy in July<br />
1994, opening three school age programs:<br />
the Mountshannon <strong>School</strong> Age Program at<br />
St. Luke <strong>School</strong> in South Nepean, the<br />
Gardenway <strong>School</strong> Age Program at St. Clare<br />
<strong>School</strong> in Orléans and the Stonehaven<br />
<strong>School</strong> Age Program at St. James <strong>School</strong><br />
in Kanata. The programs at both the<br />
Stonehaven <strong>School</strong> Age Program and the<br />
Mountshannon <strong>School</strong> Age Program were<br />
expanded in 1995 and 1996 respectively as<br />
the steady growth of the <strong>Board</strong>’s child care<br />
services and programs continued.<br />
In September 1996, the<br />
Charlemagne Nursery <strong>School</strong> opened in<br />
St. Peter High <strong>School</strong> in Orléans.<br />
The years 1996 and 1997 also<br />
saw the opening of four after-school clubs.<br />
During the years 1998 through<br />
2003, the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> Child<br />
Care Corporation continued to expand and<br />
grow its services and programs. This included<br />
the opening of the following facilities:<br />
January 1998 St. Nicholas <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
Preschool Program<br />
September 1998 A before-school club<br />
September 1999 A before-school club and an<br />
after-school club<br />
Five Ontario Works programs<br />
April 2000 Assumption of responsibility<br />
for the Language Instruction<br />
for Newcomers (LINC) child<br />
care<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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June 2000 Strandherd <strong>School</strong> Age<br />
Program at Monsignor Paul<br />
Baxter <strong>School</strong> in South<br />
Nepean<br />
Baywood <strong>School</strong> Age<br />
Program at Guardian Angels<br />
<strong>School</strong> in Stittsville<br />
Emerald Meadows <strong>School</strong><br />
Age Program at St. Anne<br />
<strong>School</strong> in Kanata<br />
September 2000 Two additional after-school<br />
clubs<br />
September 2001 Two additional before-school<br />
clubs and three more afterschool<br />
clubs<br />
August 2002 Portobello <strong>School</strong> Age<br />
Program at St. Theresa<br />
<strong>School</strong> in Orléans<br />
Keyworth <strong>School</strong> Age<br />
Program at St. George <strong>School</strong><br />
September 2002 One additional before-school<br />
club and one after-school<br />
club<br />
September 2003 One additional before-school<br />
club and one after-school<br />
club<br />
December 2003 Crestway <strong>School</strong> Age<br />
Program at St. Andrew<br />
<strong>School</strong> in South Nepean<br />
In September 2005, the Shoreline<br />
<strong>School</strong> Age Program was opened at<br />
St. Jerome <strong>School</strong> in Riverside South. In<br />
2006, four more child care centres were<br />
created at <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> schools under the “Best Start”<br />
program initiated by the Provincial<br />
Government as a result of the availability<br />
of Federal Government funding. New child<br />
care centres were added at Brother André<br />
<strong>School</strong> and Thomas D’Arcy McGee <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>, both in Gloucester, Prince of Peace<br />
<strong>School</strong> in South <strong>Ottawa</strong> and Our Lady of<br />
Peace <strong>School</strong> in Bells Corners.<br />
The <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Child Care Corporation has its own <strong>Board</strong><br />
of Directors consisting of two trustees of
the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>,<br />
a person appointed by the Director of<br />
Education and four to six persons who are<br />
neither trustees nor employees of the school<br />
board. For 2006, <strong>Board</strong> Chairperson June<br />
Flynn Turner is the President of the <strong>Board</strong><br />
of Directors, Catherine Maguire-Urban is<br />
Vice-President and the Directors are Trustee<br />
Betty-Ann Kealey, Leslie Kopf-Johnson and<br />
Sandy Tremblay. Dr. Lucy Miller,<br />
Superintendent of Educational Programs for<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>,<br />
is the corporation’s Secretary-Treasurer.<br />
Programs offered by the Child Care<br />
Corporation include: Kindergarten/<strong>School</strong><br />
Age programs (13 locations); preschool<br />
resource centres (two locations); and nursery<br />
school programs (one location).<br />
<strong>School</strong> board programs under the<br />
auspices of the Child Care Corporation<br />
include before/after-school clubs, and Ontario<br />
CHILD CARE CORPORATION<br />
Works Child Care and Language Instruction<br />
for Newcomers( LINC) child care. In 2006,<br />
before/after-school clubs exist at 12 schools<br />
(St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Chapel Hill<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>, St. Mary in <strong>Ottawa</strong>, St. Mary in<br />
Gloucester, Our Lady of Wisdom, Blessed<br />
Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Isidore, St. Brigid,<br />
St. Marguerite D’Youville, Georges Vanier<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>, McMaster <strong>Catholic</strong> and St. Patrick<br />
<strong>School</strong>s). These programs provide<br />
recreational activities including outdoor play,<br />
cooperative games and sports, arts and<br />
crafts, board games and dramatic play.<br />
Activities may also involve cooking, watching<br />
films or videos and homework time.<br />
In 2006, the Ontario Works Child<br />
Care exists at three locations. This is a<br />
program offered to adult students<br />
participating in English as a Second<br />
Language or Continuing Education as part<br />
of their Ontario Works development plan.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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The programs provide a relaxed<br />
child-centered environment where children<br />
can learn safely through play. The programs<br />
encourage development in social, emotional,<br />
physical and cognitive skills.<br />
In 2006, there was one location<br />
offering the Language Instruction for<br />
Newcomers (LINC) Child Care program.<br />
This is a service offered to adult students<br />
participating in LINC language classes.<br />
The program is similar to the one offered<br />
through the Ontario Works Child Care<br />
program. However, whereas in the Ontario<br />
Works Child Care program the costs are<br />
funded through the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong>, the<br />
program costs for the LINC Child Care<br />
Program are funded through federal<br />
government grants for children of new<br />
Canadians participating in LINC language<br />
classes.
Innovative, state-of-the-art curriculumbased<br />
educational software products<br />
developed by the NECTAR Foundation are<br />
now in use around the world as well as within<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
schools. This has all come about as the result<br />
of the creation and ensuing development and<br />
growth of the NECTAR Foundation, a nonprofit<br />
organization incorporated under the<br />
Ontario Corporations Act with letters patent<br />
issued in 1990 by the Ontario Ministry of<br />
Consumer and Commercial Affairs. The<br />
acronym NECTAR stands for New Era<br />
Classroom, Technology and Research.<br />
Dedicated to the development of<br />
innovative educational programs featuring<br />
the integration of interactive multimedia<br />
technologies and individualized student<br />
programs, the NECTAR Foundation grew<br />
out of a demand in the late 1980s to use<br />
computers to support student learning and<br />
to provide students with technical skills for<br />
future careers.<br />
The Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> emerged as a leader<br />
in this field, developing unique curricula<br />
that incorporated technology with<br />
traditional programs. Other school boards<br />
indicated an interest in obtaining these new<br />
programs which use the power of technology<br />
in student learning. In addition, companies<br />
such as Unisys Canada wanted to undertake<br />
joint development projects with the CRCSSB<br />
to develop software applicable to the<br />
curriculum. However, the Education Act does<br />
not allow school boards to sell materials<br />
and products. As a result, the NECTAR<br />
Foundation, a non-profit, independent and<br />
self-sustaining foundation, was formed to<br />
be the legal entity that could develop and<br />
market curriculum-based software and also<br />
partner with private sector organizations.<br />
The development of curriculumbased<br />
software, such as NECTAR’s<br />
renowned TREK series, has meant that<br />
NECTAR<br />
NECTAR<br />
FOUNDATION<br />
(NEW ERA CLASSROOM,<br />
TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH<br />
FOUNDATION)<br />
NECTAR products are now marketed and<br />
used around the world. A number of its<br />
software programs have been licensed for<br />
use in large educational jurisdictions such<br />
as the Province of Ontario, <strong>School</strong>net India,<br />
South Africa, Barbados and large counties<br />
in the United States. NECTAR products<br />
are now available in English, French and<br />
Spanish in both Macintosh and Windows<br />
formats and in both educational and home<br />
versions.<br />
NECTAR usually works with<br />
partners to develop and market its<br />
curriculum materials, including educational<br />
partners such as the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> and many other<br />
school boards. Staff from the various school<br />
boards have been invaluable in contributing<br />
their educational expertise to the<br />
development of these curriculum-based<br />
software products.<br />
Among NECTAR’s development<br />
partners are or have been Unisys Canada<br />
Inc., the Eastern Ontario Staff Development<br />
Network, Gage Publishing, Inukshuk<br />
Internet Inc., the Canadian Space Agency<br />
and <strong>School</strong>net India.<br />
NECTAR products are distributed<br />
directly by NECTAR throughout the world<br />
and by distributors such as Bradford<br />
Publishing, Siboney Learning Group,<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
41<br />
Academic Distributors and Curriculum<br />
Services Corporation in the United States,<br />
W & G Marketing in Australia and New<br />
Zealand, <strong>School</strong>net India in South Asia<br />
and Rheids Education in South Africa.<br />
The NECTAR Foundation is a selffunded<br />
organization. Its operating capital<br />
comes from the sale of its educational<br />
products. The capital is then reinvested in<br />
further product development. Partnership<br />
initiatives also are a source of funding for<br />
the Foundation.<br />
NECTAR staff have produced a<br />
wide variety of educational materials over<br />
the years including print, video and audio<br />
kits, educational software and CD ROM<br />
disks. NECTAR staff have won awards<br />
for their work in curriculum development<br />
including the Prime Minister’s Award for<br />
Excellence in Technology, the Ontario<br />
Association of Curriculum Development<br />
Award and the National Institute Award<br />
from Northern Telecom (Nortel). NECTAR<br />
work has been featured in a video produced<br />
by the International Society for Technology<br />
in Education. This video focuses on how<br />
technology should be and will be used in the<br />
classroom in the future.<br />
Among the NECTAR educational<br />
software now on the market are: the MATH<br />
TREK series of multimedia programs<br />
covering the Mathematics curriculum from<br />
Kindergarten to Grade 12; the LANGUAGE<br />
TREK series of multimedia programs which<br />
covers the Language Arts curriculum from<br />
Kindergarten to Grade 10; the SCIENCE<br />
TREK 4, 5 and 6 series for the Science<br />
program in Grades 4, 5 and 6; Professional<br />
Learning Courses for Teachers, a series of<br />
79 courses produced in partnership with<br />
the Eastern Ontario Staff Development<br />
Network, which features courses self-paced<br />
and designed for the personal professional<br />
development of teachers and which are<br />
provided to teachers at no cost; and the
Canadian Space Agency series, two<br />
programs, one for Grades 4, 5 and 6 and<br />
the other for Grades 10 to 12 which were<br />
developed for the Canadian Space Agency,<br />
focusing on teaching Math skills in the<br />
context of space navigation.<br />
The <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> and its students benefit from<br />
the existence of NECTAR because they have<br />
these state-of-the-art curriculum-based<br />
software products available to them.<br />
NECTAR provides the software to the <strong>Board</strong><br />
and also offers home versions to parents<br />
and families at a reduced cost.<br />
<strong>Board</strong> of Directors<br />
NECTAR<br />
A <strong>Board</strong> of Directors governs the<br />
NECTAR Foundation. Traditionally, since<br />
its formation in 1990 at the instigation of<br />
the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, several trustees and the<br />
Director of Education have served on the<br />
<strong>Board</strong> of Directors, along with<br />
representatives from business and industry<br />
and other educators.<br />
Members of the first <strong>Board</strong> of<br />
Directors of the NECTAR Foundation were:<br />
Dr. William Crossan, Director of Education<br />
Arthur J.M. Lamarche, Trustee<br />
James Lea, Lawyer<br />
Dale Henderson, Educator<br />
Brent Wilson, Educator<br />
Vic D’Amico, Executive Director<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
42<br />
The <strong>Board</strong> of Directors was<br />
expanded to eight members in the second<br />
year of operation of NECTAR.<br />
Members of the <strong>Board</strong> of Directors of the<br />
NECTAR Foundation in 2006 are:<br />
James G. McCracken, Director of Education<br />
Gordon Butler, Trustee<br />
Des Curley, Trustee<br />
Arthur J.M. Lamarche, Trustee<br />
Mark Mullan, Trustee<br />
Gerry Clarke<br />
Margot Crawford<br />
David Leach<br />
Brent Wilson
The Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> Central Resource Centre,<br />
which was established in 1972,<br />
was dedicated as the Derry Byrne Teacher<br />
Resource Centre in 1996 in honour of the<br />
late Derry Byrne, Director of Education of<br />
the <strong>Board</strong> at the time of his death.<br />
The Teacher Resource Centre<br />
initially served 22 schools in the Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>’s English<br />
panel and 18 schools in the French panel.<br />
The Centre was initially located in a<br />
770 square foot room at the <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
administration building at 1695 Merivale<br />
Road in Nepean. At its inception it held<br />
about 875 volumes, under the direction of<br />
consultant Sister Lillia Teaffe. In September<br />
1973, Lloyd Ambler, who was later to become<br />
a principal with the <strong>Board</strong>, was hired as<br />
Coordinator of the Teacher Resource Centre,<br />
and Sister Teaffe stayed on as the full-time<br />
consultant. Edwin Costello was the full-time<br />
audio-visual consultant.<br />
This Teacher Resource Centre was<br />
considered a showplace, as it was a brand<br />
new concept, fulfilling the role of a teacher<br />
resource centre but also strongly tied into<br />
the development of all of the school libraries<br />
as well.<br />
As the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> built new schools with<br />
libraries, and expanded existing school<br />
libraries to accommodate ever-increasing<br />
enrolment growth, financial resources often<br />
prevented the purchase of duplicate holdings<br />
for every school. The Teacher Resource<br />
Centre overcame this problem by stocking<br />
materials which all staff in any school could<br />
borrow. As the <strong>Board</strong> continued to grow,<br />
school teacher-librarians each spent one<br />
half-day per month working at the Centre<br />
for the first few years of its existence.<br />
TEACHER RESOURCE CENTRE<br />
DERRY BYRNE<br />
TEACHER<br />
RESOURCE<br />
CENTRE<br />
While school librarians were<br />
developing their own individual resources,<br />
the centralizing of consultative and<br />
administrative material continued. The<br />
Teacher Resource Centre was given wider<br />
responsibilities to equalize all school<br />
resource materials, to develop and plan new<br />
resource facilities and to implement a core<br />
curriculum for the <strong>Board</strong>. At the same time,<br />
the Teacher Resource Centre introduced<br />
services in video programming, inter-board<br />
film and television liaison, slide production,<br />
audio-visual loans, video editing and<br />
copying, audio reproduction and core<br />
program control and distribution. The<br />
Centre had the first laminating machines<br />
within the <strong>Board</strong>, equipment far beyond the<br />
resources of individual schools at that time.<br />
The Teacher Resource Centre also oversaw<br />
the introduction of colour televisions to the<br />
<strong>Board</strong> schools.<br />
The Teacher Resource Centre grew<br />
and evolved along with the <strong>Board</strong> and with<br />
the education system in Ontario in general.<br />
In its first five years of operation, it<br />
expanded from 875 volumes to over 15,000.<br />
This growth meant that a new, larger home<br />
was needed, just as more than 6,000 square<br />
feet of space became available in the lower<br />
level of Pope John XXIII <strong>School</strong> in Nepean.<br />
The move began on July 1, 1978, and was<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
43<br />
completed in March 1979. An official open<br />
house was held in April 1979 to mark the<br />
occasion.<br />
Besides having space to house the<br />
Teacher Resource Centre’s holdings, the new<br />
location also provided rooms that could be<br />
used for meetings, professional development<br />
sessions and other events. By 1996, the<br />
Teacher Resource Centre, newly renamed<br />
the Derry Byrne Teacher Resource Centre,<br />
had over 20,000 holdings. But while the<br />
Centre was still a vital support to ensure<br />
high-quality <strong>Catholic</strong> education in the<br />
CRCSSB schools at that time, it became<br />
much more than a supplier of text books.<br />
It began to provide curriculum support<br />
materials and professional resources to<br />
teachers. The provision of resource materials<br />
in computer CD format became more and<br />
more important.<br />
The Derry Byrne Teacher Resource<br />
Centre continues to play an important role<br />
in providing the support materials and<br />
resources required to ensure that <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> teachers and<br />
students have the tools they need to ensure<br />
top-quality <strong>Catholic</strong> education in <strong>Board</strong><br />
schools.
When the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>’s Central<br />
Resource Centre was dedicated as<br />
the Derry Byrne Teacher Resource Centre in<br />
1996, a display of historical items related to<br />
education was assembled for the ceremony.<br />
This proved to be the genesis of the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Education Museum of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton.<br />
For that display, school board<br />
archives were searched for appropriate<br />
materials, individual schools were asked to<br />
submit items and materials, and artifacts<br />
were borrowed from the Mae Rooney<br />
collection of school-related memorabilia<br />
dating back to the early 1800s. This<br />
successful display of historical items was still<br />
a fresh experience when a committee, under<br />
the chairmanship of Paulina Brecher, was<br />
established on August 31, 1999 to plan the<br />
celebrations and events for the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> to mark the<br />
coming of the Millennium in 2000. One of the<br />
suggestions which arose was to establish a<br />
permanent <strong>Board</strong> museum to display items<br />
of historical significance, including both<br />
written and pictorial documents, and items<br />
used by students and teachers in the past.<br />
A millennium museum subcommittee<br />
was formed under the direction<br />
of Faye Powell as Chairperson. Others on<br />
this museum sub-committee were Paulina<br />
Brecher, Chairperson of the Millennium<br />
Committee, Wayne Bishop, Ralph<br />
Watzenboeck, Glenda Archer, Starr Kelly,<br />
Carol Thibault and Glenda MacDonnell. This<br />
sub-committee was tasked with directing<br />
the museum project, including making an<br />
application for a federal millennium grant.<br />
Sub-committee members Wayne Bishop and<br />
Paulina Brecher completed the detailed work<br />
on the federal grant submission, with<br />
Trustee Arthur J.M. Lamarche providing<br />
invaluable liaison advice.<br />
Upon approval of the federal<br />
millennium grant, the museum project moved<br />
EDUCATION MUSEUM<br />
CATHOLIC<br />
EDUCATION<br />
MUSEUM<br />
OF<br />
OTTAWA-<br />
CARLETON<br />
ahead, with discussions held with Mae<br />
Rooney, a retired principal, for the purchase<br />
of all or part of her collection. She had put<br />
together the collection over many years,<br />
developing it into a unique collection of school<br />
items and memorabilia including sets of<br />
textbooks, provincial examinations, a set<br />
of pupil lunch kits dating back to the early<br />
1800s and a complete series of Catechisms<br />
used in <strong>Catholic</strong> schools in Ontario over the<br />
years. It was an invaluable collection of<br />
school-related historical materials.<br />
The timing to acquire this collection<br />
proved to be just right, as the collection had<br />
outgrown Mrs. Rooney’s home and she was<br />
looking for an appropriate new venue for it.<br />
The discussions between the school board<br />
and Mrs. Rooney proved fruitful and an<br />
appropriate deal was struck. Space to house<br />
the collection was provided at the Derry<br />
Byrne Teacher Resource Centre and the<br />
collection was moved there thanks to the<br />
efforts of the members of the museum subcommittee<br />
and with the advice of Mrs. Rooney.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
45<br />
An official dedication, opening and<br />
reception for the new <strong>Catholic</strong> Education<br />
Museum of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton was held at the<br />
Derry Byrne Teacher Resource Centre on<br />
April 4, 2001, with representatives of the<br />
federal government, the school board and<br />
others in attendance. The ringing of an<br />
antique school bell, part of the collection,<br />
announced the opening. A plaque unveiled to<br />
mark the occasion was provided through the<br />
efforts of Trustee Arthur J.M. Lamarche.<br />
With the opening of the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Education Centre, the <strong>Board</strong>’s new central<br />
administration facility on Hunt Club Road,<br />
a room just inside the doorway leading to<br />
the <strong>Board</strong> Room was provided to house the<br />
museum and its collection. The transfer of<br />
the collection from the Derry Byrne Teacher<br />
Resource Centre premises to the new<br />
location was undertaken by Faye Powell<br />
and a group of retired <strong>Board</strong> personnel.<br />
The <strong>Catholic</strong> Education Museum of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton was set up and ready in time for<br />
the official opening of the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Education Centre on February 16, 2003.<br />
The Mae Rooney collection, which<br />
is the foundation of the museum, is available<br />
for research purposes. In addition, items<br />
can be borrowed by schools for special<br />
celebrations. The museum is open for visits<br />
and presentations by teachers, students and<br />
community groups. The museum is filled<br />
with original school desks, books and<br />
classroom memorabilia, set up in a school<br />
room setting, reminiscent of the one-room<br />
school house of the past where a single<br />
teacher would be in charge of students at<br />
every level of learning.<br />
The <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> is now the custodian of the<br />
museum and the Mae Rooney collection.<br />
The direction of the museum and its<br />
operation fall under the jurisdiction of the<br />
Historical Committee of the <strong>Board</strong>.
The <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> is one of the few school<br />
boards in the province with a choir<br />
comprised of students drawn from schools<br />
across its jurisdiction. Directed by Mrs.<br />
MaryAnn Dunn since its formation in 1991,<br />
the OCCSB Children’s Choir celebrated its<br />
15 th anniversary at its spring concert in<br />
June 2006.<br />
Approximately 500 students<br />
have been chosen for the choir over the<br />
course of its 15-year history. Originally<br />
a group of 54 singers, the choir currently has<br />
80 members with 35 senior members forming<br />
a more advanced chamber choir. Due to<br />
increasing interest, there is now Young Voices<br />
(a training choir) and a new boys’ choir.<br />
Over the years, the Children’s<br />
Choir has competed successfully at the<br />
annual Kiwanis Music Festival. The choir<br />
has also performed at many different venues<br />
for the school board and the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
as well as at national events, always<br />
representing the OCCSB and the area with<br />
pride, honour and distinction.<br />
From the beginning, the Children’s<br />
Choir was an honours group, chosen by<br />
audition from across the jurisdiction of the<br />
<strong>Board</strong>. The Chamber Choir was formed in<br />
1998 so that senior choir members could<br />
continue singing. The training choir (Young<br />
Voices) was begun in 2000 while the boys’<br />
choir started in 2004.<br />
Choir members are selected based<br />
on their natural talent and their joy of<br />
singing regardless of their experience.<br />
Many members stay for the duration of<br />
their elementary school careers while some<br />
remain in the choir for only a year or two.<br />
Whether a novice or a veteran, each child<br />
makes his or her contribution to the vocal<br />
and musical excellence of the choir.<br />
CHILDREN’S CHOIR<br />
OTTAWA-<br />
CARLETON<br />
CATHOLIC<br />
SCHOOL<br />
BOARD<br />
CHILDREN’S<br />
CHOIR<br />
The Children’s Choir has sung in<br />
over a dozen languages, performing a variety<br />
of music from classical to contemporary,<br />
folk to sacred. The choir has produced two<br />
compact discs, Light of the World and Shine.<br />
It has also performed several songs<br />
especially commissioned for it, including<br />
You Are The Light of the World by Michel<br />
Guimont and Our Father, The Candle, Jack<br />
Was Every Inch A Sailor and When the Ice<br />
Worms Nest Again, all by Tony Dunn.<br />
Among the highlight performances<br />
by the Children’s Choir over the years have<br />
been at the National Citizenship ceremony<br />
for Nelson Mandela at the Museum of<br />
Civilization; at the 80 th birthday party for<br />
Alex Colville at the National Gallery of<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
47<br />
Canada; at Young People’s Concerts at<br />
the National Arts Centre with the NAC<br />
Orchestra; at the Festival of Carols at<br />
the National Gallery of Canada; at the<br />
50th anniversary of the United Nations at<br />
Centrepointe Theatre in Nepean; at the<br />
50th anniversary of Canadian Citizenship<br />
in the House of Commons; at the Ontario<br />
Music Educators’ Conference at the National<br />
Library; at Unisong 2000; at the Niagara<br />
International Festival in Niagara Falls; at<br />
citizenship ceremonies at the Supreme Court<br />
of Canada; at the Kiwanis Music Festival<br />
highlights concert; at the National Memorial<br />
concert for fallen police officers; at the<br />
Conference of <strong>Catholic</strong> Superintendents of<br />
Ontario; at annual Christmas and Spring<br />
concerts; and at the <strong>Board</strong>’s annual<br />
Education Week Mass.<br />
The Children’s Choir has been able<br />
to support numerous charities over the years<br />
including the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton Homes for<br />
the Aged, the Bosnian Refugee Sponsorship<br />
Group, Sylvia House Hospice, the Nelson<br />
Mandela Children’s Fund, the Children’s<br />
Hospital of Eastern Ontario, the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Education Foundation of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton,<br />
the Shepherds of Good Hope, The Mission,<br />
the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation,<br />
May Court Hospice, the St. Isidore Church<br />
Building Fund, the St. Basil’s Church<br />
Building Fund, Aid for the Children of<br />
Chernobyl, and the Terry Fox Foundation.
<strong>Ottawa</strong> has played a role in the<br />
provincial <strong>Catholic</strong> Parents’<br />
Organization right from its very<br />
beginnings. T.J. Kerr of <strong>Ottawa</strong> was the first<br />
president of the new Federation of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Parent-Teacher Associations of Ontario,<br />
which held its inaugural meeting in Toronto<br />
in April 1949. In September 1951, the<br />
Federation of <strong>Catholic</strong> Parent-Teacher<br />
Associations of Ontario became an<br />
incorporated federation. Its charter was<br />
prepared by Hush Gadbois of <strong>Ottawa</strong>.<br />
Mrs. F.M. Viau of <strong>Ottawa</strong> designed the<br />
Association’s crest.<br />
The Federation of <strong>Catholic</strong> Parent-<br />
Teacher Associations of Ontario held its<br />
convention in <strong>Ottawa</strong> in 1975 where Father<br />
Patrick Fogarty delivered a landmark<br />
address regarding the rights of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools.<br />
Another annual general meeting<br />
and conference was held in <strong>Ottawa</strong> in 1985.<br />
Through the years, the Federation<br />
has worked to develop diocesan and regional<br />
councils to liaise with parents in <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools. It has encouraged parents to become<br />
involved in <strong>Catholic</strong> education, and to<br />
express their views, while expecting that<br />
their views are respected by other<br />
shareholders in education.<br />
PARENTS IN EDUCATION<br />
HISTORY OF<br />
ONTARIO<br />
ASSOCIATION<br />
OF PARENTS<br />
IN<br />
EDUCATION<br />
The Federation of <strong>Catholic</strong> Parent-<br />
Teacher Associations of Ontario has, over<br />
the years, worked side-by-side with other<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> partners to bring about changes<br />
benefiting <strong>Catholic</strong> education in the<br />
province, including the extension of full<br />
funding announced by Premier William<br />
Davis in 1984. The Federation has prepared<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
49<br />
briefs and presentations on all aspects of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education, becoming the unified<br />
voice of <strong>Catholic</strong> parents in Ontario. The<br />
Ontario Ministry of Education and other<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> partners in education have<br />
recognized this role of the Federation by<br />
including it in various discussions and<br />
consultations regarding education reforms.<br />
The Federation submitted its first triennial<br />
review to the Ministry of Education in 1989,<br />
the same year that Patrick Smith was<br />
appointed as its first Executive Director.<br />
In 1996, the name of the<br />
Federation was changed to the Ontario<br />
Federation of <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> Associations<br />
in order to broaden its representation to<br />
include all <strong>Catholic</strong> school groups. January<br />
1998, saw the Federation gain status as<br />
a board member on the Institute for<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education.<br />
At the 1998 annual general<br />
meeting, another name change was made.<br />
Now known as the Ontario Association of<br />
Parents in <strong>Catholic</strong> Education, the<br />
association held its first-ever conference<br />
in Thunder Bay in 2004, followed by a<br />
conference in London in 2005, and a third<br />
in <strong>Ottawa</strong> in 2006. Ann Callaghan of<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> is the current Executive Secretary<br />
of the Association.
<strong>Ottawa</strong> teachers and educators<br />
not only played pivotal roles<br />
in the creation of the Ontario<br />
English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’ Association<br />
(OECTA) but they have contributed in<br />
important ways to its operation and success<br />
over the years. <strong>Ottawa</strong>’s contribution to the<br />
formation of the organization in 1944 was far<br />
more than just being the site for its founding<br />
meeting. Indeed, it was largely through the<br />
efforts and leadership of <strong>Ottawa</strong> educator Dr.<br />
F.J. McDonald that the provincial teachers’<br />
organization became a reality.<br />
While <strong>Catholic</strong> teachers in the<br />
province are now collectively represented<br />
by the Ontario English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’<br />
Association, such was not always the case.<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> teachers in Ontario, including<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>, had for years carried on without a<br />
province-wide organization. These teachers,<br />
many of them religious, were devoted to a<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education system but lay teachers<br />
in particular faced the problem of earning<br />
a livelihood in a <strong>Catholic</strong> system always<br />
facing financial problems. The salaries and<br />
working conditions of <strong>Catholic</strong> lay teachers<br />
were less than ideal, sacrificed for the<br />
greater good of having a functional <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education system.<br />
For many years, the late Dr. F.J.<br />
McDonald, the inspector of separate schools<br />
in <strong>Ottawa</strong>, had been convinced that the<br />
efforts and achievements of separate school<br />
teachers were neither understood nor<br />
appreciated. In 1930, under his leadership,<br />
separate school teachers in <strong>Ottawa</strong> set up<br />
their own local organization which resulted<br />
in both professional and economic gains. Yet,<br />
despite this, Dr. McDonald realized that a<br />
provincial organization would bring benefits<br />
to all <strong>Catholic</strong> teachers in the province.<br />
But this was far easier said than done, even<br />
in the context of a call to <strong>Catholic</strong> action<br />
by His Holiness Pope Pius XI urging the<br />
organization of workers and other groups,<br />
especially in educational institutions.<br />
TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION<br />
HISTORY OF<br />
ONTARIO<br />
ENGLISH<br />
CATHOLIC<br />
TEACHERS’<br />
ASSOCIATION<br />
In light of this, discussions<br />
continued for several years before concrete<br />
action was realized. Consultation with<br />
clergy, in particular with the Most Reverend<br />
John C. Cody, Bishop of Victoria, resulted<br />
in a green light from the Church with regard<br />
to forming a provincial <strong>Catholic</strong> teachers’<br />
organization. With this endorsement,<br />
Dr. McDonald then consulted separate<br />
school inspectors across the province who,<br />
in turn, encouraged <strong>Catholic</strong> teachers to<br />
proceed with the formation of a provincial<br />
organization. Cecilia Rowan, who was<br />
President of the <strong>Ottawa</strong> English <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Teachers’ Association, and her executive,<br />
wrote to the superiors of all of the religious<br />
congregations teaching in Ontario, seeking<br />
their support for a province-wide association.<br />
These superiors all replied that such an<br />
organization would be productive and<br />
offered their wholehearted cooperation to<br />
the initiative. The clergy were also consulted<br />
and very supportive.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
51<br />
The work of organizing English<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> teachers across the province got<br />
under way. <strong>Ottawa</strong> was the site for a<br />
meeting of diocesan delegates on February<br />
18, 1944, attended by teachers from<br />
Windsor, London, Belleville, Kingston,<br />
Toronto, Peterborough, Pembroke, Cornwall,<br />
Alexandria and, of course, <strong>Ottawa</strong>.<br />
Dr. F. J. McDonald and another<br />
inspector of separate schools, C.P. Matthews<br />
of Kingston, were at the meeting to lend<br />
their support to the undertaking. The<br />
delegates decided unanimously that there<br />
must be an English <strong>Catholic</strong> teachers’<br />
association in the province, with<br />
membership open to all English-speaking<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> teachers. A provisional executive<br />
was chosen to hold office until a provincial<br />
meeting could be held. The first executive,<br />
headed by Margaret Lynch of Windsor,<br />
included Cecilia Rowan of <strong>Ottawa</strong> as<br />
Secretary.<br />
The creation of this provisional<br />
provincial executive was most timely,<br />
because a few weeks later, the Ontario<br />
Department of Education asked the newlyminted<br />
Ontario English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’<br />
Association to send a delegate to a Toronto<br />
meeting to discuss inclusion of the group in<br />
a new provincial professional organization<br />
called the Ontario Teachers’ Federation.<br />
Indeed, <strong>Ottawa</strong> teachers had once again<br />
played a significant role in ensuring that<br />
an English <strong>Catholic</strong> teachers’ organization<br />
would be included in the structure of the<br />
new provincial federation. The <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
teachers’ organization had taken a lead in<br />
this since there was not yet any provincial<br />
organization in existence when this matter<br />
came to a head in 1943.<br />
The Department of Education<br />
brought forward a Teaching Profession Act<br />
which included automatic membership in<br />
a federation for all teachers in the taxsupported<br />
schools of the province.
At that time there were four<br />
provincial teachers’ organizations in the<br />
province: the Ontario Secondary <strong>School</strong><br />
Teachers’ Federation, organized in 1919; the<br />
Federation of Women Teachers’ Association<br />
of Ontario (1918); the Ontario Public <strong>School</strong><br />
Men Teachers’ Federation (1921); and the<br />
Association of Franco-Ontarian Teachers<br />
(1939). When the executive of the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> teachers’ group discovered that the<br />
draft legislation gave the <strong>Catholic</strong> teachers<br />
in the province the choice of becoming<br />
members of the new Ontario Teachers’<br />
Federation either by joining one of the<br />
three existing English teacher groups or<br />
by forming a new group (which was the<br />
preference in <strong>Ottawa</strong>), they acted quickly.<br />
All <strong>Catholic</strong> teachers were to be<br />
polled by the Department of Education<br />
regarding their preference regarding the<br />
proposal by the province. However, fearing<br />
that many English <strong>Catholic</strong> teachers might<br />
not know of the proposal to form a new<br />
English <strong>Catholic</strong> teachers’ association,<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong> teachers’ organization sent<br />
explanatory letters to all principals and<br />
teachers in Ontario, urging them to vote<br />
for a <strong>Catholic</strong> teachers’ group as their<br />
representative in the new Ontario Teachers’<br />
Federation. The resulting vote was conclusive<br />
and the Department of Education included<br />
an English <strong>Catholic</strong> teachers’ organization<br />
as one of the groups to fall within the<br />
Ontario Teachers’ Federation. Shortly after<br />
the new Ontario English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’<br />
Association was created, the Department<br />
of Education sought a meeting with this<br />
fledgling group concerning its inclusion in the<br />
new Ontario Teachers’ Federation. To carry<br />
its banner in these talks, OECTA sent Rev.<br />
Lawrence Poupore, OMI, of St. Patrick’s<br />
College High <strong>School</strong> in <strong>Ottawa</strong> to the Toronto<br />
meeting. Father Poupore was rector of<br />
St. Patrick’s College High <strong>School</strong> from 1944<br />
to 1953 and would play a key role in the early<br />
development of OECTA.<br />
TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION<br />
The talks resulted in the Ontario<br />
English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’ Association<br />
joining the Ontario Teachers’ Federation<br />
as an independent <strong>Catholic</strong> group, sharing<br />
ten governor seats with the Association of<br />
Franco-Ontarian Teachers. Father Poupore<br />
went on to serve as chairperson of the<br />
legislation committee of OECTA from 1944<br />
to 1952 as well as chairperson of the<br />
legislation committee of the Ontario<br />
Teachers’ Federation during its first year of<br />
existence, and for a second time in 1951-52.<br />
In the spring of 1944, 600 English<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> teachers from across the province<br />
crowded the Royal York Hotel in Toronto for<br />
the formal founding meeting<br />
of the Ontario English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’<br />
Association. The constitution was adopted<br />
and the temporary executive from the earlier<br />
meeting in <strong>Ottawa</strong> was ratified. There was<br />
general agreement that all English-<strong>Catholic</strong><br />
teachers in Ontario needed a provincial<br />
organization to represent them.<br />
The first year of operation required<br />
all of the organizing abilities of its founders,<br />
and was demanding not only for President<br />
Margaret Lynch of Windsor but also for the<br />
secretary of the group, Cecilia Rowan of<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>. Everything had to be built virtually<br />
from scratch, since there were only three<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> teacher organizations in the province<br />
(<strong>Ottawa</strong>, Toronto and Windsor). For example,<br />
while the <strong>Ottawa</strong> organization had existed<br />
for a number of years thanks to the work of<br />
Dr. F.J. McDonald, it was composed only of<br />
lay teachers and was not affiliated with any<br />
outside group. The main task lying ahead<br />
for the Ontario English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’<br />
Association in its first year was to assist in<br />
organizing each of the 19 districts across<br />
the province which had been set up at the<br />
founding convention in Toronto. Requests for<br />
information and advice poured in from all of<br />
these districts to Cecilia Rowan whose work<br />
in this inaugural year set the foundation for<br />
the organizational structure of the<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
52<br />
Association. With no experience, little help<br />
and only a $300 secretary’s honorarium, she<br />
essentially organized the 19 districts by mail.<br />
Among those from <strong>Ottawa</strong> who<br />
served OECTA on the board and committees<br />
of the Ontario Teachers’ Federation in its<br />
early days were Father Poupore, Sister<br />
Maureen of the Grey Sisters of the<br />
Immaculate Conception of <strong>Ottawa</strong>, and<br />
Ray Bergin of <strong>Ottawa</strong>.<br />
The Ontario English <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Teachers’ Association grew and stabilized,<br />
hiring a full time secretary in 1949. By<br />
1960, it had a staff of five and by 1969, its<br />
25 th year, it boasted a membership of about<br />
14,000 teachers and a staff of 19.<br />
In the 1970s, OECTA faced a<br />
number of serious issues, as did the entire<br />
educational community in Ontario. This<br />
period saw the passing of legislation giving<br />
teachers the right to strike, the creation of<br />
the Qualifications Evaluation Council of<br />
Ontario, the establishment of religious<br />
education courses and the provision in<br />
legislation for <strong>Catholic</strong> schools to teach<br />
students with developmental disabilities.<br />
Father Frank Kavanagh, OMI,<br />
a former principal of St. Patrick’s College<br />
High <strong>School</strong> in <strong>Ottawa</strong> (1964-69) became<br />
Executive Director of the Ontario English<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’ Association in 1981. A<br />
former president of both the Ontario English<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’ Association and of the<br />
Ontario Federation of Teachers, Father<br />
Kavanagh had worked for years to develop<br />
the position of the <strong>Catholic</strong> community on<br />
extension of the separate school system to<br />
Grade 13. The extension of full funding took<br />
place in 1984. In 1985, Father Kavanagh<br />
was one of those involved in the creation of<br />
the Institute for <strong>Catholic</strong> Education, whose<br />
primary focus would be to ensure the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> character and features of the<br />
separate school system in the province.
When he retired in 1990, Father Kavanagh<br />
left behind an organization representing just<br />
over 30,000 members.<br />
In the 1990s, the Ontario English<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’ Association faced a<br />
number of challenges such as the “Social<br />
Contract” imposed by the Provincial<br />
Government of Premier Bob Rae and the<br />
agenda of the Mike Harris Conservative<br />
government elected in 1995.<br />
The organization marked its<br />
50 th anniversary of representing the welfare<br />
of <strong>Catholic</strong> teachers in the province in 1994,<br />
holding its annual general meeting in<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>, considered its birthplace.<br />
The years of the Mike Harris<br />
Provincial Government saw the Ontario<br />
English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’ Association work<br />
against the attacks on the public sector and<br />
labour by the government. OECTA organized<br />
a Rally for Education at Queens’ Park on<br />
January 13, 1996, which attracted about<br />
37,000 demonstrators in opposition to the<br />
policies of the provincial government.<br />
There was a constant barrage<br />
of issues emanating from the provincial<br />
government to which OECTA and other<br />
teachers’ groups in the province had to<br />
respond. In 1997, OECTA and other<br />
teachers’ groups in the province mobilized<br />
against Bill 160, the Education Equality<br />
Improvement Act of the Provincial<br />
Government which they saw as a<br />
devastating attack on the education system<br />
in Ontario. A province-wide political protest<br />
shutting down all schools ran from Monday,<br />
October 27 to Monday, November 10, with<br />
OECTA members taking part. This political<br />
protest received significant backing from the<br />
public despite the inconvenience of closed<br />
schools.<br />
While continuing its political<br />
actions against the provincial government’s<br />
TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION<br />
education initiatives, OECTA also continued<br />
to work on behalf of the professional<br />
interests of its members, responding to<br />
government initiatives on secondary school<br />
reform, standardized testing, a provincewide<br />
elementary school report card and the<br />
introduction of new curricula.<br />
Political activism would continue<br />
to be a major focus of OECTA activities from<br />
this point on, both in opposing Harris<br />
government initiatives and then in ensuring<br />
that the ensuing government of Premier<br />
Dalton McGuinty would translate its stated<br />
priority for education into enhanced learning<br />
and working conditions for students and<br />
teachers across the province.<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> continues to play a role<br />
in OECTA activities provincially, with<br />
Donna Marie Kennedy of <strong>Ottawa</strong> serving<br />
as Provincial President for 2005-06. Former<br />
provincial presidents from the <strong>Ottawa</strong> area<br />
have included Doreen Brady, Derry Byrne,<br />
and Kathy McVean, who is currently the<br />
immediate past president. OECTA now has<br />
36,000 members. The <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton Unit<br />
of the Ontario English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’<br />
Association is currently headed by Bob<br />
McGahey. Anne Lamont is the Elementary<br />
Bargaining Unit President, Elaine McMahon<br />
is the Secondary Bargaining Unit President<br />
and Mary Major is the Occasional Teachers’<br />
Bargaining Unit President. The <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton Unit conducts its business<br />
through a committee structure, with<br />
various committees in charge of awards,<br />
beginning teachers, communications,<br />
legislation, local collective bargaining,<br />
political action, professional development,<br />
elementary schools, finance, health and<br />
safety, secondary schools, social matters<br />
and social justice.<br />
The mission statement of the<br />
Ontario English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’<br />
Association reads as follows: “Recognizing<br />
our uniqueness as teachers in <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
53<br />
schools, we are an Association committed to<br />
the advancement of <strong>Catholic</strong> education. As<br />
teacher advocates we provide professional<br />
services, support, protection and leadership.”<br />
OECTA’s statement of principles says that<br />
the Unit will promote <strong>Catholic</strong> values, foster<br />
the growth of confident, competent<br />
professionals, support its members in<br />
collective bargaining, promote spiritual<br />
growth in its members, establish and<br />
exercise teachers’ rights at all levels of<br />
educational decision-making, build solidarity<br />
through actions that foster trust and<br />
collegiality, and assist its members to grow<br />
professionally by providing access to<br />
information and resources.<br />
The <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton Unit of<br />
the Ontario English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’<br />
Association presents a number of awards,<br />
grants and bursaries. These include the<br />
Bernadette MacNeil Award which is<br />
presented annually to a teacher who shows<br />
the leadership quality of compassion for<br />
those in need, and demonstrates a<br />
supportive role among colleagues and<br />
promotes good fellowship among staff; the<br />
Doreen Brady Memorial Award which is<br />
presented annually to a member of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton Unit of OECTA who has<br />
made an outstanding contribution to OECTA<br />
at the local and/or provincial levels; the<br />
Elizabeth Patch Memorial Award which is<br />
given annually to a teacher demonstrating<br />
a high level of professionalism and<br />
commitment towards <strong>Catholic</strong> education<br />
and service to his or her community; the<br />
Sylvester Quinn Memorial Award in the<br />
amount of $1,000, which is presented to one<br />
graduating student in each <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> to assist him or her<br />
in pursuing a post-secondary education.<br />
(Sylvester Quinn was a superintendent<br />
of the former Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> who was an<br />
outstanding educator and leader<br />
exemplifying the qualities of servant<br />
leadership. Upon his death in 1982, the
local unit of OECTA established the<br />
Sylvester Quinn Memorial Award as a<br />
tribute to his tremendous contribution to<br />
education and dedication to the well-being<br />
of those he served); and a Teacher Education<br />
Grant Fund initiated by the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton Unit to encourage and support<br />
members who are taking courses. There<br />
are ten grants of $600 each available to<br />
teachers; the Dr. William Crossan Memorial<br />
Bursary is presented to a student enrolled<br />
in the Bachelor of Education program at<br />
the Faculty of Education of the University<br />
of <strong>Ottawa</strong>. The recipient must demonstrate<br />
interest in teaching in the <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
system, motivation in selecting the field<br />
of education as a career choice, and<br />
financial need.<br />
TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
54
The following historical perspective<br />
of special education both<br />
provincially and in the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> has been<br />
prepared by Michael Baine, Superintendent<br />
of Special Education and Student Services.<br />
The delivery of programs and<br />
services to students with various<br />
“exceptionalities” has undergone dramatic<br />
changes in the past 50 years. These changes<br />
reflect similar experiences throughout<br />
Ontario and, indeed, North America.<br />
While all school boards and districts have<br />
witnessed these changes, <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
boards in Ontario have had an even more<br />
unique history.<br />
Up to the 1950s, parents of<br />
children with various disabilities were fairly<br />
much on their own in finding educational<br />
placements. Other than some provincial<br />
schools for students who were deaf and/or<br />
blind, parents often had no alternatives for<br />
their children. After 1950, a number of<br />
boards and schools did implement a variety<br />
of special programs and in many cases,<br />
they were exemplary. However, because<br />
students did not have a legal right to<br />
services, the availability of special programs<br />
was inconsistent in some areas and totally<br />
lacking in others. Faced with severe<br />
financial inequities, <strong>Catholic</strong> boards in<br />
Ontario were particularly without special<br />
programs.<br />
During the 1960s and 1970s, a<br />
number of developments were taking place<br />
throughout North America. The Civil Rights<br />
Movement, advances in research and socialpolitical<br />
movements to close various<br />
residential institutions for people with<br />
developmental, physical and mental<br />
disabilities started to impact on the<br />
education scene. The philosophy of bringing<br />
all people into the mainstream and into<br />
publicly funded organizations, like school<br />
boards, was strongly advocated by numerous<br />
SPECIAL EDUCATION<br />
SPECIAL<br />
EDUCATION<br />
groups and individuals. There were<br />
increases in the number of specialized<br />
programs for students with disabilities and<br />
these programs were modeled along the<br />
latest research on how students learn. Still,<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school boards lagged behind their<br />
public school counterparts, given financial<br />
restraints.<br />
With the passage of Bill 82 in<br />
Ontario in 1980, all the rules changed. For<br />
the first time, all students, regardless of<br />
their disabilities, had a legal right to attend<br />
publicly funded schools. This momentous<br />
legislation created changes in practice and<br />
policy which continue to the present day.<br />
Later, Ontario initiatives such as Regulation<br />
181 in 1998, which compelled boards to<br />
consider regular classroom placement as<br />
a first consideration, quickened the pace<br />
of more fully including students with<br />
disabilities into their own community<br />
schools. The lines between “regular” and<br />
“special” education became blurred and the<br />
philosophy of “inclusion” became the Ontario<br />
Government’s guiding direction. The<br />
resource document, Education for All,<br />
released in 2005, firmly established the fact<br />
and philosophy that students with special<br />
needs are and should be included in the<br />
regular classrooms of Ontario.<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school boards, after the<br />
passage of Bill 82 in 1980, were under the<br />
same legal obligations to provide programs<br />
and services as other school boards; however,<br />
a continuing funding disparity delayed the<br />
legislation’s full implementation in <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools. With full funding to <strong>Catholic</strong> high<br />
schools in 1984 and fair funding in 1998,<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
55<br />
when grants became the same for every<br />
student in Ontario, <strong>Catholic</strong> school boards<br />
were able to fully meet the needs of all their<br />
students.<br />
In the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> and its predecessor boards, the<br />
provincial history, described above, played<br />
itself out in a similar fashion. Until the<br />
advent of fair and equal funding, a process<br />
beginning in 1984, <strong>Catholic</strong> high school<br />
students with disabilities received most<br />
of their special education programs in<br />
the coterminous public school board.<br />
That transfer of students no longer occurs.<br />
A strong history of cooperation and<br />
collaboration has existed among all the local<br />
school boards in <strong>Ottawa</strong> and continues to<br />
the present. Programs for students with<br />
developmental disabilities were designed<br />
according to needs and offered by the boards<br />
for students regardless of their jurisdiction.<br />
The Dependently Handicapped Program and<br />
the Assessment Kindergarten Classes were<br />
offered by the <strong>Catholic</strong> boards, while the<br />
public boards provided specialized settings<br />
at Crystal Bay and Clifford Bowey <strong>School</strong>s.<br />
While this sharing continues today, even<br />
without the inter-board political<br />
organization of the past, boards have<br />
continued to develop programs so that all<br />
their students can stay within their own<br />
community schools alongside their siblings<br />
and friends.<br />
Undoubtedly, the delivery of<br />
special education programs and services<br />
will continue to evolve in the years to come.<br />
The <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
proudly celebrates its inclusionary practices<br />
and has made them the <strong>Board</strong>-wide focus for<br />
2004-06. A three-year (2006-09) “roadmap,”<br />
outlining where the <strong>Board</strong> will go next with<br />
regard to special education, will be released<br />
for consultation in the fall of 2006 to help<br />
ensure that the <strong>Board</strong> continues to provide<br />
the best possible programs for all of its<br />
students.
Continuing and Community<br />
Education programs for<br />
elementary and high school<br />
students as well as adults, have been<br />
provided by <strong>Catholic</strong> school boards in the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> area since the 1980s. The <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
and the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> both offered these educational<br />
opportunities, with their efforts being<br />
combined at the time of their amalgamation<br />
into the new <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in 1998.<br />
For the CRCSSB, continuing<br />
education was offered through a section<br />
within the <strong>Board</strong>’s Program Department.<br />
At first, much of the continuing education<br />
focus was on free summer camps and<br />
partial-credit language courses. In<br />
September 1989, as a result of the growth of<br />
continuing education programs, the <strong>Board</strong><br />
set up a Continuing Education Department<br />
under the direction of Superintendent John<br />
McGuinness with Mike Matthews as<br />
Principal, Maria Makrakis as Administrator,<br />
Kathy Hodgins as Executive Secretary and<br />
Diane Valiquette as Secretary. The Futures<br />
Program began in the Spring of 1990 and<br />
the English as a Second Language program<br />
followed, along with the adult classes and<br />
other programs.<br />
Through the current Continuing<br />
and Community Education Department,<br />
residents of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton are able to<br />
access classes in more than 30 international<br />
languages at both the elementary and<br />
secondary school levels. Also provided are<br />
adult English as a Second Language classes,<br />
language instruction for newcomers, literacy<br />
and basic skills, credit courses through both<br />
night and summer schools, and numerous<br />
general-interest classes and summer camps.<br />
The three locations where adult<br />
schools are operated as of 2006 are as<br />
follows:<br />
CONTINUING EDUCATION<br />
CONTINUING<br />
AND<br />
COMMUNITY<br />
EDUCATION<br />
1. St. Patrick’s Adult <strong>School</strong>,<br />
290 Nepean Street, <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
St. Patrick’s Adult <strong>School</strong> opened<br />
its doors in January 1991 and by year’s end,<br />
it had 550 students registered. The school<br />
provides English as a Second Language<br />
(ESL) instruction at every level from literacy<br />
and beginner to advanced, as well as Test<br />
of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)<br />
preparation, English as a Second Language<br />
with computers and Language Instruction<br />
for Newcomers to Canada (LINC). The LINC<br />
program is funded by Federal Government<br />
grants and provides child care for children<br />
ranging in age from six months to five years.<br />
There is also transportation support for<br />
newcomers who are in need. In addition to<br />
the ESL and LINC programs, classes are<br />
also available in the area of literacy and<br />
basic skills for adults wishing to improve<br />
their reading and writing skills in<br />
preparation for life in society and the<br />
workplace. St. Patrick’s Adult <strong>School</strong> is a<br />
vibrant, busy place with classes operating<br />
from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. almost 12 months of<br />
the year.<br />
2. St. Joseph’s Adult <strong>School</strong>,<br />
330 Lajoie Street, Vanier<br />
The St. Joseph’s Adult <strong>School</strong><br />
program was located at 20 Graham Avenue<br />
in 1996. In September 2001, it was relocated<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
57<br />
to its current site. Like St. Patrick’s Adult<br />
<strong>School</strong>, St. Joseph’s Adult <strong>School</strong> provides<br />
all levels of English as a Second Language,<br />
literacy and basic skills. In addition, child<br />
care is provided for those students on social<br />
assistance who need such services. Until<br />
2005, Language Instruction for Newcomers<br />
to Canada (LINC) classes were also provided<br />
at this school. While the student population<br />
of St. Joseph’s Adult <strong>School</strong> is not as large<br />
as that at St. Patrick’s, the school provides a<br />
valuable service to the newcomer, immigrant<br />
population in the areas of Vanier and the<br />
east end of <strong>Ottawa</strong>. The school provides<br />
classes in the morning, afternoon and<br />
evening, all offered at a convenient location.<br />
3. Queen of the Angels Adult <strong>School</strong>,<br />
1461 Heron Road, <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Queen of the Angels Adult <strong>School</strong><br />
began as a partnership with the Canadian<br />
African Solidarity. In September 1993, the<br />
Canadian African Solidarity was able to<br />
lease two classes at 1461 Heron Road to run<br />
two Language Instruction for Newcomers to<br />
Canada (LINC) classes, both with child care<br />
services provided. By 1994, the remaining<br />
rooms on the second floor of this facility<br />
were filled with learners taking English as<br />
a Second Language and English as a Second<br />
Language skills programs. By April 1995,<br />
Queen of the Angels Adult <strong>School</strong> was fully<br />
engaged with programs and services for<br />
newcomers and immigrants. Evening classes<br />
were also introduced. In the Fall of 2005,<br />
two portable classrooms were added to this<br />
site in order to accommodate the growing<br />
number of classes and the needs of the<br />
students. Queen of the Angels Adult <strong>School</strong><br />
continues to offer English as a Second<br />
Language and English as a Second<br />
Language skills programs, along with<br />
child care services.<br />
An adult school was operated at<br />
St. Agnes <strong>School</strong> at 18 Louisa Street in<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> from 2000 to 2005. It was the<br />
successor of the St. Andrew’s Adult <strong>School</strong>
located at 1119 Lazard Street in the west<br />
end of <strong>Ottawa</strong> which had been in operation<br />
since 1992. St. Andrew’s was initially opened<br />
by the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> as a result of requests from<br />
both the Carlington and Pinecrest<br />
Queensway Health and Community Centres<br />
which saw a need for the emerging<br />
immigrant population of those areas to have<br />
access to an English as a Second Language<br />
(ESL) program in the west end of the city.<br />
St. Andrew’s Adult <strong>School</strong>, in fact, offered<br />
not only ESL classes but it was also the site<br />
for Language Instruction for Newcomers to<br />
Canada (LINC) classes and ESL co-op credit<br />
classes.<br />
When the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> was formed in 1998,<br />
and in light of the new provincial rules<br />
regarding funding and pupil places in school<br />
facilities, it was decided that the adult<br />
school program at St. Andrew’s would be relocated<br />
to St. Agnes <strong>School</strong> on Louisa Street.<br />
The doors of St. Agnes Adult <strong>School</strong> were<br />
opened for the first time in the Fall of 2000.<br />
At the beginning, the enrolment numbers<br />
were encouraging, but as time went on, it<br />
became evident that the newcomer<br />
immigrant population served by St. Agnes<br />
Adult <strong>School</strong> was in decline. In June 2005,<br />
St. Agnes Adult <strong>School</strong> closed its doors<br />
permanently and the site was sold by the<br />
school board in 2006.<br />
CONTINUING EDUCATION<br />
Principals<br />
(since amalgamation in 1998)<br />
Michael Strimas<br />
John Karam<br />
Thomas D’Amico<br />
John McGrath<br />
Eugene Milito<br />
Central Staff at the Time of<br />
Amalgamation in 1998<br />
Shailja Verma, Administrator<br />
Maria Makrakis, Administrator<br />
Jill Lyons, Secretary to the<br />
Superintendent<br />
Judy McCool, Secretary<br />
Maureen McGovern, Secretary<br />
Paula Cavan, Clerk<br />
Olive Nelson, Secretary<br />
Ginette Centen, Secretary<br />
Staff Achievements<br />
Maria Makrakis has received the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Citizen Literacy Award.<br />
Trudy Lothian has received the<br />
Canada Post Literacy Award and the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Citizen Literacy Award. Shailja Verma has<br />
received the Y’s Women of Distinction<br />
Learning for Life Award, the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Citizen<br />
Literacy Award and the Teaching English<br />
as a Second Language (TESL) Ontario<br />
Silver Pin.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
58<br />
Continuing and Community Education<br />
Achievements<br />
The <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> has received a ten-year plaque<br />
from Citizenship and Immigration Canada<br />
for providing Language Instruction for<br />
Newcomers to Canada (LINC) programs<br />
through the Continuing and Community<br />
Education Department.
St. Nicholas Adult High <strong>School</strong><br />
officially began to serve the adult<br />
community in September 1992 and<br />
is presently operating from two sites: a west<br />
campus at 893 Admiral Avenue (the former<br />
St. Elizabeth <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>) and a central<br />
campus at 20 Graham Avenue (the former<br />
Canadian Martyrs <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>).<br />
The school took its name from<br />
an elementary school that had previously<br />
occupied the Lotta Avenue premises where<br />
it began. This elementary school, opened<br />
in September 1953, was the first teaching<br />
apostolate of the Sisters of Holy Cross in the<br />
City View area of Nepean. As an adult high<br />
school, it is designed to meet the needs of<br />
mature students, that is, those who are<br />
18 years of age and over, in order to assist<br />
them to earn the necessary credits to receive<br />
their Ontario secondary school diploma, or<br />
to improve their grades, or to acquire the<br />
necessary prerequisite courses to enter a<br />
certain college or university program.<br />
On average, about 735 students<br />
attend St. Nicholas Adult High <strong>School</strong> at<br />
any one time, obtaining a credit upgrade,<br />
taking a prerequisite course or seeking<br />
a graduation diploma. The school offers<br />
close to 100 different courses taught by<br />
21 teachers. There are more than<br />
130 graduates each year who receive their<br />
Ontario secondary school diploma. Indeed,<br />
the graduation ceremony is by far the most<br />
significant event that takes place at the<br />
school as it represents the culmination of<br />
the hopes, the dreams, the tears and<br />
thousands of hours of hard work by the<br />
students, teachers, counselors, support staff<br />
and others, helping these adult learners<br />
achieve their goal.<br />
Many graduates of St. Nicholas<br />
Adult High <strong>School</strong> have gone on to<br />
successful professional careers and lives.<br />
For example, one former student writes<br />
a regular column for a daily newspaper,<br />
ST. NICHOLAS ADULT<br />
ST. NICHOLAS<br />
ADULT<br />
HIGH<br />
SCHOOL<br />
another runs a successful local business,<br />
and another continues to actively advocate<br />
for street children in Paraguay and to<br />
provide resources for them. Two former<br />
students are, in fact, now teachers with the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
St. Nicholas Adult High <strong>School</strong> is<br />
committed to providing the academic and<br />
personal support required by older learners<br />
in their quest to achieve scholastic success.<br />
This approach requires mentoring and a<br />
flexible method of curriculum delivery. The<br />
range of curriculum models used increases<br />
immeasurably the chances of the adult<br />
learner meeting his or her personal goals.<br />
Students study in classes<br />
supported by teachers who have specialties<br />
in a number of disciplines.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
59<br />
New programs being implemented<br />
in the 2006-07 school year include a preapprenticeship<br />
program, English as a<br />
Second Language credits and on-line<br />
learning.<br />
Present Principal<br />
John Karam<br />
Past Principals<br />
Mike Matthews<br />
John Karam<br />
Tom Duggan<br />
Brent Wilson<br />
Present Vice-Principal<br />
Mary-Ellen Agnel<br />
Past Vice-Principals<br />
Paul Wubban<br />
Tom Duggan<br />
Peter Atkinson<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Dawn Quigley<br />
Marc Orzel<br />
Noella Chisholm<br />
Anna Main<br />
Sue Casey<br />
Cathy Flynn<br />
Jane Foster<br />
Logo<br />
The logo for St. Nicholas Adult<br />
High <strong>School</strong> is circular, featuring three<br />
students in silhouette over an open book.<br />
At the top of the crest is the phrase<br />
“Committed to Lifelong Learning” while<br />
the school name, “St. Nicholas Adult High<br />
<strong>School</strong>” is at the bottom of the logo. The<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> logo<br />
is also featured on the school logo.
Formal, institutionalized governance<br />
of <strong>Catholic</strong> education in the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
area began with the creation of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> in 1856. Since that time, there have<br />
been trustees entrusted with the governance<br />
of <strong>Catholic</strong> education, led by a <strong>Board</strong><br />
chairperson.<br />
It is acknowledged that there were<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school boards, either governing<br />
certain “school sections” in areas outside<br />
the former City of <strong>Ottawa</strong>, or in existence<br />
prior to the creation of the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in 1969, in<br />
areas such as Nepean, Richmond, Gloucester<br />
and Metcalfe. As with a number of other<br />
historical matters, such as the history of<br />
closed <strong>Catholic</strong> schools, data related to the<br />
boards that predated the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> will be<br />
sought in the future and included in updates<br />
and revisions of this publication.<br />
For now, the following list includes<br />
only the chairpersons of the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> and the current <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
The first archives of this <strong>Board</strong> were<br />
destroyed by fire so there are gaps in this<br />
listing, particularly between the years 1858<br />
and 1887.<br />
1856-57 .....Henry James Friel<br />
1863 ..........Father John O’Connor<br />
1864 ..........J.W. Pealhy<br />
1888-90 .....J.C. Enright<br />
1890-92 .....Ed Smith<br />
1893 ..........E. Lavoie<br />
1901 ..........A.E. Provost<br />
1902 ..........G.A. Lizotte<br />
1903 ..........J. McGuire<br />
CHAIRPERSONS<br />
CHAIRPERSONS<br />
1904 ..........C.J. Bettez<br />
1906 ..........Joseph McLaughlin<br />
1911-12 .....H.F. Sims<br />
1913-30 .....Samuel Genest<br />
1391-32 .....Domitien Robichaud<br />
1933-34 .....Philip Phelan<br />
1935 ..........Albert Perras<br />
1936 ..........Adelard Chartrand<br />
1937-38 .....Edward V. McCarthy<br />
1939-40 .....Adelard Chartrand<br />
1941-42 .....Edward V. McCarthy<br />
1943-44 .....Adelard Chartrand<br />
1945-46 .....Edward V. McCarthy<br />
1947-48 .....Adelard Chartrand<br />
1949-50 .....Edward V. McCarthy<br />
1951 ..........Louis Charbonneau<br />
1952 ..........Adelard Chartrand<br />
1953-54 .....Frank M. Peters<br />
1955 ..........Arthur Desjardins<br />
1956 ..........Roger N. Seguin<br />
1957-58 .....Frank M. Peters<br />
1959-60 .....Roger N. Seguin<br />
1961-62 .....Frank M. Peters<br />
1963 ..........Roland Beriault<br />
1964 ..........Frank M. Peters<br />
1965-66 .....Pierre Mercier<br />
1967 ..........Frank M. Peters<br />
1968 ..........C. Frank Gilhooly<br />
1969-70 .....Pierre Mercier<br />
1971 ..........C. Frank Gilhooly<br />
1972 ..........Pierre Mercier<br />
1973 ..........Rita Desjardins<br />
1974 ..........Gisele Lalonde<br />
1975 ..........Paul Kelly<br />
1976 ..........Gisele Lalonde<br />
1977 ..........C. Frank Gilhooly<br />
1978 ..........Florian Carrière<br />
1979 ..........Roberta Anderson<br />
1980 ..........Lucien Dagenais<br />
1981 ..........Jack McKinnon<br />
1982 ..........Florian Carrière<br />
1983 ..........Don Murphy<br />
1984 ..........Lucien Dagenais<br />
1985 ..........John Connolly<br />
1986 ..........Florian Carrière<br />
1987 ..........John Connolly<br />
1988 ..........André Champagne<br />
1989 ..........Bonnie Kehoe<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
61<br />
1990 ..........Jack McKinnon<br />
1991-93 .....Betty-Ann Kealey<br />
1994-97 .....Jim Kennelly<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
1969 ..........C. Basil MacDonald<br />
1970 ..........Rene Lefebvre<br />
1971 ..........Lorne Gignac<br />
1972 ..........Leo Coté<br />
1973 ..........Vernon Zinck<br />
1974 ..........André Richard<br />
1975 ..........Suzanne Krygsman<br />
1976 ..........Fernand Godbout<br />
1977 ..........James Colton<br />
1978 ..........Rodrigue Landriault<br />
1979 ..........Yvonne O’Neill<br />
1980 ..........Denis Bertrand<br />
1981 ..........Joseph Mangione<br />
1982 ..........Rodrigue Landriault<br />
1983 ..........C. Basil MacDonald<br />
1984 ..........Rene Lefebvre<br />
1985 ..........Hugh Connelly<br />
1986 ..........Jocelyne Ladouceur<br />
1987 ..........Mel Thompson<br />
1988 ..........Gerald Quesnel<br />
1989 ..........C. Basil MacDonald<br />
1989-92 .....Arthur J.M. Lamarche<br />
December 1989-November 1992<br />
1992-94 .....Anne Stankovic<br />
December 1992-November 1994<br />
1994-97 .....June Flynn-Turner<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
1998 ..........Ronald P. Larkin<br />
(term ending December 1998)<br />
1998-99 ....Arthur J.M. Lamarche<br />
1999-2000 .June Flynn-Turner<br />
2000-01 .....Arthur J.M. Lamarche<br />
2001-02 .....Thérèse Maloney Cousineau<br />
2002-04 .....June Flynn-Turner<br />
2004-05 .....Betty-Ann Kealey<br />
2005-06 .....June Flynn-Turner
The Director of Education<br />
Commendations honour significant<br />
contributions to the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> by teaching and<br />
administrative and support staff. Recipients<br />
of these commendations are individuals who<br />
have demonstrated a commitment to the<br />
<strong>Board</strong> and have worked tirelessly to enhance<br />
the school system for students. These<br />
commendations, presented annually during<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education Week, have been awarded<br />
since the 1991-92 school year when they began<br />
as part of the Honours and Awards program of<br />
the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>. The commendations have continued in<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
since its creation in 1998.<br />
Past recipients of Director of Education<br />
Commendations<br />
1991-92<br />
Roger Allard<br />
Ronald Avon<br />
Father Paul Baxter<br />
Clement Beaugé<br />
Marilyn Beckstead<br />
Sheila Burnett<br />
Pierre Chartrand<br />
Joanne Cooke<br />
Julien Deladurantaye<br />
Claude Dubois<br />
Vera Gallant<br />
Paul Gibson<br />
Russ Grant<br />
Carmel Horan<br />
Frances Ilgunas<br />
Vicky Jacobson<br />
Jean Laplante<br />
Jessie McMahon<br />
Patricia Moore<br />
Barbara Morneau<br />
Noreen Murphy<br />
Stella Owens<br />
Cecile Prodonick<br />
Mae Rooney<br />
Eleanor Taylor<br />
DOE COMMENDATIONS<br />
DIRECTOR<br />
OF<br />
EDUCATION<br />
COMMENDATIONS<br />
1992-93<br />
Lionel Barbe<br />
Sandie Bender<br />
Maurice Charron<br />
Jim Dale<br />
Terry Flynn<br />
Italo Graziani<br />
Sonja Karsh<br />
Bernadette MacNeil<br />
Ida Marcille<br />
Dr. Charles Murray<br />
Phyllis Perry<br />
Rene Ryan<br />
Leona Watters<br />
Brent Wilson<br />
1993-94<br />
Pauline Barbary<br />
Hellen Bogie<br />
Carole Collins<br />
Tracy Crowe<br />
Nuala Durkin<br />
Carmelle Faucher<br />
Rolland Lanthier<br />
Joanne LaPlante<br />
Robert LeBlanc<br />
Jeri Lunney<br />
Jean McKenna<br />
Lucy Miller<br />
Mary Ellen Nolan<br />
Pat Scrim<br />
Patricia Yaternick<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
63<br />
1994-95<br />
Terry Carter<br />
Mary Ann Dunn<br />
Greg Hurley<br />
Margaret Imbleau<br />
Ken Kurs<br />
Pierre Lalonde<br />
Gerry Leveque<br />
Peter Linegar<br />
Peter MacKinnon<br />
John McGovern<br />
Ann Read<br />
Carol Rutledge<br />
John Shannon<br />
Linus Shea<br />
Dolores Wojtyna<br />
1995-96<br />
Jane Buck<br />
Helen Coulombe<br />
Bob Curry<br />
Varda Deslandes<br />
Ann Heide<br />
Carol Hennessy<br />
Susan Henry<br />
Ronald Larkin<br />
Yvonne Lyons<br />
Janet Plunkett<br />
Michel Rozon<br />
Joe Ryan<br />
Sandra Tischer<br />
Ralph Watzenboeck<br />
Helen Whitehouse<br />
1996-97<br />
Jacquelyn Arsenault<br />
Dorothy Collins<br />
Teresa (Betty) Dubien<br />
Joanne Farnand<br />
Nicole Frechette<br />
Anna Galla<br />
Rochelle Lafontaine<br />
Louise LaSalle<br />
Maria Ioannou-Makrakis<br />
Terrence Murphy<br />
Delle Nizman<br />
Roy Pellatt<br />
John Podgorski<br />
Kathleen Robillard<br />
Remo Zuccarini
1997-98<br />
Ghislaine Blais<br />
Carl Cameron<br />
Pamela Cassidy<br />
Murielle Cayouette<br />
Gerry Clouthier<br />
Anne Conway<br />
Laurent Couture<br />
Dwight Delahunt<br />
Donald Doyle<br />
Mary Gauthier<br />
Michael Keeler<br />
Elizabeth Klassen<br />
Linda Larkin<br />
Denis Lortie<br />
Carla MacGregor<br />
Bernadette Murphy<br />
Christopher Murphy<br />
Sharon Murphy<br />
Wendy Patenaude<br />
Maureen Speer<br />
1998-99<br />
Yvonne Benton<br />
Lyle Bergeron<br />
Cicely Berry<br />
Dennis Boucher<br />
Rheal Bourgeois<br />
Darlene Charron<br />
Anne DesRoches<br />
Helen Despatie<br />
Dale Henderson<br />
Jolanta Kania<br />
Micheline Leroux<br />
Francis Liu<br />
Bonnie McGilchrist<br />
Anne-Marie McGillis<br />
Jean-Pierre Meunier<br />
Anne Moore<br />
Tina Rudkoski<br />
Helen Sheehan<br />
Rodney Thompson<br />
Mary Wyard<br />
DOE COMMENDATIONS<br />
1999-2000<br />
Marilu Armstrong<br />
Michael Blood<br />
Marc Brown<br />
Eldon Currell<br />
Helena Daly<br />
Ann Escott<br />
Claudia Fillion<br />
Bill Fox<br />
Joseph Friske<br />
Margie Gourdier<br />
Helen Halligan<br />
Jeanne Joinette<br />
Sister Daniela Kolak<br />
Bogdan Kolbusz<br />
Eugene Michaud<br />
Ray Monette<br />
Silvio Rigucci<br />
Elizabeth Rock<br />
Sister Frances Romanucci<br />
Yvonne Whalen<br />
2000-01<br />
Denise Andre<br />
Glenda Archer<br />
Toni Bacchi<br />
Josephine Bolechala<br />
Bernita Capstick<br />
Margie Chaput<br />
Al Dufour<br />
Rachelle Giroux<br />
Mike Kennedy<br />
Denis Lascelle<br />
Len Mayer<br />
Gina McAlear<br />
Sister Marilyn Paterson<br />
Patricia Phalen<br />
John Power<br />
Alison Purdy<br />
Wendy Reynolds<br />
Cathy Sheridan<br />
Julie Swords<br />
Ernie Wilson<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
64<br />
2001-02<br />
Nancy Beddoe<br />
Joyce Brule<br />
Richard Chabot<br />
Dante Falsetto<br />
Joyce Bryson Fleury<br />
Helen Gordon<br />
Lynne Grandmaitre<br />
Barry Lemoine<br />
Colleen MacDonald<br />
Patricia McRae<br />
Mary Moss<br />
Leslie Parent<br />
Deb Robinson<br />
Manon Seguin<br />
John Shaughnessy<br />
Carol Thibault<br />
Claudette Touchette<br />
Nancy Villeneuve<br />
Karen Walkowiak<br />
Helene Worden<br />
2002-03<br />
Tom Beckett<br />
Denis Bussieres<br />
Claire Caron<br />
Marty Carreau<br />
Thomas Charlebois<br />
Helene Coulombe<br />
Betty Craig<br />
Rosemarie Dubois<br />
Pierre Gougeon<br />
Patricia Koeslag<br />
Daniel Lahey<br />
Mary Lemoine<br />
Nicole Levesque<br />
June McCaffrey<br />
Debbie Plante<br />
Roberto Santos<br />
Betty Sharland<br />
Bob Shaw<br />
Faith Silver<br />
Bernie Swords
2003-2004<br />
Jacques Cardinal<br />
Paula Cavan<br />
Joan Clark<br />
Angela Cosgrove<br />
Susan Davidson<br />
Nancy Du Vall<br />
Michel Fortin<br />
Karen Gorr<br />
Eileen Johnson<br />
Laura Justinich<br />
Alexa Lapalme<br />
Agnes Lee<br />
Janet Matthews<br />
Donna McGrath<br />
Elaine McMahon<br />
Kenneth Mendes<br />
Jean-Guy Mercier<br />
Shawna Morgan<br />
Rosann Mullins<br />
Christina Murdock<br />
Cheryl Murphy<br />
Helene Roy<br />
Susan Marie Vail<br />
Doug White<br />
DOE COMMENDATIONS<br />
2004-2005<br />
Bill Anderson<br />
Tony Arthur<br />
Terri Bolster<br />
Elizabeth Bolton<br />
Tammy Doyle<br />
Connie Drew<br />
Sheila Forman<br />
Pius Walter Gratwohl<br />
Karin Guite<br />
Frank Harris<br />
Ken Kary<br />
Terri Kelly<br />
Claude Lafleur<br />
Joanne Laframboise<br />
David Leach<br />
Sandra Mackay<br />
Norma McDonald<br />
Nancy McLaren<br />
Bonnie McLaurin<br />
Rick Moss<br />
Joe Mullally<br />
Brenda Mulvihill<br />
Elinor Pouliot<br />
Diane Spenard Bruce<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
65<br />
2005-2006<br />
Annette Bajraktari<br />
Mary Byrne<br />
Rosalie Carroll<br />
Greta Chase<br />
Abai Coker<br />
Jane Foster<br />
Catherine Gillis<br />
Ted Gillissie<br />
Joanne Gosselin<br />
Kathy Hodgins<br />
Shelley Lawrence<br />
Greg Mullen<br />
Peter Murray<br />
Richard Peters<br />
Suzanne Poirier<br />
Heather Reid<br />
Carrolle Rothwell<br />
Mary Stanton<br />
Cathy Vachon<br />
Paul Voisin<br />
Chris Wakefield<br />
Maureen Watkin<br />
Anna Yates<br />
Barbara Zanon
While it does not have a long history,<br />
having opened in September 2002,<br />
All Saints High <strong>School</strong> is gaining<br />
renown through its actions, and already has<br />
a long litany of social justice initiatives<br />
and projects which the students have<br />
undertaken. Since its opening, All Saints<br />
High <strong>School</strong> has adopted St. Elizabeth <strong>School</strong><br />
in <strong>Ottawa</strong> as its sister school and has<br />
supported it in various ways, including<br />
providing the elementary school with over<br />
4,500 books for its literacy program.<br />
An annual event at All Saints<br />
High <strong>School</strong> is its craft fair. The proceeds<br />
from this event go to support St. Angela’s<br />
Community Centre in Brazil, as well as<br />
St. Elizabeth <strong>School</strong> in <strong>Ottawa</strong>. In the spring<br />
of 2003, the All Saints multi-media prayer<br />
studio supported the Canadian <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Organization for Development<br />
and Peace through the production of an<br />
interactive Lenten calendar. This project<br />
received a certificate of honour from the<br />
organization. The Lenten calendar is<br />
currently used across Canada and<br />
elsewhere.<br />
All Saints High <strong>School</strong> supports<br />
an annual 24-hour famine experience<br />
called “Thinkfast,” which is sponsored by<br />
the Canadian <strong>Catholic</strong> Organization for<br />
Development and Peace. Every May in<br />
honour of Mother’s Day, All Saints hosts<br />
a baby shower, with gifts donated to<br />
St. Mary’s Home. Annually as well, the Music<br />
Department arranges visits to homes for<br />
seniors and feeder schools in the community,<br />
where the students share their gift of music.<br />
During the Christmas season, students<br />
provide baskets that include food and gifts<br />
for needy families in the community. They<br />
have also begun a tradition of traveling to<br />
the Dominican Republic to experience<br />
conditions in a developing nation. In<br />
September 2004 and again in 2005, All<br />
Saints High <strong>School</strong> students participated in<br />
the Terry Fox Run, raising over $40,000 for<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ALL<br />
SAINTS<br />
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL<br />
5115 Kanata Avenue<br />
Kanata K2K 3K5<br />
613-271-4254<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/ash<br />
cancer research. In January 2005, in<br />
response to the tsunami disaster, which<br />
struck Southeast Asia, the school collected<br />
$20,000 to support relief efforts in the area.<br />
All Saints High <strong>School</strong> draws<br />
students from the Kanata North area as<br />
well as from West Carleton. It offers a wide<br />
range of academic programs. Students are<br />
also able to participate in more than<br />
25 interscholastic sports and 30 clubs and<br />
activities, including student council,<br />
yearbook, improv, an environmental group,<br />
a school band, peer helpers, peer mentoring,<br />
a chess club, peer tutoring and an early<br />
intervention program.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
69<br />
All Saints has seen its students<br />
succeed at various levels. In 2005, Simon<br />
Pek placed fourth in a national debating<br />
competition. In 2004-05, Malyha Alibhai was<br />
a finalist in the Canadian Merit Scholarship<br />
competition, a scholarship which recognizes<br />
Canadian students who demonstrate<br />
superior academic achievement and who<br />
make an outstanding contribution to the<br />
community. Also in 2005, Madeline Marsh<br />
won the top prize in a provincial writing<br />
contest sponsored by the Ontario English<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’ Association.<br />
The school has concert bands, vocal<br />
groups, jazz bands and small ensembles, all<br />
of which perform at music competitions such<br />
as Musicfest and the Kiwanis Music Festival.<br />
In 2004, and again in 2005, All Saints grade<br />
8 students participated in the Skills Canada<br />
Marsville competition to showcase their<br />
abilities in robotics, animation, mechanical<br />
engineering and technology. They have won<br />
gold and silver medals in these competitions.<br />
All Saints High <strong>School</strong> has fielded<br />
numerous sports teams in its brief history.<br />
The junior boys’ soccer team won the<br />
National Capital Championship title in 2004.<br />
The school opened on September 3,<br />
2002, with Monsignor Leonard Lunney<br />
presiding at the official ceremony on behalf<br />
of Archbishop Marcel Gervais. The school<br />
was built on land in Kanata North, which<br />
was previously owned by the Whalen family.<br />
A mature spruce tree at one time growing on<br />
the property immediately to the west of the<br />
school bore a plaque with an inscription<br />
indicating that it had been planted by the<br />
Whalen family on VE Day in 1945.<br />
The school’s first graduation<br />
ceremony took place in June 2004. To<br />
commemorate the event, the class of 2004<br />
built a rock cairn entitled “Cairn of Hope” at<br />
the front of the school, into which they<br />
placed a time capsule.
All Saints High <strong>School</strong>, created to<br />
relieve overcrowding at Holy Trinity in<br />
Kanata and at Sacred Heart in Stittsville,<br />
was named following a process which<br />
involved input and extensive consultation<br />
among students, staff, parents, school council<br />
and trustees regarding potential choices.<br />
The names of many saints were among the<br />
suggestions that came forward. Ultimately,<br />
“All Saints” emerged as the clear favourite.<br />
All Saints High <strong>School</strong> features the<br />
same high school design by architect Edward<br />
Cuhaci that was used for Holy Trinity<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>, Kanata’s first <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
high school, and which has been used by the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> and<br />
now the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> as the design for all its new high<br />
schools. Each time, the design is improved<br />
in some respects and in the case of All<br />
Saints, this meant an increased number<br />
of classrooms on the second floor, achieved<br />
by encroaching on the trademark central<br />
atrium feature of the design. Besides<br />
numerous classrooms, All Saints also has<br />
a chapel, two large gymnasiums, four<br />
computer labs, seven science labs, a graphics<br />
room, a library, two music rooms, a dance<br />
studio, a fitness room, a drama room and<br />
an electronics shop.<br />
The school has continued to grow<br />
in enrolment since its formation, thanks to<br />
ongoing and steady residential growth in<br />
the Kanata North area. Portable classrooms<br />
have now sprouted up at the school to<br />
accommodate this burgeoning student<br />
enrolment. A 30-room addition to the school<br />
is now in the planning stages, with an<br />
expected opening in September 2007.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Present Principal<br />
Joseph Mullally (2005-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Joan Clark (2002-05)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Tony Adams<br />
Barry Agnew<br />
Barb Arnold<br />
Danielle Baillie<br />
Virginia Bedecki<br />
John Bender<br />
Rejeane Bone<br />
Jeff Boucher<br />
Catherine Bourgon<br />
Rosa Cammara<br />
Todd Campbell<br />
Joan Clark<br />
Joanne Costanzo<br />
Anne Delahunt<br />
Michelle Deveaux<br />
Leslie Diack<br />
Sandy Dos Santos<br />
Carolyn Druve<br />
Valerie Forte<br />
Kate Fournier<br />
Stephanie Gonsalves<br />
Joanne Gosselin<br />
Carmen Hillary<br />
Ryan Hobbins<br />
Nicole Houle-Pukanich<br />
Anne Hudson<br />
Angela Hussey<br />
Trevor Kirtz<br />
Vanessa Kirtz<br />
Patricia Koeslag<br />
Liana Krauthaker<br />
Joanne Lachapelle<br />
Oriana Laderoute<br />
Randy Ladoucer<br />
Richard Larock<br />
Kai Lee<br />
Tara MacNeil<br />
Tracey MacPherson<br />
Elizabeth Mahan<br />
Daniel Marcil<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
70<br />
Graham Mastersmith<br />
Michael McHale<br />
Shawna McSheffrey<br />
Chad Morreau<br />
Mary Morris<br />
Shawn Murphy<br />
Michel Nadeau<br />
Danielle Novak<br />
Michael Nugent<br />
Cheryl Orzel<br />
Anthony O’Sullivan<br />
Pino Pasqua<br />
Frederic Pepin<br />
Angela Pignat<br />
Kathlene Pomfret<br />
Kevin Porter<br />
Suzanne Raymond<br />
Kerry Rodgers<br />
Bonnie Russell<br />
Jennifer Scrim<br />
Raymond Shea<br />
Gwen Simonds<br />
Gloria Sobb<br />
Dung Tang<br />
Anne-Marie Tapply<br />
Karen Timmons<br />
Chris Todd<br />
AnnMarie Vanneste<br />
Deanna VanZeeland<br />
Richard Walker<br />
Christopher Ward<br />
Claire Wilson<br />
Theresa Wood
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
The founding students, staff and<br />
school council chose the school colours of<br />
silver, blue and burgundy.<br />
Motto<br />
Dei Gratia (The Grace of God)<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Mascot<br />
In 2005, in keeping with a Nordic<br />
theme, All Saints students chose the Yeti as<br />
the school mascot.<br />
Team Names<br />
The Avalanche<br />
Home Gymnasium<br />
It is called “The Summit.”<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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Significant Events<br />
In 2005, All Saints High <strong>School</strong><br />
was chosen as the location for the official<br />
“kick off” event for the implementation<br />
of the “Eat Smart” program in <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> high<br />
school cafeterias.<br />
The school’s grades 7 and 8 boys’<br />
touch football team won the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> Intermediate Athletic<br />
Association Championship title in both 2003<br />
and 2004.
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
72
Assumption <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has<br />
existed as a beacon of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education for English-speaking<br />
students in the Vanier area for half a<br />
century. Its beginnings can be traced to<br />
September 1926, according to records of<br />
student registrations. The early students<br />
attended classes in a hotel, which was<br />
converted for use as a school near the site of<br />
the present day Assumption <strong>Catholic</strong> Church<br />
on Olmstead Avenue in Vanier. In those<br />
early years, the school accommodated<br />
students from Grades 1 through 8. The<br />
Grey Sisters of the Immaculate Conception<br />
became associated with the school in 1934,<br />
with four classrooms of girls being taught<br />
by them while the Christian Brothers taught<br />
four classrooms of boys.<br />
It is not known if the school was<br />
initially named Assumption or not, since<br />
the school predates the founding of the<br />
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary<br />
Parish in Eastview. It seems obvious,<br />
though, that it was the same concerns of the<br />
English-speaking <strong>Catholic</strong>s of Eastview with<br />
regard to practicing and learning about their<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> faith in their mother tongue that<br />
brought about both the school and the<br />
church at about the same time period. The<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> parents were concerned about their<br />
children attending the public school and not<br />
being exposed to <strong>Catholic</strong> influences. Thus,<br />
the <strong>Catholic</strong> school was established in 1926.<br />
Similarly, the English-speaking<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>s, who numbered about 118 families<br />
by the beginning of the 1930s, petitioned<br />
Archbishop William Forbes for their own<br />
parish as well, stressing their need for proper<br />
religious instruction in their own language.<br />
Assumption became a mission in August 1931,<br />
and was raised to the status of a full parish<br />
in October 1932. The church community<br />
purchased a building known as the Assembly<br />
Hall on Savard Street and this was used as a<br />
temporary church, until the new building was<br />
completed in 1940, on property on Olmstead<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ASSUMPTION<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
236 Lévis Street<br />
Vanier K1L 6H8<br />
613-746-4822<br />
wwww.occdsb.on.ca/asu<br />
Avenue that had been acquired as early as<br />
1932. The new Assumption Church was<br />
blessed by Archbishop Alexandre Vachon in<br />
December 1940.<br />
The original Assumption <strong>School</strong>,<br />
which came under the jurisdiction of the<br />
Eastview <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, a separate<br />
entity from the former <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, was struck<br />
by tragedy in 1948 when it caught fire on<br />
a Sunday evening. Students were taught<br />
in the basement of Assumption <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Church until a new school could be built.<br />
The official blessing of the new Assumption<br />
<strong>School</strong> took place in March 1950 even<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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though the school was obviously not totally<br />
completed, since blackboards were borrowed<br />
for the event from a school in Renfrew and<br />
were returned promptly following the<br />
blessing.<br />
Over the years, Assumption <strong>School</strong><br />
has become known for its love of music as<br />
demonstrated by the school choir, for the<br />
offerings of its drama club, for its acceptance<br />
of the challenge to improve the literacy and<br />
numeracy levels of its students, and for its<br />
many sports and athletics activities. Several<br />
unique initiatives have been undertaken at<br />
the school. One example is the Knitting Club<br />
directed by Sister Barbara Ryan. Another is<br />
the Little Beaver Club, a noontime program<br />
designed to increase understanding between<br />
aboriginal and non-aboriginal children.<br />
A rich sense of community permeates the<br />
school community.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Ann-Louise Revells (2006-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Sister Ann of the Cross (1940-51)<br />
Sister Theresa Kelly (1969-83)<br />
Alex Nagle<br />
Alan Morissette<br />
Michael Kloepfer (1989-94)<br />
Pearl Lavigne-DeMillo (1995-99)<br />
Simone Oliver (2000-02)<br />
Eileen Maychruk<br />
Early Teaching Staff<br />
(dates are when the staff members started at<br />
the school)<br />
Violet Duford (1934)<br />
Angelina Duford (1934)<br />
Sister Mary Noreen (1934)<br />
Sister Mary Lawrence (1935)<br />
Sister St. Denis ( 1936)<br />
Sister St. Helen (1937)<br />
Sister Catherine of the Cross (1939)<br />
Sister Ann of the Cross,<br />
Principal (1940)
Sister St. Monica (1941)<br />
Sister Mary Rose (1942)<br />
Sister St. Brendan (1944)<br />
Sister Francis Maurice (1944)<br />
Sister Anne Louise<br />
Sister St. Hilda<br />
Sister St. Mary Gabriel<br />
Anna Kessels<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
The school colour is a rich,<br />
brilliant blue reflecting the robes in which<br />
the Blessed Virgin is traditionally adorned.<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is a circle in which<br />
there is a stylized cross which forms one<br />
side of the letter “A.”<br />
Order of Canada Recipient<br />
Sister Ann of the Cross, who was<br />
Principal of Assumption <strong>School</strong> from 1940<br />
to 1951, worked in the Dominican Republic<br />
from 1951 to 2000, where she established<br />
the first education system known in that<br />
area. She was awarded the Order of Canada<br />
in February 1994, by Governor-General<br />
Ramon Hnatyshyn for her contribution to<br />
education in both Canada and the<br />
Dominican Republic.<br />
Sister Barbara Ryan<br />
After her retirement as the<br />
Librarian at Immaculata High <strong>School</strong> in<br />
1991, Sister Barbara Ryan volunteered to<br />
work daily at Assumption <strong>School</strong>, serving<br />
as librarian, reading coach, knitting club<br />
director and staff advisor.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Former Student<br />
Bernard “Bunny” McCann, who<br />
died in September 2006 at the age of 86,<br />
attended Assumption <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, as did<br />
his 16 children who are known for their<br />
musical abilities. Bunny himself had a<br />
lifetime filled with accomplishments:<br />
recipient of the Governor General’s Caring<br />
Canadian Award; recipient of the Royal<br />
Canadian Legion’s Dominion Command<br />
Palm Leaf; Governor of the Loyal Order of<br />
Moose Branch 1765; Moose of the Year<br />
(2004); member of the Royal Canadian<br />
Legion Branch 462 for over 50 years;<br />
founding member of Action Vanier; life<br />
member of the Institut Canadienne<br />
Francaise; a member of the Knights of<br />
Columbus Conseil 5571; a member of the<br />
Vanier Optimist Club; and a Vanier City<br />
alderman.<br />
Peer Mediators<br />
Dale Matsubara, a teaching<br />
assistant at Assumption <strong>School</strong>, established<br />
peer mediators at the school in 1992. This<br />
initiative has flourished right up to the<br />
present time.<br />
Little Beavers’ Club<br />
Queenie McPhee, an aboriginal<br />
woman who, as a volunteer, was very<br />
involved with the life of students at<br />
Assumption <strong>School</strong>, established a link<br />
between the school and the Wabano Centre,<br />
which still exists today. The Wabano Centre<br />
for Aboriginal Health is an urban, non-profit<br />
community-based healthcare centre on<br />
Montreal Road providing programs and<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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services for First Nations, Inuit and Métis<br />
peoples. One of its mandates is to promote<br />
community building through education and<br />
advocacy. She established a noon program<br />
called the “Little Beavers’ Club” for both<br />
aboriginal and non-aboriginal students. Here<br />
they can learn how to do beadwork and<br />
crafts and learn about native legends. Each<br />
year a First Nations banquet is held<br />
featuring beaver, deer, caribou, blueberry<br />
cake and fiddlehead ferns. There is also<br />
a sweet-grass ceremony. Queenie McPhee<br />
was instrumental in promoting pride in the<br />
gifts and wisdom of Inuit, Metis and First<br />
Nations cultures. After her husband’s death,<br />
she ceased being a volunteer at the school.<br />
An Early Christmas Concert<br />
This is a story that is told about<br />
one of the first Christmas concerts held in<br />
the original Assumption <strong>School</strong>, a converted<br />
hotel.<br />
Reportedly, Sister Anne, who was<br />
responsible for the Christmas concert at that<br />
time in the early history of the school, asked<br />
some of the male students who shared the<br />
premises, albeit in separate classrooms, to<br />
obtain a Christmas tree for the concert.<br />
The boys apparently made their way over to<br />
Notre Dame Cemetery where they obtained<br />
their Christmas tree. The boys delivered the<br />
tree to Sister Anne in no time. Sister Anne,<br />
prudently perhaps, did not question the boys<br />
about where they had obtained the tree but<br />
merely remarked on the beauty of the blue<br />
spruce, which went on to adorn the stage at<br />
the Christmas concert that year.
Bayshore <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> is special.<br />
It is not the newest, most modern<br />
school, having opened in<br />
September 1966. It is not the biggest school,<br />
having a student enrolment of 149 students<br />
in the 2005-06 school year. It is not the<br />
wealthiest school, as it relies on partner<br />
schools to provide financial help for special<br />
items such as student agendas and field<br />
trips, and as it is a frequent recipient of<br />
special funding for program support and for<br />
literacy and numeracy initiatives. Bayshore<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> is so very special because<br />
those at the school — students and staff —<br />
are able to make a difference by being<br />
associated with others with special needs<br />
and disabilities and thus to practise the<br />
Gospel values in their everyday school lives.<br />
Since 1985, Bayshore <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> has been home to a dependently<br />
handicapped class. Its presence in the school<br />
has allowed both students and staff to<br />
understand the challenges of dependently<br />
handicapped students and to treat them<br />
with respect and dignity as children of God.<br />
Bayshore <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> also houses a<br />
primary learning disabilities system class,<br />
a half-day program. As of 2005, the school<br />
houses two McHugh <strong>School</strong> behavioural<br />
classes — one primary and the other junior.<br />
Students with severe behavioral difficulties<br />
from both <strong>Catholic</strong> and public schools in the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> area attend these Crossroad classes.<br />
Bayshore <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> is also<br />
special because it is the learning environment<br />
for many students for whom English is a<br />
second language. Because it is located within<br />
an urban rental community, there are<br />
sometimes economic and involvement issues<br />
for the families that are part of the school<br />
community. The school community views this<br />
as an opportunity to make a difference in<br />
lives and to put <strong>Catholic</strong> beliefs into practice.<br />
For instance, Bayshore <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has a<br />
food cupboard for students who come to<br />
school without breakfast, lunch or snacks.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
BAYSHORE<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
50 Bayshore Drive<br />
Nepean K2B 6M8<br />
613-828-5158<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/bay<br />
Parents are welcomed at the school<br />
and particularly enjoy attending school<br />
functions in which their children are<br />
highlighted. Parental involvement in parent<br />
council and school-focused meetings is not<br />
as robust as at school functions. But caring<br />
principals, an involved staff and students<br />
who reach out and include others are<br />
traditional at Bayshore <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> and<br />
make it a special place, not in spite of its<br />
challenges but because of them.<br />
The school takes its name from<br />
the Bayshore area of Nepean in which it<br />
is located. Indeed, the nearby, well-known<br />
Bayshore Shopping Centre has become a<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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community partner of the school, paying for<br />
paving the access to the play structure area<br />
in the schoolyard. The school is within the<br />
St. Martin de Porres Parish boundary and,<br />
over the years, Masses were held at the<br />
school as part of the regular Sunday routine<br />
of the parish. This practice ceased about ten<br />
years ago.<br />
Bayshore <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has<br />
a number of regular events which have<br />
become school traditions, such as annual<br />
Christmas concerts, heritage dinners during<br />
Education Week, a Christmas gift sale,<br />
pancake suppers on Shrove Tuesday, a<br />
Halloween party and a year-end barbecue.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Austin DeCoste<br />
Past Principals<br />
Starr Kelly<br />
Marie Kennedy<br />
Robert Slack<br />
Sherri Swales<br />
Bonnie McLaurin<br />
Mary Moss<br />
Dwight Delahunt<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Blue and yellow<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is circular,<br />
featuring a cross, the initials “BCS” and<br />
the school name.
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> in the Orléans South area of<br />
Gloucester had its beginnings due<br />
to overcrowding at Our Lady of Wisdom<br />
<strong>School</strong>. This overcrowding, along with<br />
increased population growth in the Chapel<br />
Hill and Chateauneuf areas, made it<br />
necessary for the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> to open the “annex of Our<br />
Lady of Wisdom” in September 1984, housed<br />
in the former Ecole Saint François <strong>School</strong><br />
on Innes Road. This annex operated for two<br />
and a half years until the new Blessed<br />
Kateri Tekawitha <strong>School</strong> was established<br />
on Beausejour Drive in Orléans. The official<br />
opening ceremony for the school was held<br />
on April 29, 1987.<br />
The school is named after Blessed<br />
Kateri Tekakwitha, an aboriginal Canadian<br />
who was elevated from venerated to blessed<br />
status in June 1980, by Pope John Paul II.<br />
Blessed Kateri Tekawitha <strong>School</strong><br />
has three kindergarten classes, five junior<br />
classes, six primary classes, a computer<br />
lab, a library and a gymnasium. Student<br />
enrolment in the fall of 2005 was over<br />
300 students.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
BLESSED<br />
KATERI<br />
TEKAKWITHA<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
6400 Beausejour Drive<br />
Orléans K1C 4W2<br />
613-830-2454<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/ble<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
77<br />
Present Principal<br />
Marilyn Hanley<br />
Past Principals<br />
Kevin Mullins (oversaw the school<br />
as an annex to Our Lady of<br />
Wisdom <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>)<br />
Robert Laplante<br />
Greg Peddie<br />
John Delorme<br />
Jim O’Connor<br />
Patricia Morden-Kelly<br />
Ben Vallati<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Carolyn Bordeleau<br />
Tracy Crowe<br />
Darlene Danis<br />
Line Douglas<br />
Jodie Ingels<br />
Luce Mercier-Coburn<br />
Chuck Orifici<br />
Marie Lafrenière, Secretary<br />
Marcel Dubeau, Custodian<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Red and gold<br />
Logo<br />
Cross with flowers draped across it<br />
Other Features<br />
A carved wooden statue of Blessed<br />
Kateri Tekakwitha is in the school lobby.<br />
A painted banner depicting Blessed<br />
Kateri Tekakwitha hangs in the school lobby.
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
78
Brother André is one of the newer<br />
names for an <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> school but<br />
the school itself is far from new. In fact,<br />
the school community was created in 1975.<br />
While the construction of the new school<br />
on Elmridge Drive in Gloucester was being<br />
built, its students were housed in two<br />
different locations. Students from Senior<br />
Kindergarten through Grade 6 were housed<br />
on the second floor of St. Gabriel’s, a nearby<br />
French school; the junior kindergarten<br />
pupils, meanwhile, were accommodated at<br />
Thomas D’Arcy McGee <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
In May 1976, the students and<br />
staff at these two separate locations came<br />
together as they moved into their new school<br />
facility. The official opening did not take<br />
place until one year later. The school was<br />
built at a cost of $958,685.03, with Zygmunt<br />
J. Nowak as the architect. Construction,<br />
which was designed to house 411 students,<br />
commenced in October 1975. The completed<br />
facility would contain two kindergarten<br />
rooms, a special education room and nine<br />
regular classrooms. The school was built in<br />
a multi-level format as the architect<br />
designed the building to complement and<br />
follow the rocky and hilly terrain of the<br />
school property.<br />
The community and staff were<br />
asked to suggest names for the new school.<br />
The name “Elmridge” was selected because<br />
it reflected its location on Elmridge Drive.<br />
After thorough consultation within the<br />
community, the school was renamed Brother<br />
André <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> at an official and<br />
solemn ceremony that took place on May 27,<br />
2005.<br />
Brother André was associated<br />
with the school in the years leading up to<br />
this renaming. During the school’s<br />
25 th anniversary celebrations in May 2002,<br />
Brother André was chosen as the patron<br />
saint of the school. At the Education Week<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
BROTHER<br />
ANDRÉ<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
1923 Elmridge Drive<br />
Gloucester K1J 8G7<br />
613-741-0100<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/ban<br />
Mass that year, Brother André prayer cards<br />
and medals were blessed by Father Richard<br />
Siok and distributed to each student. Later,<br />
a large statue of Blessed Brother André and<br />
smaller statues for the prayer table in each<br />
classroom were blessed by Monsignor<br />
Leonard Lunney. The large statue was<br />
placed in the foyer of the school, surrounded<br />
by a new showcase designed by student<br />
representatives from Junior Kindergarten to<br />
Grade 6. Painted tiles represented the seven<br />
values in the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>’s strategic plan, “Believing,<br />
Discovering, Achieving.” The students began<br />
learning about the life of Brother André. In<br />
June 2002, grades 3 to 6 students traveled<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
79<br />
to Montreal to visit Brother André’s museum<br />
and Saint Joseph’s Oratory, the shrine that<br />
was built on the strength of this religious<br />
Brother’s faith.<br />
At one time, the school had about<br />
500 students, necessitating four portable<br />
classrooms in the playground area. However,<br />
1986 was the last year that a portable was<br />
needed at the school. In its 25 th anniversary<br />
year, school enrolment stood at<br />
approximately 300 students.<br />
With the formation of the<br />
amalgamated <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in 1998, and with the new<br />
school funding approach instituted by the<br />
Provincial Government, there were a<br />
number of school consolidations and closures<br />
as the <strong>Board</strong> tried to rationalize its use of<br />
space. The Elmridge <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
community made presentations and lobbied<br />
the <strong>Board</strong> to keep the school open, as it had<br />
been suggested for closure. The community<br />
was successful in this effort to preserve its<br />
local <strong>Catholic</strong> elementary school.<br />
Over the years, a variety of<br />
activities and events have helped create<br />
school spirit and traditions, and develop<br />
a sense of community at the school. These<br />
have included a staff versus grade 6<br />
basketball game, an Advent family Mass at<br />
St. Gabriel’s Church, family dances on such<br />
occasions as Halloween and Valentine’s Day,<br />
a meet-the-teacher barbecue, a Christmas<br />
play by grade 1 students, a Red Lobster<br />
breakfast with a visit from Santa Claus, a<br />
mentoring program by students from Lester<br />
B. Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>, and a<br />
breakfast program. The school community<br />
has also supported a variety of charities<br />
such as the Children’s Hospital of Eastern<br />
Ontario and the Terry Fox Run.
Present Principal<br />
Anne Noseworthy<br />
Past Principals<br />
James MacPherson<br />
Sister Rita McBane<br />
Hugh Marshall<br />
William Tomka<br />
Mary (Armstrong) Moss<br />
Patrick Jennings<br />
Maurene Atherton<br />
John Dorner<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Claudette Lapointe<br />
JoAnn Cazabon<br />
Jane Barkley<br />
Doug Colwill<br />
John Lalonde<br />
Kathy Smilie<br />
Sharon Johnston<br />
Sister Rita McBane<br />
Rose Brossard<br />
Tina Bloess<br />
Linda McNeely<br />
Judy Brown, Secretary<br />
Gerry Boisclair, Custodian<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Blue and white<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo for Elmridge<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has been a giant “E” with<br />
a heart, a cross and a pen.<br />
Former Students<br />
John Morris, Canadian Junior<br />
Curling Champion Skip<br />
athlete<br />
Jason Lachance, Paralympic<br />
Longtime Custodian<br />
Rick Delaney has been the<br />
custodian at Brother André <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
since 1981.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Mission Statement<br />
In the 2005-06 school year, staff at<br />
Brother André <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, as part of a<br />
school success planning initiative, developed<br />
a school mission statement: “Brother André<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>… learning and growing in<br />
faith.”<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
80<br />
Memorable Move<br />
In May 1976, when students and<br />
staff were moving from St. Gabriel <strong>School</strong><br />
to the new school facility on Elmridge Drive,<br />
Teacher Jane Barkley remembers walking<br />
over with her 28 senior kindergarten pupils,<br />
carrying books and puzzles, with everyone<br />
filled with excitement about moving into the<br />
new school. When they arrived, they<br />
discovered that all of the classroom<br />
furniture, including tables and chairs, were<br />
still in their boxes. Mrs. Barkley remembers<br />
having to arrange the furniture on her own<br />
while also keeping her 28 excited, energetic<br />
five-year-old pupils under control. It made<br />
for a memorable move-in for her and her<br />
pupils.
Chapel Hill <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> bears its<br />
community’s name, which is very<br />
appropriate since the school prides<br />
itself on community involvement.<br />
The Chapel Hill <strong>School</strong> community<br />
is involved in outreach programs such as<br />
Christmas hampers, an annual clothing<br />
drive and a Christmas angel tree program.<br />
Each year the school community raises<br />
funds for the Canadian Hunger Foundation,<br />
contributing anywhere from $4,500 to $7,500<br />
annually to this global outreach initiative.<br />
Other fundraisers throughout the year<br />
at Chapel Hill <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> include<br />
donations to the United Way as well as to<br />
worldwide relief efforts. The school’s parent<br />
community contributes to school life through<br />
involvement with such programs as early<br />
literacy, the school library and a hot lunch<br />
program.<br />
Chapel Hill <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> is an<br />
active place, with a focus on fitness through<br />
quality daily physical education. Its<br />
intramural and school team programs are<br />
designed to allow maximum participation<br />
and to follow the school motto, “Be the best<br />
you can be.”<br />
Chapel Hill <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> shares<br />
the community’s name because it was the<br />
first school built in the area. A neighbouring<br />
public school was built a short time after<br />
Chapel Hill <strong>Catholic</strong> opened in 1987. It was<br />
named Chapel Hill Public <strong>School</strong>. Confusion<br />
was inevitable. What added to the confusion<br />
was that both schools were on the same<br />
street, Forest Valley Drive in Orléans,<br />
separated only by a park. This led to<br />
numerous mix-ups in mail delivery and<br />
visitors so it was decided that one of the<br />
schools should change its name. Since<br />
Chapel Hill <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was built first,<br />
it retained its name while the public school<br />
was renamed Forest Valley Public <strong>School</strong>.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
CHAPEL<br />
HILL<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
1534 Forest Valley Drive<br />
Orléans K1C 6G9<br />
613-837-3773<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/cha<br />
The construction and opening of<br />
Chapel Hill <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> resulted from<br />
the continuing residential growth in the<br />
area. First, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was created, branching<br />
off from Our Lady of Wisdom. Its official<br />
opening was in April 1987. Chapel Hill<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was the next one<br />
constructed, branching off in turn from<br />
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. The official<br />
opening took place in April 1988, just one<br />
year after the inauguration of Blessed<br />
Kateri. Indeed, several teachers and a<br />
significant number of students went through<br />
both of these school changes before ending<br />
up among the original staff members and<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
81<br />
students at Chapel Hill <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
The students and staff of Chapel Hill were<br />
housed at Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha for a<br />
while beginning in September 1987, until<br />
their new facility was ready for occupancy.<br />
Several memorable events have<br />
occurred at Chapel Hill <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. In<br />
2001, the Canadian Hunger Foundation<br />
celebrated its 40 th anniversary. To mark the<br />
occasion, a celebration was planned and held<br />
at the school due to the school’s annual<br />
fundraising for the organization. In attendance<br />
at this celebration was the Honourable<br />
Mitchell Sharp in his capacity as founder. In<br />
2005, Chapel Hill <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> received a<br />
visit from Prime Minister Paul Martin,<br />
accompanied by <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Orléans Member of<br />
Parliament Marc Godbout. They were at the<br />
school to attend celebrations and activities<br />
relating to Earth Day. Their visit drew<br />
considerable media attention, providing both<br />
local and national exposure for the school.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Katie Kenny<br />
Past Principals<br />
Floriana Albi<br />
Judy Sarginson<br />
Grace Kenny-Castonguay<br />
Basil Tomlinson<br />
Diane Jackson<br />
Paul Lahey<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Lynn Charette<br />
Jane Scott<br />
Kathleen Kenny<br />
Carol Polnicky<br />
Chris Brady<br />
Debbie Quail<br />
Suzette Nadon<br />
Carole Parent<br />
Diane Jackson<br />
Rosemary Schouten<br />
Lou Massey<br />
Lorraine Hubbs
Former Students<br />
Stephanie Poon graduated as a<br />
heart surgeon in April 2006.<br />
Katherine Poon is scheduled to<br />
graduate as a brain surgeon in April 2007.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Red, white and black<br />
Logo<br />
The logo is an elongated shield<br />
featuring a cross, a star and the school<br />
name.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
82<br />
Motto<br />
“Be the best you can be!”<br />
Mascot<br />
The school mascot is a panda bear<br />
named “Chappy.”
The construction of Convent Glen<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Orléans not only<br />
provided a much needed home for<br />
students, but also provided the first location<br />
for the new church community called Divine<br />
Infant, the forerunner of Divine Infant<br />
Parish.<br />
Growing enrolment at Our Lady<br />
of Wisdom <strong>School</strong> resulted in Convent Glen<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> opening in 1977 in a porta-pak<br />
complex on Grey Nuns Drive. It<br />
consisted of five classrooms in total, with<br />
only one washroom that was shared by both<br />
students and teachers. There was also a<br />
staff room that doubled as a storage and<br />
meeting room. For the 1978-79 school year,<br />
a second stand-alone port-a-pak was added<br />
at the site to accommodate the increasing<br />
enrolment. For gym and library sessions,<br />
students were bused to Our Lady of Wisdom<br />
<strong>School</strong>.<br />
The new Convent Glen <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> on Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard was<br />
finally occupied in September 1979, with the<br />
official opening held later, on May 25, 1980.<br />
The name of the school is derived from the<br />
name of the community in which it is<br />
located. The opening of the new school not<br />
only provided a home for the students and<br />
staff but also became the first home of the<br />
newly-established Divine Infant Church<br />
community, which had been established in<br />
September 1979, under the leadership of<br />
Father Michael Hurtubise; to provide<br />
English-speaking <strong>Catholic</strong>s in Orléans with<br />
their own church, thus relieving the<br />
overcrowded, bilingual St. Joseph’s Parish.<br />
Masses were held at Convent Glen <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> until September 1981 when the<br />
location was changed to St. Matthew Junior<br />
High <strong>School</strong>, near the future site of Divine<br />
Infant Church. The Divine Infant Church<br />
community became a parish in 1983, and<br />
the new church was completed and blessed<br />
in 1987.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
CONVENT<br />
GLEN<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
6212 Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard<br />
Orléans K1C 2M4<br />
613-824-8541<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/con<br />
Meanwhile, Convent Glen <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> was developing its own traditions and<br />
character.<br />
A shaggy brown dog named<br />
“Copper,” christened by Mrs. Cotes’ grade 1<br />
class, was the school’s mascot and attended<br />
all of its sporting events. Grey and burgundy<br />
became the school’s colours.<br />
A strong sense of community has<br />
pervaded Convent Glen <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
since it began. Two former students, Romina<br />
Lombardi and Krista St. John, are now<br />
teachers at the school. Ken Vowles, a<br />
veteran and former parent, still makes<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
83<br />
Remembrance Day presentations at the<br />
school. Parents with students no longer<br />
at the school return to volunteer. <strong>School</strong><br />
secretary Barb Foley’s children attended<br />
the school.<br />
Convent Glen <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has<br />
a myriad of extracurricular activities such<br />
as the Grade 6 Leadership Program, and<br />
Peacemakers. There are other clubs for<br />
chess, dance, bridge, and primary and junior<br />
choirs, and there is a milk program. Quality<br />
daily physical education is emphasized and<br />
students play intramural team sports daily.<br />
Interscholastic teams include cross-country<br />
running, volleyball, basketball, ultimate<br />
Frisbee, touch football, handball and track<br />
and field. Advent and Lenten projects,<br />
liturgical services, the Arts, a spring concert,<br />
Education Week activities, winter and spring<br />
play days, Remembrance Day services, a<br />
volunteer appreciation event, and support<br />
for UNICEF and the United Way are some<br />
of the other activities which define Convent<br />
Glen <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> as a hive of living and<br />
learning. Over the years, special events at<br />
the school have included ski trips, camping<br />
trips, a harvest moon family dance,<br />
Winterlude activities, a spring fun fair,<br />
Christmas concerts and musicals. Since<br />
2002, Convent Glen <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has<br />
hosted one of the two Robodome classrooms<br />
in the <strong>Board</strong>. Robodome is a program in<br />
which grade 5 students build Lego robots<br />
to develop their problem-solving and<br />
thinking skills.<br />
Convent Glen <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
today also hosts primary and junior learning<br />
disabilities classes.
Present Principal<br />
Patricia Morden-Kelly<br />
Past Principals<br />
Robert Laplante<br />
Joanne LaPlante<br />
Dr. Margaret McGrath<br />
Joan Gravel<br />
Robert Benning<br />
Paul Wubben<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Robert Laplante<br />
Susan Rheaume<br />
Rosina Davis<br />
Colleen Plante<br />
Norma Menard<br />
Georges Lajeunesse<br />
Martine Bealne<br />
Faye Powell<br />
Betty Sharland<br />
Dan Charbonneau<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
84<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Burgundy and grey<br />
Logo<br />
The oval logo features a cross<br />
overlaid with the letters “C” and “G”<br />
representing Convent Glen, surrounded by<br />
the school name “Convent Glen <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>.” The cross represents Our Lord.<br />
The logo was the result of a contest held at<br />
the school.
Corpus Christi <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> and<br />
its predecessor, St. Matthew, have<br />
provided <strong>Catholic</strong> education to<br />
families in the Glebe area since 1900. In<br />
that year, St. Matthew <strong>School</strong>, the original<br />
small, two-room school on the site at Fourth<br />
Avenue and Lyon Street opened, serving the<br />
four lower grades.<br />
St. Matthew expanded with the<br />
growth of the area and, at the time of the<br />
formation of Blessed Sacrament Parish in<br />
1913, the school needed to rent a two-room<br />
annex at the corner of Bank Street and First<br />
Avenue so that all of the primary grades<br />
could be accommodated. Enrolment at<br />
St. Matthew in 1913 was 186 students.<br />
From 1913 through to 1920, the<br />
classes were taught by members of the Grey<br />
Sisters as well as by lay teachers. In 1916,<br />
enrolment at St. Matthew had grown to<br />
259 students. This necessitated the<br />
construction of another classroom, bringing the<br />
total to six. Beginning in 1920 and continuing<br />
until 1928, the students were taught by the<br />
Sisters of St. Mary, as well as by lay teachers.<br />
Continuing growth in the area in<br />
the 1920s meant that construction of a<br />
larger school became necessary. In 1926,<br />
a new school containing eight classrooms<br />
was built and named Corpus Christi<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. H.J. Morin was the<br />
architect and Henri Dagenais served as<br />
the contractor for the $47,600 school. It is<br />
believed that this new Corpus Christi <strong>School</strong><br />
probably opened in October when the lease<br />
on the annex premises at Bank Street and<br />
First Avenue expired. The construction of<br />
this new school did not mean the demolition<br />
of the original St. Matthew building. It<br />
continued to be used as part of Corpus<br />
Christi <strong>School</strong> for another 40 years until it<br />
was eventually razed in 1967.<br />
The name of the school emerged as<br />
a result of a spiritual connection to the new<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
CORPUS<br />
CHRISTI<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
157 Fourth Ave<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1S 2L5<br />
613-232-9743<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/cch<br />
Blessed Sacrament Parish. Some time after<br />
the parish was established in 1913, an<br />
annual procession on the feast of Corpus<br />
Christi concluded with Benediction being<br />
held on the grounds of St. Matthew <strong>School</strong>.<br />
Since the new school was being built on<br />
these same grounds and its construction<br />
was commencing soon after the feast day,<br />
“Corpus Christi” seemed to be a most<br />
appropriate choice.<br />
From 1930 through to the 1970s,<br />
the students at Corpus Christi <strong>School</strong> were<br />
taught by the Grey Sisters of the Immaculate<br />
Conception and by lay teachers. The parish<br />
was involved with the school in these early<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
85<br />
years. In 1933, for instance, it spent $200 for<br />
Bible pictures that were used in Catechism<br />
classes at the school. Both Bible history and<br />
Catechism were taught at this time by two<br />
assistant priests from Blessed Sacrament.<br />
Much was happening at Corpus<br />
Christi <strong>School</strong> in the 1930s. There was an<br />
annual Christmas concert. A motion picture<br />
machine was purchased in 1935. Mary J.<br />
Waygaman donated 20 volumes of books to<br />
the school library in 1936, the same year<br />
that an electrical Victrola was purchased for<br />
the school. French-language instruction<br />
began at the school in 1936. In 1937, Grade<br />
9 was introduced at the school, and a rotary<br />
class system began. Shop equipment was<br />
installed, as well as more equipment in the<br />
Home Economics class that was completed<br />
in 1938, consisting of a dining area, sewing<br />
area and combined kitchenette and laundry.<br />
A radio was purchased for the school. In<br />
1941, a school rink was constructed in the<br />
boys’ play yard. This would appear to have<br />
paid dividends as the school’s intermediate<br />
hockey team won the McKinley Trophy in<br />
1945, playing for coach Max Rowan.<br />
Following World War II, the Glebe<br />
area continued to experience residential<br />
growth, especially by young families. This<br />
created the need for a six-room addition<br />
designed by architect R. Thibault. But even<br />
with this addition, the school was not large<br />
enough, necessitating plans for a major<br />
expansion.<br />
In 1967, the St. Matthew <strong>School</strong><br />
building was torn down, making room for<br />
the new north wing and gymnasium of the<br />
school. E. J. Cuhaci was the architect for<br />
this project. In 1977, Corpus Christi <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> held its 50 th anniversary celebration.<br />
The event’s activities included sculptor John<br />
Tappin working with the students to make<br />
fibreglass totem panels which were mounted<br />
on the new light panels, in the main hall of<br />
the school.
In 1988, major renovations took<br />
place at Corpus Christi <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
These included replacement of windows,<br />
doors and the heating system. In 1991, an<br />
Earth Day initiative at the school was the<br />
installation of a community recycling depot<br />
in the parking lot.<br />
In 1994, new play structures were<br />
built in the schoolyard thanks to the effort<br />
of the parents. This was followed in the year<br />
2000 by the construction of a shared play<br />
structure with neighbouring Mutchmor<br />
Public <strong>School</strong>. The year 2000 was also<br />
special for Corpus Christi <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
as the choir sang for author Margaret<br />
Atwood when she received the key to the<br />
City of <strong>Ottawa</strong> at an event at the nearby<br />
Glebe Community Centre.<br />
Corpus Christi <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
community continues to be active. In<br />
February 2002, students made Valentine<br />
cards and took them to the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Heart<br />
Institute. In 2004, the team from teacher<br />
Triona White’s grade 5-6 class won the<br />
catapult contest at the Science and Technology<br />
Museum in <strong>Ottawa</strong>. This was the same<br />
year that the first Blues in the <strong>School</strong>s<br />
performance took place at Corpus Christi<br />
<strong>School</strong>. Also in 2004, the school’s students,<br />
along with students from 20 other schools,<br />
created paintings depicting winter, which<br />
were displayed at 240 Sparks Street in<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Present Principal<br />
Monica Kerwin<br />
Principals<br />
Sister St. Teresita (1930-33)<br />
Sister Frances Morris (19??-53)<br />
Sister Mary Stanton (1953-5?)<br />
Sister Mary Patricia (195?-65)<br />
Sister Mary Stanton (1965-??)<br />
Sister Theresa Kelly (19??-74)<br />
Doreen Brady (1974-78)<br />
James McStravick (197?-81)<br />
John Knoble (1981-86)<br />
Anthony Charbonneau (19??-9?)<br />
John Shaughnessy (199?-95)<br />
Lucille Pummer (1996-99)<br />
Jim Rogers (1999-2003)<br />
Bonnie McLaurin (2003-2006)<br />
Teaching Staff in 1930<br />
Sister St. Teresita, Principal<br />
Miss O’Grady<br />
Miss Searson<br />
Miss Gogins<br />
Sister Frances Margaret<br />
Sister Maureen<br />
Miss O’Connell<br />
Miss McCready<br />
Miss Kelly<br />
Sister Jane Frances<br />
Daniel O’Connor, Custodian<br />
Mr. Godbout, Attendance Officer<br />
.<br />
Former Students<br />
Brian Smith, professional hockey<br />
player from 1960 to 1973 including playing<br />
for the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota<br />
North Stars of the National Hockey League<br />
and for the Houston Aeros of the World<br />
Hockey Association. He was also well known<br />
locally as a sports broadcaster with <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
television station CJOH from 1973 until his<br />
tragic death in 1995 when he was murdered<br />
by a deranged gunman in the station’s<br />
parking lot.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
86<br />
Patrick Hayes of the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Police<br />
Department received the Order of Merit of<br />
the Police Forces in 2002, the first <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
police officer to receive the award, which<br />
recognizes officers for conspicuous merit and<br />
exceptional service. An inspector in 1999,<br />
he was the officer in command of the police<br />
response unit at OC Transpo headquarters<br />
when four OC Transpo employees and their<br />
shooter died. After 35 years of service, he<br />
was the most senior member of the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Police Department.<br />
Garry Guzzo served on the City<br />
of <strong>Ottawa</strong> Council and as a Progressive<br />
Conservative MPP in the Legislative<br />
Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003.<br />
A lawyer by profession, he also served as<br />
a provincial court judge.<br />
Maureen Lafontaine and Helen<br />
McCloskey won the National Prize for essays<br />
on topics of Irish history in 1942.<br />
Theresa Picher won the National<br />
Prize for essays on topics of Irish history in<br />
1944.<br />
Frank Dunlap became an <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
lawyer. He also played in the Canadian<br />
Football League and went on to become a<br />
commentator on radio broadcasts of <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Rough Rider football games.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Green and grey or white<br />
Logo<br />
The Corpus Christi <strong>School</strong> logo<br />
features a cup of wine and loaves of bread<br />
representing the body and blood of Christ.<br />
The cup and loaves are superimposed over<br />
a stylized crucifix.
Song<br />
The only known school song is a<br />
playground chant dating from the 1950s . . .<br />
Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi<br />
Sitting on the fence,<br />
Trying to teach Mutchmor<br />
A little bit of sense.<br />
Honour Roll<br />
The school has an honour roll with<br />
the names of all of the graduates of Corpus<br />
Christi <strong>School</strong> who served overseas in the<br />
army, navy or air force. Among those who<br />
died in World War II were Andrew<br />
McKenna, Gerald Mansfield, Francis<br />
Quinlan, Kelliker Player, Robert McMillan,<br />
Stuart MacDonnell, Robert Bradley, Homer<br />
Courtright, Joseph Courtright, Eric Post,<br />
Michael Leary, Kenneth Sheehan, Alex<br />
Cameron, Blake Dennison, William Murphy<br />
and James Williamson.<br />
Priests from Corpus Christi<br />
Corpus Christi <strong>School</strong> students<br />
who went on to become priests include<br />
Fathers Larose, Maloney, Lowry, Brennan,<br />
Frank Freney, George Courtright, and<br />
L.A. Costello.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
A Teacher Writes<br />
I taught at Corpus Christi <strong>School</strong><br />
from 1988 until 1993. I really enjoyed my<br />
experience there with the school’s<br />
cosmopolitan flavour, a stark contrast from<br />
the homogenous groups that I had taught<br />
previously, especially in Northern Ontario,<br />
namely in Cobalt and Iroquois Falls.<br />
While at Corpus Christi <strong>School</strong>,<br />
I accepted the responsibility to coordinate<br />
the liturgical life of the school, something<br />
which I enjoyed, especially because I had<br />
the full cooperation of the staff.<br />
Whatever the occasion, I would<br />
choose the readings and then consult with<br />
Patti Murphy and Debbie Niemenen, the<br />
guitarists, to choose the appropriate hymns.<br />
It was then easy to lead the singing, backed<br />
up by these two excellent musicians.<br />
Whether the event was in the gym<br />
or at the nearby church, Blessed Sacrament,<br />
the teachers whose students were chosen to<br />
do the readings would help the children<br />
prepare for the occasion. And, at all times,<br />
we had the blessing of the principal.<br />
I remember my time at Corpus<br />
Christi <strong>School</strong> with much fondness.<br />
Jeanne Marceau-Joyal<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
87
Originally named Chatelaine<br />
Village <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> for the<br />
first few months of its existence,<br />
Divine Infant <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was renamed<br />
and blessed at its official opening on May 5,<br />
1982. It took on the name of the newlycreated<br />
Divine Infant Church community,<br />
which was to become a parish the very next<br />
year.<br />
The Divine Infant Church<br />
community was established in September<br />
1979, first holding services at Convent Glen<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> and then at St. Matthew<br />
Junior High <strong>School</strong>.<br />
The school, which opened in<br />
September 1981, was designed by architect<br />
E.J. Cuhaci. Paul D’Aoust Construction Ltd.<br />
was the builder for the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
Over the years since its opening,<br />
Divine Infant <strong>School</strong> has raised thousands of<br />
dollars for the Heart and Stroke Foundation,<br />
the Holy Childhood Association, the United<br />
Way, UNICEF and the Canadian Hunger<br />
Foundation. This has been done through<br />
special activities such as “Jump Rope for<br />
Heart” and Lenten and Advent projects.<br />
This generosity of spirit in serving the local<br />
and global communities continues. In<br />
December 2004, the tsunami in southeast<br />
Asia caused untold devastation, and when<br />
the Divine Infant students returned to<br />
school after the Christmas break, they<br />
wondered what they could do to help those<br />
in need. The grade 4-5 class, under the<br />
direction of Teacher Dan Rigley, took the<br />
lead in creating a “Buck or Two Sale” in the<br />
gymnasium. The school community was<br />
invited to bring in books, toys, videos and<br />
other items that they no longer wanted or<br />
needed. Funds raised were donated to the<br />
Canadian Red Cross for tsunami relief. All<br />
donations were matched dollar for dollar<br />
by the Canadian government. Volunteers<br />
emerged from everywhere on their own<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
DIVINE<br />
INFANT<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
8100 Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard<br />
Orléans K1E 2E1<br />
613-824-1060<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/div<br />
initiative to assist students and staff in<br />
setting up this sale which resulted in the<br />
raising of over $2,000.<br />
Another example of the inclusive<br />
and generous spirit, which continues to<br />
pervade Divine Infant, happened in 2005<br />
after a student was diagnosed with the same<br />
type of cancer as Terry Fox. In honour of<br />
both the 25 th anniversary of the Terry Fox<br />
Run and of the student, the school held an<br />
event entitled “Run for Hannah.” The school<br />
community pitched in, and over $3,510 was<br />
raised for the Canadian Cancer Society.<br />
But this was not the end of it. When the<br />
community learned about the situation, a<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
89<br />
parent, Mrs. Christina Lyons, launched an<br />
initiative to assist Hannah’s family by<br />
cooking meals for them. She developed a<br />
two-month schedule and advertised for<br />
volunteers in the school newsletter. Not<br />
only did people sign up to cook meals, but<br />
a freezer was donated to the family so that<br />
the meals could be preserved.<br />
A number of interesting events<br />
have happened at Divine Infant over the<br />
years. In November 1982, a baptism took<br />
place in the school library. Mrs. Cindy<br />
Simpson, a teacher at the school at that<br />
time, arranged to have her daughter, Sarah,<br />
baptized by Father Michael Hurtubuise who<br />
was in charge of the Divine Infant church<br />
community. Father Hurtubise later became<br />
the first pastor of Divine Infant in March<br />
1983.<br />
In 1990, Mila Mulroney, the wife<br />
of Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney,<br />
visited Divine Infant <strong>School</strong> to speak to the<br />
students about cystic fibrosis. At that time,<br />
Divine Infant had a student suffering from<br />
the disease. The school community<br />
presented a cheque in the amount of $3,500<br />
to Mrs. Mulroney during her visit to the<br />
school. In January 1991, a fellow student,<br />
Kelly Robin Edwards, was killed in a school<br />
bus accident. A painting was commissioned<br />
in her honour, and hangs in the school<br />
hallway. In the 1990s, Daniel Massey, a<br />
custodian at the school, was killed in an<br />
automobile accident. His memory is<br />
preserved by means of a plaque in his<br />
honour, which is displayed on the wall in<br />
the school foyer.
Present Principal<br />
Kimberly Giles<br />
Past Principals<br />
Andrew McKinley<br />
Richard Dittman<br />
Sam Coletti<br />
Kevin Mullins<br />
Lyle Bergeron<br />
Gerry Coulombe<br />
Cindy Simpson<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Marjorie MacKay<br />
Marie Chambers<br />
Cindy Simpson<br />
Christina Van Vugt<br />
Murielle Cayouette<br />
Carol Wheeler<br />
Real Gagnon<br />
Theresa Lucas<br />
Deborah Barbaro<br />
Marie Chambers<br />
Shirley Dostaler<br />
Terry Lucas<br />
Adriana DeWaal, Special<br />
Education<br />
Janet DeMurs, Educational<br />
Assistant<br />
Judy Prest, Librarian<br />
Jacquie Lapratte, Secretary<br />
Felix Robertson, Custodian<br />
Maurice Rozon, Custodian<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
90<br />
Staff Recognition<br />
Jill Lamont received the Daniel<br />
Kelly Athletic Award in 1999.<br />
Marilyn Doucette received the<br />
Bernadette MacNeil Award in 2005. This<br />
is an award given by the Ontario English<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’ Association (OECTA).<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
The school colours were originally<br />
orange and blue. They were later changed<br />
to blue and white.<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo was designed by<br />
a student through a contest organized by<br />
the school council under the principalship<br />
of Cindy Simpson.
Dr. F.J. McDonald <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
bears the name of a legendary<br />
supporter of, and advocate for,<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong>.<br />
For many years, Dr. F.J. McDonald,<br />
a medical doctor, was the inspector of<br />
separate schools in <strong>Ottawa</strong>. His work and<br />
contributions to <strong>Catholic</strong> education were<br />
such that the <strong>Board</strong> named the school in<br />
his honour.<br />
Dr. McDonald became convinced<br />
that the efforts and achievements of<br />
separate schoolteachers were neither<br />
understood nor appreciated. In 1930, under<br />
his leadership, separate schoolteachers in<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> set up their own local organization<br />
to make professional and economic gains.<br />
However, Dr. McDonald believed that a<br />
provincial organization would benefit all<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> teachers in the province, but it took<br />
several years to achieve this. Dr. McDonald<br />
consulted with other separate school<br />
inspectors across the province. They<br />
encouraged the teachers to form a provincial<br />
teachers’ organization. Support from the<br />
clergy and religious congregations teaching<br />
in Ontario was also forthcoming, leading<br />
eventually to the formation of the Ontario<br />
English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’ Association<br />
(OECTA).<br />
The school was in operation for<br />
more than two years before it was formally<br />
renamed Dr. F.J. McDonald <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
on December 14, 1970.<br />
The first few years for the school<br />
were anything but calm. Originally opened<br />
at the nearby St. Leonard <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> on<br />
Rob Roy Street in the Pinecrest-Queensway<br />
area on September 3, 1968, it moved to its<br />
permanent site on Ahearn Avenue at the<br />
end of September that year, bearing the<br />
name Britannia Bay <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
However, even at this permanent site, the<br />
students were housed in portables until the<br />
end of September 1969, when the new school<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
DR. F.J.<br />
MCDONALD<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
2860 Ahearn Avenue<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K2B 6Z9<br />
613-829-3878<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/dfj<br />
facility finally opened. Z.J. Nowak was<br />
the architect. More than a year later, on<br />
December 14, 1970, the school was formally<br />
renamed in honour of Dr. McDonald.<br />
The school celebrated its 25 th<br />
anniversary in 1993. At this memorable<br />
event, an anniversary Mass was followed<br />
by a reception attended by <strong>Board</strong> Trustees<br />
as well as by <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> Director of Education<br />
George Moore.<br />
Other memorable events have<br />
taken place. In June 2005, students visited<br />
nearby Mud Lake, an environmental gem<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
91<br />
and a local conservation area along the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> River. Students celebrated its<br />
upgrading made possible by their<br />
development of a science area. The school,<br />
along with a local conservation group, helps<br />
promote respect for Mud Lake. A grade 6<br />
class met with Canadian astronaut Marc<br />
Garneau at <strong>Ottawa</strong> City Hall where he<br />
received the key to the city. The school was<br />
chosen as the home base for the Rag and<br />
Bone Puppet Theatre from 1987 to 1990.<br />
This theatre group, associated with an<br />
artists-in-residence program, staged many<br />
performances for the school and students<br />
visited the group’s workshop at the school<br />
for creative arts instruction.<br />
Dr. F.J. McDonald <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
is home to a nursery school as well as a<br />
child/adult drop-in centre. The Pinecrest-<br />
Queensway Community group leases space<br />
from the school board, running a daycare<br />
program for the community.<br />
Dr. F.J. McDonald <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
was one of eight <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> schools that in 2005-06 raised<br />
approximately $6,000 in total for the “OK<br />
Clean Water Project.” This project (OK<br />
stands for <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Kumbo, a town in<br />
Cameroon in Africa) is an initiative of<br />
the Congregation of Notre Dame, an<br />
international religious community of Sisters<br />
and associates. The “OK Clean Water<br />
Project” supports the purchase of water<br />
pipes, which are laid from a clean water<br />
source into their communities by villagers<br />
in Cameroon.<br />
Dr. F.J. McDonald <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
has a kindergarten room, six regular<br />
classrooms, a gymnasium, a computer lab<br />
and a library.
Present Principal<br />
John Legree<br />
Past Principals<br />
Gregory Daly<br />
Douglas Goodwin<br />
James Morrison<br />
Philip Butler<br />
John Dorner<br />
Michael Blimkie<br />
Marcel Lafleur<br />
Brian T. Kelly<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Teaching Staff in 1971-72<br />
Phyllis Shearer<br />
Louise LeMoine<br />
Jeanne Fortier<br />
Mrs. B. Chapman<br />
Miss Shields<br />
B. Burant<br />
Diane Grison<br />
Miss L. Doherty<br />
Brent Gilmour<br />
Winnifred Trudel<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
92<br />
Family Connection<br />
Dr. F.J. McDonald’s daughter,<br />
Carolyn Watson, was a teacher, retiring from<br />
Bayshore <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Green and gold<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo features a giant<br />
“M” on top of a sunrise-starburst featuring<br />
a cross and a banner with the name “Dr. F.J.<br />
McDonald <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.”
For almost 40 years, Frank Ryan<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Senior Elementary <strong>School</strong> has<br />
been the scholastic home of adolescents<br />
making the transition from elementary to<br />
high school. This grades 7 and 8 school<br />
opened in September 1968. Since then, it<br />
has offered teaching expertise in all subject<br />
areas, combined with a wide palate of<br />
extracurricular activities, in athletics as well<br />
as in clubs and groups. These scholastic<br />
advantages have enabled students to grow<br />
academically, while also living a two-year<br />
school experience that lets them forever<br />
remember being a “Royal.”<br />
Being a “Royal” means attending<br />
Frank Ryan <strong>Catholic</strong> Senior Elementary<br />
<strong>School</strong>. Perhaps best known are the Royal<br />
athletic teams, which, over the years, have<br />
won countless championships in all sports,<br />
offered by the school board. Effort,<br />
sportsmanship and teamwork are<br />
characteristics of Royal sports teams.<br />
The school is named after the late<br />
Frank Ryan, an <strong>Ottawa</strong> Valley native who<br />
graduated from Queen’s University in 1927,<br />
held a number of advertising and public<br />
relations positions and eventually founded<br />
CFRA Radio in <strong>Ottawa</strong> in May 1947,<br />
followed by CFMO, Canada’s first FM<br />
station, in 1959. This impressive resumé<br />
is not in itself the reason that this school<br />
in Nepean was named after him. Mr. Ryan<br />
had stepped forward when war veterans in<br />
the City View area of Nepean were unable<br />
to find suitable property for an elementary<br />
school. Mr. Ryan gave them the site on<br />
Cordova Street between Lotta Street and<br />
Rita Street where St. Nicholas of Tolentino<br />
<strong>School</strong> was built. It was later, in recognition<br />
of this generosity, that the new intermediate<br />
school on Chesterton Drive was named in<br />
his honour. He passed away in March 1965.<br />
In 1968, Frank Ryan <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Senior Elementary <strong>School</strong> was located in<br />
an addition to Our Lady of Good Counsel, a<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
FRANK RYAN<br />
CATHOLIC<br />
SENIOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL<br />
128 Chesterton Drive<br />
Nepean K2E 5T8<br />
613-224-8833<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/rya<br />
kindergarten to grade 6 school, which had<br />
opened in September 1965 on Bowhill Drive.<br />
When Our Lady of Good Counsel closed in<br />
June 1983, and the students relocated to<br />
St. Gregory <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, Frank Ryan<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Senior Elementary <strong>School</strong> expanded<br />
into the vacant space. This area of the school<br />
is now known as “the west wing.”<br />
Frank Ryan <strong>Catholic</strong> Senior<br />
Elementary was built by Uni-Form Builders<br />
Limited for the school board of the Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> Section 1 of Nepean, with<br />
V.R. Zinck as Chairman, C.B. MacDonald<br />
as Vice-Chairman, Y.A. Loubert, C.P. O’Neill<br />
and R.C. Warren as Trustees and Mrs. J.S.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
93<br />
McMahon as Secretary-Treasurer. Zygmunt<br />
J. Nowak was the architect for the project.<br />
The students and staff of Frank<br />
Ryan <strong>Catholic</strong> Senior Elementary <strong>School</strong><br />
have school-wide and classroom liturgies<br />
and retreats to live out their <strong>Catholic</strong> faith.<br />
In addition, they undertake fundraising for<br />
charities and do community service. Parish<br />
priests visit the school regularly to<br />
participate in these liturgical celebrations.<br />
The school’s chaplain serves as the liaison<br />
between the school and the various parishes<br />
in its attendance area.<br />
The Turkey Trot of Hope was<br />
initiated in 1981 by teachers William Fox<br />
and Marie-Claire Rondeau. This charity<br />
fundraiser, started in memory of Terry Fox,<br />
marked the 25 th anniversary of his<br />
Marathon of Hope in 2005 by raising<br />
$32,000. This brought the total funds raised<br />
by the Turkey Trot of Hope at Frank Ryan<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Senior Elementary <strong>School</strong> to over<br />
$500,000 over the course of the quarter<br />
century.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Debbie Clark<br />
Principals<br />
Bernard Reitz<br />
Peter Gravelle<br />
Peter Linegar<br />
Bill Roach<br />
Starr Kelly<br />
Eileen Sametz<br />
Andrew McKinley<br />
Bert O’Connor<br />
Lise St. Eloi<br />
Gerald Mikalauskas<br />
Deborah DeFinney
Vice-Principals<br />
Gary Valiquette<br />
Bogdan Kolbusz<br />
Tom Duggan<br />
Paul Fortier<br />
Gilles Laperriere<br />
Betty Craig<br />
Patricia Moise<br />
Brenda Wilson<br />
Gerald Mikalauskas<br />
Martine Mitton<br />
John Legree<br />
Paul McGuire (current)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
William Fox<br />
Marie-Claire Rondeau<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Royal blue, Carolina blue and gold<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is a stylized shield<br />
with a cross, along with a winged horse and<br />
the initials “F” and “R.”<br />
Motto<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
“Respect and Responsibility”<br />
Frank Ryan <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> Letter<br />
The Frank Ryan <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
Letter, first awarded in 1981, is given<br />
annually to certain graduating students who<br />
have made an impact on life at the school<br />
during their two years in grades seven and<br />
eight. A recipient of this award must obtain<br />
a minimum number of points during his or<br />
her two-year period of attendance at the<br />
school. These points are obtained by<br />
maintaining an above-average academic<br />
standing and through participation in<br />
extracurricular activities such as sports and<br />
clubs. The award consists of a letter as well<br />
as a certificate, and is presented at the<br />
school’s grade eight graduation ceremony in<br />
June. Framed photographs of the recipients<br />
of this award are displayed in the hallway<br />
of the school.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
94<br />
Maureen Galla Christian Spirit Award<br />
This award, named after former<br />
school secretary, Mrs. Maureen Galla, has<br />
been awarded at the school annually since<br />
1981 to a graduating student who has<br />
exemplified the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Georges Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was<br />
the first <strong>Catholic</strong> elementary<br />
school to open in Kanata. The<br />
school started in September 1967, with the<br />
students initially housed at Our Lady of<br />
Peace <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Bells Corners until<br />
the new facility in the Beaverbrook area was<br />
ready for occupancy. Georges Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> eventually served as the “mother<br />
school” for four other Kanata <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
elementary schools, which opened over<br />
the ensuing three decades — St. Martin de<br />
Porres, Holy Redeemer, St. James and<br />
St. Anne, all of which were established with<br />
students who had been attending Georges<br />
Vanier. Because of the continuing growth in<br />
its attendance area resulting in the creation<br />
of other <strong>Catholic</strong> schools, Georges Vanier has<br />
seen its student population fluctuate over<br />
time, often creating the need for portable<br />
classrooms. Georges Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
has had up to eight portables on site prior to<br />
the formation of another school such as Holy<br />
Redeemer or St. James.<br />
The school was named in memory<br />
of Canadian Governor-General Georges<br />
Vanier, who died in March 1967. Georges<br />
Vanier was the first French-Canadian to<br />
be appointed as Governor-General, serving<br />
from September 1959 to April 1967. Born<br />
in Montreal in 1888, he earned both the<br />
Military Cross for bravery and the<br />
Distinguished Service Order in World War I.<br />
He rose to the rank of Major-General in<br />
1942 and, after World War II, was appointed<br />
Ambassador to France.<br />
The school celebrated its 25 th<br />
anniversary in 1992 with an event attended<br />
by many former staff and students.<br />
Over the years, the school has<br />
been visited by numerous guest speakers<br />
such as Canadian national basketball coach<br />
Jack Donahue, Olympic gold medalist and<br />
sports announcer Carolyn Waldo, champion<br />
figure skater Brian Orser and CJOH-TV<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
GEORGES<br />
VANIER<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
40 Varley Drive<br />
Kanata K2K 1G5<br />
613-592-4371<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/geo<br />
news anchor Max Keeping, as well as by<br />
various members of the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Senators of<br />
the National Hockey League.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Marcia Lynch<br />
Principals<br />
Greg Peddie<br />
Russ Graham<br />
Garry Valiquette<br />
Margaret McGrath<br />
Andy Groulx<br />
Bert O’Connor<br />
Robert Curry<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
95<br />
Robert Slack<br />
Ann Blier<br />
Dwight Delahunt<br />
Mary Moss<br />
Diane Jackson<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Grace Blimkie<br />
Ed McHale<br />
Pat Sterling<br />
Bonnie Collins<br />
Cheryl Carter<br />
Elizabeth White<br />
Fay Stalman<br />
Nancy-Ann Cawley<br />
Ann Read<br />
Steve Newton<br />
Danielle Jaworsky<br />
Maxine Quilty<br />
Mary Venier<br />
Ann Publow<br />
Former Staff and Students<br />
Dr. Ruth Dempsey, a former<br />
teacher at Georges Vanier, is a professor in<br />
the Faculty of Education at the University<br />
of <strong>Ottawa</strong>.<br />
Alex Munter, a former student,<br />
established a Kanata community newspaper<br />
when he was 14 years old. It is still<br />
published today as the Kanata Kourier-<br />
Standard. Alex became a Kanata city<br />
councillor and an <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton regional<br />
councillor as well as a City of <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
councillor after amalgamation in 2001. After<br />
his withdrawal from municipal politics, he<br />
became a visiting professor at the University<br />
of <strong>Ottawa</strong>. He has declared his candidacy for<br />
Mayor of <strong>Ottawa</strong> in the November 2006<br />
municipal election.<br />
Paul Shepherd, current pastor of<br />
Holy Redeemer Parish in Kanata
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
The school colours are red and<br />
white. These colours were chosen because<br />
they are the colours of the Canadian flag.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo has a stylized<br />
initial “G” superimposed on the initial “V,”<br />
with a maple leaf commemorating Canada’s<br />
Centennial Year of 1967, the year in which<br />
the school opened, and a cross in the<br />
background. The white background and the<br />
red outline of the logo reflect the school<br />
colours.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
96
Good Shepherd <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in<br />
Gloucester was created because of<br />
the persistence of <strong>Catholic</strong>s in the<br />
community, determined to have their own<br />
local elementary school. Once built, the<br />
school became not only a vibrant, welcoming<br />
community where the teachings of Jesus, the<br />
Good Shepherd, fill its academic and social<br />
life, but also its gymnasium became the<br />
gathering place for Sunday Mass for<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>s in the Blackburn Hamlet<br />
community for over 25 years.<br />
A <strong>Catholic</strong> elementary school in<br />
Blackburn Hamlet was planned for some<br />
time, but ongoing agitation by <strong>Catholic</strong>s in<br />
the community resulted in the school being<br />
built sooner rather than later. Indeed, as<br />
things turned out, with continuing growth<br />
in the community and a burgeoning school<br />
population, sooner turned out to be a wise<br />
decision.<br />
It all began in September 1970,<br />
when the school, originally called Blackburn<br />
Hamlet <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, started not in its<br />
own premises but in two separate temporary<br />
quarters. The senior kindergarten to grade 4<br />
students were housed in four portables at<br />
Ecole Ste. Marie on Innes Road, while the<br />
grades 5 to 8 students attended Thomas<br />
D’Arcy McGee <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. This is how<br />
things remained until October 1971, when<br />
students and staff moved into the new school<br />
facility on Bearbrook Road. Shortly<br />
thereafter, an official opening ceremony was<br />
held on March 8, 1972. John Turner, federal<br />
MP for the area at the time and a future<br />
Prime Minister, attended the official opening<br />
of the school.<br />
The name of the school remained<br />
unchanged until 1982, when Principal<br />
Bernadette MacNeil and the community’s<br />
priest, Father Cornelius Herlihy, suggested<br />
that the school be renamed “Good Shepherd<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>,” echoing the name that the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> community of the area had chosen<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
GOOD<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
101 Bearbrook Road<br />
Gloucester K1B 3H5<br />
613-824-4531<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/goo<br />
for itself. This community had not only<br />
fought for a <strong>Catholic</strong> school in the area but<br />
was also strong in the belief that a new<br />
parish should be established. Initially<br />
Blackburn Hamlet was part of St. Ignatius<br />
Parish, but in March 1970, Masses were<br />
celebrated at the Glen Ogilvie Public <strong>School</strong>.<br />
While not a parish in its own right until<br />
1991, the <strong>Catholic</strong> community of Blackburn<br />
Hamlet was granted its own identity early<br />
on, including its name. In 1976, the Good<br />
Shepherd <strong>Catholic</strong> community became<br />
independent of St. Ignatius, with its own<br />
resident priest-administrator. As of 1972,<br />
Mass and other church-related activities<br />
were being held in the gymnasium of the<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
97<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school, as there were not yet the<br />
funds to build a church. The church was<br />
eventually built on Innes Road in 1998.<br />
Once the school had been renamed<br />
Good Shepherd <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in 1982, this<br />
new name was fully embraced by the school<br />
community. Judi Sarginson, a staff member,<br />
initiated a tradition of celebrating the<br />
December 16 anniversary date of the<br />
naming of the school by serving a Good<br />
Shepherd coffee cake. The recipe for this can<br />
be found in the Good Shepherd <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Women’s League cookbook published in<br />
1985.<br />
Today, the Good Shepherd is<br />
highlighted throughout the building. In<br />
2001, three parents of the school community,<br />
Anna Gut, Scarlett Russell and Beth<br />
Mitchell, painted a Good Shepherd mural<br />
in the main entrance of the school. A statue<br />
carved by Jacques Bourgault was installed<br />
there in 2003. Jacqueline Legendre-<br />
McGuinty, a longtime trustee for the area,<br />
traveled to Saint Jean Port-Joli in Quebec<br />
to obtain the statue and deliver it to Good<br />
Shepherd <strong>School</strong>. Each year, students at<br />
Good Shepherd <strong>School</strong> sign class lambs,<br />
which are placed around a picture of the<br />
Good Shepherd situated on a wall in the<br />
school library. The prayer table in every<br />
classroom has a picture of the Good<br />
Shepherd as well as a stuffed lamb.<br />
The school mascots are three<br />
stuffed lambs which were acquired in 2001<br />
and named Nazareth, Minnie Me and Spike<br />
by the students.<br />
When Good Shepherd <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> began, it was an open concept school<br />
as was common at the time; however, in<br />
1974, walls began to sprout up separating<br />
the open concept area into individual<br />
classrooms.<br />
An addition comprised of a<br />
kindergarten area and two classrooms was
added on the north side of the school in<br />
1976.<br />
Enrolment at the school continued<br />
to grow. At one time, there were more than<br />
700 students at the school, with 13 portables<br />
on site.<br />
The school became a partial<br />
mother school for other new schools in the<br />
area, such as Pineview <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> (now<br />
John Paul II) in 1980, Chapel Hill <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> in 1988, and St. Clare <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
in 1993.<br />
A class for developmentally<br />
handicapped children was added to the<br />
school in December 1987. In 1991, Gerald<br />
Montplaisir, an artist and member of the<br />
Arteast and Gloucester Art Council,<br />
completed an acrylic painting entitled<br />
Children During Recess – A Winter Scene<br />
in Gloucester. The children whom he painted<br />
in his work were students at Good Shepherd<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. A school assembly in 1992,<br />
celebrating the anniversary of the World<br />
Summit for Children, was attended by<br />
Eugene Bellemare, the federal MP for the<br />
area.<br />
Good Shepherd <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
held its 25 th anniversary celebration during<br />
the first week of December in 1996. Special<br />
activities at this celebration included the<br />
creation of a time capsule, a family<br />
breakfast/school tour, special performances<br />
for students and a Mass and reception with<br />
a Christmas tree lighting ceremony. An<br />
ongoing project during this anniversary year<br />
was the collection of family recipes for the<br />
publication of a Good Shepherd recipe book.<br />
In 1998, a Good Shepherd student,<br />
Lisabeth Ott, designed a certificate, which<br />
students receive in the school’s “Thumbs Up”<br />
assemblies, held monthly to recognize<br />
student achievement. The students of Good<br />
Shepherd <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> received a letter<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
from noted environmentalist David Suzuki<br />
in 2003, acknowledging the respect that they<br />
exhibited for the environment.<br />
The mission statement of Good<br />
Shepherd <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> is “to facilitate<br />
excellence in <strong>Catholic</strong> education through<br />
promoting a positive learning environment<br />
that instills a sense of self-discipline,<br />
respect, responsibility and love of learning.”<br />
The students and staff at the school try to<br />
work together to achieve this through<br />
personal excellence in academics, sports<br />
and extracurricular activities. In addition,<br />
the school community tries to make a<br />
contribution within the wider community,<br />
reaching out to support worthy causes and<br />
projects that make a difference.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Gloria Horan (2000-present)<br />
Principals<br />
Ada Theoret (1970-71 at Ecole<br />
Ste. Marie)<br />
Peter Johnston (1971-74)<br />
Hugh Marshall (1974-80)<br />
William Roach (1980-82)<br />
Bernadette MacNeil (1982-85)<br />
Lloyd Ambler (1985-89)<br />
Mary-Pat Kelly (1990-92)<br />
Sherry Swales (1993-97)<br />
Paul Fortier (1997-2000)<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
98<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
September 1970 staff at Ecole<br />
Ste. Marie site<br />
Nicole Chartrand, Senior<br />
Kindergarten<br />
Margaret McGrath, Grades 1<br />
and 2<br />
Marjorie Plunkett, Grades 2 and 3<br />
Ada Theoret, Grades 3 and 4<br />
September 1971 staff<br />
Margaret McGrath, English<br />
Kindergarten<br />
Shirley Dostaler, French<br />
Kindergarten<br />
J. McIntyre, Grade 1<br />
Wendy Hall, Grade 2<br />
Nicole Chartrand, Grade 3<br />
C. Barrette, Grade 4<br />
Mary-Lou O’Brien, Grade 5<br />
Rolly Lapointe, Grade 6<br />
Sherryl Hunt, Grade 7<br />
Richard McGrath, Grade 8<br />
Lucien Morin, Custodian<br />
Edith Turmel, Secretary<br />
Staff Achievements<br />
Principal William Roach (1980-82)<br />
became a Superintendent of Education with<br />
the Toronto <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
Mrs. Bernadette MacNeil,<br />
Principal from 1982 to 1985, became the<br />
first female superintendent with the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> in 1985.<br />
Teacher Ms. Michelle Hurley-<br />
Desjardins won the Prime Minister’s Award<br />
for Teaching Excellence in 2000.
Former Students<br />
Dana Murzyn, a National Hockey<br />
League defenseman with the Hartford<br />
Whalers, Calgary Flames and Vancouver<br />
Canucks<br />
Steve Guenette, a National Hockey<br />
League goalie with the Calgary Flames and<br />
the Pittsburgh Penguins<br />
Denise Blinn received a Canadian<br />
Comedy Award for Best Director in 2005.<br />
Michael Curran is Regional<br />
Director for the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Business Journal.<br />
Student Eva-Andreanne Noah won<br />
the Ontario English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’<br />
Association’s Young Authors award in June<br />
2002 for her elementary-junior poem.<br />
Adrienne Goddett organized<br />
a Black Youth Conference in 2005. She<br />
received an Investing in People award from<br />
the Community Foundation of <strong>Ottawa</strong> in<br />
2005.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Colours<br />
Blue and gold<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo features the Good<br />
Shepherd name as well as a cross in the<br />
middle.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
99<br />
Canadian Education Exchange<br />
Foundation<br />
Leanne Kavanagh, a teacher at<br />
Good Shepherd <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, is<br />
participating in the Canadian Education<br />
Exchange Foundation program in the 2006-<br />
2007 school year with Rosemary Finn, a<br />
teacher at Blue Coat Church at England<br />
Aided, Durham, United Kingdom. This<br />
exchange will provide many professional<br />
development opportunities for both teachers.
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
100
Guardian Angels <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in<br />
Stittsville began in September<br />
1999, the result of continued<br />
residential growth which was straining the<br />
capacity of the only existing <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
elementary school in the community, Holy<br />
Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. This overcrowding at<br />
Holy Spirit had reached severe proportions<br />
by 1997, bringing about parent action to<br />
seek relief in the form of another <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
elementary school in the community.<br />
In August 1997, a Holy Spirit<br />
<strong>School</strong> Council Subcommittee on<br />
Overcrowding came into operation under<br />
the direction of parents Debbie Barr and<br />
Mary Pichette. Its activities included a<br />
letter-writing campaign urging provincial<br />
government funding action, a balloon-o-gram<br />
visit to Carleton MPP Norm Sterling’s office<br />
in Manotick, and a documentary aired on<br />
CBC television about the overcrowded<br />
situation at Holy Spirit.<br />
On Friday, December 12, 1997,<br />
a group of 12 parents from Holy Spirit<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Stittsville delivered 258<br />
helium-filled balloons to the constituency<br />
office of Carleton MPP Norm Sterling. Each<br />
balloon represented a student in a portable<br />
at Holy Spirit, which, at that time, had ten<br />
temporary units on site. Student enrolment<br />
was 785 students, housed in a school with a<br />
design capacity of 465. The actions of the<br />
Holy Spirit parents were meant to draw the<br />
attention of the Provincial Government to<br />
the Stittsville situation, in the hopes that<br />
funding for the new school would be<br />
forthcoming. However, the end of 1997<br />
brought other factors into play, with the<br />
creation of the amalgamated <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> as well as<br />
provincial government declarations of a new<br />
funding model for school construction.<br />
The new school board gave high<br />
priority to the construction of elementary<br />
schools in growth areas such as Stittsville,<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
GUARDIAN<br />
ANGELS<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
4 Baywood Drive<br />
Stittsville K2S 1K5<br />
613-836-7423<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/gua<br />
but financing was contingent upon the<br />
province’s funding formula for new school<br />
construction. By the fall of 1998, the<br />
province had released its new funding<br />
formula, which called for the elimination<br />
of surplus school spaces in the <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
jurisdiction before any grants would be<br />
provided for new schools.<br />
Things looked a little bleak, since<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
at that time had a surplus of 3,773 pupil<br />
places at the elementary school level, which,<br />
according to the formula, would have to be<br />
eliminated before funding for new schools<br />
would be provided. However, MPPs Norm<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
101<br />
Sterling of Carleton and John Baird of<br />
Nepean, in November 1998, brought forward<br />
their “Baird-Sterling Plan” which proposed<br />
advancing the construction of new<br />
elementary schools for the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> while still<br />
maintaining adherence to the provincial<br />
funding formula. The “Baird-Sterling Plan”<br />
called for reclassifying four adult day schools<br />
as elementary on the basis that these<br />
schools were built as elementary schools.<br />
This shifting of the secondary school<br />
inventory to the elementary panel created<br />
a larger shortage of student spaces at the<br />
high school level within the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>. This qualified the<br />
<strong>Board</strong> for funding for new school<br />
construction, which Mr. Baird and Mr.<br />
Sterling believed could be switched and used<br />
by the <strong>Board</strong> to pay for needed elementary<br />
schools. Mr. Baird and Mr. Sterling felt that<br />
this flexible approach would provide the<br />
funding for three new elementary schools,<br />
in Stittsville (which had 13 portables at that<br />
time), in South Nepean and in Bridlewood.<br />
In January 1999, the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> approved in principle<br />
the construction of these three new<br />
elementary schools.<br />
The firm Pye & Richards<br />
Architects Inc. of <strong>Ottawa</strong> was appointed as<br />
the architect for the Stittsville <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
elementary school in March 1999, as the<br />
<strong>Board</strong> by this time had received approval<br />
from the Ontario Ministry of Education and<br />
Training for funding for all three proposed<br />
construction projects.<br />
In May 1999, Deborah Robinson<br />
was named principal of the new Stittsville<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> elementary school. It would be<br />
housed at Holy Spirit temporarily in the<br />
fall while the new school was under<br />
construction. There were problems finding a<br />
site in Stittsville that could be developed in<br />
accordance with the school board’s timetable<br />
for new school construction, but by the end
of June, the search finally ended. A proposal<br />
brought forward by Goulbourn Township<br />
meant that a property in the development<br />
area south of James Lewis Avenue in<br />
Stittsville would become available, with<br />
construction to proceed in time for a spring<br />
2000 occupancy of the new facility.<br />
The plan was to make the school<br />
site the first phase of the surrounding<br />
residential development. It could then<br />
become a registered subdivision and could<br />
proceed even though there were delays<br />
pertaining to construction in the rest of<br />
the area. As well, in June the school board<br />
established the attendance boundaries for<br />
the new school. In August 1999, Mag<br />
Eastwood Developments Inc. was awarded<br />
the contract to build the school in Stittsville,<br />
submitting the lowest ($4,299,000) of six<br />
tenders received by the <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
In October 1999, while its future<br />
students were housed at Holy Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>, the new Stittsville elementary school<br />
was officially named “Guardian Angels<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.” (Guardian angels are a<br />
matter of faith in the <strong>Catholic</strong> church. There<br />
are many stories in the Bible about angels<br />
guiding, protecting and singing the praises<br />
of God). The name was the overwhelming<br />
choice of parents and was approved<br />
unanimously by the <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
The official sod-turning was held<br />
on Thursday, October 21, 1999 with<br />
construction work on the new facility<br />
continuing in the distance as the ceremony<br />
took place. The event included the blessing<br />
of the soil by Father Frank Scott of Holy<br />
Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong> Parish in Stittsville, and the<br />
blending of soil from the temporary home of<br />
the school at Holy Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
with the soil of the new school site. The sodturning<br />
also included the burying of heartshaped<br />
boxes containing the dreams and<br />
hopes of various student representatives at<br />
the ceremony. Construction of the 51,000<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
square foot, one-storey building continued<br />
throughout the winter, aided by unusually<br />
mild weather conditions and very little snow.<br />
Monday, April 10, 2000 was the<br />
first day that Guardian Angels <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> students and staff occupied the<br />
new school facility on Baywood Drive in<br />
Stittsville. The school was situated on a<br />
5.74-acre site adjacent to a future municipal<br />
park. The capacity of the school, as<br />
determined by the provincial government,<br />
was 534 pupils. It had four kindergarten<br />
rooms, a child care room that could be used<br />
by the school during the day, 18 classrooms,<br />
an oversized gymnasium with a retractable<br />
stage, a library and a computer room. The<br />
school facility was fully air-conditioned and<br />
totally accessible to the handicapped. It also<br />
had a child care centre, called the “Baywood<br />
<strong>School</strong> Age Program,” which offered a before<br />
and after-school program for school children.<br />
It is operated by the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Child Care Corporation.<br />
Shad Qadri, a community<br />
representative on the <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
council, donated a guardian angel statue<br />
in September 1999. This statue was placed<br />
outside the front entrance to the school,<br />
welcoming all visitors.<br />
Since its opening, Guardian Angels<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has seen increasing<br />
enrolment as residential development<br />
continues in Stittsville. Several portable<br />
classrooms have been located on the site<br />
to meet this burgeoning enrolment, which<br />
reached more than 750 students by 2004.<br />
The school immediately became<br />
a vibrant <strong>Catholic</strong> community, with strong<br />
parental support as well as a close<br />
connection with Holy Spirit Parish. The<br />
parental involvement through the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school council included fundraising, which<br />
resulted in playground improvements for the<br />
school. In the spring of 2004, Guardian<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
102<br />
Angels became the first elementary school<br />
ever to host a daytime “Relay for Life” event.<br />
Under the direction of Vice-Principal<br />
Francesca Hernandez, the students raised<br />
funds for cancer research in honour of grade<br />
6 teacher and cancer victim, Mary Ann<br />
McCuen.<br />
This was not the school’s first foray<br />
into major fundraising for a worthy cause.<br />
The school’s “Jump Rope for Heart” event<br />
in the spring of 2003, organized under the<br />
direction of grade one teacher Josephine<br />
Shelton and her committee, raised more<br />
money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation<br />
than any other school in Canada. This<br />
success resulted in a visit by Walter Gretzky,<br />
a spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke<br />
Foundation, in the spring of 2004, to kick<br />
off the “Jump Rope for Heart” event and to<br />
thank the school community for its large<br />
contributions in the past. Fundraising and<br />
helping causes have become a tradition at<br />
Guardian Angels. In 2003, 2004, 2005 and<br />
2006, the staff of Guardian Angels<br />
participated in the “Relay for Life” overnight<br />
run, thanks to the spirited leadership of<br />
kindergarten teacher Christine Brosseau-<br />
Laroche.<br />
Guardian Angels <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
played a major role in the participation of<br />
Todd Nicholson as captain of the gold-medal<br />
winning Canadian sledge hockey team at the<br />
2006 Paralympics in Italy. Todd had been in<br />
hospital for five months prior to the Games<br />
and had considered withdrawing from the<br />
national sledge hockey team; however, it was<br />
the support, which he received from the<br />
students and staff at Guardian Angels that<br />
enabled him to find once again the drive to<br />
pursue his dream and play for Canada. Todd<br />
had been an inspirational speaker at<br />
Guardian Angels <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> during<br />
their “Jump Rope for Heart” campaign the<br />
two previous years. Each time he spoke<br />
about the importance of being physically<br />
active and never giving up on a dream. His
inspirational message obviously worked,<br />
as the students responded and Guardian<br />
Angels became the top fundraising school<br />
nationally in “Jump Rope for Heart.” When<br />
the students heard that Todd was in the<br />
hospital and might not be able to pursue his<br />
dream, they sent him cards, drawings and<br />
good wishes by the hundreds, encouraging<br />
him not to give up and telling him that they<br />
were watching and wishing for him to make<br />
a quick return to his dream. This<br />
encouragement and these messages worked,<br />
helping to put Todd back on track. He<br />
captained the Canadian sledge hockey team<br />
to a gold medal in the 2006 Paralympics.<br />
Todd Nicholson did not forget the<br />
role that the students and staff at Guardian<br />
Angels <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> played in all of this;<br />
he visited the school in March 2006, shortly<br />
after the Paralympics, to thank them for<br />
their support and to show his gratitude for<br />
all that they had done for him. “My hat goes<br />
off to each of you, each and every one of you<br />
in this school … the students, the teachers<br />
… everybody,” Todd told those at a jammed<br />
and cheering assembly, “because those<br />
letters you guys sent me…to never give up<br />
on my dreams…literally came back to haunt<br />
me and made sure that I didn’t give up on<br />
my dreams.”<br />
The activities of the school are not<br />
limited to fundraising events and helping<br />
others. In June 2002, the school held Arts<br />
Alive, a musical presentation that took place<br />
in the theatre at Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> in Stittsville. Under the direction of<br />
Victoria White and with staff and parent<br />
volunteers helping, this musical<br />
extravaganza included the participation of<br />
every student in the school. Guardian Angels<br />
has also implemented anti-bullying,<br />
peacemaking and “Stop, Think and Choose”<br />
programs. The school has participated in all<br />
of the <strong>Board</strong>-wide musicals and a “buddy<br />
day” is held weekly. Electronic portfolios are<br />
commonplace at Guardian Angels, where<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
students have eagerly and willingly utilized<br />
computers and technology. The school takes<br />
part in all <strong>Board</strong> sporting events, runs a full<br />
intramural program and has many student<br />
clubs. It features a large school choir.<br />
Given the school’s vibrancy and<br />
activity, it is not surprising that Principal<br />
Deborah Robinson and Grade 6 Teacher Kelly<br />
Brownrigg received the Prime Minister’s<br />
Award for Teaching Excellence in 2002. In<br />
addition, Teacher Laura Justinich received a<br />
Capital Educators Award in 2002 and Teacher<br />
Liz Arkell received a Junior Education<br />
Recognition Award for Ontario in 2000.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Brenda Wilson (2003-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Deborah Robinson (1999-2003)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Deborah Robinson, Principal<br />
Karen Zanetti-VanWesterop<br />
Cheryl Laffin-Lepage<br />
Tamara Creaser<br />
Linda Scrivens<br />
Laura Justinich<br />
Valerie Moodie<br />
Shannon Carragher (McLeod)<br />
Carolyn Carpini (Joseph)<br />
Stacy Santos<br />
John Palmer<br />
Pamela Hassenklover<br />
Christian Pouliot<br />
Elizabeth Arkell<br />
Mary Ann Albert (McCuen)<br />
Janet Steele<br />
Carole Conway<br />
Chantal Paquin (McAlpine)<br />
Nathalie Leman-Abbott<br />
Anne Marie Smith<br />
Brenda McNally<br />
Terri Kelly, Office Administrator<br />
Christine Woodley, Librarian<br />
John Hughes, Custodian<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
103<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Navy blue, cranberry and white<br />
These colours appear on the school<br />
logo, with a hint of gold showing for the<br />
halo.<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo features angels’<br />
wings in a heart shape, symbolizing love<br />
and embracing learning as symbolized by an<br />
open book in which the motto is written.<br />
A halo sits above the wings and book. The<br />
logo was designed by Grade 4 Student<br />
Lauren Jamieson, Parent Chris Dorey and<br />
Teacher Val Moodie.<br />
Motto<br />
“Hope, Wonder and Dream.” This<br />
motto was the result of a combination of<br />
over 170 submissions made by staff,<br />
students and families.<br />
“Hope” in the motto has a strong<br />
scriptural basis. St. Paul, in his letter to the<br />
Colossians, writes: “The faith and love that<br />
spring from hope that is stored up for you in<br />
heaven and that you have already heard<br />
about is the word of truth, the Gospel.”<br />
“Wonder” in the motto: Angels<br />
played a huge role in supporting, guiding<br />
and comforting Jesus on earth. They also<br />
proclaimed the news of Jesus’ birth. Their<br />
actions created wonder and awe for people.<br />
Learning also begins with wonder and then<br />
discovery.<br />
“Dream” in the motto suggests a<br />
vision of tomorrow and the whole concept<br />
of setting and achieving goals in life.
Team Names<br />
“Gators” is the name for all school<br />
sports teams. The name was unveiled at an<br />
assembly at the school in 2006, the<br />
culmination of a process, which began<br />
during the previous school year when the<br />
initiative to come up with a name for the<br />
school teams was announced. A suggestion<br />
box was set up and the students were able to<br />
submit possible names. The school staff then<br />
selected the top 30 submitted names and, in<br />
June 2005, circulated this list among the<br />
classes in the school, with each class being<br />
able to select its favourite six names. After<br />
the top six names were identified through<br />
this process, the actual selection of the<br />
winning name was very democratic. Around<br />
the time of the 2006 federal election,<br />
balloting was held at the school with every<br />
student getting to vote on the name for the<br />
school’s sports teams. It turned out that<br />
“Gators” was the name that received the<br />
most votes. A banner proclaiming “Home of<br />
the Gators” is next on the “to do” list, along<br />
with the holding of a contest to design what<br />
the gator should look like. There will then be<br />
a “Name the Gator” contest.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Song<br />
The school’s song was written by<br />
Teacher John Palmer and was recorded by<br />
the school choir at Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
High <strong>School</strong>.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
104
In the early 1960s, a number of new<br />
subdivisions sprang up in the Riverside<br />
Park area of <strong>Ottawa</strong> South near Mooney’s<br />
Bay. This brought about the need for a new<br />
school and a new parish. The parish was<br />
officially formed in the fall of 1966 and<br />
named Holy Cross. The new church, at the<br />
corner of Walkley Road and Springland<br />
Drive, was not built and occupied until<br />
March 1969.<br />
At about the same time as this<br />
new parish was being planned and<br />
developed, the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> was assessing the<br />
need for a new school in the area. A 1965<br />
letter from architect Edward J. Cuhaci<br />
estimated the cost of a new school at<br />
$298,000. In 1966, construction of the<br />
as-yet unnamed new school in the Walkley<br />
Road/Springland Drive area took place. Holy<br />
Cross <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> opened in September<br />
1967, sharing the name of the newly-formed<br />
parish in the area. The official opening and<br />
blessing took place on October 10, 1968, with<br />
Bishop Windle officiating.<br />
With the amalgamation of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> and the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in 1998, a rationalization of<br />
school space took place. One result was that<br />
St. Victor <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was closed, with<br />
its school community joining Holy Cross<br />
<strong>School</strong> in 1999. The same year also saw a<br />
computer lab opened at Holy Cross, as well<br />
as a library and a play structure. The main<br />
office was also renovated.<br />
Holy Cross <strong>School</strong> today offers<br />
a welcoming and inclusive learning<br />
environment for students from Junior<br />
Kindergarten to Grade 6. The challenge for<br />
each student is to be of service to others and<br />
to achieve personal growth and academic<br />
success. A strong sense of faith, community<br />
and excellence pervades the Holy Cross<br />
<strong>School</strong> community.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
HOLY<br />
CROSS<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
2820 Springland Drive<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1V 6M4<br />
613-733-5887<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/hcr<br />
One highlight for the school was<br />
a visit by <strong>Ottawa</strong> South MPP Dalton<br />
McGuinty when he was the MPP for the<br />
area, prior to his becoming Premier of the<br />
Province of Ontario.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Susan Thibault<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
105<br />
Past Principals<br />
Paul Brady (1967)<br />
Vincent O’Reilly (1968)<br />
James Shea (1975-78)<br />
Donald Lenaghan (1978-83)<br />
Sister Anna Clare Berrigan<br />
(1984-85)<br />
Douglas Goodwin (1985-86)<br />
Clifford Foley (1986-91)<br />
Anthony Charbonneau (1991-97)<br />
Sheila Fergus (1998-2002)<br />
Monica Kerwin (2002-2006)<br />
Early Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Arthur Johnston<br />
Faye Patsula<br />
Marlene Connelly<br />
Winnifred Wancgycki<br />
M. Ridzon<br />
Lee Hutt<br />
Fran McGilchrist<br />
Elaine McAllister<br />
Mrs. Bradley<br />
Victor Lauren<br />
Sister Helen Gray<br />
Shirley Harvey<br />
Maureen Wainwright<br />
Marion Barton<br />
Mrs. MacMillan<br />
Mr. Bonapart<br />
Kate Goodine<br />
Margaret Bray<br />
Diane Atsalenos<br />
R. Burgess<br />
Fran Blanchfield<br />
Bruce Kinsella<br />
Margaret Madden<br />
Pat Brown<br />
Mrs. Chapman<br />
Elnora McLean<br />
Sue Farrant<br />
Judy Cogan<br />
Anne Phillion<br />
Bonnie Steele<br />
Miss Stewart<br />
Mrs. Rowan<br />
Mrs. Hoganson
French Teachers<br />
Joelle Agar<br />
Louise Gardner<br />
Claire Carpentier<br />
Jeannette Rochon<br />
Ann Caron<br />
Mrs. Gauthier<br />
Sylvie Tessier<br />
Diane Noel<br />
Thérese Condron<br />
Louise Vincent<br />
Denis Ducharme<br />
Danielle Miron<br />
Anita Lapérrière<br />
Marcella O’Connor, Secretary<br />
Sheila Forman, Secretary<br />
(1986-2005)<br />
Jill Hnatyshyn, Secretary<br />
(2005-present)<br />
Aline Charette, Custodian<br />
(1992-2005)<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Former Students<br />
George Brown became a longtime<br />
City of <strong>Ottawa</strong> Councillor.<br />
Jim Peplinski played for the<br />
Calgary Flames of the National Hockey<br />
League.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
The school colours are blue, red<br />
and white.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
106<br />
Sports Team Logo<br />
The Holy Cross sports team logo<br />
features a grey background representing<br />
the wind. The words “Holy Cross” are on<br />
the logo in blue while the team name<br />
“Hurricanes” appears in red. There is also<br />
a cross in red and blue on the logo, located<br />
beneath the “Hurricanes” name. Student<br />
Samuel Dye designed this “Hurricanes”<br />
school sports logo in 2002.<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo, in the shape of<br />
a stylized shield, features a white and red<br />
background with a cross that is partially<br />
coloured white and red in contrast to the<br />
similar background colours. The school name<br />
appears in red on the white background at<br />
the top of the logo.
Often a school becomes a reality<br />
due to the presence and activism<br />
of a <strong>Catholic</strong> parish. In <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
South, it was the reverse: the new Holy<br />
Family <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> led to the<br />
establishment of the Hunt Club <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Community in 1981. The name of the<br />
community was changed in 1985 to Holy<br />
Family <strong>Catholic</strong> Community to reflect the<br />
relationship with the school where weekly<br />
Sunday Masses were held in the<br />
gymnasium. The creation of both Holy<br />
Family <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> and this <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
community were the result of residential<br />
growth in the south end of the city, a growth<br />
that necessitated the creation of Holy Cross<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Parish in 1966 and a continuing<br />
growth, which led to the need for the new<br />
school and the new <strong>Catholic</strong> community.<br />
The Holy Family <strong>Catholic</strong> Community held<br />
a closing celebration in May 2001, when it<br />
reunited with Holy Cross Parish.<br />
“Holy Family,” the name first<br />
of the school and then of the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
community, was submitted by the Samuels<br />
family during the school board’s name<br />
selection process. This had been the name<br />
of the school that their children had<br />
attended in Montreal. It was selected<br />
because it represented the values of family<br />
and community, which were core principles<br />
for the new school.<br />
Holy Family <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> opened<br />
for the 1978-79 school year with an enrolment<br />
of 75 students, housed in portables. But the<br />
new school facility, boasting a unique one-ofa-kind<br />
design, was ready for the next school<br />
year. Its official opening took place on<br />
Sunday, October 21, 1979.<br />
In just a few years, Holy Family<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> became overcrowded so<br />
an annex was opened on Uplands Drive.<br />
This annex remained in place until 1989.<br />
In June 1989, the primary students at the<br />
annex moved to the main building. Then, on<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
HOLY<br />
FAMILY<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
245 Owl Drive<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1V 9K3<br />
613-521-0475<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/hfa<br />
Thanksgiving Day, 1989, the annex was<br />
closed and Vice-Principal Margie Gourdier<br />
and her junior students moved back to Holy<br />
Family <strong>School</strong> to be accommodated in a porta-pak.<br />
In 1988-89, the school celebrated<br />
its tenth anniversary. A school logo was<br />
designed and the school song was written.<br />
Holy Family <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> celebrated its<br />
25 th anniversary on October 17, 2004, an<br />
event that attracted many staff, students<br />
and parents, both past and present.<br />
A highlight event took place in<br />
Holy Family <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in January<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
107<br />
2005, when Ontario Premier Dalton<br />
McGuinty visited the school, speaking to<br />
the grades 5 and 6 students and visiting<br />
all of the classes.<br />
Over the years, Holy Family<br />
<strong>School</strong> has been a caring and generous<br />
community, as well as one with a sense<br />
of fun and celebration. It has supported<br />
charitable causes such as “Jump Rope for<br />
Heart” and the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Food Bank. In<br />
January 2005, the school, with an enrolment<br />
of just under 300 students, raised $3,500 for<br />
tsunami relief. Each year the school holds<br />
a walk-a-thon fundraiser.<br />
For fun, the Holy Family <strong>School</strong><br />
community enjoys activities such as carnival<br />
days, a fun fair, a family skate night and<br />
Christmas celebrations. There is a talented<br />
school choir, which, under the direction of<br />
Teacher Rhodora Williams, has won<br />
numerous awards at the Kiwanis Music<br />
Festival. Holy Family <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> also<br />
has had a strong interest in physical fitness<br />
and sports. It has received Canadian<br />
Association for Health, Physical Education,<br />
Recreation and Dance (CAHPERD) awards<br />
at both the gold and platinum levels. It has<br />
a daily intramural sports program for<br />
students at lunchtime, most recently<br />
organized by Teacher Diane Finlay.<br />
The Holy Family <strong>School</strong><br />
community remains a welcoming,<br />
multicultural community, embracing many<br />
nationalities. Its members come from more<br />
than 20 different language backgrounds.
Present Principal<br />
Anne McCready (2003-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Donald Lenaghan (1978-79)<br />
Ken Kurs (1979-83)<br />
Michael Kloepfer (1983-84<br />
Glenda McDonell (1984-89)<br />
Fergus Lyons (1989-94)<br />
Michael Kloepfer (1994-99)<br />
Anne Noseworthy (1999-2003)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Carla Baars<br />
Marlene Connelly<br />
Joanne Budd<br />
Sister Marilyn Carty<br />
Anthony Charbonneau<br />
Thérèse Condron<br />
Roger Doré<br />
Noreen Flynn<br />
Michel Fortin<br />
Charlotte Lalonde<br />
Claudette Lemire<br />
Anne Lengelle<br />
Dalia Lewis<br />
Kathleen McDonnell<br />
Sister Marie Shewchuk<br />
Sharon Murphy, Secretary<br />
Ron Leblanc, Custodian<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Former students<br />
Alanis Morissette, a world famous<br />
singer and songwriter<br />
Chris Nihmey, a published author<br />
of children’s books<br />
Craig Carson, a published author<br />
of children’s books<br />
Colours<br />
Royal blue and white<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo consists of a<br />
triangular symbol topped by a cross. The<br />
triangle is divided into three parts, each<br />
containing a representative picture to show<br />
the connection among home, school and<br />
church.<br />
Song<br />
The Holy Family <strong>School</strong> song was<br />
written for the school’s tenth anniversary<br />
in 1988-89.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
108
Holy Redeemer <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
opened on McCurdy Drive in<br />
Kanata in January 1988. The<br />
students and staff had been housed at<br />
Georges Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> since<br />
September 1987, awaiting the completion<br />
of their new school facility. Holy Redeemer<br />
<strong>School</strong> shares its name with Holy Redeemer<br />
Parish in Kanata, a fact which partly<br />
explains the close partnership which exists<br />
between school and church. But the<br />
relationship between the school and the<br />
parish goes far beyond just sharing a name.<br />
In recent years, the school has<br />
enjoyed weekly visits from Father Oliver<br />
Rich of Holy Redeemer Parish, who delights<br />
the students with his stories. In addition,<br />
the school currently benefits from regular<br />
visits by Ted Hurley, the youth coordinator<br />
of the parish, who charms the students with<br />
his religious songs. This has led to a strong<br />
faith component at the school, as evidenced<br />
by the grade two sacramental preparation<br />
and the faith-filled liturgies and prayer<br />
services, enriched by student involvement as<br />
readers, choir members and altar servers.<br />
Besides a strong parish<br />
relationship, the school has also benefited<br />
over the years from a vital academic,<br />
extracurricular and athletic focus, and from<br />
a supportive school council. Here is a<br />
glimpse of the Holy Redeemer <strong>School</strong> of<br />
today; the product of nearly two decades of<br />
student achievement and growth, assisted<br />
by an engaged and proficient staff.<br />
Holy Redeemer students actively<br />
participate in choral activities, in an active<br />
intramural program, in <strong>Board</strong> athletic meets<br />
and in clubs such as rope skipping and chess.<br />
An ambassador program for grade 6 students<br />
develops their leadership skills through<br />
training, followed by active involvement in<br />
school functions as librarians and bus<br />
helpers, and by serving as introducers at<br />
school events. A social skills program that<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
HOLY<br />
REDEEMER<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
75 McCurdy Drive<br />
Kanata K2L 3W6<br />
613-591-3256<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/red<br />
deals with students’ needs has been<br />
implemented. Monthly assemblies celebrate<br />
student success by awarding certificates to<br />
two students in each class who exemplify<br />
values such as peacemaking, friendship,<br />
trust and citizenship. A “Be a Buddy; Be a<br />
Friend” school-wide, anti-bullying program,<br />
implemented in partnership with the<br />
Western <strong>Ottawa</strong> Community Resource<br />
Centre, allows students to make the right<br />
choices and emphasizes respect for each<br />
other. The school choir, which has been active<br />
since the school was formed, has participated<br />
in school board musicals and arts<br />
celebrations and has sung at an <strong>Ottawa</strong> 67’s<br />
junior hockey game.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
109<br />
The students actively participate<br />
in athletic events of all kinds, both at the<br />
<strong>Board</strong> and intramural levels. The school has<br />
received four Canadian Association for<br />
Health, Physical Education, Recreation and<br />
Dance (CAHPERD) gold awards for its<br />
physical activity programs. There has been<br />
an annual sing-along at Christmas time,<br />
with a brass quartet. Donations have been<br />
made to the Canadian Hunger Foundation<br />
for many years. Annual ski days for grades 5<br />
and 6 classes are held, along with end-ofyear<br />
trips for grade 6 graduates. A volunteer<br />
tea, an Education Week community<br />
breakfast, a “Read with All Your Hearts<br />
Day” featuring guest readers in the<br />
classrooms, and a “Buddy Readers” program<br />
where older students share stories with<br />
younger ones, also add to the excellence of<br />
the learning and community environment<br />
at the school.<br />
The recent outpouring of support<br />
for the victims of the tsunami in Southeast<br />
Asia in December 2004, and for the victims<br />
of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are examples<br />
of how Holy Redeemer lives the Gospel<br />
message of helping one’s neighbour. Holy<br />
Redeemer <strong>School</strong> raised $680 through a<br />
“Toonies for Katrina” campaign and also<br />
provided eight boxes of books for victims of<br />
Hurricane Katrina. The school raised $1,200<br />
for tsunami victims.<br />
A supportive school council has<br />
been instrumental in helping Holy Redeemer<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> grow into the school that it<br />
is today. This council has supported the<br />
school’s literacy initiatives through<br />
fundraising activities. It has hosted an<br />
annual Halloween community night, a<br />
Christmas craft fair, a pizza and Mass<br />
evening and a year-end barbecue. It also<br />
sponsors an annual walk-a-thon at the<br />
school.
Present Principal<br />
Linda Mosley<br />
Past Principals<br />
John Delorme<br />
Greg Peddie<br />
Judi Sarginson<br />
Gloria Sterling<br />
Sam Coletti<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Tom Winterbottom<br />
Marie Smith<br />
Joanne Kennedy<br />
Susan Wilgress<br />
Guylaine Labelle<br />
Pam Morel<br />
Pat Scrim<br />
Elizabeth Valiquette<br />
Kathryn Golob<br />
Mary Whiticar<br />
Mike Moran<br />
Roxanne McCaffrey<br />
Sylvia Jennings<br />
Ann-Louise Revells<br />
Anne Lamont<br />
Rita Charbonneau<br />
Lois Rouble<br />
Gina Bakonyi<br />
Gayle Sadler<br />
Dale Brownlee<br />
Italo Graziani<br />
John Panagakos<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Staff Recognition<br />
Teacher Anne Lamont was the first<br />
recipient of the Bernadette MacNeil Award.<br />
Former Students<br />
Sean Langdon played with the<br />
Sudbury Wolves and the Kingston<br />
Frontenacs of the Ontario Junior A Hockey<br />
League.<br />
Jim Kehoe played with the<br />
Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Junior A<br />
Hockey League.<br />
Daniel Weaver is studying for his<br />
doctorate in astrophysics.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
110<br />
Logo<br />
The letters “H R” in the middle of<br />
the circular logo stand for Holy Redeemer,<br />
printed over a Canadian maple leaf. The<br />
school colours of red, white and blue are<br />
reflected in the logo. The word “<strong>Catholic</strong>” in<br />
the school’s name on the logo provides the<br />
faith element.<br />
First <strong>School</strong> Council<br />
Louise Harding<br />
Chris Jurewicz<br />
Diane Ryan<br />
Monica Rosales<br />
Sheryl Bell<br />
Sharron Quinn<br />
Kita Jussup<br />
Linda Scrivens<br />
Joanne McSheffrey
When Holy Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
in Stittsville opened in 1989, it<br />
marked the coming together of<br />
the past, present and future of the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
presence in the community. It represented<br />
in its name respect for Stittsville’s <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
heritage; it represented in its creation the<br />
work and activity of the <strong>Catholic</strong> community<br />
of the village to bring <strong>Catholic</strong> education<br />
to Stittsville; and it contained within its<br />
formation the seeds of the future Holy Spirit<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Parish and of a future second<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> elementary school in the<br />
neighbourhood. Yes, all of this because of<br />
one school!<br />
During the municipal election<br />
campaign of 1985, the subject of a new<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> elementary school in Stittsville<br />
arose and started the stream of events that<br />
culminated in the opening of Holy Spirit<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> on Tuesday, May 23, 1989,<br />
less than four years later. The impetus for<br />
all of this was a November 6, 1985 editorial<br />
in The Stittsville News pointing out that a<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school was needed in Stittsville<br />
because of the population growth in the<br />
community and because such a school would<br />
be important for the local <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
community. At an ensuing all-candidates’<br />
meeting, Goulbourn Township’s trustee on<br />
the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>,<br />
Hugh Connelly, stated that he saw “eye to<br />
eye” with The Stittsville News editorial. He<br />
said at the meeting that if <strong>Catholic</strong> parents<br />
in the community expressed some interest,<br />
a new school in Stittsville could be a reality<br />
“within the next three years.” How prophetic<br />
he turned out to be!<br />
The Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> already owned a site on Main<br />
Street in Stittsville, having purchased it in<br />
the late 1970s when there had been some<br />
talk of establishing a portable complex in<br />
the village, an idea that fell through when<br />
Munster Hamlet parents vocally insisted<br />
that their children continue to attend their<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
HOLY<br />
SPIRIT<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
1383 Stittsville Main Street<br />
Stittsville K2S 1A6<br />
613-831-1853<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/spi<br />
parish school, St. Philip in Richmond, rather<br />
than transfer to the proposed Stittsville<br />
facility. Later, in November 1985, Trustee<br />
Connelly, who was acclaimed in the election,<br />
wrote an article in The Stittsville News,<br />
which began by stating, “Stittsville should<br />
have a <strong>Catholic</strong> elementary school.” He<br />
pointed out that a new Stittsville school was<br />
not a high priority in the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>’s 1986 capital<br />
expenditure forecast (it was number 18 on<br />
the list), but he also pointed out that<br />
number five was an eight-unit semipermanent<br />
portable addition at St. Martin<br />
de Porres <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Glen Cairn,<br />
which Stittsville students attended at that<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
111<br />
time. In his article, Trustee Connelly made a<br />
strong case for the community school concept<br />
and suggested that it would make more<br />
sense to establish a portable complex at<br />
Stittsville than to put the temporary<br />
addition at St. Martin. He advocated the<br />
formation of a <strong>Catholic</strong> school ratepayers<br />
group to work for a community school in<br />
Stittsville. On December 5, 1985, a meeting<br />
was held to form such a group. At this<br />
meeting, Trustee Connelly said that it was<br />
up to <strong>Catholic</strong> parents and ratepayers in<br />
Stittsville to determine whether a <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
elementary school would or would not<br />
become a reality in the village in the near<br />
future. While indicating his full support for<br />
a Stittsville <strong>Catholic</strong> school, he said that the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> parents and ratepayers would have<br />
to “lead the charge.”<br />
A follow-up meeting in January<br />
1986, saw the formation of the Stittsville<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Parents’ Association, with the goal<br />
of working towards the establishment of a<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> elementary school in the area.<br />
A draft constitution was approved and an<br />
executive was elected, consisting of Linda<br />
Gilmour as President, Bob Davis as Vice-<br />
President and Louise Gallagher as Secretary<br />
and Treasurer. It was made clear at this<br />
meeting that the group would be<br />
approaching the school board for a<br />
permanent school in the village and not a<br />
port-a-pak complex on the site. Following<br />
the meeting, a petition signed by virtually<br />
all of the <strong>Catholic</strong> ratepayers in Stittsville<br />
and area was gathered and a brief outlining<br />
the need for a <strong>Catholic</strong> community school<br />
was drawn up for presentation to the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
In the fall of 1986, the Stittsville<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> elementary school moved closer<br />
to reality as the 1987 capital expenditure<br />
forecast of the school board listed the<br />
Stittsville school as third on its priority<br />
list. This improvement, along with the<br />
elimination of the planned addition to
St. Martin de Porres <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Glen<br />
Cairn, could be attributed to the work and<br />
lobbying of the Stittsville <strong>Catholic</strong> Parents’<br />
Association whose members helped the<br />
school board and its administration come to<br />
realize that there was a desire by <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
ratepayers in the community to have a<br />
school. A sign identifying a Main Street<br />
location as the site of the future English<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> elementary school in Stittsville<br />
was erected on the property. In March 1987,<br />
following a motion initiated by Trustees<br />
Hugh Connelly and Arthur J.M. Lamarche,<br />
the school board agreed to list the Stittsville<br />
elementary school as the number one<br />
priority in its 1988 capital expenditure<br />
forecast. In the late spring of 1987, the<br />
Stittsville <strong>Catholic</strong> Parents’ Association<br />
organized a letter-writing campaign to the<br />
Ontario Minister of Education, outlining the<br />
need for improved capital funding from the<br />
province for new schools within the Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>. Pursuant to<br />
the March 1987 motion, the <strong>Board</strong>, on<br />
October 13, 1987, placed the Stittsville<br />
school once again as its number one priority<br />
in the capital expenditure forecast which<br />
would be submitted to the Ministry of<br />
Education. Mr. Connelly had resigned from<br />
the <strong>Board</strong> because of a new job commitment,<br />
but his efforts at facilitating the new<br />
Stittsville school were carried on by his<br />
replacement, Mrs. Mary Curry of Stittsville.<br />
In November 1987, the school<br />
board appointed the firm of Griffiths,<br />
Rankin, Cook, Architects, to develop sketch<br />
plans for the school, pending funding<br />
approval from the Ministry of Education.<br />
The size of the school was increased from its<br />
originally proposed capacity of 411 students<br />
to one that would accommodate 516. The<br />
Stittsville <strong>Catholic</strong> Parents’ Association<br />
remained active. In the fall of 1987, it<br />
organized an outdoor Mass on the school<br />
site.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Tuesday, April 26, 1988 proved to<br />
be the day of destiny for the new Stittsville<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> as the Provincial<br />
Government announced that it had approved<br />
capital funding of $3.4 million for its<br />
construction. This accelerated the<br />
completion of the working drawings, receipt<br />
of additional Ministry approvals and the<br />
calling of tenders for the new school. It was<br />
decided that, in the fall of 1988, students of<br />
the new Stittsville <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> would be<br />
housed at St. Martin de Porres <strong>School</strong> in<br />
Glen Cairn as a temporary measure until<br />
the new building was ready in the spring<br />
of 1989.<br />
The Stittsville <strong>Catholic</strong> Parents’<br />
Association disbanded, its work completed,<br />
and the Parent-Teacher Association for the<br />
new school was elected consisting of Lorne<br />
McConnery, President, Joan Kinnie, Vice-<br />
President, Cathy White, Secretary, Jan<br />
Haubrich, Treasurer, Stephen Grant and<br />
Sue MacDonald, Parent Representatives,<br />
Louise Turcotte, Teacher Representative and<br />
Robert Slack, Principal. In addition, the<br />
name “Holy Spirit” was selected as the name<br />
for the new Stittsville <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. This<br />
name tied the school to Stittsville’s <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
heritage because the name was shared by<br />
the <strong>Catholic</strong> community, which had<br />
flourished briefly in the community two<br />
decades previously.<br />
By agreeing with the<br />
recommendation of Stittsville parents to<br />
name the school “Holy Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>,” the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> recognized the efforts of those who<br />
had put their <strong>Catholic</strong> faith into action in<br />
the late 1960s and early 1970s by<br />
establishing a <strong>Catholic</strong> church in Stittsville.<br />
Naming the school “Holy Spirit”<br />
brought home the fact that the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
heritage of Stittsville did not begin with the<br />
establishment of the new school but rather<br />
had begun more than 20 years previously<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
112<br />
with the establishment of the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Church of the Holy Spirit on Flewellyn Road<br />
just west of Stanley’s Corners, south of<br />
Stittsville. Masses were celebrated there<br />
from July 30, 1967 until 1974 when it was<br />
closed by the pastor of St. Philip Church and<br />
the Archbishop.<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Masses were held in<br />
Stittsville as early as 1963 in the gymnasium<br />
of the Stittsville Public <strong>School</strong>. This led to the<br />
purchase of a former red brick school building<br />
on Flewellyn Road, which was converted into<br />
a church. Rev. Thomas Farrell, parish priest<br />
at St. Philip <strong>Catholic</strong> Church in Richmond,<br />
also served in the new church from its<br />
inception. Formally, it was a mission church<br />
of St. Philip’s, but, for all intents and<br />
purposes, it operated as a parish community<br />
in its own right. The parishioners themselves<br />
selected the name “Holy Spirit” for the<br />
church. Regular Sunday Masses were held at<br />
the Church of the Holy Spirit, and the parish<br />
flourished to the point where an addition was<br />
built on the rear of the old school building to<br />
enlarge the church premises. But 1974<br />
brought an end to this church in the<br />
community, as a change of parish priests at<br />
St. Philip and other factors combined to bring<br />
about its closure. However, the tradition of<br />
the name “Holy Spirit” in Stittsville had been<br />
established, and it would emerge again and<br />
be embraced when the new school was named<br />
in 1988. The new <strong>Catholic</strong> community in<br />
Stittsville would also be called “Holy Spirit<br />
Parish” when it was revitalized after the<br />
establishment of the school.<br />
On August 22, 1988, the Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> awarded the<br />
contract for the construction of the new<br />
school to Mueller-Hein Corporation of<br />
Nepean at a tendered price of $3,396,000.<br />
This new 40,000 square foot school,<br />
accommodating up to 532 students and<br />
including a child care facility, would be built<br />
on the 4.5 acre site that the <strong>Board</strong> had<br />
owned since the late 1970s.
Holy Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> opened<br />
on September 6, 1988, housed in temporary<br />
quarters at St. Martin de Porres <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>. Principal Bob Slack, Office<br />
Administrator Debby Moore and the 12member<br />
teaching staff began with a student<br />
enrolment of 238 students. Finally, on May<br />
23, 1989, the students and staff moved into<br />
the new building in Stittsville. Almost<br />
immediately, Father Corbin Eddy of Holy<br />
Redeemer Parish in Kanata, which included<br />
Stittsville within its boundaries, started<br />
holding a Sunday Mass in the Holy Spirit<br />
<strong>School</strong> gymnasium. This led to the<br />
establishment of Holy Spirit Mission, which<br />
grew to become Holy Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong> Parish.<br />
Masses were celebrated in the<br />
Holy Spirit gymnasium until 2001 when the<br />
growing congregation was forced to relocate<br />
to a larger venue, the gymnasium at the<br />
new Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> in<br />
Stittsville. The parish now has plans to<br />
build its church, with an expected opening<br />
in December 2007. Holy Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> was not only the impetus for reestablishment<br />
of a <strong>Catholic</strong> community in<br />
Stittsville, but also became the leading force,<br />
which eventually led to the construction of<br />
a second <strong>Catholic</strong> elementary school,<br />
Guardian Angels.<br />
Enrolment at Holy Spirit grew<br />
in the 1990s due to continued residential<br />
growth in Stittsville. Portable classrooms<br />
became a fact of life, with as many as<br />
15 jamming the schoolyard. By the late<br />
1990s, the population of Holy Spirit had<br />
mushroomed to about 850 students, in a<br />
school built for only 532.<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> parents in Stittsville once<br />
again came to the fore and, working with<br />
school and <strong>Board</strong> staff and trustees, they<br />
fought to make the provincial government,<br />
then the funding agency for new schools,<br />
aware of the need for another new school in<br />
the area. There were public meetings, and<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
letter-writing campaigns and a<br />
demonstration at the office of MPP Norm<br />
Sterling.<br />
In the summer of 1998, the<br />
overcrowding situation at Holy Spirit<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> led to the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> building an extension<br />
at the rear of the school to house additional<br />
washroom facilities to serve the overcrowded<br />
student population. Enrolment at Holy<br />
Spirit had reached 785 students by<br />
December 1997, with another increase<br />
expected in September 1998. Finally, a<br />
second <strong>Catholic</strong> elementary school was<br />
approved for Stittsville. The school year<br />
1999-2000 saw the Holy Spirit <strong>School</strong><br />
community sharing their facility with the<br />
students and staff of Guardian Angels<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, which was under<br />
construction. There were 17 portable<br />
classrooms in use on the Holy Spirit site<br />
that fall, and close to 1,000 students.<br />
Deborah Robinson, the Principal of<br />
Guardian Angels <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, led her<br />
students and staff into the new school in<br />
April 2000.<br />
Ongoing residential growth in the<br />
Stittsville community has meant that<br />
Holy Spirit <strong>School</strong> continues to enjoy an<br />
enrolment of about 500 students. The school<br />
board’s latest capital plan includes<br />
construction of a new elementary school in<br />
Stittsville with a scheduled opening of<br />
September 2008.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
113<br />
Present Principal<br />
Kevin Mullins<br />
Past Principals<br />
Robert Slack<br />
Bev Murphy<br />
Lyle Bergeron<br />
Bert O’Connor<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Robert Slack, Principal<br />
Gloria Sterling<br />
Phyllis O’Neill<br />
Louise Turcotte<br />
Brenda MacDonald<br />
Grace Anderson<br />
Robert Santos<br />
Valerie Tierney<br />
Pat Campbell<br />
Linda Scrivens<br />
Tamara Connors<br />
Marilyn O’Connor, Music Teacher<br />
Rita Ovington, Librarian<br />
Line Picard, French Teacher<br />
Carole Conway, French Teacher<br />
Tilly O’Connor, Teacher Assistant<br />
for Kindergarten<br />
Mary Locke, Special Education<br />
Resource Teacher<br />
Debby Moore, Secretary<br />
Claude Fedorchuk, Head<br />
Custodian<br />
Michael Poole, Custodian<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
The school colours are royal blue<br />
and white.<br />
Motto<br />
“Friends Sharing God’s Spirit”<br />
Logo<br />
The school’s logo portrays the<br />
flame of the Holy Spirit surrounding a cross<br />
superimposed on the stylized letters “H.S.”
Mascot<br />
A bear is the school’s mascot.<br />
Bears are not unfamiliar to<br />
students and staff at Holy Spirit. There have<br />
been sightings of real bears in Stittsville.<br />
This has resulted in parents being called to<br />
pick up their children after school so that<br />
walking students have a safe way home.<br />
Song<br />
Holy Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has<br />
a school song.<br />
The lyrics and music for the song<br />
were composed by Tim Mouchet, the brother<br />
of Louise Turcotte, the first grade three<br />
teacher at Holy Spirit.<br />
Mr. Mouchet took the school’s<br />
motto, “Friends Sharing God’s Spirit” and,<br />
combining it with themes such as family and<br />
teachers, composed the lyrics and then<br />
developed the music to go with the song<br />
during the school’s inaugural year of 1988-<br />
1989.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
The words of the Holy Spirit<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>’s song are as follows:<br />
Chorus:<br />
Holy Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> is the<br />
beginning of a dream<br />
That will sail us far beyond the<br />
stars<br />
A life yet to be seen.<br />
Filled with faith and hope and love<br />
And everything between.<br />
Holy Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> is the<br />
beginning of a dream. (twice)<br />
Each morning I find myself<br />
Wondering what the day will bring<br />
Books in hand, away I go…<br />
And my heart begins to sing.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
114<br />
All my friends are standing tall<br />
with me<br />
Asking all we wish to know<br />
Teachers guiding us throughout<br />
the years<br />
As our minds and bodies grow.<br />
It’s great to know that Mom and<br />
Dad<br />
Are there to see me through and<br />
through<br />
To give the best in life a child can<br />
have<br />
To be a part of such a school.<br />
The Spirit touches all our lives<br />
In a very special way<br />
In the Spirit we will be as one<br />
As we live to love each day.
Architecturally, Holy Trinity<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> in Kanata is<br />
the mother of all of the newer high<br />
schools now operated by the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>. The threestorey<br />
design, first employed here, has been<br />
reused in the construction of five other new<br />
high schools built in the years since Holy<br />
Trinity’s construction in 1990. The design,<br />
developed by Edward J. Cuhaci and<br />
Associates Architects of <strong>Ottawa</strong>, continues<br />
to be modified and improved with each new<br />
high school, and visually altered to add some<br />
uniqueness to each high school; nonetheless,<br />
the basic design remains unchanged.<br />
Holy Trinity <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong><br />
was the first high school built by the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in<br />
the suburban community of Kanata, initially<br />
serving not only the Kanata growth area but<br />
also the surrounding rural areas to the<br />
north and west. Previously, students from<br />
these areas attended St. Paul High <strong>School</strong><br />
in Bells Corners. While Holy Trinity was<br />
created and inaugurated as a school<br />
community on September 4, 1990 with<br />
700 students from Grades 7 through 10,<br />
the students and staff initially shared the<br />
St. Paul facility on a shift basis, with Holy<br />
Trinity students attending in the afternoon<br />
and St. Paul students going in the morning.<br />
This temporary arrangement lasted for two<br />
months until the end of October when the<br />
newly-constructed facility on Katimavik<br />
Road in Kanata was completed. Classes<br />
concluded at St. Paul on the afternoon of<br />
October 29, 1990 and resumed in the brand<br />
new school on the morning of October 30.<br />
The official opening and blessing of the new<br />
school, held on May 5, 1991, was presided<br />
over by <strong>Ottawa</strong> Archbishop Marcel Gervais.<br />
Holy Trinity added a grade level<br />
in each of the ensuing three years, becoming<br />
a full grades 7 to 13 high school, and a very<br />
successful one in terms of numbers.<br />
Continuing growth in Kanata and the<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
HOLY<br />
TRINITY<br />
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL<br />
180 Katimavik Road<br />
Kanata K2L 4A7<br />
613-591-9955<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/trh<br />
surrounding areas, particularly in<br />
Stittsville, meant that the enrolment at Holy<br />
Trinity swelled to 1,900 students by the late<br />
1990s, resulting in a forest of portables<br />
springing up at the rear of the school. Relief<br />
from the overcrowding came when<br />
Stittsville’s Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> opened in the 1999-2000 school year.<br />
Three years later, in September, All Saints<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> in Kanata, north of<br />
Highway 417, began serving the community.<br />
The 2006 capital plan of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> calls<br />
for a 24-room addition to be built at Holy<br />
Trinity <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> in time for the<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
115<br />
2007-08 school year. This enlargement,<br />
foreseen in the original design of the school,<br />
will eliminate the need for many of the<br />
remaining portables. It will allow St. Anne<br />
<strong>School</strong> graduates to attend high school in<br />
their home community of Kanata instead of<br />
commuting to Sacred Heart in Stittsville as<br />
they have always done since the opening of<br />
that school. Finally, it will ensure the<br />
educational viability of the Holy Trinity<br />
school community for the foreseeable future,<br />
halting the decline in student numbers at<br />
the school due to demographic factors.<br />
The name “Holy Trinity <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
High <strong>School</strong>” came about as a result of a<br />
process described in school board policy.<br />
Suggestions for the name of the new school<br />
were sought from the students, staff and<br />
parents of the newly formed school<br />
community. The submissions were whittled<br />
down to five names, from which the school<br />
community then had the opportunity to<br />
indicate a favoured choice. Suggestions<br />
included “Kanata <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>,”<br />
“St. Luke <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>,” and “John<br />
Paul II <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>,” but the<br />
almost unanimous choice by the school<br />
community, submitted to the school board<br />
for approval in the spring of 1990, was<br />
“Trinity <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>.” “Holy” was<br />
added to the name to ensure the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
identity of the school.<br />
Support of social justice initiatives<br />
and charitable causes has become a tradition<br />
at Holy Trinity <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>. Since<br />
1997, groups of students from Holy Trinity<br />
have traveled to the Dominican Republic to<br />
experience first-hand the struggles of those<br />
who live in poverty in that country and to<br />
raise awareness of social issues. The Holy<br />
Trinity community annually supports a<br />
number of charitable causes such as Easter<br />
Seals, the Kanata Food Cupboard, St. Mary’s<br />
Home, the United Way, the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Organization for Development and Peace<br />
and the Terry Fox Cancer Foundation. In
2004, Holy Trinity students and staff raised<br />
$35,000 in their annual Terry Fox Run, the<br />
third-highest total for any school in Ontario.<br />
The canned food drives at the school,<br />
inaugurated in 1991 have assisted the<br />
Kanata Food Cupboard annually since then,<br />
with over 40,000 items collected in peak<br />
years.<br />
A defining event at Holy Trinity<br />
was the creation of the Holy Trinity Walk of<br />
Fame at the front of the school in the 2002-<br />
03 academic year.<br />
Athletics has played a major role<br />
in the student experience over the years,<br />
with the sports teams known as the Trinity<br />
Tornadoes and the main gymnasium being<br />
christened the “Twisterdome.”<br />
Present Principal<br />
Peter Atkinson (2005-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Tom Duggan (1989-92)<br />
Brent Wilson (1992-96)<br />
Anne-Marie McGillis (1996-99)<br />
Joan Clark (1999-2002)<br />
Roseanne Lalonde (2002-04)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Tom Duggan, Principal<br />
Julian Hanlon, Vice-Principal<br />
Lynn Fulton, Vice-Principal<br />
Darlene Dumas, Chaplain<br />
Christine Adam-Carr<br />
Gino Bentivoglio<br />
Al Byers<br />
Joao Moloissa<br />
Gilles Peltier<br />
Chris Bonner<br />
Martha More<br />
Josephine Geraghty<br />
Mario Cerroni<br />
Paul Voisin<br />
Mike Maloney<br />
David Hart<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Dan MacDonald<br />
Ron Coté<br />
Fouad Kofri<br />
Steve McCabe<br />
Richard Bordeleau<br />
Nancyjane Cawley<br />
Bob Lackey<br />
Elizabeth Jones<br />
Sandy Dobec<br />
Katherine Razzouk<br />
Liana Krauthaker<br />
Lisa Nanavati<br />
Cheryl Orzel<br />
Johanne Lachapelle<br />
Mary McGrath<br />
Bernie Gauthier<br />
H.P. Hansen<br />
Bob Lee<br />
Gloria Sobb<br />
Gail Osborne<br />
Anne-Marie McGillis<br />
Rosario Vidosa<br />
Sil Sanna<br />
John McGovern<br />
Leslie Vanneste<br />
Chantal Perreault<br />
Gary Yates<br />
Roy Lalonde<br />
Danielle Novak<br />
Pauline Tzivanopoulos<br />
Terry Fagan<br />
Peter de Montigny<br />
Terry McGovern<br />
Patricia McKinnon, Educational<br />
Assistant<br />
Frank Bastianelli, Educational<br />
Assistant<br />
Angela Harrison, Educational<br />
Assistant<br />
Susan Tomka, Head Secretary<br />
Myrna Nicholls, Secretary<br />
Patricia Koeslag, Secretary<br />
Lorraine Hubbs, Library<br />
Technician<br />
Pat O’Connell, Custodian<br />
Gerry Seguin, Custodian<br />
Claude Fedorchuk, Custodian<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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Staff Recognition<br />
Teacher Stephanie Goodwin<br />
received a Capital Educators’ Award from<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Centre for Research and<br />
Innovation in 2004.<br />
Music Teacher Neil Bateman<br />
received the Susan Davis Memorial Award<br />
in 2005.<br />
Former Students<br />
Darren Pouliot has earned a PhD<br />
in remote sensing.<br />
Matthew Poyner and Katherine Yu<br />
have both become medical doctors.<br />
Pat Woodcock has played for the<br />
Montreal Alouettes and the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Renegades of the Canadian Football League.<br />
Jeremy Barnett became the owner<br />
and designer of Riders Village Clothing<br />
Lifestyles Store.<br />
Greg Foley and Kerry Moher both<br />
received golf scholarships.<br />
2006 graduate Matt McCarney was<br />
drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the<br />
23rd round of the major league baseball<br />
draft of young players in June 2006. He has<br />
played for the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Nepean Canadians<br />
team and played for a Canadian team in a<br />
series of games in the Dominican Republic.<br />
He played in the Canada Cup tournament<br />
in August 2005, and for a team of select<br />
Canadian juniors at a tournament at Disney<br />
World in Florida.<br />
Maria Klokotzky, who was ranked<br />
number ten in Canada for under-18 women’s<br />
tennis players in 2005, winning the Ontario<br />
Junior Championship, received a scholarship<br />
from the University of Louisville. In her first<br />
year at the university in 2005-2006, she<br />
became the first freshman at the school to be
anked among the top 125 tennis players<br />
in the NCAA Division 1. The University of<br />
Louisville Cardinals finished the season<br />
89 th in NCAA Division 1 women’s tennis,<br />
the highest placing in team history,<br />
including a third place finish in its Big East<br />
championship debut.<br />
Emilie Joinette, an Ontario<br />
Scholar graduate and a cystic fibrosis<br />
sufferer since birth, received her longawaited<br />
double lung transplant in Toronto<br />
in 2006 and is now enrolled at Algonquin<br />
College to study travel and tourism.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Logo<br />
The school’s logo is a stylized<br />
triangle, representing the Trinity, overlaid<br />
with a white circle, containing a central<br />
green cross and the name of the school.<br />
A furled banner along the bottom of the<br />
triangle contains the school motto of “Faith,<br />
Excellence, Truth.” The logo features the<br />
school’s official colours of green, blue and<br />
white.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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Canadian flag<br />
For the school’s official opening<br />
on May 5, 1991, Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> Chairperson and<br />
Kanata Trustee Arthur J.M. Lamarche<br />
arranged for a Canadian flag that had flown<br />
at the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill to be<br />
draped in the school’s atrium area.
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
118
For over 75 years, Immaculata High<br />
<strong>School</strong> has been one of the City<br />
of <strong>Ottawa</strong>’s best-known <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
educational facilities. It began in 1928 as<br />
a private <strong>Catholic</strong> school for girls, with an<br />
enrolment of 85 students in what was then<br />
Form One and Form Two. Three Grey<br />
Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Sister<br />
Loyola, Sister Agnes of the Sacred Heart and<br />
Sister St. Geraldine, were the first members<br />
of the school’s teaching staff. The Grey<br />
Sisters of the Immaculate Conception from<br />
Pembroke had been asked to open the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> girls’ school to provide a quality<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education to those from families<br />
of moderate income. The girls, who wore<br />
uniforms, paid a minimum monthly fee of<br />
one dollar, but only if they could afford it.<br />
The name of the school is<br />
attributed to Reverend J.J. O’Gorman who<br />
made the long-desired <strong>Catholic</strong> high school<br />
for girls a reality, acting under the advice<br />
of higher ecclesiastical authority. Apparently,<br />
he was the one who bestowed the revered<br />
name of “Immaculata” upon the school when<br />
it opened, a name it still bears today.<br />
The Christie mansion property<br />
on Bronson Avenue at the corner of Lisgar<br />
Street was purchased for $25,000 as the<br />
site for the new school. The mansion itself<br />
became the first convent home for the Grey<br />
Sisters who taught at the school.<br />
The new school was designed by<br />
Werner Knoffke, a well-known <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
architect who designed the French embassy<br />
on Sussex Drive, among other buildings.<br />
It had eight classrooms, a science lab, a<br />
home economics classroom, a gymnasium<br />
and a stage area, as well as office space.<br />
A passageway linked the school to the Grey<br />
Sisters’ convent.<br />
During the construction of the<br />
school building, the students of the newlyformed<br />
Immaculata High <strong>School</strong> attended<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
IMMACULATA<br />
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL<br />
140 Main Street<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1S 5P4<br />
613-237-2001<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/ima<br />
classes at St. Patrick’s Home, which at that<br />
time was located at the corner of Laurier<br />
Avenue and Kent Street. At that site, Sister<br />
Loyola was the first principal and the<br />
teachers were Sister Agnes of the Sacred<br />
Heart and Sister St. Geraldine. When the<br />
classes officially opened at the new location,<br />
Sister Agnes of the Sacred Heart became<br />
Principal.<br />
Immaculata High <strong>School</strong> flourished<br />
immediately, as enrolment soared to<br />
160 students in 1929, requiring a new<br />
building with five classrooms, a science lab<br />
and a small library. Sister Agnes of the<br />
Sacred Heart, Sister St. Hilda, Sister Loyola,<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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Sister St. Geraldine and Sister St. Waltrude<br />
handled the teaching duties.<br />
The year 1929 also saw the first<br />
commencement held at Immaculata High<br />
<strong>School</strong> for graduates of Forms One and Two.<br />
Rev. Father E. Maloney presided at this<br />
commencement ceremony. In the same year,<br />
a music department was established at<br />
Immaculata High <strong>School</strong>, where both violin<br />
and piano were taught to students. The<br />
school continued to grow, with enrolment<br />
reaching 200 students in 1930 and Sister<br />
Mary Celine and Sister Mary Christine<br />
joining the teaching staff. Another higher<br />
form was added to the original two offered at<br />
the school and a commercial course was also<br />
provided.<br />
By 1939, enrolment at Immaculata<br />
High <strong>School</strong> had grown to 300 students<br />
taught by nine Sisters. A home economics<br />
department was added in 1939 as were nine<br />
new classrooms to accommodate the growing<br />
enrolment. In 1941, new Principal, Sister<br />
Mary Christine, was supervising a staff of<br />
11. A camera club was formed with facilities<br />
such as developing and printing rooms<br />
added. By 1948, enrolment at Immaculata<br />
had reached 425, and the staff had grown<br />
to 17 Sisters. This meant that the school had<br />
to expand, and thanks to a bequest from the<br />
estate of Dr. B. Kearns, the school was able<br />
to add the Kearns Memorial Wing which<br />
opened in September 1950, adding eight<br />
classrooms including a double-sized<br />
commercial classroom and space for the<br />
Music Department.<br />
This was by no means the end of<br />
new construction: in 1952, an addition was<br />
built on to the Kearns Memorial Wing,<br />
adding three new classrooms, a students’<br />
library and a principal’s office. Then, in<br />
1954, with the construction of a new convent<br />
on the north side of the property, the former<br />
Sisters’ residence was transformed into two<br />
additional classrooms as well as more space
for the Music Department. The student<br />
population by this time had topped<br />
725 students and the teaching staff stood<br />
at 22. The Music Department alone now<br />
had a staff of four.<br />
The 1960s saw continuing growth<br />
and construction at Immaculata. In 1962,<br />
a chapel/auditorium was built, fulfilling a<br />
dream as well as the prayers of long-time<br />
principal Sister Mary Christine, who<br />
spearheaded the project and its fundraising.<br />
Four years later, Sister Mary Christine<br />
celebrated her silver anniversary as<br />
principal of the school.<br />
Expansion continued. In 1967,<br />
a building with 12 classrooms, as well as<br />
labs and a gym, was opened.<br />
The coming of the 1970s saw new<br />
challenges emerge for Immaculata, both in<br />
terms of enrolment and finances. Up until<br />
the 1970s, many English-speaking students<br />
from the Province of Quebec had been<br />
attending Immaculata. The opening of an<br />
English <strong>Catholic</strong> high school for girls in<br />
Hull resulted in a decline in the number of<br />
students attending Immaculata from that<br />
province. Enrolment at Immaculata suffered<br />
a further decline when St. Pius X High<br />
<strong>School</strong> became a co-ed school in 1972. These<br />
blows to Immaculata precipitated a student<br />
population drop to around 400 students.<br />
At the same time, the Grey Sisters<br />
were facing increasing financial challenges<br />
in maintaining Immaculata. The mid 1970s,<br />
as a result, saw increased involvement from<br />
volunteers to help the Grey Sisters to meet<br />
these financial challenges. The volunteers<br />
served on a lay advisory board providing<br />
advice to the school principal, a<br />
management board, a lottery committee<br />
and the Immaculata Foundation, which<br />
used interest from investments to support<br />
Immaculata and Grey Sisters’ projects.<br />
A $100 lottery was established with weekly<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
prizes, with Robert Hunter coordinating the<br />
fund on behalf of the school and community.<br />
The funds from this lottery supplemented<br />
the support, which the Grey Sisters were<br />
able to provide. In addition, lay staff<br />
members took on extra duties and classes<br />
to help the Grey Sisters.<br />
As Immaculata celebrated its<br />
golden anniversary in 1978, boys were<br />
admitted for the first time in its history, and,<br />
in 1984, grades 7 and 8 students were added<br />
as well. This was also a significant year<br />
because Ontario Premier Bill Davis<br />
announced full funding for <strong>Catholic</strong> schools.<br />
The resulting grants for Grades 11, 12 and 13<br />
gave Immaculata the financial stability that<br />
it needed and eased the fiscal pressures that<br />
Immaculata had been facing since the 1970s.<br />
As Immaculata marked its<br />
60 th anniversary in 1988, change continued.<br />
James J. Shea was appointed as the school’s<br />
first lay principal, ending the tradition of<br />
having a Grey Sister at the helm. Enrolment<br />
at Immaculata, once again increasing, had<br />
grown to 870 students by 1988. The biggest<br />
change in the school’s history occurred<br />
just after Immaculata celebrated its<br />
65 th anniversary. In September 1994,<br />
Immaculata students and staff moved from<br />
the treasured Bronson Avenue site to a facility<br />
at 281 Echo Drive, which had been built in<br />
1929-30 as St. Patrick’s College, administered<br />
by the Oblate Fathers. The <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> purchased the<br />
site from Algonquin College, with Edward<br />
Cuhaci as the architect for the renovations<br />
that were undertaken at that time.<br />
At this new location, Immaculata<br />
held its first Terry Fox Run in 1995. Since<br />
that time, the school has raised over $100,000<br />
for cancer research through its Terry Fox<br />
Runs involving students, staff and parents.<br />
In 1996, Immaculata students<br />
went on their first trip to the Dominican<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
120<br />
Republic where they visited the missions of<br />
the Grey Sisters.<br />
In the spring of 2000, a satellite<br />
classroom site for Immaculata High <strong>School</strong><br />
was set up at St. Mary’s Home, a dynamic<br />
centre that brings together, in one location,<br />
a variety of community services in the<br />
support of young pregnant teens. As a result<br />
of a formal partnership between the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> and the<br />
Home, a classroom was created within the<br />
residence to enable pregnant teenagers from<br />
all schools in the city to continue with their<br />
academics during their pregnancies. The<br />
inaugural class had ten students. Bernard<br />
Swords was the first principal of this<br />
satellite site, followed by Denise Andre and<br />
then by Tom D’Amico, the current principal.<br />
Maryalice Mullally has been the teacher in<br />
this satellite classroom since its inception.<br />
The program began in a basement<br />
room at St. Mary’s Home residence in May<br />
2000. In January 2002, the program moved<br />
into a newly renovated facility at 780 rue de<br />
l’Eglise called St. Mary’s Home Community<br />
Outreach and Program Centre. The students<br />
helped to design the classroom, which is a<br />
bright and inviting setting that is very<br />
conducive to learning. The school held its<br />
first graduation in June 2000, and has had<br />
a growing number of graduates ever since.<br />
In 2006, St. Mary’s Home presented a<br />
plaque to the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in gratitude for its partnership<br />
and the support that it gives to the home in<br />
providing its residents with an amazing<br />
educational opportunity.<br />
Immaculata High <strong>School</strong> was one<br />
of eight <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> schools which, in the 2005-06 school<br />
year, raised approximately $6,000 in total<br />
for the “OK Clean Water Project.” This<br />
project (OK stands for <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Kumbo, a<br />
town in Cameroon in Africa) is an initiative<br />
of the Congregation of Notre Dame, an
international religious community of Sisters<br />
and associates. The “OK Clean Water<br />
Project” supports the purchase of water<br />
pipes, which are laid from a clean water<br />
source into their communities by villagers<br />
in Cameroon.<br />
Immaculata High <strong>School</strong><br />
celebrated its 75 th anniversary in 2003 and<br />
is now moving towards its centennial in<br />
2028.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Thomas D’Amico (2003–present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Sister Loyola (1928) (while<br />
students attended classes at<br />
St. Patrick’s Home)<br />
Sister Agnes of the Sacred Heart<br />
(1928-1941) (first principal at<br />
Bronson Avenue site)<br />
Sister Mary Christine (1941-67)<br />
Sister Lucille Martin (1967-70)<br />
Sister Anna Clare (1970-75 and<br />
1976-82)<br />
Sister Anne O’Brien (1975-76)<br />
Sister Theresa Kelly (1982-87)<br />
James J. Shea (1987-89)<br />
Mary Durst (1989-95)<br />
Evelyn Kelly (1989 (acting) and<br />
1995-1997)<br />
Bernard Swords (1998-2001)<br />
Denise Andre (2001-03)<br />
All of the Sisters who were<br />
principals were Grey Sisters of the<br />
Immaculate Conception<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Former Staff, Students and Others<br />
In 1988, Sister Barbara Ryan was<br />
honoured as one of three Grey Sisters still<br />
teaching at Immaculata. She began teaching<br />
at Immaculata in 1950.<br />
Evelyn Kelly, a former student,<br />
teacher and principal at Immaculata, was<br />
the first recipient of the YM-YWCA’s Women<br />
of Distinction Award for Education, Training<br />
and Development in 1994. This award is<br />
presented annually celebrating the<br />
achievements of women and honouring the<br />
women who inspire others in the community.<br />
A former Immaculata staff member<br />
and Art teacher, Father Herman Falke, has<br />
received national and international acclaim<br />
as an artist and sculptor. His work is based<br />
principally on liturgical and scriptural<br />
themes.<br />
Edgar “Rocky” Rockburn was<br />
Immaculata’s school custodian for 28 years,<br />
retiring at the age of 69. For 28 years, he<br />
arrived at the school at 4 a.m. each day.<br />
Chris Spiteri was elected<br />
Immaculata’s first head boy in the school’s<br />
history in the 1982-83 school year.<br />
Joseph Meagher, builder of the<br />
original school building and convent as well<br />
as several additions, attended the school’s<br />
50 th anniversary celebrations in 1978. He<br />
was 91 years old at the time.<br />
2003 Immaculata graduate Corey<br />
Centen became the first graduate to win the<br />
prestigious Canadian Merit Scholarship<br />
worth over $8,000. In that same year, Corey<br />
also won gold at the Canadian National<br />
Science competition.<br />
Former Immaculata Principal<br />
Bernard Swords became a Justice of the<br />
Peace after retiring from education.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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The first lay staff member at<br />
Immaculata was Vera McCoy, who taught<br />
elocution. She helped build the school’s<br />
Drama Club presenting annual plays, which<br />
became major events in the community.<br />
Alice Maloney was one of the<br />
graduating students in the picture of the first<br />
graduating class which hung on the wall on<br />
the top floor of Immaculata’s Bronson Avenue<br />
building. There were only five graduates that<br />
year. Alice was also in the first graduating<br />
class of nurses at the University of <strong>Ottawa</strong>,<br />
as the university had just started classes for<br />
registered nurses. Alice went on from her<br />
university graduation to join the war effort<br />
as a “Wren.”<br />
A number of Immaculata<br />
graduates have become members of religious<br />
communities. Several graduates, as Grey<br />
Sisters, have served as missionaries in<br />
China, Japan, the Bahamas and the<br />
Dominican Republic.<br />
International singing star Alanis<br />
Morissette attended Immaculata for Grades<br />
7 and 8. At the age of 12, she produced her<br />
first record, Fate Stay With Me. On the cover<br />
of an album she wrote a note to a teacher,<br />
Mr. Gorman, as follows: “Mr. Gorman, just<br />
think, you’ve taught me all I know, and I’ll<br />
never swallow gum again. Alanis.”<br />
Student Keenan MacWilliam took<br />
time away from her studies at Immaculata<br />
to star in the television series The Saddle<br />
Club. She also appeared in the Saddle Club<br />
movie and appeared in several music CD’s<br />
and concerts for the show. She also had roles<br />
in a number of other movies including a TV<br />
movie called Get a Clue for Disney<br />
Productions. She was the host and presenter<br />
for a pilot television show, Popular<br />
Mechanics for Kids.
Craig Lauzon had a regular role<br />
on The Comedy Network’s Chez Carla. He<br />
co-wrote and starred in The Chick and<br />
Cubby Comedy Hour, which received a<br />
Canadian Comedy Award nomination for<br />
best new play. He is a member of the comedy<br />
troupe Tonto’s Nephews and is a regular cast<br />
member of Air Farce on CBC-TV.<br />
Immaculata graduate Dorothy<br />
Dunn became the Director of the Teacher<br />
Education Branch of the Ontario Ministry<br />
of Education.<br />
Immaculata graduate Andrew<br />
Scheer was elected as a member of the<br />
House of Commons for the riding of Regina-<br />
Qu’Appelle in Saskatchewan in June 2004.<br />
Immaculata graduate Lynn<br />
Nightingale became a Canadian ladies’<br />
figure-skating champion.<br />
David Azzi had an outstanding<br />
football career with the University of <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
and then played for the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Renegades<br />
of the Canadian Football League in 2004<br />
and 2005. The Toronto Argonauts in the<br />
Renegades’ dispersal draft picked him up<br />
in April 2006.<br />
Ben Eager was drafted by the<br />
Phoenix Coyotes in the first round of the<br />
National Hockey League Entry Draft in<br />
2002. He then went on to the Philadelphia<br />
Flyers organization.<br />
Jeremy Mercer worked as a crime<br />
reporter with the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Citizen from 1995<br />
to 1999. He is the founder of a literary<br />
magazine, Kilometer Zero, and recently<br />
published his third book, Time Was Soft<br />
There.<br />
1990 Immaculata graduate Kris<br />
Klein is a counsel in the federal Department<br />
of Justice and is a co-author of a leading<br />
text, The Law of Privacy in Canada.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Immaculata graduate Carmel<br />
Maloney attended university and then joined<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Police Department in its first<br />
hiring of female officers. When she married,<br />
she had to resign because a female officer<br />
could not remain on the Force if married, at<br />
a time when male officers could marry and<br />
still remain with the Police Department.<br />
Immaculata graduate Colleen<br />
Swords is Canada’s ambassador to the<br />
Netherlands.<br />
Immaculata graduate Rita<br />
Desjardins became an elected trustee with<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>.<br />
Immaculata graduate Betty-Ann<br />
Kealey became an elected trustee, serving as<br />
Chairperson of the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> and of the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
The school colours are navy blue,<br />
white and silver/grey.<br />
Logo and Motto<br />
The school logo and motto were<br />
created in 1967 by Sister Mary Paula (Rita<br />
McGuire) and her students. The centennial<br />
year class project was presented to Principal<br />
Sister Mary Christine for approval. The<br />
students came up with the motto “Study<br />
Builds Character.” They also designed the<br />
school logo with its three symbols: a white<br />
lily as a symbol of Mary’s immaculate purity,<br />
a Celtic cross in recognition of the financial<br />
contributions of Irish <strong>Catholic</strong>s in <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
and the lamp of learning to recognize the<br />
pursuit of knowledge.<br />
Mascot<br />
The school mascot is a Saint<br />
Bernard called “Bernie Mac.”<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
122<br />
Team Names<br />
The school sports teams are known<br />
by the nickname “Saints.”<br />
.<br />
Feast Day<br />
The Feast of the Immaculate<br />
Conception on December 8 is celebrated at<br />
Immaculata every year. The Virgin Mary is<br />
the school’s patroness.<br />
Trips<br />
At one time Immaculata students<br />
were escorted by their teachers on annual<br />
pilgrimages to Mayo, Quebec where there<br />
is a shrine to Our Lady of Knock, honouring<br />
the Blessed Virgin’s appearance to children<br />
in Ireland. Father Braceland, who at<br />
various times served at St. Patrick and<br />
St. Theresa Parishes in <strong>Ottawa</strong>, visited the<br />
Our Lady of Knock shrine in Ireland and<br />
brought back relics to Canada. Later, he<br />
established a similar shrine in Mayo. Both<br />
sites are recognized around the world.<br />
Father Braceland’s sister, Sister Mary David<br />
of the Grey Sisters, was a teacher at<br />
Immaculata High <strong>School</strong>.<br />
Song<br />
The school song was written and<br />
composed by Sister Loyola (1875-1953) and<br />
Michael C. MacNeil (1893-1958).<br />
The lyrics are as follows:<br />
Immaculata<br />
Immaculata, we praise Thee;<br />
Loyal we’ll always stand<br />
‘Neath dar’ning cloud or sunbeam<br />
light,<br />
Our hearts at thy command –<br />
And though the years in their swift<br />
flight<br />
May find us apart,<br />
Thy cherished name will all unite<br />
Immaculata hail!<br />
Mem’ries that ne’er will fade,<br />
Comrades and friends so dear,<br />
Souls that are unafraid –<br />
All these are gathered here.
Subjects<br />
In 1929, students trying for Lower<br />
<strong>School</strong> standing, which enabled them to<br />
enter Normal <strong>School</strong>, were required to study<br />
the following subjects: botany, physiography,<br />
arithmetic, zoology, geography, English<br />
grammar and English history.<br />
Subjects taken when aiming for<br />
promotion to higher forms and to Ontario<br />
matriculation included <strong>Catholic</strong> apologetics,<br />
French, English, geometry, algebra and<br />
latin.<br />
Yearbook<br />
The school’s first yearbook was<br />
published in 1942. It was dedicated to<br />
Sister Agnes of the Sacred Heart, the first<br />
principal of Immaculata at the Bronson<br />
Avenue site. She wrote this message in the<br />
yearbook: “In the war-torn world of today,<br />
“V” stands for Victory. Immaculata girls of<br />
1941-42, it will be your glorious task to<br />
make “V” stand for Virtue in the post-war<br />
world which will necessarily require<br />
fundamental re-making in the pursuits<br />
of home, career, art, literature, science,<br />
business and the professions.”<br />
Immaculata’s first hardcover<br />
yearbook, entitled Highlights, was published<br />
in 1955.<br />
Ladies’ Auxiliary<br />
A Ladies’ Auxiliary was formed at<br />
Immaculata in the 1950s to raise funds for<br />
the school. Large community dinners were<br />
a regular activity of this Ladies Auxiliary.<br />
Drama Club<br />
The school’s drama club celebrated<br />
its 25 th anniversary in 1955.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Uniforms<br />
By 1978, Immaculata was into the<br />
fourth version of its school uniform. The first<br />
was simply a black smock, the second a navy<br />
blue tunic, and the third a royal blue vest<br />
and short kilt. The current uniform colours<br />
are blue and gray.<br />
Graduates<br />
Over 6,000 students graduated<br />
from Immaculata from its beginnings in<br />
1928 to its 65 th anniversary in 1993.<br />
The Grey Sisters of the Immaculate<br />
Conception<br />
The history of the Grey Sisters of<br />
the Immaculate Conception begins with the<br />
Sisters of Charity of Montreal (Grey Nuns)<br />
whose foundress, Marguerite d’Youville, was<br />
the first Canadian-born saint in the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Church. One of the daughter groups of the<br />
Montreal congregation was the Grey Nuns<br />
of the Cross in Bytown (now the Sisters of<br />
Charity of <strong>Ottawa</strong>). In 1926, the Grey<br />
Sisters of the Immaculate Conception were<br />
formed from the <strong>Ottawa</strong> community as a<br />
Canadian English-speaking congregation,<br />
with its motherhouse and novitiate in<br />
Pembroke.<br />
Immaculata continues to have a<br />
link with the Grey Sisters. The Grey Sisters<br />
and the Immaculata Foundation provide<br />
$8,000 in scholarships and awards on a<br />
yearly basis to Immaculata graduates.<br />
In addition, the Immaculata Foundation<br />
provides support to the chaplaincy at<br />
Immaculata as well as to the Religious<br />
Education Department. The Immaculata<br />
Foundation continues to function with its<br />
<strong>Board</strong> of Directors consisting of Grey Sisters<br />
and members of <strong>Ottawa</strong>’s education and<br />
business community.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
123<br />
The Grey Sisters<br />
Sisters who taught at Immaculata between<br />
1928 and 1993<br />
Sister Agnes of the Sacred Heart<br />
Sister Loyola<br />
Sister St. Geraldine<br />
Sister St. Richard<br />
Sister Mary of Mount Carmel<br />
Sister St. Waltrude<br />
Sister St. John<br />
Sister St. Hilda<br />
Sister Helen of the Sacred Heart<br />
(G. Desrochers)<br />
Sister Mary Christine<br />
Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart<br />
(Tunney)<br />
Sister Mary Celine (Marion Kelly)<br />
Sister Mary Louise<br />
Sister Mary Elizabeth<br />
Sister Adeltrude<br />
Sister Mildred<br />
Sister St. Walbert<br />
Sister Mary Ida<br />
Sister St. Leo<br />
Sister Mary Beanor (Eleanor<br />
Swain)<br />
Sister Catherine of the Cross<br />
(Gladys Brennan)<br />
Sister Mary Alice<br />
Sister Francis Clare<br />
Sister Margaret Mary (Mildred<br />
Moyle)<br />
Sister M. Celestine (Geraldine<br />
Kelly)<br />
Sister Mary Monica (Monica<br />
Prestley)<br />
Sister Mary Charlotte (Margaret<br />
M. O’Neill)<br />
Sister Mary Alfred (Gwyneth<br />
Roberts)<br />
Sister St. Benilda<br />
Sister St. Denis (Evelyn Melcohe)<br />
Sister St. Basil (Teresa Doyle)<br />
Sister Mary Terence<br />
Sister St. Helena<br />
Sister Mary Andrew<br />
Sister Maureen (Nora Dolan)
Sister St. Emma<br />
Sister Teresa Ann (Helen<br />
Dunnigan)<br />
Sister Francis Maurice<br />
Sister Mary David<br />
Sister Frances Margaret<br />
Sister Mary Joanna (Barbara<br />
Ryan)<br />
Sister Mary Mildred (Margaret<br />
Ferguson)<br />
Sister Mary Stephen (Catherine<br />
McCann)<br />
Sister Mary Sheila (Marguerite<br />
Somers)<br />
Sister Mary Lucia<br />
Sister Mary Lucille (Lucille<br />
Martin)<br />
Sister Mary of Perpetual Help<br />
(Mary Mulligan)<br />
Sister Mary Evangelista (Helen<br />
Nolan)<br />
Sister Mary Sylvia (Bernice<br />
McCoy)<br />
Sister Mary James (Catherine<br />
Noonan)<br />
Sister Mary Olive (Geraldine<br />
Daley)<br />
Sister Patricia Ann (Joan Nugent)<br />
Sister William Bernard<br />
(Bernadette Kinsella)<br />
Sister Mary Arthur (Rose Welsh)<br />
Sister Mary Teresa (Teresa Kelly)<br />
Sister Mary Deborah (Catherine<br />
Fairbairn)<br />
Sister Mary Rosaleen (Margaret<br />
Ann Cuthbert)<br />
Sister Mary Hugh (Helen Berthe)<br />
Sister Mary Paula (Rita McGuire)<br />
Sister Mary Susan (Anne Taylor)<br />
Sister Mary Paschal (Marie<br />
McArdie)<br />
Sister Mary Julia (Catherine Shea)<br />
Sister Mary Cornelia (Cornelia<br />
Goulet)<br />
Sister St. Callista (Elizabeth<br />
Johnston)<br />
Sister St. Barbara (Madeline<br />
Tokar)<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Sister Mary Gregory (Mary Anne<br />
Bondy)<br />
Sister Mary Adrian (Celia<br />
Turcotte)<br />
Sister Margaret Helen (Helen<br />
Leeney)<br />
Sister Mary Patricia<br />
Sister Mary Judith (Margaret<br />
Foran)<br />
Sister Michael Anne (Anne<br />
O’Brien)<br />
Sister St. Frances (Houlihan)<br />
Sister Margaret Dempster<br />
Sister Anna Clare<br />
Sister Gertrude Harrington<br />
Sister Elizabeth Ann Kinsella<br />
Sister Mary Ruddy<br />
Sister Bonnie Zentner<br />
Sister Mary Irene<br />
Sister Mary Beatrice<br />
Sister Roseann (Teresa Todd)<br />
Sister St. Ignatius Loyola<br />
Sisters who taught in the Music Department<br />
at Immaculata High <strong>School</strong><br />
Sister St. Edmund<br />
Sister St. Bernard (Bernadette<br />
Stanton)<br />
Sister Mary Claire<br />
Sister Zita of the Cross<br />
Sister Mary Arthur (Rose Welsh)<br />
Sister St. Agatha<br />
Sister Mary Erma (Erma<br />
Courneene)<br />
Sister Paul of the Cross (Madeline<br />
Demarse)<br />
Sister St. Geralda<br />
Sister Caroline<br />
Sister Mary Elaine (Elaine<br />
Reaume)<br />
Sister St. Inez (Marilyn Burns)<br />
Sister St. Bonaventure (Florence<br />
Lapierre)<br />
Sister Mary of Victory (Sheila<br />
Finnerty)<br />
Sister St. Stephen (Aileen Johnson)<br />
Sister Diane Marie (Anne<br />
Fairbairn)<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
124<br />
Immaculata Graduates<br />
Immaculata High <strong>School</strong> graduates<br />
who have returned to the school as lay staff<br />
members<br />
Amy Connolly<br />
Jane Cronin<br />
Anne Mason<br />
Louise Hunter<br />
Joan St. Germain<br />
Patricia Reilly<br />
Carol Arnason<br />
Emily Grimes<br />
Maureen DeMontigny<br />
Carol Farbar<br />
Rita Costantini<br />
Julie Swords<br />
Sheila Fergus<br />
Donna Shaughnessy<br />
Kathleen Robinson<br />
Mary Gauthier<br />
Kathleen Dodds (Maloney)<br />
Evelyn Kelly<br />
Brent Hopkins
Jean Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong> Intermediate<br />
<strong>School</strong> on Lajoie Street in Vanier is<br />
named after the founder of L’Arche,<br />
a worldwide movement that provides care<br />
and support for people with disabilities.<br />
It is, as a result, most fitting indeed that<br />
the school’s motto is “A Place For Everyone.”<br />
This phrase is found not only on the school<br />
logo and in the school prayer, but also in the<br />
daily attitude and actions of the students<br />
and staff at the school. It is reflected in the<br />
school’s support of charitable endeavors<br />
such as the Shepherds of Good Hope, the<br />
St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Heart and<br />
Stroke Foundation, the United Way and the<br />
Waupoos Foundation. The school opened in<br />
1988, with an official ceremony held on<br />
October 27, 1989.<br />
Jean Vanier is the son of former<br />
Canadian Governor-General Georges Vanier.<br />
After a brief career in the Royal Canadian<br />
Navy, Mr. Vanier embarked on a life journey<br />
that led to his founding of L’Arche, a<br />
movement which has grown to include<br />
communities worldwide, with about 200 homes<br />
and related day and work programs in<br />
Canada alone. L’Arche communities enable<br />
people with disabilities to grow to their full<br />
potential and to share life together in a spirit<br />
of mutuality. Indeed, the L’Arche movement<br />
is sometimes referred to as the “University<br />
of the Heart,” not only providing support for<br />
people with disabilities but also providing a<br />
training ground for young students to grow<br />
in their compassion for society.<br />
Jean Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong> Intermediate<br />
<strong>School</strong> offers a full academic and<br />
extracurricular program for grades 7 and 8<br />
students. The two-storey facility includes<br />
a gymnasium, science lab, technology lab,<br />
family studies lab, a cafeteria and a<br />
library/computer lab, as well as regular<br />
classrooms.<br />
Typical of the cross-curricular,<br />
activity-based learning which prevails at<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
JEAN<br />
VANIER<br />
CATHOLIC INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL<br />
320 Lajoie Street<br />
Vanier K1L 7H4<br />
613-745-1502<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/jvc<br />
Jean Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong> Intermediate <strong>School</strong><br />
was a project in April 1998, involving<br />
students who took part in a unit focusing<br />
on shopping malls. The grade 7 students<br />
became business owners while the grade 8<br />
students were mall owners. The students<br />
worked together to learn about marketing,<br />
consumerism, budgeting, demographics and<br />
design. Then they participated in a behindthe-scenes<br />
tour of Place d’Orléans Shopping<br />
Centre. The grade 7 students, as business<br />
owners, ended up trying to convince the<br />
grade 8 mall owners to lease space to them.<br />
Jean Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong> Intermediate<br />
<strong>School</strong> received international honours in<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
125<br />
May 2006, as a result of the school’s<br />
involvement in the Macoun Marsh<br />
biodiversity project in which Jean Vanier<br />
students, along with students from their<br />
partner, Educarium <strong>School</strong>, studied the<br />
biodiversity of the marsh, which is located<br />
in a corner of Beechwood Cemetery. This<br />
venture was chosen from among 338 projects<br />
in 41 countries to be one of ten finalists in<br />
the Volvo Adventure competition, an<br />
international environmental program<br />
organized by the Volvo Car Corporation of<br />
Sweden in partnership with the United<br />
Nations Environmental Program. The Volvo<br />
Adventure is an education program designed<br />
to heighten environmental awareness and<br />
encourage environmental activities among<br />
students.<br />
Five students, including two from<br />
Jean Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, Alex Zylka and<br />
Katie Beauchamp, traveled to Goteborg,<br />
Sweden in May 2006 to present their project<br />
and action plan to a jury of international<br />
experts at the Volvo Adventure International<br />
finals. They were accompanied on the all<br />
expenses paid trip by a volunteer parent<br />
chaperone and two teachers, including Clint<br />
Monaghan from Jean Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>. The students were awarded second<br />
place in the Volvo Adventure competition<br />
and brought home $6,000 in prize money,<br />
which was earmarked for continuing work<br />
on the Macoun Marsh biodiversity project.<br />
This project began in 2003 as an<br />
ecology-based project for students of<br />
Educarium <strong>School</strong>, located across the street<br />
from the Macoun Marsh. Students at Jean<br />
Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, which is within a<br />
25-minute walk to the marsh, got involved<br />
with the project in 2005 when Alex Zylka<br />
excitedly told her teacher, Mr. Monaghan,<br />
about it after attending a Saturday Science<br />
program at Educarium. They were promptly<br />
invited by Educarium <strong>School</strong> to join the<br />
project. The project aims to research,<br />
enhance and protect the ecology of the
marsh. Winter visits involve watching birds,<br />
filling bird feeders and taking water samples<br />
from holes in the pond ice. The project also<br />
involves recording the species in the marsh.<br />
More than 870 species of birds, animals,<br />
plants and microscopic life forms have been<br />
recorded to date.<br />
There are now plans to erect a<br />
permanent structure at the marsh to shelter<br />
students who are there studying nature.<br />
There are also plans to build a boardwalk<br />
and to plant aquatic flora and trees.<br />
Fundraising is ongoing. The marsh, named<br />
after the great Canadian naturalist John<br />
Macoun who is buried at Beechwood<br />
Cemetery, is considered a unique inner-city<br />
wetland.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Martine Mitton with Acting<br />
Vice-Principals Bonnie McGilchrist and<br />
Justin Doyle<br />
Past Principals<br />
Wayne Moyle with Acting Vice-<br />
Principals Dianna Gardner, Lise<br />
St. Louis and Brent Halverson<br />
Hazel Lambert with Acting Vice-<br />
Principals Lise St. Louis, Gail<br />
Taillon, Paul Gautreau and<br />
Jo Gifford<br />
Geoff Burridge with Acting Vice-<br />
Principals Jo Gifford, Bonnie<br />
McGilchrist and Justin Doyle<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Wayne Moyle, Principal<br />
Dianna Gardner, Acting Vice-<br />
Principal<br />
Ken Crosby, Physical Education<br />
Brent Halverson, Social Studies<br />
Gail Taillon, French and Music<br />
Lise St. Louis, Science<br />
Louise Boucher, French<br />
Nancy Skipper, Resource<br />
Mary Saliba, Resource (English)<br />
Tim Frymire, Chaplain<br />
Richard Gadivry, Science<br />
Carl Cameron<br />
Louise Hayden, Secretary<br />
Other Teachers in the Early Years<br />
Sharon Gilmour, Physical<br />
Education<br />
Paul Gautreau, Social Sciences<br />
Richard Choquette, French<br />
Sister Ann O’Leary, Chaplain<br />
Harry Rovers, English and<br />
Mathematics<br />
Mark Lacroix, Music and French<br />
Mary McGahey, Mathematics and<br />
English<br />
Malcolm Lawrence, Chaplain<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
126<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Red and black<br />
Logo<br />
A shield with the school motto “A<br />
Place For Everyone” at the top and the name<br />
of the school along the bottom, with the<br />
centre featuring the initials of the school,<br />
“JVC,” with a torch on one arm of the “V”<br />
and with a cross in the background. The logo<br />
was designed by two students.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Prayer<br />
The Jean Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Intermediate <strong>School</strong> prayer is as follows:<br />
God our loving Father, we thank<br />
You for our health, our families, and our<br />
friends, and for all the good things You have<br />
given us.<br />
Benis-nous et aide-nous a vivre en<br />
paix et avec joie.<br />
Donne- nous la force d’être bons,<br />
de travailler fort aux études, d’être gentils<br />
envers les autres et de prendre soins de<br />
l’environnement.<br />
May we each try to make JVC a<br />
place for everyone.<br />
We remember those who are sad<br />
or sick, poor or hungry, and we ask Your<br />
blessing on all people on our planet.<br />
Nous Te demandons cela avec<br />
confiance en Jesus, Ton Fils et notre Frère.<br />
AMEN.
After being known as Pineview<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> for more than<br />
25 years, this school on<br />
Beaverpond Drive in Gloucester, was<br />
recently renamed John Paul II <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>. Trustees of the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> approved the name<br />
change in the spring of 2006. The official<br />
renaming celebration took place on June 26,<br />
2006, just before the end of the school year.<br />
The renaming celebration included<br />
a liturgy led by Father Michael Wright of<br />
St. Ignatius Parish as well as songs and<br />
prayers by the students. Speakers at this<br />
celebration included: June Flynn-Turner,<br />
Chairperson of the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>; James McCracken, Director<br />
of Education; the Hon. Madeleine Meilleur,<br />
the MPP for the area (<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Vanier riding)<br />
and Minister of Community and Social<br />
Services and Minister Responsible for<br />
Francophone Affairs in the Provincial<br />
Government; Denise Issa, Chairperson of<br />
the <strong>School</strong> Council; and Carole Parent,<br />
<strong>School</strong> Principal. A ribbon cutting ceremony<br />
involved Principal Carole Parent, Director<br />
of Education James McCracken and<br />
<strong>Board</strong> Chairperson June Flynn-Turner,<br />
accompanied by grade 1 student Cherie<br />
Gilmour. In keeping with its new name,<br />
the school now houses a carved statue of<br />
John Paul II.<br />
The renaming of the school was<br />
the culmination of a process where the<br />
Pineview <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> community<br />
explored the possibility of renaming the<br />
school to better characterize its <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
identity. The process began in the spring<br />
of 2005 when staff and school council<br />
members were invited to submit preferred<br />
names for the school. In the fall, a<br />
committee comprised of the school council<br />
chair, a teacher, the parish priest, the<br />
principal and the school’s superintendent<br />
was established to look at the submitted<br />
names. These were narrowed down to three<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
JOHN<br />
PAUL II<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
(formerly Pineview <strong>Catholic</strong>)<br />
1500 Beaverpond Drive<br />
Gloucester K1B 3R9<br />
613-744-3591<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/pin<br />
after which the grade 6 students and staff<br />
voted in favour of “John Paul II <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>.” A survey sent to parents in<br />
February 2006 resulted in input on this<br />
proposed new name, with a vast majority of<br />
parents in favour. Finally, the choice was<br />
submitted to the <strong>Board</strong> for approval.<br />
The school is named after Pope<br />
John Paul II who died in 2005 after his<br />
lengthy tenure as Pope. He became the<br />
most-traveled pontiff in the history of the<br />
position, carrying the message of Christ to<br />
virtually every corner of the world and<br />
becoming one of the most beloved Popes ever<br />
to lead the Church.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
127<br />
The 25 th anniversary celebration<br />
for Pineview <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in 2005 spoke<br />
volumes about the kind of school that it has<br />
been since first opening its doors in the fall<br />
of 1980. The celebration involved not only<br />
students, staff and <strong>Board</strong> officials, but also<br />
parents, families and the clergy. The school<br />
looked sparkling and as good as new when<br />
it welcomed the parents and community to<br />
the celebration on November 26, 2005.<br />
A newly-built front desk was the centerpiece,<br />
creating a welcoming environment,<br />
something that has been the hallmark of<br />
this caring <strong>Catholic</strong> school community for<br />
the past quarter century. Staff and families<br />
gathered in the school foyer as Father<br />
Michael Wright of St. Ignatius Parish<br />
blessed the school. “Pineview <strong>Catholic</strong> is<br />
a perfect example of all the ways a caring<br />
community can grow and share together<br />
the Gospel values while providing a quality<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education for our students,”<br />
commented <strong>Board</strong> Chairperson Betty-Ann<br />
Kealey. The anniversary celebration also<br />
featured songs of celebration sung by the<br />
school’s children’s choir led by school<br />
secretary Helen Featherston. This was<br />
followed by more singing by Helen and<br />
fellow musicians and staff in the library.<br />
The warmth and caring nature of the 25 th<br />
anniversary celebration impressed <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> Director of<br />
Education James McCracken. “The warm<br />
welcome we all experienced today is<br />
characteristic of how Pineview <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
students and their families continue to be<br />
treated after 25 years,” he noted.<br />
That John Paul II <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
has such a close connection to its<br />
neighbourhood and community should be no<br />
surprise, since it took its original name from<br />
the community, the Pineview area of<br />
Gloucester near Blair Road. Its seven-acre<br />
site backs on to city parkland, which has<br />
soccer fields, two play structures and a<br />
skating rink in the winter.
John Paul II <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
students represent many different<br />
nationalities and languages. This aspect<br />
of the school is celebrated with a yearly<br />
multicultural dinner each spring, a tradition<br />
that was initiated by Teacher Joyce Allard<br />
in 1995. John Paul II <strong>School</strong> maintains a<br />
number of other traditions such as the<br />
annual musical plays each spring, initiated<br />
by Teacher Cheryl Hicks in 1993, and the<br />
angel tree sharing event at Christmas time,<br />
started in 1997.<br />
John Paul II <strong>School</strong> has two<br />
kindergarten classrooms, 15 regular<br />
classrooms, a fully-equipped computer lab,<br />
a library and a gymnasium.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Carole Parent (2005-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
James MacPherson<br />
Julie Tuepah<br />
John Power<br />
Kevin Mullins<br />
Joanne Meredith<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Eileen Flichel, Junior and Senior<br />
Kindergarten<br />
Jill Weir, Junior Kindergarten<br />
Linda McNeely, Senior<br />
Kindergarten<br />
Diane Vaughan, Grade 1<br />
Monica Paynter, Grade 1-2<br />
John Lalonde, Grade 2<br />
Tom Charlebois, Grade 3<br />
Marg Beockler, Grade 3-4<br />
Barry Lemoine, Grade 4<br />
Dan Lahey, Grade 5-6<br />
Monica Pelletier, Special Education<br />
Sandra Boyer, Resource<br />
Rose Brassard, Primary French as<br />
a Second Language<br />
Yvette Riel, Junior French as a<br />
Second Language<br />
Brenda Richard, Librarian<br />
Estelle Essex, Secretary<br />
Noel Lalande, Custodian<br />
Former Student<br />
Keisha Chanté, professional<br />
vocalist<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Purple<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo at Pineview<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> featured a cross, the initials<br />
“PCS” and the words “Pineview <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>.”<br />
Mascot<br />
A panther<br />
Other Highlights<br />
Teacher Eileen Moriarity started<br />
the school choir.<br />
John Paul II <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, as<br />
Pineview <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, was one of the<br />
first schools in the jurisdiction of the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> to<br />
house a class for developmentally<br />
handicapped children.<br />
Staff Recognition<br />
Patricia Brunet of Pineview<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> staff was the first recipient<br />
of the Steve Richardson Memorial Award,<br />
which is presented annually to an<br />
administrative and support staff employee<br />
who best exemplifies the Gospel values of<br />
stewardship, partnership and excellence<br />
based on the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> motto: “Believing, Discovering,<br />
Achieving.”
Lester B. Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> likes to view itself as the<br />
“little school that could” and over<br />
the years since being conceived as a complete<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> high school, it has done just that –<br />
achieved whatever it set out to do.<br />
Pearson, as the school is fondly<br />
called, began as a dream for the former<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> in 1972 to create a complete <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
high school. At that time, <strong>Catholic</strong> high<br />
schools were provincially funded only to the<br />
end of Grade 10. Completion to Grade 13<br />
was a political goal, which the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
community across the province espoused<br />
until it finally became reality in 1984. Before<br />
the founding of Lester B. Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
High <strong>School</strong>, there were four principal<br />
players who shared the dream of establishing<br />
it: Basil MacDonald, Chairperson of the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>; William Crossan, Director of<br />
Education for the <strong>Board</strong>; Sylvester E. Quinn,<br />
a Superintendent of Education for the <strong>Board</strong>;<br />
and Merle J. Obee, the first principal of the<br />
school. But these four did not do it alone;<br />
they were strongly supported by the parishes<br />
and <strong>Catholic</strong> parents of the communities in<br />
North Gloucester as well as others across the<br />
whole jurisdiction of the <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
Principal Merle Obee’s vision of<br />
a dynamic and effective <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
was innovative at that time; however, the<br />
Pearson model would become a prototype<br />
used by the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> to accommodate its<br />
grades 7 to 13 students across its entire<br />
jurisdiction. Principal Obee was keen to<br />
assemble a staff of educators dedicated to<br />
providing <strong>Catholic</strong> high school students with<br />
the unique and varied opportunities that<br />
they would need to achieve excellence.<br />
From the outset, he was concerned with<br />
establishing a consistent set of values for<br />
the school community, and he wanted to<br />
staff the school accordingly.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
LESTER B.<br />
PEARSON<br />
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL<br />
2072 Jasmine Crescent<br />
Gloucester K1J 8M5<br />
613-741-4525<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/lbh<br />
During the first year for the school<br />
in 1973-74, while it was still housed in one<br />
module of four rooms and two portable<br />
classrooms at Thomas D’Arcy McGee<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, a hiring team of three,<br />
consisting of Principal Obee and two<br />
teachers, Betty Dubien and Gerard Lavelle,<br />
took on the task of bringing together the<br />
“brave new staff” for the new high school.<br />
This staff would consist of teachers one-third<br />
of who were new, one-third experienced, and<br />
one-third “old pros.” In addition, this initial<br />
tiny staff of seven was sent on program<br />
scouting excursions to schools known for<br />
their excellence.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
129<br />
As the school entered the 1974-75<br />
academic year, some of the program goals<br />
set for the school seemed very lofty and farreaching.<br />
Besides offering a strong academic<br />
program interlaced with the arts and<br />
athletics in a vibrant <strong>Catholic</strong> milieu where<br />
the <strong>Catholic</strong> faith was to be both learned<br />
and practised, the school staff also hoped<br />
one day to offer computer skills, restaurant<br />
training and auto mechanics.<br />
St. Jerome’s <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong><br />
in Kitchener-Waterloo served as the<br />
comprehensive high school model for the<br />
new Lester B. Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>.<br />
In the fall of 1974, the growing<br />
staff moved into the new school facility,<br />
which had been originally designed with<br />
a million-dollar price tag but which, due<br />
to funding cutbacks by the Ministry of<br />
Education, ended up being built on a<br />
reduced budget of only half that. This meant<br />
that many of the features designed for<br />
special programs were eliminated or at least<br />
drastically reduced. The theatre arts space,<br />
for instance, ended up being a corner<br />
platform in the cafeteria. Despite this,<br />
a creative and ingenious staff set about<br />
building a first-class educational institution.<br />
The school was named in honour<br />
of the late Prime Minister of Canada, Lester<br />
Bowles Pearson. On June 15, 1975, Mrs.<br />
Maryon Pearson, widow of the Prime<br />
Minister who had died on December 28,<br />
1972, cut the ribbon to open Lester B.<br />
Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>. At this official<br />
opening, Mrs. Pearson presented the flag<br />
that had hung in Mr. Pearson’s office the day<br />
that the new Canadian flag was officially<br />
unfurled on Parliament Hill in 1965.<br />
It was also at this official opening<br />
that a school tradition began. This is the<br />
now long-standing practice of having<br />
students take centre stage, especially at<br />
public events. Mrs. Pearson was welcomed
to the official opening by Masters of<br />
Ceremonies David Turgeon and Lisa<br />
Langlois who read a tribute to her late<br />
husband, highlighting his contributions to<br />
world peace, contributions that earned him<br />
the Nobel Prize for Peace.<br />
From the start, Lester B. Pearson<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> was on the leading<br />
edge of pedagogy, and developed and<br />
maintained a very close liaison with the<br />
Faculty of Education at the University of<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>. Dr. Pierre Turgeon, whose son<br />
attended Pearson, supervised this liaison.<br />
Many graduate students did practicums in<br />
special education at Pearson while a large<br />
number of student-teachers, under the<br />
tutelage of Dr. Dorothy Ryan, trained at<br />
Pearson as well.<br />
A major problem with regard to<br />
operating a <strong>Catholic</strong> high school involved<br />
financing. Betty Bernard, a one-time<br />
president of the Pearson Parent-Teacher<br />
Association, has often told the story of<br />
being asked to help with fundraising for the<br />
school. Principal Rachelle Keyserlingk called<br />
Betty to her office one afternoon, asking her<br />
to raise money for the upper grades. Betty<br />
had been long accustomed to Saturday<br />
morning bottle drives and cake sales,<br />
perhaps netting $300 or so to help <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools. Asking how much money Principal<br />
Keyserlingk needed, Betty was astounded<br />
by the answer, “A million to start with.”<br />
In 1983-84, Pearson welcomed its<br />
first grade 11 students who paid a yearly<br />
fee of $1,000. In the summer of 1984 the<br />
Provincial Government under Premier<br />
William Davis announced the funding of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools through to the end of<br />
Grade 13. This ended the fundraising<br />
programs related to financing the upper<br />
grades. However, Pearson was ahead of<br />
schedule, as it graduated its first grade 12<br />
class in 1986 and its first grade 13 class in<br />
the following year. This grades 7 to 13 model<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
piloted by Pearson became the standard for<br />
all other <strong>Catholic</strong> high schools in the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>.<br />
Lester B. Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> received additions in 1976, 1985<br />
(science lab and classrooms) and 1994<br />
(gymnasium). Innumerable portables have<br />
been fixtures at the school for many years,<br />
as have its narrow halls. But this has not<br />
deterred the “little school that does” from<br />
excelling. New programs to meet expanded<br />
educational needs have been added over the<br />
years, such as computers, English as a<br />
Second Language, beauty and grooming,<br />
and a program for the developmentally<br />
handicapped.<br />
While Pearson graduates succeed<br />
in university and in life thanks to the<br />
academic excellence of its teaching, the<br />
experience at Pearson remains animated<br />
by a strong liturgical life, encouraging<br />
participation. The Dominican Republic<br />
project, established and spearheaded for<br />
many years by Teacher Michael<br />
O’Callaghan, who was the head of the<br />
school’s Religion Department, has been a<br />
tangible illustration of the commitment to<br />
the <strong>Catholic</strong> faith and to justice by both<br />
students and teachers.<br />
The success of Pearson can<br />
perhaps best be portrayed not in facts<br />
and figures but anecdotally. One potential<br />
Pearson graduate called the Faculty of<br />
English at Carleton University in the mid<br />
1990s to inquire about “how to get into<br />
Carleton.” The secretary of the department<br />
asked the student where she attended high<br />
school. When she replied, “Pearson,” the<br />
secretary succinctly responded, “there is an<br />
excellent OAC teacher there; just do as she<br />
says and you’ll be fine.”<br />
In 1975, Pearson’s first yearbook<br />
was published, under the supervision of<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
130<br />
seasoned Teacher Sandie Bender. Fittingly,<br />
it was called Genesis. In the year 2000, at<br />
the beginning of the new millennium, the<br />
Pearson yearbook bore the title No Limits.<br />
Between Genesis in 1975 and No Limits in<br />
2000, the achievement of excellence by eager<br />
students assisted by a talented staff resulted<br />
in much learning and growing in the<br />
Pearson school community.<br />
In 1999, Lester B. Pearson<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> was the site for the<br />
launching of the Pearson dollar. Lester B.<br />
Pearson’s son, Geoffrey, accompanied by<br />
various government officials, attended the<br />
event. In June 1999, the school and an<br />
alumni committee hosted a 25-year reunion.<br />
Once again, Geoffrey Pearson was on hand<br />
to open the event. After the reunion, the<br />
alumni committee presented school Principal<br />
Peter Linegar with a cheque for $7,000, the<br />
profits from the reunion. The funds were to<br />
be used to help students experiencing<br />
financial difficulty.<br />
Lester B. Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> entered the Guinness Book of World<br />
Records as a result of a ten-second hug (Give<br />
Peace A Chance), which the school shared<br />
with St. Matthew High <strong>School</strong>.
Present Principal<br />
Manon Seguin (2005-present)<br />
Principals<br />
Merle J. Obee (1973-76)<br />
Peter Linegar (1976-80)<br />
Rachelle Keyserlingk (1980-86)<br />
John Shannon (1986-91)<br />
Starr Kelly (1991-96)<br />
Peter Linegar (1996-99)<br />
Ron Chisholm (2000-05)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
1973-74<br />
Merle J. Obee, Principal<br />
Teresa Dubien<br />
Gerard Lavelle<br />
Noella Crawford (later Chisholm)<br />
Livvie Elmes (later Scott)<br />
Jan Kolachuk<br />
Ban Hanlon<br />
Sister Barbara Herbert<br />
Micheline Lefebvre-Poirier<br />
Faith Crowley, Secretary<br />
1974-75<br />
Merle J. Obee, Principal<br />
Peter Linegar, Vice-Principal<br />
Teresa Dubien<br />
Gerard Lavelle<br />
Sandie Doyle (later Bender)<br />
Livvie Elmes<br />
Ban Hanlon<br />
Mary Murphy<br />
Susan Weekes (later McCulloch-<br />
Davis)<br />
Anne Marie Stevenson<br />
Patricia McCool<br />
Lionel Spector<br />
Gerry Boyer<br />
Luigi Antonucci<br />
Mary Ann Kazmierski<br />
Thomas Duggan<br />
Douglas Colwill<br />
Micheline Poirier<br />
Jacques Frechette<br />
Michael Mathews, Guidance<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Betty Morrow, Librarian<br />
Faith Crowley, Secretary<br />
Lionel McAllister, Custodian<br />
Roger Allard, Custodian<br />
Paul Morin, Custodian<br />
Delphine Cere, Cafeteria<br />
Former Staff and Students<br />
Former student Jason Lachance<br />
won a silver medal in the 400-metre event<br />
at the Paralympics in June 2000.<br />
Chris Potenza is a performer, with<br />
a Listerine commercial to his credit.<br />
Shannon Lawson is a stage actor<br />
and appeared in the film The War Between<br />
Us.<br />
Jennifer Goodhue is a comedian<br />
on Comedy Tonight.<br />
Rob Bockstael is an actor.<br />
Tracey Clark is a businessperson<br />
and founder of eco-friendly Bridgehead,<br />
a fair trade coffee shop.<br />
Steve Guenette has played for the<br />
Pittsburgh Penguins and Calgary Flames<br />
of the National Hockey League.<br />
In 1979, a lovely transplanted<br />
American came on staff as librarian at<br />
Lester B. Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>,<br />
Her name was Elizabeth Patch. Because of<br />
her involvement with social and community<br />
issues, Elizabeth was widely and fondly<br />
respected throughout the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> and became<br />
the President of the Carleton Unit of the<br />
Ontario English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’<br />
Association.<br />
When she died of cancer in 1985,<br />
the staff at Lester B. Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> created a staff scholarship fund in<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
131<br />
her name, to be awarded to a graduating<br />
student who, in the spirit of Elizabeth,<br />
would attend a community college to pursue<br />
community and social work. In 1987, the<br />
Carleton Unit of OECTA established a<br />
professional award in Elizabeth’s name to<br />
be presented to a teacher in recognition of<br />
commitment to <strong>Catholic</strong> education, OECTA<br />
and the community.<br />
In 1974, Mrs. Rachelle Keyserlingk<br />
received an Ontario English <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Teachers’ Association fellowship to pursue<br />
a Master’s degree in education, after which<br />
she became Vice-Principal at Lester B.<br />
Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> and later<br />
its principal.<br />
Lester B. Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> Science Teacher Karen Kyle received<br />
the Global Citizen’s Challenge Certificate of<br />
Acknowledgement from the United Nations<br />
Association in Canada in 2006.<br />
Former students who returned to<br />
teach at Lester B. Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> include Peter Linegar Jr. (son of<br />
Peter Linegar, the first vice-principal and<br />
later principal), Pamela McCulloch<br />
(daughter of teacher Susan McCulloch-<br />
Davis) and Sean Burke, a 1985 graduate<br />
who returned to teach auto mechanics.<br />
Colours<br />
Blue and gold. These colours are<br />
featured on all team uniforms and on the<br />
school logo.<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is a giant “P” with<br />
a cross highlighting the circular area of the<br />
“P,” along with the school name and<br />
appropriate symbols such as an open book.<br />
Team Names<br />
“Panthers” is the name of the<br />
Pearson sports teams.
Longtime Teachers<br />
Gerard Lavelle taught at Lester B.<br />
Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> for 27 years,<br />
as did Joan Burridge. Frank Duggan taught<br />
at Pearson for 26 years and Linda Gorayeb-<br />
Leblanc for 24.<br />
Award Recipient<br />
Lester B. Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> student Camille Juswik, a founding<br />
member of the school’s smoke-free youth<br />
team, received a Heather Crowe Award in<br />
May 2006. This was a new award created<br />
by the Provincial Government to honour<br />
the leadership and commitment of the late<br />
Heather Crowe who fought for the<br />
elimination of second-hand smoke in the<br />
workplace and in enclosed public places.<br />
The award is given to recognize the efforts<br />
of individuals and organizations in<br />
promoting a smoke-free Ontario at the<br />
local level.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
132
McMaster <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> takes its<br />
name from the street on which it<br />
is located in the Alta Vista area.<br />
The school opened in 1965 as a<br />
kindergarten to grade 8 school, complete<br />
with a home economics classroom. Now<br />
a junior kindergarten to grade 6 school,<br />
McMaster has, over the years, taken in<br />
students from other schools which have<br />
closed, such as Queen of the Angels, St. Leo,<br />
St. Mark and Immaculate Heart of Mary.<br />
Portable classrooms appeared on site in the<br />
early 1970s. They were eventually removed<br />
and a port-a-pak added to the school in<br />
2000.<br />
In the late 1990s, McMaster<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> received grants to make the<br />
schoolyard green and inviting. The school’s<br />
concern for the environment was recognized<br />
when it became a Jade school in November<br />
2005. This means that the school community<br />
had completed 250 environmentally-friendly<br />
activities. The schoolyard also benefited<br />
from the fundraising activities of the Parent<br />
Advisory Council at the school which<br />
provided the funding for the construction of<br />
a play structure. Also, a bus lane was built<br />
at the front of the school for the safety of the<br />
students.<br />
McMaster <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has<br />
received its share of publicity and<br />
acknowledgement over the years.<br />
In the late 1970s, the school staged<br />
a spectacular performance of the musical<br />
Annie. The school choir has performed for<br />
former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker as<br />
well as at the school board office. The 1970s<br />
were also a time when the McMaster girls’<br />
gymnastics team won many honours.<br />
In 1978, the school participated in an<br />
artists-in-residence program in which the<br />
students created murals on the school walls,<br />
an accomplishment for which they were<br />
featured on CTV. In 1979, after seeing film<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
MCMASTER<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
1760 McMaster Avenue<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1H 6R8<br />
613-731-8841<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/mcm<br />
clips of the murals, Museum of Man officials<br />
contacted the school and the artists involved<br />
with the murals in order to arrange for the<br />
artists to paint the museum’s Dinobus, used<br />
to transport people on field trips. In 2003,<br />
McMaster students participated in a video<br />
linkup with National Arts Centre Orchestra<br />
leader Pinchas Zuckerman and children in<br />
Mexico resulting in a strong relationship<br />
with the National Arts Centre Orchestra.<br />
From 2000 to 2005, junior students have<br />
been invited on stage to play their recorders<br />
with the National Arts Centre Orchestra<br />
In January 2005, the McMaster<br />
<strong>School</strong> community raised over $2,000 for<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
133<br />
UNICEF in its relief efforts for the victims<br />
of the tsunami. Bilaal Rajan, an eight-yearold<br />
who has become a UNICEF<br />
spokesperson, visited the school to thank<br />
everyone for their efforts in this initiative.<br />
He delivered an inspirational speech about<br />
people being able to accomplish anything if<br />
they just try. The event was covered on the<br />
CTV news.<br />
McMaster <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was one<br />
of eight <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> schools, which, in the 2005-06 school<br />
year, raised approximately $6,000 in total<br />
for the “OK Clean Water Project.” This<br />
project (OK stands for <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Kumbo, a<br />
town in Cameroon in Africa) is an initiative<br />
of the Congregation of Notre Dame, an<br />
international religious community of Sisters<br />
and associates. The “OK Clean Water<br />
Project” supports the purchase of water<br />
pipes, which are laid from a clean water<br />
source into their communities by villagers<br />
in Cameroon.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Margaret Skinner<br />
Past Principals<br />
Desmond Lalonde<br />
Patricia Coady<br />
Clifford Foley<br />
Ernest Lefrançois<br />
Brian Brash<br />
Margie Gourdier<br />
Louise Roddy<br />
Mary-Ann Cowan<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Valerie Prest<br />
Rita LeGros<br />
Gary Mellor<br />
Mr. Turpin, Custodian
Former Students<br />
Lynn Nightingale, as a member<br />
of the Minto Skating Club, competed both<br />
nationally and internationally.<br />
Fedor Andreev, a figure skater,<br />
has competed both nationally and<br />
internationally.<br />
Staff Accomplishments<br />
Teachers Patricia Coady, Debbie<br />
Griffin and Theresa Jette co-authored books<br />
on children’s liturgies for Novalis, the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> publishing house. These were<br />
approved by the Archdiocese and were<br />
recommended for purchase by school<br />
principals.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Teal, navy and white<br />
Mascot<br />
The school has as its mascot a<br />
moose that the students have named<br />
“McMooster.” Each class also has its own<br />
little mascot to cheer the students on and<br />
help them celebrate special events.<br />
Classes each have a circle of<br />
friends for religion tables, and a special<br />
lantern to light the way.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
134
From child to mother in four short years<br />
— this is the experience of Monsignor<br />
Paul Baxter <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in South<br />
Nepean, all due to the booming residential<br />
growth which took place in the Longfields<br />
area between 1999 and 2003, creating severe<br />
overcrowding in the newly-built Monsignor<br />
Paul Baxter <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> and bringing<br />
about the construction of St. Andrew. For<br />
Monsignor Paul Baxter <strong>School</strong>, it meant<br />
going from being a school housed within<br />
another school (St. Luke), while waiting for<br />
a new facility on Beatrice Drive to be<br />
completed, to becoming a host school itself,<br />
providing space for the newly-created St.<br />
Andrew <strong>School</strong> until that facility was ready.<br />
A junior kindergarten to grade 6<br />
school, Monsignor Paul Baxter <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> was originally formed in September<br />
1999, because of booming enrolment at<br />
St. Luke <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. The new school<br />
community was housed at St. Luke until<br />
the new school building on Beatrice Drive<br />
was ready in the spring of 2000. Its official<br />
opening was held on May 29, 2000.<br />
Enrolment grew until it reached<br />
854 students. This growth led to the<br />
formation of St. Andrew <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>,<br />
which began in September 2003, sharing the<br />
Monsignor Paul Baxter <strong>School</strong> facility until<br />
it was ready to move into its own premises<br />
in December 2003.<br />
Monsignor Paul Baxter <strong>School</strong> is<br />
named after one of the most loved priests<br />
and teachers ever to serve in the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
area. He taught for years at St. Pius X High<br />
<strong>School</strong>, where his students held him in high<br />
regard. When he left teaching to become a<br />
parish priest, the same qualities that made<br />
him an outstanding teacher and role model<br />
for his students endeared him to his<br />
parishioners. He was pastor at St. Patrick<br />
Church in Fallowfield at the time of his<br />
death.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
MONSIGNOR PAUL<br />
BAXTER<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
333 Beatrice Drive<br />
Nepean K2J 4W1<br />
613-825-7544<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/mpb<br />
Father Baxter’s memory and<br />
example were instrumental in the drafting<br />
of the school mission and school motto for<br />
Monsignor Paul Baxter <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. The<br />
school mission statement reads as follows:<br />
“In keeping with the teachings and values<br />
of Jesus Christ, as embodied by Monsignor<br />
Paul Baxter, we strive to create a culture<br />
of excellence, honesty and integrity. In<br />
partnership with our <strong>Catholic</strong> community,<br />
we establish a learning environment that<br />
nurtures the love of God and others. We<br />
celebrate the physical, intellectual, social,<br />
emotional and spiritual aspects of every<br />
child. Realizing the uniqueness of each child,<br />
we strive to meet the diverse needs of all<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
135<br />
students and thereby foster the love of<br />
education and lifelong learning.” The school<br />
motto is taken from the words of Father<br />
Baxter: “Try your best, be kind to others,<br />
keep the faith.”<br />
Monsignor Paul Baxter <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> has quickly established a tradition of<br />
presenting an annual major Arts production<br />
under the direction of Teacher Tammy<br />
Doyle. These amazing theatrical works have<br />
proved very popular with the parent<br />
community as well as with the students.<br />
In 2001-02, the first Arts production was It’s<br />
a Jungle Out There. This was followed by<br />
Stomp Rhythm in 2002-03, The Wizard of Oz<br />
in 2003-04, Dancing Through the Decades in<br />
2004-05, and Angels’ Breath from Heaven to<br />
Earth in 2005-06.<br />
Monsignor Paul Baxter <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> has a dynamic school council,<br />
providing enriching activities for the school<br />
community, such as an annual barbeque<br />
and family dances. The school council also<br />
undertook fundraising initiatives to help<br />
provide the students with two new play<br />
structures.<br />
Monsignor Paul Baxter <strong>School</strong> has<br />
four kindergarten classrooms, 18 regular<br />
classrooms, a fully-equipped computer lab,<br />
a gymnasium, a library and a child care<br />
facility.
Present Principal<br />
Marie Boyes (2004-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Kevin Mullins (1999-04)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Helen Bergeron, English<br />
Kindergarten<br />
Lise Campeau, French<br />
Kindergarten<br />
Joe Ellen Meech, English and<br />
French Kindergarten<br />
Kate Drummond, English<br />
Kindergarten<br />
Clare Mackey, Grade 1<br />
Margaret Skinner, Grade 1<br />
Nathalie Davidson, Grades 1 and 2<br />
Joanna VanZeeland, Grade 2<br />
Janice Estey, Grade 3<br />
Mary Jo Latour, Grade 3<br />
Carole Polnicky, Grade 4<br />
Glenn Kennedy, Grades 4 and 5<br />
Chris Wakefield, Grade 5and<br />
principal-designate<br />
Rachel Charette, French in<br />
Grades 1 and 2<br />
Monique Lortie, French in Grade 3<br />
Annie Lebeau, French in Grades 4<br />
and 5<br />
Linda Kohli, Resource<br />
Martha Palmer, Resource<br />
Cathy Law, Teacher Assistant<br />
Katie Bosman, Teacher Assistant<br />
Sylvie Delorme, Secretary<br />
Kevin Mullins, Principal<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Staff Recognition<br />
Teacher David Dazé received the<br />
Daniel Patrick Kelly Award for Coaching in<br />
2005. The Daniel Patrick Kelly Award is<br />
presented annually for exemplary coaching<br />
at the kindergarten to grade six levels.<br />
Colours<br />
Blue and white<br />
Logo<br />
The school’s initials forming the<br />
shape of a cross.<br />
This logo was designed by a grade<br />
5 student, Carissa Kohene.<br />
Motto<br />
Taken from the words of<br />
Monsignor Paul Baxter:<br />
“Try your best, be kind to others,<br />
keep the faith.”<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
136
Mother Teresa <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> was the first high school<br />
in the Barrhaven/Longfields<br />
area of South Nepean when it opened in<br />
November 1998. But it had been a long, long<br />
time in coming, and was built only after<br />
lobbying by the community reaching back<br />
to about 1985. Despite the efforts of the<br />
community and the support of the Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, capital<br />
funding for the project was not approved<br />
for years and, when it was, a change in<br />
government delayed the funding. The<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, in<br />
the end, had to step in and fund the grades<br />
7 and 8 portion of the facility from its<br />
reserves, because the provincial funding<br />
approval covered only the high school<br />
component of the school.<br />
All of these delays meant that<br />
Mother Teresa <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> would<br />
not open until 1998, when the new<br />
amalgamated <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> was in place. However, because<br />
of the efforts expended by the former<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> to<br />
make the new high school in South Nepean<br />
a reality, the school today has the names of<br />
the trustees of both school boards engraved<br />
on the plaque which commemorates its<br />
opening. The community’s long-term<br />
lobbying efforts to try to get provincial<br />
government approval were undertaken at<br />
a time when such school construction<br />
projects were very much a political decision.<br />
Students from the Barrhaven area<br />
traditionally attended Frank Ryan <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Senior Elementary <strong>School</strong> for Grades 7 and<br />
8 and then St. Pius X <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong><br />
for high school. However, with the growth<br />
taking place in the Longfields and other<br />
South Nepean areas, these two schools<br />
became overcrowded. The Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, unable to get the<br />
funding for a new high school in South<br />
Nepean, then offered an option to the<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
MOTHER<br />
TERESA<br />
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL<br />
440 Longfields Drive<br />
Nepean K2J 4T1<br />
613-823-1663<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/teh<br />
community whereby students could attend<br />
St. Paul <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> instead of the<br />
Frank Ryan/Pius combination.<br />
The name “Mother Teresa” was<br />
selected through the school board’s process<br />
where three names were put forward after<br />
community consultation. Mother Teresa,<br />
the founder of the Missionaries of Charity<br />
who work among the poor in Calcutta, had<br />
recently died, and proved to be a popular<br />
choice. The school colours are royal blue<br />
and white. Royal blue is the colour normally<br />
associated with Blessed Mother Teresa of<br />
Calcutta.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
137<br />
Mother Teresa High <strong>School</strong> opened<br />
on November 9, 1998. For the first two<br />
months of the inaugural school year,<br />
students were housed in other <strong>Board</strong><br />
schools, with the grades 9 to 11 students<br />
occupying the former St. Raymond’s<br />
Intermediate <strong>School</strong> site, while the grades 7<br />
and 8 students were housed at Frank Ryan<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Senior Elementary <strong>School</strong>. The<br />
school became a busy community hub right<br />
from the moment it opened. It was centrally<br />
located, with many of the students within<br />
walking distance. It was adjacent to<br />
municipal recreation fields, adding to its<br />
appeal. But its major attraction was that the<br />
Barrhaven/Longfields area had gone without<br />
a high school facility in the community for so<br />
long that the community embraced the new<br />
facility and used it to a great extent for<br />
community purposes. Mother Teresa<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> was full virtually from<br />
the first day it opened as a grades 7 to 11<br />
school. Grade 12 and OAC were added in the<br />
two ensuing years.<br />
Continued growth in the South<br />
Nepean area brought about the construction<br />
of St. Joseph <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> in<br />
October 2002. For the same reason, a major<br />
30-room addition has been planned and is<br />
included in the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>’s 2006 capital plan. Completion<br />
is scheduled for 2007-08.
Present Principal<br />
Mary Donaghy (2005-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Bogdan Kolbusz (1998-2001)<br />
Camilla Martin (2001-04)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Bogdan Kolbusz, Principal<br />
Betty Craig, Vice-Principal<br />
Joe Mullally, Vice-Principal<br />
Leanne Davis, Chaplain<br />
Sylvie Arseneault<br />
Alex Belloni<br />
Ray Bergin<br />
Pierre Bouchard<br />
Mario Buffone<br />
Margaret Burnett<br />
Mary Byrne<br />
Bonnie Campbell<br />
Terry Carter<br />
Lisa Clermont<br />
Marilyn Conroy<br />
Wade Cotnam<br />
Ashley Coventry<br />
A. Coyle<br />
Carol David<br />
Joe Diffey<br />
Christine Dube<br />
Judy Evans<br />
Steve Evraire<br />
Mario Francoeur<br />
Lise Garneau<br />
Margaret Gartland<br />
Pat Gauthier<br />
Anne-Marie Gleeson<br />
Gabe Godard<br />
Julie Godard<br />
Betty-Ann Grainger<br />
Jim Hallarn<br />
Chris Hanneman<br />
Cathy Harrington-Veryard<br />
C. Healy<br />
Maryann Hodges<br />
Sean Kelly<br />
Dan Kennedy<br />
Sylvain Lamarche<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Deb Lawlor<br />
Eric Lehmann<br />
Guy Lemel<br />
Brian Lever<br />
Richard Linke<br />
John Liska<br />
Lee MacKay<br />
Gail Maiorino<br />
Anne Mason<br />
Frank McDonagh<br />
Deb McLaughlin<br />
Tom McSwiggan<br />
Robin Howard<br />
Joanne Mikalauskas<br />
Donald Nault<br />
Gord Norris<br />
Avia O’Connell<br />
Larry Pagliarello<br />
Merlene Reid<br />
G. Roumainis<br />
Ann Latchford-Scot<br />
Gwen Simonds<br />
Shelley Smith-Dale<br />
Christine Spearin<br />
Pat Sterling<br />
James Tucker<br />
Tanya Vick<br />
Mhychajlo Wysoczanskyz<br />
Lorraine Carroll, Head Secretary<br />
Colleen Burns, Secretary<br />
Sharyn Vitalis-Burke, Secretary<br />
Jen Wilson, Secretary<br />
Cindy Allen<br />
J. Kroetch<br />
Kristy Rubino<br />
Wendy Scully<br />
Shirley Munro<br />
Tony Arthur, Head Custodian<br />
Judy Thiverage<br />
Keith Barker<br />
Archie Donaghy<br />
Steve Hogue<br />
George Davis<br />
Denis Grenier<br />
Alex Ticili<br />
Marilyn Valiquette<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
138<br />
Former Student<br />
Rebecca Abbott, now a professional<br />
singer, made it to the finals in the Canadian<br />
Idol competition.<br />
Colours<br />
The school colours are royal blue<br />
and white. Blue is the colour normally<br />
associated with Blessed Mother Teresa of<br />
Calcutta.<br />
Team Name<br />
The Mother Teresa <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> sports teams are known as the<br />
“Titans.”
Notre Dame <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong><br />
may be a fairly new name on the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education scene in <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
but it has an ancestry, filled with traditions<br />
and ties to the past, going back more than<br />
100 years to 1894.<br />
Present-day Notre Dame <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
High <strong>School</strong> officially opened at its current<br />
Broadview Avenue location in September<br />
1994. This was a cause for great celebration<br />
at that time because, for a number of years<br />
following the extension of full funding for<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools in Ontario in 1984, the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> community in the west end of the<br />
City of <strong>Ottawa</strong> had struggled to establish<br />
a secondary school community. Finding and<br />
acquiring an appropriate facility remained<br />
a challenge for almost a decade.<br />
In 1987, faced with a great need for<br />
a new high school in the west end of the city,<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> leased the former Fisher Park High<br />
<strong>School</strong> on Holland Avenue, opening its doors<br />
to over 1,000 <strong>Catholic</strong> high school students;<br />
a population drawn from the amalgamation<br />
of St. Raymond’s and St. Joseph’s <strong>School</strong>s,<br />
two former junior high schools which were<br />
growing with the advent of full funding. The<br />
school was temporarily and yet appropriately<br />
named West End <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>.<br />
However, a search was undertaken for a new<br />
and definitely more <strong>Catholic</strong> name. Several<br />
possible names were presented and voted<br />
upon by the students and staff. The<br />
inspiration of the “fighting Irish” won the day<br />
and the new high school was subsequently<br />
named Notre Dame Composite High <strong>School</strong>.<br />
In 1994, the school board finally<br />
negotiated a new and more appropriate site.<br />
The former Highland Park Vocational High<br />
<strong>School</strong> on Broadview Avenue, also in the<br />
west end of <strong>Ottawa</strong>, became the new Notre<br />
Dame. Extensive renovations were carried<br />
out at the new site at that time, but more<br />
physical changes were in store.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
NOTRE<br />
DAME<br />
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL<br />
710 Broadview Avenue<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K2A 2M2<br />
613-722-6565<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/ndh<br />
St. Raymond’s Intermediate <strong>School</strong><br />
and St. Joseph’s Intermediate <strong>School</strong> had<br />
integrated on Keyworth Avenue in 2000,<br />
two great school communities and traditions<br />
coming together under one roof as the new<br />
St. Joseph’s Intermediate <strong>School</strong>. However,<br />
this was short-lived as this new St. Joseph’s<br />
closed in 2002, its students joining Notre<br />
Dame, which then became a full grades 7 to<br />
12 school. Extensive remodeling preceded<br />
this move so that Notre Dame High <strong>School</strong><br />
could accommodate everyone. Improvements<br />
included a new gym, new science and tech<br />
labs and renovated classrooms. An official<br />
opening of the expanded and renovated<br />
facility was held in January 2003.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
139<br />
The original St. Joseph’s <strong>School</strong><br />
opened in 1894, on the University of <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
campus, serving the Sandy Hill community<br />
until 1957 when it burned down over the<br />
Christmas holidays. In 1959, St. Joseph’s<br />
reopened at a Wilbrod Avenue site, where it<br />
served children from Senior kindergarten to<br />
Grade 5, while grades 6 to 8 students were<br />
accommodated for one year in another<br />
building just down the street. In 1960, the<br />
new St. Joseph’s High <strong>School</strong> was opened,<br />
staffed by the Carmelite Fathers, followed<br />
by the Basilian Fathers and the Sisters of<br />
Holy Cross. A private <strong>Catholic</strong> high school, it<br />
was located on Broadview Avenue just south<br />
of Carling Avenue, offering the full range of<br />
high school grades.<br />
St. Raymond’s Intermediate <strong>School</strong><br />
opened on Fellows Road in 1970. It<br />
remained an intermediate school until 1973,<br />
when Grade 9 was added, and the facility<br />
underwent an expansion. A year later, the<br />
school grew again to include Grade 10, an<br />
arrangement that was unchanged for 12<br />
years. When full funding was extended to<br />
all <strong>Catholic</strong> schools in Ontario, St. Raymond’s<br />
began to offer Grade 11 in 1985 and Grade<br />
12 in 1986. The senior students moved to the<br />
new Notre Dame <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> on<br />
Holland Avenue when it was formed in 1987.<br />
St. Raymond’s Intermediate <strong>School</strong><br />
continued to operate for grades 7 and 8<br />
students until it was closed in 2000, at<br />
which time its students transferred to<br />
St. Joseph’s Intermediate <strong>School</strong> on<br />
Keyworth Avenue. The grades 7 and 8<br />
students from St. Joseph’s as well as those<br />
from Holy Rosary <strong>School</strong> moved to a new<br />
facility on Keyworth Avenue, while the<br />
senior students from St. Joseph’s and from<br />
St. Raymond’s Intermediate united to form<br />
the new Notre Dame High <strong>School</strong> on<br />
Holland Avenue.
Present Principal<br />
André Potvin<br />
Past Principals<br />
Evelyn Kelly<br />
Walter Hempey<br />
Julian Hanlon<br />
Hazel Lambert<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
140
Our Lady of Fatima <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> owes not only its name<br />
but also its beginning to the<br />
parish of the same name. The formation of<br />
Our Lady of Fatima Parish in 1947 to serve<br />
the needs of the growing <strong>Catholic</strong> population<br />
of the area, crystallized the need for a local<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school and provided the impetus<br />
to have it established.<br />
The story of Our Lady of Fatima<br />
Parish and, by corollary, Our Lady of Fatima<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, is intertwined with the<br />
story of the post-war growth of <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
westward along the old “Britannia Line”<br />
streetcar tracks. Prior to this post-war<br />
growth, the area west of what was then<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> included a number of streetcar<br />
whistle stops such as Highland Park,<br />
McKellar, Woodroffe and Britannia itself.<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>s in this area belonged to the vast<br />
St. George Parish, which had been<br />
established in 1924 outside the western<br />
limits of the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong>, to care for the<br />
needs of <strong>Catholic</strong>s all the way to Britannia.<br />
Following World War II, <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
began to expand in many directions,<br />
including westward. New residential<br />
housing developments sprang up to unite<br />
the whistle stops into a solid continuation<br />
of the city. In 1947, Archbishop Alexandre<br />
Vachon created a separate parish in the<br />
western half of St. George Parish. Being<br />
especially devoted to the Blessed Virgin<br />
Mary, he chose “Our Lady of Fatima” as the<br />
name of the new church, dedicating it to her<br />
as its patroness.<br />
Woodroffe was chosen as the<br />
location for the new parish because of its<br />
central position between the more built-up<br />
areas of Britannia and McKellar Park.<br />
Eleven lots, part of the historic Honeywell<br />
Farm, were acquired and became the site<br />
for the future church, rectory, parish hall<br />
and school. The parish first constructed a<br />
temporary church building, which eventually<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OUR LADY<br />
OF FATIMA<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
2135 Knightsbridge Road<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K2A 0R3<br />
613-722-4075<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/olf<br />
became the church hall after the<br />
construction of a larger, permanent church<br />
in 1957.<br />
The creation of Our Lady of<br />
Fatima Parish and the building of a church<br />
in 1947 made the new housing developments<br />
in the area attractive to a steadily<br />
increasing number of <strong>Catholic</strong> families.<br />
The original 168 families of the parish<br />
nearly doubled by 1951, a growth that was<br />
to double again to nearly 600 families by<br />
1957. With more and more <strong>Catholic</strong> families<br />
moving into the area, the need for a local<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school became increasingly urgent.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
141<br />
At the beginning of 1949, a<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school board was formed comprised<br />
of Gordon Bender as Chairperson, Mrs.<br />
Edward Hebert as Secretary-Treasurer and<br />
Edward Hebert and Edward McEvoy as<br />
<strong>Board</strong> Members. The area of the parish, at<br />
that time, was still not part of the City of<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> and so this small, newly-formed<br />
school board had to reach agreement with<br />
the provincial government, organize all of<br />
the matters regarding the new school and<br />
award the contracts for the construction of<br />
the planned one-storey school building. The<br />
trustees carried out their tasks efficiently<br />
because all of the plans for the school were<br />
approved, the provincial government<br />
financial aid was granted and the school was<br />
in the process of being built when the area<br />
was annexed by the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong> on<br />
January 1, 1950, with the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> assuming jurisdiction over<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school matters. The Grey Sisters<br />
of the Immaculate Conception were put in<br />
charge of the new school, with four staff and<br />
120 pupils occupying four of the six rooms<br />
as of September 11, 1950.<br />
On September 17, 1950, His<br />
Excellency Archbishop Vachon was on hand<br />
for the solemn blessing of the new school,<br />
an event attended by clergy, educational<br />
authorities, parents and friends. The next<br />
September, two additional classrooms were<br />
put into use. The three new staff members<br />
were Misses J. Desjardins, A. Rice and S.<br />
Rousselle.<br />
Enrolment in 1951 reached 216<br />
pupils, not only because of the growing area<br />
around the school but also because pupils<br />
from Rockcliffe Air Base attended the school.<br />
This lasted for only one year, but despite<br />
their withdrawal, enrolment at Our Lady of<br />
Fatima <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in September 1952,<br />
was 202 pupils, coming not only from Our<br />
Lady of Fatima Parish, but also from the<br />
Crystal Bay and Bells Corners areas.
The staff at Our Lady of Fatima<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in 1952 consisted of Sister<br />
St. Thaddeus, Sister St. Christopher,<br />
Mrs. M. B. Bradley, Miss A. Rice, Miss J.<br />
Desjardins and Mrs. G. Hughes.<br />
As the parish and community<br />
continued to grow rapidly, so did the school<br />
population at Our Lady of Fatima,<br />
outgrowing the six-room facility. In May<br />
1954, construction began on a one-storey<br />
four-room addition on the north end of the<br />
original building, converting Our Lady of<br />
Fatima into a ten-room school. These four<br />
new rooms were completed and occupied on<br />
November 17, 1954. Four new staff members<br />
were also added at this time — D.J.<br />
Lefebvre (who replaced Miss Rice), Mrs. L.<br />
Ferguson, Mrs. N. Morel and Mrs. M.<br />
Charbonneau.<br />
By September 1956, pupils from<br />
the Crystal Bay and Bells Corners areas<br />
were repatriated to their own new schools,<br />
but continued growth in the area meant that<br />
enrolment at Our Lady of Fatima <strong>School</strong><br />
continued to soar, peaking at 505 pupils.<br />
This meant another addition. While it was<br />
being built, four classrooms were rented<br />
in the nearby old Woodroffe Public <strong>School</strong><br />
building, which was vacant at the time.<br />
Additional accommodation at Our Lady of<br />
Fatima <strong>School</strong> took the form of a second<br />
storey on the original building, with six new<br />
classrooms. Work on this addition began in<br />
October 1956, and four of the six new rooms<br />
were ready to use on April 1, 1957.<br />
Our Lady of Fatima <strong>School</strong>, even<br />
in those early years, benefited from a<br />
parent-teacher association whose aim was<br />
to coordinate the spiritual and educational<br />
forces of the home and school and to focus<br />
on the education and training of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
children. The group held regular meetings<br />
of parents and teachers, focusing on<br />
discussions of mutual problems in child<br />
training and education. The parent-teacher<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
association began in April 1954, with M.L.<br />
Kearney as the inaugural president. The<br />
association also worked to help the school,<br />
arranging for classes in boxing, hockey,<br />
skiing, tap dancing, figure skating and<br />
bowling. Plans were also made to landscape<br />
the school property.<br />
Our Lady of Fatima <strong>School</strong> built a<br />
tradition of spiritual and educational growth<br />
for its students over the years, maintaining<br />
close ties among home, school and church.<br />
In the late 1960s, enrolment at<br />
Our Lady of Fatima began to decline due<br />
to the aging demographics of the area once<br />
filled with young families. There were also<br />
more schools in the general area resulting<br />
in the decision in 1971 to close Our Lady<br />
of Fatima <strong>School</strong>, ending this first phase of<br />
its life.<br />
In the mid-1980s, a number of<br />
factors came together which led to the<br />
reopening of Our Lady of Fatima in<br />
September 1985. Several schools in the<br />
general area were facing declining<br />
enrolments, like the decline, which had<br />
forced the closure of Our Lady of Fatima in<br />
1971. At the same time, Father Gerald<br />
Dunnigan of Our Lady of Fatima Parish was<br />
advocating the reopening of the parish<br />
school. As a result, Our Lady of Fatima<br />
<strong>School</strong> was re-established by the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>,<br />
serving students from three closing schools;<br />
St. Leonard, St. Basil and St. Andrew.<br />
Students and staff were housed at<br />
St. Leonard <strong>School</strong> in <strong>Ottawa</strong> until the<br />
original building could be refurbished and<br />
made ready for occupancy after its 15-year<br />
hiatus as a school facility. In January 1986,<br />
Our Lady of Fatima <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was reoccupied,<br />
marking the return of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education to this facility.<br />
The school now serves a wide area<br />
of the west part of the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong>. In<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
142<br />
2004, the school counted among its more<br />
than 300 students a diverse number of<br />
cultures, representing at least 25 different<br />
nationalities and languages. A <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
curriculum is offered, along with a variety<br />
of activities such as choir, sports and dance.<br />
Regular events at the school include a family<br />
Christmas night, winter and summer play<br />
days, multicultural activities, a curriculum<br />
night and Education Week activities.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Diane Fournier<br />
Principals<br />
(since re-opening in 1985)<br />
Alan Morissette<br />
Michael Blimkie<br />
Fergus Lyons<br />
Brenda Mulvihill<br />
First Teaching Staff (1950)<br />
Sister Maureen of the Grey Sisters<br />
of the Immaculate Conception,<br />
Principal<br />
Sister St. Christopher<br />
Doris Scott<br />
Florence Salmon<br />
Former Student<br />
Mike Walton, player in the<br />
National Hockey League<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Blue and white<br />
Logo<br />
The Our Lady of Fatima <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> logo contains the motto “A Place<br />
Where We Belong.”
A Teacher Remembers<br />
Teacher Theresa Smith began her<br />
teaching career at Our Lady of Fatima<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. She shares her memories<br />
of her time at the school as well as her<br />
teaching career.<br />
My probationary contract with<br />
“The <strong>Board</strong> of Trustees of the R.C.S.S.B. for<br />
the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong>” is dated May 7, 1969.<br />
The salary of $4,600 seemed huge and I was<br />
certain that “Easy Street” was just around<br />
the corner. In June, I hopped a bus from<br />
Toronto to begin a two-week induction with<br />
the <strong>Board</strong>. On the first day, I was informed<br />
that I would be teaching core French.<br />
Panic set in! For the past year, I had been<br />
immersed in the Hall-Dennis Report, Let<br />
The Child Discover, Living and Learning,<br />
open concept schools and multi-media<br />
learning. Second language teaching had not<br />
been part of my year. After a stressful two<br />
weeks, I went home to New Brunswick and<br />
enrolled in a French conversation course at<br />
the University of Moncton.<br />
Virginia Smith was my first<br />
principal. Our Lady of Fatima was my<br />
first school. I traveled from classroom to<br />
classroom, carrying a huge tape recorder<br />
and the “J”ecoute, je parle” manual and<br />
charts. My survival that year I owe to<br />
Virginia Smith. She was blunt and strict,<br />
but fair. By November, my confidence was<br />
depleted. Missing home and family, I asked<br />
her if I could leave three days before<br />
Christmas break began. She agreed and<br />
I returned to New Brunswick. In January<br />
I managed to get on track. By June, my<br />
confidence was growing and I was registered<br />
for summer courses.<br />
Not having really read my<br />
contract, I was soon to find out that my last<br />
paycheck was in June! The summer of bread<br />
and peanut butter began. Nothing else hit<br />
my stomach until my father picked me up<br />
and we left for New Brunswick. The first<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
year of my probationary contract had ended!<br />
I went on to teach for the <strong>Board</strong> for five<br />
years and then, after teaching in a<br />
Montessori school and at a private Jewish<br />
school for a number of years, I returned to<br />
teaching with the <strong>Board</strong> and never looked<br />
back.<br />
My success came with experience,<br />
dedication, my eagerness to learn and my<br />
love of teaching. My constant goal was to<br />
capture the interest of my students at the<br />
beginning of the each day. My energy came<br />
with the knowledge that we were going to<br />
experience each day together and learn<br />
together. Looking back on my years of<br />
teaching makes me feel good, makes<br />
me smile and makes me grateful<br />
to have had such an experience.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
143
OUR LADY OF MOUNT<br />
CARMEL<br />
The name “Our Lady of Mount<br />
Carmel” has been part of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education in the east end of <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
for over 50 years, except for a three-year<br />
period in the late 1970s.<br />
The development of the community<br />
of Manor Park in the years following World<br />
War II created several important services to<br />
meet the needs of <strong>Catholic</strong>s in this new area.<br />
In the religious sphere, this was achieved<br />
through Sunday Masses being celebrated at<br />
the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Barracks,<br />
leading eventually to the creation of Our Lady<br />
of Mount Carmel Parish in February 1953.<br />
Educationally, the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> opened a new school<br />
on Gaspé Avenue in the Manor Park area in<br />
1953, naming it Our Lady of Mount Carmel.<br />
It was a basic school with a number of<br />
classrooms which also became the interim<br />
home of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish.<br />
Masses were held at this new school until a<br />
church was built on St. Laurent Boulevard,<br />
completed in 1957, and blessed by Archbishop<br />
Lemieux on March 17.<br />
Our Lady of Mount Carmel<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> grew with the community<br />
of Manor Park. In 1961, the school had nine<br />
teachers and 354 students. Residential<br />
growth in the east end continued to the<br />
point where, in 1963, the school board<br />
opened another area school on Gardenvale<br />
Road off Cummings Avenue — Gardenvale<br />
<strong>School</strong>. This two-storey school was enlarged<br />
in the late 1960s with the addition of a<br />
library, more classrooms, a gymnasium,<br />
an administration office and a staff room.<br />
In the early 1970s, French<br />
Immersion classes began at Gardenvale<br />
<strong>School</strong>, with students bussed to the school<br />
from various parts of the east end of <strong>Ottawa</strong>,<br />
increasing school enrolment as well as<br />
diversifying the school population. At about<br />
this same time, grades 7 and 8 students<br />
were transferred to junior high schools.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
675 Gardenvale Road<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1K 1C9<br />
613-745-4884<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/olm<br />
By 1977, growth in the area had<br />
slowed and the original Our Lady of Mount<br />
Carmel <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> on Gaspé Avenue<br />
was closed because of declining enrolment.<br />
In 1980, Joan O’Toole, Principal<br />
of Gardenvale <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, brought<br />
about a name change, replacing the name<br />
“Gardenvale” with “Our Lady of Mount<br />
Carmel” to ensure that it was not perceived<br />
as a public school, and to reflect the reality<br />
that the school was in Our Lady of Mount<br />
Carmel Parish. The 1980s also saw the<br />
school add classes in special education and<br />
become involved with the Royal <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Hospital in a “Gateway Program.”<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
145<br />
Over the years, from the opening<br />
of the original Our Lady of Mount Carmel<br />
<strong>School</strong> in Manor Park in 1953 until present<br />
day, <strong>Catholic</strong> education in this part of<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> has reflected the community being<br />
served and its residents. In the mid-1950s,<br />
the Our Lady of Mount Carmel <strong>School</strong><br />
population, serving the English-speaking<br />
Manor Park area, had a student composition<br />
that reflected that reality. In the 1960s and<br />
1970s, this changed somewhat as <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
became more bilingual. The Gardenvale<br />
<strong>School</strong> population was from both English<br />
and French backgrounds, adding to the<br />
diversity of the school community. From<br />
the 1980s to the present, the emerging<br />
cosmopolitan nature of <strong>Ottawa</strong> has been<br />
reflected in the student population at Our<br />
Lady of Mount Carmel <strong>School</strong>; it now serves<br />
a community with a wide diversity of<br />
students including many either born in<br />
another country or second-generation<br />
Canadians. This ever-changing enrolment<br />
demographic may be altered again when<br />
new development eventually takes place at<br />
the former Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe,<br />
an area served by the school.<br />
In the late 1990s, a play structure<br />
was installed in the schoolyard. Over the<br />
years, many other changes have taken place,<br />
such as an expanded library and a new<br />
computer lab. Closed-in classrooms have<br />
replaced the original open-concept design.<br />
Our Lady of Mount Carmel<br />
<strong>School</strong> today supports numerous charitable<br />
endeavours, offers a variety of exciting<br />
activities for students and holds a number<br />
of annual events. Charitable causes, which<br />
have been supported by the Our Lady of<br />
Mount Carmel <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> community,<br />
include Dystonia Medical Research,<br />
St. Brigid’s Summer Camp, Run For The<br />
Cure, UNICEF, the Heart and Stroke<br />
Foundation, the United Way and the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Food Bank.
Co-curricular activities offered for<br />
students include a recycling club, choir and<br />
music activities, a wide range of athletics<br />
including both intramural and <strong>Board</strong>-wide,<br />
a breakfast club, a library club and Mass<br />
servers. Annual events that enhance the<br />
sense of community at the school include<br />
Education Week activities, hot dog days,<br />
pizza days, a spelling bee, student-of-themonth<br />
assemblies, a Halloween fun day<br />
and a walk-a-thon.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Donna Bekkers-Boyd<br />
Principals<br />
Original Our Lady of Mount<br />
Carmel <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
Sister St. Christopher<br />
Sister Jean Goulet<br />
Sister C. McCann<br />
Gardenvale <strong>School</strong><br />
Desmond Lalonde<br />
Desmond Watt<br />
Lillian Seed<br />
James MacPherson<br />
Walter Hempey<br />
Joan O’Toole<br />
Current Our Lady of Mount<br />
Carmel <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
Joan O’Toole<br />
Francesco Lipari<br />
Emilio D’Errico<br />
Georges Bouliane<br />
Clifford Foley<br />
Michael Keeler<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
(Gardenvale/Our Lady of Mount<br />
Carmel <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>)<br />
Bernice Schulhauser, Junior<br />
Kindergarten<br />
Suzanne Birnbaum, Senior<br />
Kindergarten<br />
Joanne Perrault, Grade 1 (English)<br />
Celine Seguin, Grade 1 (French)<br />
Irene Corrigan, Grade 2 (English)<br />
Solange Shank, Grade 2 (French)<br />
Bernadette Ritz, Grade 3 (English)<br />
Micheline Leroux, Grade 3<br />
(French)<br />
Carole Villeneuve, Grade 4<br />
Lise St. Louis, Grade 5<br />
Morley Labelle, Grade 6<br />
Maureen Monette, Resource<br />
Mr. Monette, Custodian<br />
Mr. Audette, Custodian<br />
Ron Patry, Custodian<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
146<br />
Former Students<br />
Michael Henry is now a Toronto<br />
lawyer.<br />
Craig Lauzon is an actor on the<br />
Royal Canadian Air Farce TV show.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Blue, white and green<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo features two<br />
children reading a large book with a picture<br />
of Our Lady on the front cover and the<br />
bilingual words “Live, Love, Learn” on the<br />
back cover.<br />
Uniforms<br />
<strong>School</strong> uniforms featuring the<br />
school colours were introduced a number<br />
of years ago but were discontinued for a<br />
variety of reasons.
Our Lady of Peace <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
and its parish church, St. Martin<br />
de Porres, are adjacent to each<br />
other in Bells Corners. But this is one case<br />
where the school preceded the parish<br />
church, although both were the result of<br />
explosive residential growth and<br />
development, which took place in the Bells<br />
Corners area of Lynwood Village in the late<br />
1950s.<br />
Bells Corners, up until that time,<br />
had remained a small and relatively stable<br />
rural community, historically a stopping<br />
place along the old Richmond Road where<br />
the road swung south toward Richmond.<br />
A provincial highway, number 15, linking<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> with far-off Toronto, went through<br />
Bells Corners. However, the area had not<br />
seen any of the post-war housing boom of<br />
suburban <strong>Ottawa</strong>, well into the 1950s.<br />
Developers Lloyd Francis and Don<br />
Sim accumulated land in Bells Corners and<br />
enticed a young builder, Bill Teron, later the<br />
creator of Kanata, to design and build<br />
distinctive homes on the lots of Lynwood<br />
Village. Sketches of these new homes were<br />
taped up in a sales trailer. There was a<br />
newspaper article describing the project,<br />
resulting in hordes of purchasers flooding<br />
the area, snapping up the initial 218 lots in<br />
a couple of hours. By the time Mr. Teron had<br />
completed the Lynwood Village development,<br />
nearly 2,000 homes had been built. His<br />
vision of streets and crescents with modern<br />
houses with large windows, carports and<br />
double garages, with wide paved driveways,<br />
trees and green lawns attracted young<br />
couples to this new area.<br />
The first phase of Lynwood Village<br />
was built in 1958 with the second following<br />
in early 1959.<br />
With this influx of young families<br />
came the need for schools and, in particular,<br />
a <strong>Catholic</strong> school, since Bells Corners Public<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OUR LADY<br />
OF PEACE<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
3877 Richmond Road<br />
Nepean K2H 5C1<br />
613-828-4037<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/pea<br />
<strong>School</strong>, a four-classroom facility that had<br />
been serving the previously rural<br />
community, already existed.<br />
In 1959-60, planning was under<br />
way by the small Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> of S.S. 4 Nepean for a new<br />
school, even as the children from Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> families in the Bells Corners area<br />
were divided into two groups: those in<br />
Grades 1 to 4 attending the little one-room<br />
St. Patrick <strong>School</strong> in Fallowfield (where Miss<br />
Mary MacDonald was the teacher) and those<br />
in Grades 5 to 8 attending the already<br />
crowded St. Leonard <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in the<br />
west end of the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong>. On<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
147<br />
September 6, 1960, the completed <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school, which contained four classrooms,<br />
opened as the new home for both.<br />
On that first day, Principal and<br />
Teacher of Grades 5 to 8, Carl Dujay, called<br />
his new charges to the school by ringing his<br />
hand bell, a predecessor to the electric school<br />
bell, which would be installed later. Canon<br />
Burke of St. Patrick Parish in Fallowfield<br />
blessed the school on September 25, 1960,<br />
with staff, students and parents attending.<br />
There was no Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Church in Bells Corners in 1960. <strong>Catholic</strong>s<br />
attended Mass at St. Patrick Church in<br />
Fallowfield, just down the Richmond Road.<br />
Canon Burke, the Pastor of St. Patrick,<br />
became the chaplain to the new school. First<br />
Communion and Confirmation ceremonies<br />
were held at St. Patrick Church. However,<br />
things changed after the death of Canon<br />
Burke in May 1961.<br />
With the arrival of Reverend<br />
Father D.D. McDonald of <strong>Ottawa</strong> on the<br />
Bells Corners scene, the focus changed<br />
to having a church for the Lynwood<br />
Village/Bells Corners area. The local<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> community had begun to attend<br />
Mass in the employees’ cafeteria at<br />
Computing Devices of Canada, a firm<br />
located in Bells Corners.<br />
Plans for the new church evolved<br />
at a fast pace under Father McDonald’s<br />
expert guidance. On July 2, 1963, a sodturning<br />
ceremony was held. In December of<br />
that same year, Father McDonald celebrated<br />
Midnight Mass in the new church. The<br />
name “St. Patrick” had been considered,<br />
replicating the name of the Fallowfield<br />
church; however, a new world awareness<br />
was developing in society at that time and,<br />
as a result, the name of St. Martin de Porres<br />
was chosen, honouring the humble servant<br />
of God who ministered to the poor and sick<br />
in South America in the 16 th century. This
new church, which was officially dedicated<br />
by <strong>Ottawa</strong> Archbishop Marie-Joseph<br />
Lemieux in June 1964, stood on a site<br />
adjoining that of the new <strong>Catholic</strong> school.<br />
At the suggestion of Father D.D. McDonald,<br />
“Our Lady of Peace” was chosen as the<br />
name of the new school, mainly because<br />
he thought that the name reflected the<br />
commitment of the Church to peace in what<br />
was a worn-torn world at that time.<br />
In 1964, the union of various local<br />
school boards was a topic of discussion<br />
among many parent groups, including<br />
the newly formed parent-teacher association<br />
at Our Lady of Peace <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. At<br />
a meeting of ratepayers in March 1964, a<br />
motion was passed that the Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> Section No. 4 of Nepean form a<br />
united school board with a <strong>Catholic</strong> board<br />
in the Manordale area of Nepean. This was<br />
expanded to include Goulbourn and Kanata.<br />
All of the Nepean-based <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
boards became part of the new Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in<br />
1969.<br />
In September 1978, Our Lady<br />
of Peace <strong>School</strong> became a kindergarten to<br />
grade 6 school, with the grades 7 and 8<br />
students becoming part of the new Bells<br />
Corners Senior Elementary <strong>School</strong> which<br />
would later become St. Paul Junior High<br />
<strong>School</strong> and finally St. Paul <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong>. Our Lady of Peace <strong>School</strong> celebrated<br />
its 25 th anniversary with festivities on June<br />
6, 1985. Many former trustees, ratepayers,<br />
teachers, principals and students gathered<br />
for the happy occasion.<br />
Our Lady of Peace <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
today boasts two kindergarten classrooms,<br />
ten regular classrooms, a computer lab and<br />
library, a gymnasium and a schoolyard with<br />
play structures. The school underwent an<br />
extensive upgrading and renovation in the<br />
summer of 2005.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Present Principal<br />
Jody Prevost (2006-present)<br />
Principals<br />
Carl Dujay (1960-62)<br />
Robert Curry (1962-72)<br />
Brian Bourbeau (1972-73)<br />
Greg Peddie (1973-78)<br />
Terry Murphy (1978-82)<br />
Russ Graham (1982-86)<br />
Gerry Leveque (1986-89)<br />
John Power (1990-95)<br />
Bev Murphy (1995-98)<br />
Vincent Iozzo (1998-2001)<br />
Dwight Delahunt (2001-06)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Carl Dujay, Principal and Grades 5<br />
to 8<br />
Lucy Ayers, Grades 2 to 4<br />
Noreen Gibbs, Grade 1<br />
Irene Kaye, Kindergarten<br />
Former Students<br />
David Pratt began his schooling<br />
in Grade 1 in 1960 at Our Lady of Peace<br />
<strong>School</strong>. He went on to become a City of<br />
Nepean councillor and then an <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton regional councillor before being<br />
elected as the MP for the Nepean-Carleton<br />
federal riding. He served as the Minister of<br />
Defence in the federal cabinet prior to the<br />
2004 election in which he suffered electoral<br />
defeat. He developed an interest in Africa<br />
where he worked to alleviate the plight of<br />
the poverty-stricken people in such countries<br />
as Sierra Leone. This interest led to his<br />
joining the Canadian Red Cross following<br />
his years in politics so that he could<br />
continue working to help people in Africa.<br />
Dr. Mark McGowan is a professor<br />
at the University of Toronto and<br />
St. Michael’s College in Toronto. He has<br />
written numerous articles on the history<br />
of the <strong>Catholic</strong> Church in Canada and is<br />
a past president of the Canadian <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
148<br />
Historical Association. He has written the<br />
overview of the history of <strong>Catholic</strong> education<br />
in the Province of Ontario, which is part of<br />
this historical publication.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Blue and yellow<br />
Logo<br />
The round logo features a dove of<br />
peace emblazoned upon the cross of Christ,<br />
the Prince of Peace, surrounded by the<br />
school name.<br />
The Blais Trophy<br />
Don and Beverley Blais of<br />
Lynwood Village were active members of<br />
the young community, volunteering in such<br />
organizations as the Parent-Teacher<br />
Association of Our Lady of Peace <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> and the <strong>Catholic</strong> Women’s League<br />
of St. Martin de Porres Parish. In 1967,<br />
Canada’s centennial year, they planned to<br />
mark the occasion by taking their family on<br />
its first long auto trip, going to the Pan-Am<br />
Games in Winnipeg. Their four children<br />
were excited about the trip and were looking<br />
forward to returning and sharing their<br />
stories of adventure with their classmates<br />
at Our Lady of Peace <strong>School</strong> in September.<br />
But tragedy struck on the highway,<br />
when their vehicle collided with another car<br />
as they drove west near Espanola, Ontario<br />
on July 17, 1967. Father Don, mother<br />
Beverley, 13-year-old Michael, who was<br />
going into Grade 8, 11-year-old Joanne who<br />
was in Grade 6, eight-year-old Christopher,<br />
a grade 3 student, and six-year-old Paula,<br />
going into Grade 1, all perished in the crash.<br />
Their bodies were returned to <strong>Ottawa</strong> for<br />
funeral services at St. Martin de Porres<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Church, beside Our Lady of Peace<br />
<strong>School</strong> where they had been beloved<br />
students.
Members of the Parent-Teacher<br />
Association of Our Lady of Peace <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> were unanimous in their desire to<br />
institute a trophy in memory of these four<br />
students. Annually in June, a boy and a girl<br />
in the grade 8 graduating class at the school<br />
who has excelled in academics and has<br />
exhibited all-round participation in school<br />
activities are honoured as recipients of the<br />
Blais Trophy. The Blais Trophy was<br />
presented for the final time in June 1978,<br />
the end of the last school year in which<br />
Our Lady of Peace had grade 8 graduating<br />
students. However, although no longer<br />
presented, the trophy remains at Our Lady<br />
of Peace <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> as a memorial to<br />
the Blais family of Lynwood Village.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
149
Our Lady of Victory <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>, serving students from<br />
the Pinecrest-Queensway area<br />
of the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong>, dates back to 1961.<br />
It was originally referred to as Queensway<br />
<strong>School</strong> but was renamed “Our Lady of<br />
Victory” at the suggestion of the school’s<br />
parish priest, Monsignor John R. Smith, and<br />
approved by trustees of the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> at its<br />
January 29, 1962 meeting.<br />
The school opened in 1961, but<br />
a little over 30 years later, it was totally<br />
rebuilt. During the 1992-93 renovation,<br />
a gymnasium and library were added to<br />
the structure. Total cost of this project was<br />
$2,281,351. The students of Our Lady of<br />
Victory <strong>School</strong> attended St. Raymond’s<br />
Intermediate <strong>School</strong> during this<br />
reconstruction year, overseen by Principal<br />
James McStravick who made sure that the<br />
relocation went smoothly for students,<br />
teachers and parents. Our Lady of Victory<br />
<strong>School</strong> received an influx of new students<br />
when St. Andrew <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> closed and<br />
its students were transferred to Our Lady<br />
of Victory in September 1973.<br />
One tradition that lasted for many<br />
years at Our Lady of Victory <strong>School</strong> involved<br />
grade 6 students helping out at the West<br />
End Villa, a nearby nursing home. The<br />
students would visit on Friday afternoons<br />
and would accompany the seniors to Mass,<br />
held in a room at the Villa. Many<br />
friendships were formed as the students<br />
bonded with their senior friends.<br />
Our Lady of Victory <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> was one of the first schools in the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> to pilot the Classroom 2000 initiative<br />
of the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> after the amalgamation of the two<br />
boards in 1998. Classroom 2000 is an<br />
innovative multi-media program meant<br />
to familiarize students with the use of a<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OUR LADY OF<br />
VICTORY<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
1175 Soderlind Street<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K2C 3B3<br />
613-828-5594<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/olv<br />
scanner, projector and Power Point<br />
presentations.<br />
Our Lady of Victory <strong>School</strong> can<br />
trace its name to the 16 th century. To<br />
commemorate the victory of the Christian<br />
armada over the Turks on October 7, 1571,<br />
Pope Pius V introduced the feast of the<br />
Blessed Virgin Mother of Victory in 1572.<br />
This reference to victory has been<br />
maintained as a name for churches and<br />
sanctuaries all over the world, particularly<br />
in Spain, Italy, France and Germany.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
151<br />
Present Principal<br />
Joanne Farquharson<br />
Past Principals<br />
Desmond Watt (1962-66)<br />
Gregory Daly (1966)<br />
Douglas Goodwin (1970)<br />
Brian Brash<br />
Philip Butler<br />
Anthony Duggan<br />
Mary Durst<br />
Michael Nolan<br />
John Shaughnessy<br />
James McStravick<br />
Gail Taillon<br />
Donna McGrath<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Royal blue and yellow<br />
Logo<br />
A grade 6 student at the school<br />
first created the logo. The logo has changed<br />
somewhat over the years. It features a cross<br />
superimposed on a dark circle. The name<br />
“Our Lady of Victory” is at the bottom of<br />
the logo.<br />
Historical Point of Interest<br />
The school has had only three<br />
secretaries since opening in 1961 —<br />
Eileen Ardley<br />
Helen Lafortune<br />
Kathy Milks (current)<br />
Some of the school’s longtime teachers<br />
Colette Fontaine<br />
Alexa Lapalme<br />
Cheryl Nixon<br />
Barbara Dalton<br />
Micheline Leroux<br />
Danielle Elie
<strong>Catholic</strong> parents canvassing door-todoor<br />
in the Queenswood Heights<br />
community of Orléans to encourage<br />
enrolment at the newly opened Queenswood<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, led to the construction of<br />
Our Lady of Wisdom <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. This<br />
new school turned out to be the mother<br />
school for <strong>Catholic</strong> elementary education<br />
in the Orléans area, as other schools which<br />
opened over the ensuing years, with the<br />
increase in population and new<br />
development, could trace their heritage back<br />
to Our Lady of Wisdom. These include<br />
Convent Glen <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, Divine Infant<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> and St. Francis of Assisi<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
Our Lady of Wisdom <strong>School</strong> can<br />
trace its lineage to Thomas D’Arcy McGee<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Beacon Hill. Many<br />
children from the Our Lady of Wisdom<br />
attendance area attended Thomas D’Arcy<br />
McGee and then moved to Blackburn<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> (Good Shepherd). Finally,<br />
Queenswood <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> opened on the<br />
grounds of Ecole Reine des Bois, with both<br />
schools coming under the jurisdiction of the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
During the 1972-73 school year,<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> parents canvassed the area,<br />
encouraging other <strong>Catholic</strong> parents to<br />
register their children at the new<br />
Queenswood <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, so that their<br />
goal of having a new school building erected<br />
in Queenswood Heights could be achieved.<br />
This initiative was successful and<br />
construction of the new school on<br />
St. Georges Street began at a cost of<br />
$640,000. It was designed to accommodate<br />
432 students. The new building was situated<br />
in a field within view of just a few houses.<br />
The Tenth Line, now a major thoroughfare,<br />
could be seen at a great distance from the<br />
school.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OUR LADY OF<br />
WISDOM<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
1565 St. Georges Street<br />
Orléans K1E 1R2<br />
613-824-9700<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/wis<br />
Our Lady of Wisdom <strong>School</strong> was<br />
built as an open-concept school, having no<br />
walls separating the classrooms, which<br />
surrounded a central library. Only the<br />
kindergarten students had a separate room.<br />
All of the others, ranging at that time from<br />
Grades 1 through 8, had their classes in the<br />
open area.<br />
Our Lady of Wisdom grew along<br />
with the Orléans community that it served.<br />
At one time, student population growth<br />
necessitated the opening of an annex in<br />
an old school on Innes Road. The students<br />
traveled from the annex to the main school<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
153<br />
building for some of their instruction. At one<br />
time, Our Lady of Wisdom had 13 portable<br />
classrooms on site, with a total school<br />
enrolment of nearly 800 students. In 1984,<br />
an eight-room port-a-pak was added. Over<br />
the years, the school has seen a number of<br />
other changes and improvements made to<br />
both the interior and exterior of the school.<br />
In the early years of Our Lady of<br />
Wisdom <strong>School</strong>, it was associated with<br />
St. Joseph <strong>Catholic</strong> Parish. In 1983, the<br />
newly created Divine Infant Parish assumed<br />
the responsibility of caring for the spiritual<br />
needs of the school community.<br />
Our Lady of Wisdom <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> has had some thrilling moments in<br />
its history. The school was in its infancy<br />
when former Prime Minister of Canada the<br />
Right Honourable John Diefenbaker visited<br />
in April 1976. Other highlight occasions in<br />
the history of the school include a<br />
citizenship ceremony held in 1995-96,<br />
presided over by Judge Suzanne Pinel, and<br />
the school’s 25 th anniversary celebration in<br />
May 1999, which featured a blessing and<br />
prayer by <strong>Ottawa</strong> Archbishop Marcel<br />
Gervais.
Present Principal<br />
Pasquale (Pat) Ferraro<br />
Past Principals<br />
Gerard Leclair<br />
Andrew McKinley<br />
Richard McGrath<br />
Ralph Watzenboeck<br />
John Power<br />
Sheila Fergus<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Marilyn Boucher<br />
L. Brazeau<br />
Grace Castonguay<br />
Sam Coletti<br />
A. M. Colwill<br />
M. Cooper<br />
Jane Domokos<br />
Sister Marie Doyle<br />
E. Gariepy<br />
Carolyn Hawley<br />
Nuala Hackett (Durkin)<br />
B. Jette<br />
Norma Menard<br />
Peter Sorrenti<br />
Murielle Nystrand<br />
Paul Barrette<br />
Michel Marcil<br />
Former Staff and Students<br />
Our Lady of Wisdom <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> staff who have gone on to become<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
superintendents are Lucy Miller, Yvonne<br />
Benton and Brent Wilson.<br />
Staff who have become <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> principals<br />
are Deborah Robinson, Cindy Simpson,<br />
Gloria Horan, Austin DeCoste, Faye Powell,<br />
Grace Castonguay-Kenny, Diane Jackson,<br />
Donna Bekkers-Boyd, Dwight Delahunt,<br />
Kevin Mullins, Louise Garby and Nuala<br />
Durkin.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Student Jason Malette became a<br />
player with the Saskatchewan Roughriders<br />
of the Canadian Football League. He visited<br />
the school on May 4, 1998.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Blue and gold<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo was designed by<br />
a grade 6 student, Christine Fournier.<br />
It features a dark “O” circle in<br />
which are situated an “L,” a “W” and a cross.<br />
Mascot<br />
Our Lady of Wisdom <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> has two mascots: a tooth called<br />
“Willie Wisdom” and an owl named “Wise.”<br />
.<br />
Symbols<br />
Diane Vaughan, a teacher at the<br />
school at the time, donated a framed picture<br />
of Mary, Our Lady of Wisdom.<br />
Line Douglas, a teacher at the<br />
school at the time, donated a wooden statue<br />
of Mary in the front hall of the school.<br />
<strong>School</strong> staff made the Our Lady<br />
of Wisdom banner.<br />
A statue of Mary in the showcase<br />
at the school was donated by Madonna<br />
House, which is a lay apostolate located<br />
in Combermere, near Barry’s Bay. This<br />
organization works with the poor around<br />
the world.<br />
Melanie McGillivray, a parent of<br />
the school at the time, made a banner of<br />
Mary, Our Lady of Wisdom.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
154<br />
Song<br />
The school song of Our Lady of<br />
Wisdom <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was written in 1982<br />
by grade 6 student Joette Dobra. The song,<br />
entitled “Wisdom” is as follows:<br />
This school is caring<br />
This school is Wisdom<br />
From all the teachers<br />
To all the students<br />
From all the classrooms<br />
To our library<br />
Wisdom was made for you and me.<br />
As I was working in my classroom<br />
I saw around me my friends and<br />
classmates<br />
I saw before me my helpful teacher<br />
Wisdom was made for you and me.<br />
As I was playing in the school<br />
yard,<br />
I saw so many happy faces<br />
I saw around me a school of<br />
friendship<br />
Wisdom was made for you and me.
Much has happened at Pope John<br />
XXIII <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> on<br />
Knoxdale Road since it opened its<br />
doors in 1963, at that time, one of the new<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools built to accommodate the<br />
growing suburban development in Nepean.<br />
Trustees of the local school board<br />
at the time of the blessing of the new school<br />
by Bishop J.R. Windle in 1963 were Garfield<br />
O’Gilvie, Paul Marcotte and Georges Nash.<br />
This was one of the local school boards that<br />
existed in Nepean prior to the creation of the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in<br />
1969.<br />
While it has seen class upon class<br />
of students pass through its doors over the<br />
years since 1963, Pope John XXIII <strong>School</strong><br />
has also witnessed a myriad of events and<br />
changes take place as well. The school’s<br />
custodian, Eldon Currell, parachuted into<br />
the schoolyard in the spring of 2001,<br />
certainly not an every day occurrence at any<br />
school.<br />
The school celebrated its<br />
25 th anniversary in the spring of 1988. One<br />
of the highlights was a special anniversary<br />
celebration picture that was taken by<br />
photographer Mr. Zwicker. Both his children<br />
and his grandchildren attended the school.<br />
A play structure in the schoolyard became<br />
a reality thanks to the school’s parent<br />
council headed by Paula Cavan. Another<br />
accomplishment that pleased the school<br />
community was the paving of the school’s<br />
courtyard area as well as the schoolyard<br />
area behind the gymnasium. The<br />
Environmental Committee at the school<br />
planted a maple tree at the front of the<br />
school.<br />
Pope John XXIII <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
has provided students to two other new<br />
schools, St. John the Apostle <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
and Frank Ryan <strong>Catholic</strong> Senior Elementary<br />
<strong>School</strong>. The construction of St. John the<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
POPE<br />
JOHN XXIII<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
165 Knoxdale Road<br />
Nepean K2G 1B1<br />
613-226-6223<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/joh<br />
Apostle <strong>School</strong> resulted in a boundary<br />
change that saw a number of Pope John<br />
XXIII students move to the new school.<br />
When Frank Ryan <strong>Catholic</strong> Senior<br />
Elementary <strong>School</strong> was built in 1980, the<br />
grades 7 and 8 students who had been<br />
attending Pope John XXIII <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
since its opening were redirected. This<br />
meant that an Industrial Arts room for boys<br />
and a Home Economics room for girls, as<br />
well as a lunchroom, all located in the lower<br />
level of the school, were no longer being<br />
used. At one time, grades 7 and 8 students<br />
from various Nepean schools were taken to<br />
Pope John XXIII <strong>School</strong> for a day of using<br />
these special facilities. After the downstairs<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
155<br />
space was no longer needed for its original<br />
purpose, it served as a central resource<br />
centre, as well as a home for Kindergarten,<br />
the French Department, a meeting space for<br />
<strong>Board</strong> workshops and as the <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
technology repair depot. When it was first<br />
created, the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>’s education museum was<br />
housed in this downstairs area. The museum<br />
has since been moved to the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
administrative building on Hunt Club Road.<br />
The Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>’s central teacher resource<br />
centre, first established at the <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
administration building in 1972, was<br />
relocated to the lower level area of Pope<br />
John XXIII <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in a move which<br />
began in July 1978 and completed in March<br />
1979. An official open house was held at the<br />
new premises at Pope John XXIII <strong>School</strong> in<br />
April 1979 to mark the relocation. In 1996,<br />
this school board central resource centre was<br />
named the “Derry Byrne Teacher Resource<br />
Centre” in memory of Derry Byrne, Director<br />
of Education of the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> at the time of his death.<br />
Pope John XXIII <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
also housed the first consultants of the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
These included Mae Rooney, Consultant for<br />
Primary Methods, Brian Bourbeau,<br />
Consultant for Health and Physical<br />
Education, Harry Bellier, Consultant for<br />
Special Education and Yvonne Beniteau,<br />
French Consultant.<br />
Pope John XXIII <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
is named after the 261st pope, who reigned<br />
from October 1958 until his death in June<br />
1963. Known affectionately by many as<br />
“Good Pope John” and “the most loved Pope<br />
in history,” he was declared “blessed” by<br />
Pope John Paul II in 2000, the penultimate<br />
step on the road to sainthood.
Present Principal<br />
Brenda Richard (2006-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Claire Janney (1963-65)<br />
Earl Hogan (1965-67)<br />
Russ Graham (1967-73)<br />
Robert Curry (1973-78)<br />
Mae Rooney (1978-83)<br />
Ralph Watzenboeck (1983-87)<br />
Gerard Leclair (1987-92)<br />
Basil Tomlinson (1992-96)<br />
Helen Bogie (1996-97)<br />
Sharon O’Connor (1997-99)<br />
Fergus Lyons (1999-2001)<br />
Gail Taillon (2001-06)<br />
First Teaching Staff<br />
Barbara Champagne (1963)<br />
Monique Michaud (1963)<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Former Students<br />
Alison Smyth, Music and Drama<br />
Alison is one of Canada’s up-and-coming<br />
singers. In her teen years, she had<br />
consistent first place rankings and six<br />
trophies in the National Capital Kiwanis<br />
Music Festival, covering both classical and<br />
show music. In 1999, she competed at the<br />
provincial level for both the Kiwanis<br />
Festival and the Ontario Registered Music<br />
Teachers’ Association, placing first in both<br />
competitions. As a result, she performed<br />
with the Dofasco Male Chorus in a<br />
nationally televised CTV Christmas special.<br />
Alison moved to Toronto in 2001 to attend<br />
the Glenn Gould <strong>School</strong> of the Royal<br />
Conservatory of Music. She remained<br />
dedicated to her goal of a professional career.<br />
In early 2004, she landed a role in the<br />
Toronto production of the Broadway musical<br />
Hair Spray, spending nine months in this,<br />
her debut professional production.<br />
Mike Kusiewicz, Triple “A”<br />
baseball player, member of Canada’s<br />
Olympic baseball team in Greece in 2004<br />
and inductee into the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Sports Hall<br />
of Fame in 2005.<br />
Cam Powell, a.k.a. Scott Rush, the<br />
morning man on Hot 89.9 Radio.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
156<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Green and yellow<br />
Logo<br />
A student in the special education<br />
class taught by Barry Olivier originally<br />
designed the school logo.<br />
The logo is triangular with the<br />
name Pope John XXIII.<br />
Motto<br />
Mascot<br />
“A <strong>School</strong> To Believe In”<br />
“PJ the bear”
When the new Prince of Peace<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> on Heatherington<br />
Road in <strong>Ottawa</strong> opened in 1977,<br />
it was believed to be the first of its kind,<br />
linking an elementary school with a chapel.<br />
The roots of the new school and chapel can<br />
be found in the rapid population growth that<br />
occurred in the area of Walkley Road and<br />
Heron Road in the 1960s. This brought<br />
about the need not only for a new school but<br />
also for the formation of a new <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
community, St. Peter.<br />
The construction of what would<br />
become Prince of Peace <strong>School</strong> came as a<br />
result of overcrowding and continuing<br />
growth at Queen of the Angels <strong>School</strong> on<br />
Heron Road, a school that consisted not only<br />
of a main building but also of 14 portables<br />
located on Briar Hill Road. At the same<br />
time, there were changes and pressures<br />
taking place in Resurrection of Our Lord<br />
Parish, which served the area. Beginning<br />
in 1969, Sunday Mass was celebrated in the<br />
chapel of Campanile <strong>School</strong> on Heron Road.<br />
When Campanile was closed in 1973, the<br />
location for Mass was moved across the<br />
street to the gymnasium of St. Peter High<br />
<strong>School</strong>.<br />
Because of the distance from<br />
Resurrection of Our Lord Church and the<br />
increasing size of that parish, a movement<br />
grew for the Archdiocese to create a new<br />
parish in the area. It began as a <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
community under the associate pastor of<br />
Resurrection of Our Lord Parish in 1975<br />
and became the new <strong>Catholic</strong> community of<br />
St. Peter in February 1977, although still<br />
a part of Resurrection of Our Lord Parish.<br />
To provide a home for this new Christian<br />
community of St. Peter, proposals and<br />
negotiations resulted in a joint church/school<br />
venture that saw the construction of<br />
St. Peter Chapel along with the new Prince<br />
of Peace <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. The chapel seated<br />
120 and was connected to the school in such<br />
a way that it could be opened up to the<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
PRINCE OF<br />
PEACE<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
1620 Heatherington Road<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1V 9P5<br />
613-731-4733<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/pop<br />
gymnasium, thus accommodating an<br />
additional 350 people. The St. Peter<br />
community and the school cooperated, with<br />
parishioners helping to purchase the chairs<br />
and tables for the school gym, while the school<br />
staff and students helped pay for the main<br />
crucifix in the chapel. In May 1981, St. Peter<br />
was proclaimed as a separate parish.<br />
The chapel and school were built<br />
at the same time, with E.J. Cuhaci as the<br />
architect and Paul D’Aoust as the general<br />
contractor. Construction took place in 1976<br />
and the school was occupied in January<br />
1977. It was built at a cost of approximately<br />
$1,300,000, and consisted of a two-storey,<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
157<br />
38,000 square foot facility situated on a fiveacre<br />
site. The school featured a generalpurpose<br />
room, a library resource centre,<br />
three kindergarten rooms, three special<br />
education rooms and 12 regular classrooms,<br />
along with the chapel attached to the school.<br />
The school could accommodate<br />
approximately 500 junior kindergarten to<br />
grade 6 students.<br />
The first draft of the design for the<br />
new school called for a totally open concept<br />
configuration on the second floor of the<br />
school; however, after further consultation,<br />
the open concept component of the school<br />
was reduced to just three rooms.<br />
The school was officially opened on<br />
Sunday, October 16, 1977, with Bishop John<br />
Beahan blessing the facility, assisted by Rev.<br />
David Corkery, Pastor of Resurrection of Our<br />
Lord Parish, Rev. James Whalen, Associate<br />
Pastor of St. Peter’s community, and Deacon<br />
Stephen Hill, the Bishop’s Secretary. At the<br />
official opening, the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> was represented by<br />
<strong>Board</strong> Chairperson Frank Gilhooly and<br />
<strong>Board</strong> official B.J. Kipp, along with Trustees<br />
Roberta Anderson, Rita Desjardins, Paul<br />
Kelly, Jack MacKinnon and Area<br />
Superintendent Paul Brady. The school<br />
choir, under the direction of Mrs. Geraldine<br />
LaRocque, provided the music.<br />
The new school was named “Prince<br />
of Peace <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>” as a result of a<br />
public consultation process. The Queen of<br />
the Angels <strong>School</strong> community was asked in<br />
the 1975-76 school year to submit suggested<br />
names. A selection committee reduced the<br />
list to five and, after further input and<br />
consideration, the name “Prince of Peace<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>” was submitted to the<br />
trustees of the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, who subsequently<br />
granted approval. In 1976-77, the newly<br />
formed school began occupying the Briar<br />
Hill Road portable site, drawing its students
from Heatherington Road, Ridgemount<br />
Terrace and surrounding areas. The<br />
students and staff remained at the<br />
temporary quarters until moving into the<br />
new Prince of Peace <strong>School</strong> in January 1977.<br />
Meanwhile, Queen of the Angels <strong>School</strong><br />
continued to operate on Heron Road in 1976-<br />
1977, drawing its students from Heron Gate<br />
and surrounding areas. In June 1977,<br />
Queens of the Angels <strong>School</strong> closed and its<br />
students were transferred to Prince of Peace<br />
<strong>School</strong>.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Gail Taillon (2006-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
James Morrison (1976-81)<br />
Joan O’Toole (1981-83)<br />
James McStravick (1983-84)<br />
Michael Blimkie (1984-89)<br />
Glenda McDonnell (1989-94)<br />
Yvonne Harper (1994-95)<br />
Mary Somers (1995-2000)<br />
Catherine Williamson (2000-02)<br />
Katie Kenny (2002-06)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Margaret Payette<br />
Sister Barbara Prior<br />
Jean Hall<br />
Pam Trudel<br />
Joan MacMillan<br />
Marie-Louise Gauthier<br />
Nina Louli<br />
Jean Charette<br />
Geraldine LaRocque<br />
Frances Blanchfield<br />
Diane Boulerice<br />
Sheila Hadley<br />
Diane Laforge<br />
Nicole Letourneau<br />
Theora Sisk<br />
Roger Gauthier, Custodian<br />
Marian Bowie, Secretary<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Blue and gold<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo features a dove<br />
hovering over a shield in a circular logo<br />
featuring the crown of the Prince of Peace on<br />
top, with the school name “Prince of Peace”<br />
on a banner below.<br />
First Hot Dog Lunch<br />
The parent-teacher association had<br />
everything ready for the school’s first hot<br />
dog lunch when a malfunction occurred in<br />
the electrical room of the new school. This<br />
caused the fire alarm to sound, forcing<br />
everyone out of the building. The <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Fire Department arrived on the scene and<br />
extinguished the fire.<br />
Strike and Mud<br />
Several weeks after the school<br />
opened, a custodial staff strike occurred.<br />
Since Heatherington Road was not paved<br />
at that time, there was mud tracked<br />
everywhere in the school. Conditions<br />
deteriorated to such an extent that even the<br />
<strong>Board</strong>’s educational superintendents arrived<br />
one day to staff the brooms and mops to<br />
clean up the mud.<br />
The Nish<br />
There was a “leftover” space on<br />
the second floor of the new school that was<br />
called “The Nish.” The origin of “Nish” is<br />
from the Mic Mac language, meaning<br />
“gathering place.” The Nish became a<br />
gathering place for staff on the second floor<br />
of the school. It is now used for the school’s<br />
breakfast program and as a meeting room.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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Day One Song<br />
Here we are gathered, hurray for all<br />
Finally gathered, hurray for all<br />
Hurray for teachers, principal too,<br />
Hurray for movers, for me and you<br />
Hurray for builders, painters and all<br />
For school board members who<br />
carried the ball<br />
Hurray for nurse, Father Whalen<br />
and friends<br />
Hurray for joy, may it never end.<br />
Hurray for learning, especially<br />
here<br />
We’ll come each day in our very<br />
best cheer<br />
Whether it’s Science, Spelling or<br />
Art<br />
We know we’re off to a very good<br />
start.<br />
Good-bye to the “portables”<br />
We loved them, it’s true<br />
Now we’ve arrived at a school<br />
that’s brand new<br />
We’re all at Prince of Peace, you<br />
see<br />
Hurray for our school and for you<br />
and me.<br />
Prince of Peace <strong>School</strong> Song<br />
You’re a grand old school<br />
You’re a high-ranking school<br />
You’re the best in <strong>Ottawa</strong>, we all<br />
say<br />
Here the kids are smart<br />
And do their part<br />
We’re loyal to you ev’ry day<br />
Ev’ry heart beats true<br />
For our own colours, too<br />
You’re the best school in ev’ry way<br />
Should auld acquaintance be forgot<br />
But our school is here to stay!<br />
Prince of Peace <strong>School</strong>
A Teacher Remembers<br />
In the fall of 1969, I began my<br />
32-year career, with St. Margaret Mary<br />
<strong>School</strong> being my first assignment, followed<br />
by Immaculate Heart of Mary, St. Luke,<br />
Prince of Peace and concluding with my time<br />
in the classroom at St. Thomas More in<br />
2001.<br />
The Hall-Dennis Report was the<br />
educational trend of the day when I first<br />
started teaching, while the Common Sense<br />
Revolution set the trend covering my last<br />
years in teaching. Learning centres and<br />
tables, the introduction of the metric system,<br />
the 50/50 bilingual program and the<br />
teaching of information technology were a<br />
few of the changes that I experienced in my<br />
career.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
When I recall rewarding<br />
experiences, I immediately call to mind<br />
Prince of Peace <strong>School</strong>. I taught the<br />
“unilingual” program and, needless to say,<br />
some days were quite trying and tiring.<br />
“Look, listen and you will learn” was the<br />
motto that I espoused. Seeing students<br />
overcome challenges and meeting with<br />
success is very rewarding. One student<br />
whom I remember in particular arrived in<br />
Grade 3 unable to name all of the letters of<br />
the alphabet. This talented girl was able to<br />
write beautiful poetry by year’s end. She<br />
would say,”I’m listening and looking but I’m<br />
still having trouble.” She always persevered<br />
and was able to re-enter the bilingual<br />
program where she performed very well.<br />
There were many such success stories.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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Contact with former pupils always<br />
surprises me. The light things that they<br />
remember such as white elephant sales to<br />
raise money for worthy causes, Halloween<br />
parties and a Christmas stocking that I<br />
crocheted for my students.<br />
During my career with the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> and<br />
later the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>, I met many super teachers, made<br />
new friends and had the pleasure of having<br />
great French partners along with supportive<br />
principals and vice-principals.<br />
Linda Denison
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
160
Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong><br />
opened its new $18,000,000 facility<br />
in Stittsville in March 2000, but it<br />
was back in December 1992 that the very<br />
first actions were taken to make this school<br />
a reality. Indeed, a Stittsville location was<br />
not originally envisioned as the site for this<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> high school. It was only due to the<br />
efforts of the local trustee, a motivated<br />
community and a responsive municipality<br />
that Stittsville was chosen in 1995 by the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> as<br />
the site for its new western area high school.<br />
In December 1992, the Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> instructed its<br />
planning staff to conduct a study of the<br />
growth development in the extreme western<br />
section of the <strong>Board</strong>’s jurisdiction, with a view<br />
to establishing a location for a proposed new<br />
high school to relieve the impending<br />
overcrowding at Holy Trinity <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> in Kanata. By 1994, this new western<br />
area high school was third on the <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
capital priority list. In June 1994, planning<br />
staff presented a report identifying the area<br />
north of Highway 417 in Kanata as the<br />
recommended location for the new school.<br />
Consequently, they were anxious to locate<br />
a specific site in the area. When Goulbourn<br />
Trustee Mary Curry saw the planning report,<br />
she viewed the situation differently, favouring<br />
a Stittsville location, where it could serve<br />
both the town and the western rural areas<br />
of the <strong>Board</strong>’s jurisdiction. She argued that<br />
Stittsville and rural students deserved to<br />
have a <strong>Catholic</strong> high school in their home<br />
community, rather than being bussed to<br />
Kanata. As a result, the matter was referred<br />
back to staff for additional study.<br />
This spurred on the community.<br />
A strategy was developed to increase the<br />
identification of the new western area high<br />
school with Stittsville. It began when a brief<br />
was presented to the <strong>Board</strong> of Trustees in<br />
November 1994, by the new Stittsville<br />
Committee of <strong>Catholic</strong> Ratepayers and their<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
SACRED<br />
HEART<br />
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL<br />
5870 Abbott Street<br />
Stittsville K2S 1X4<br />
613-831-6643<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/shh<br />
spokesperson, Cathy Collyer. The brief<br />
advocated that the new western area high<br />
school should be located in Stittsville to<br />
serve the Goulbourn and West Carleton<br />
areas, since this was the only area of the<br />
<strong>Board</strong>’s jurisdiction without its own high<br />
school. In association with this brief, the<br />
Holy Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> Parent-Teacher<br />
Association presented a petition, collected<br />
under the leadership of Carol Traversy,<br />
which contained over 1,200 names of<br />
residents of Stittsville who favoured having<br />
the new western area high school.<br />
Beginning in December 1994,<br />
and extending to the end of March 1995,<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
161<br />
a letter-writing campaign to the Provincial<br />
Government urging funding for the new<br />
western area high school was undertaken<br />
by the Stittsville Committee of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Ratepayers, coordinated by Mrs. Collyer.<br />
By 1995, the western area high school had<br />
risen to second place on the <strong>Board</strong>’s capital<br />
priority list; however, at this point, no<br />
decision had yet been made regarding its<br />
specific location. Another component in this<br />
campaign to have Stittsville chosen as the<br />
site of the new high school was the<br />
involvement of Goulbourn Township and<br />
particularly of Mayor Paul Bradley and<br />
Councillor Allan Ryan. The Township had<br />
been seriously thinking about developing<br />
a recreation complex, and there was a<br />
possibility that some kind of partnership<br />
could be brokered with the school board<br />
regarding a joint, campus-like development.<br />
In March 1995, Mayor Bradley appeared<br />
before the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> to suggest that if the new western<br />
area high school were located in Stittsville,<br />
it could be associated with the Township’s<br />
new recreation complex. A survey showed<br />
overwhelming support for such a joint<br />
development.<br />
At an April 1995 meeting, the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> voted<br />
unanimously that the new western area<br />
high school would be located in Stittsville.<br />
Staff was authorized to identify a fully<br />
serviced 20-acre site within the community.<br />
The <strong>Board</strong> hoped at that time that the new<br />
high school could be built and in operation<br />
by September 1997, but provincial capital<br />
funding was needed before the project could<br />
get under way. In the end, it would be four<br />
years between the 1995 decision and the<br />
actual commencement of construction in<br />
1999. The chief obstacle was the lack of<br />
provincial government funding to build the<br />
school, a matter which was further impeded<br />
by the amalgamation of school boards across<br />
the province, including those in <strong>Ottawa</strong> and<br />
Carleton. With the creation of larger district
school boards, the province abandoned its<br />
previous funding procedure for new schools<br />
and implemented a new formula in which<br />
financing of school construction was<br />
dependent on a scarcity of pupil places<br />
across the <strong>Board</strong>’s entire jurisdiction. In<br />
the end, this new funding formula helped,<br />
because the new <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> had a shortfall of pupil places<br />
at the secondary level and so funding<br />
became available for the new Stittsville<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>.<br />
The municipality identified and<br />
then purchased a 50-acre parcel of land on<br />
Abbott Street for its new recreation complex,<br />
with 20 acres sold to the school board for the<br />
high school site. Sharing the servicing costs<br />
helped reduce the overall construction<br />
expenditures for both parties. In July 1998,<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
appointed Edward J. Cuhaci and Associates<br />
as the architects for the new <strong>Catholic</strong> high<br />
school in Stittsville. The school board<br />
wanted to begin the construction because of<br />
extreme overcrowding at Holy Trinity, where<br />
there were 30 portable classrooms in use<br />
and no space for any more. Finally, all<br />
delays were eliminated and the clearing of<br />
the site for the new high school began in<br />
February 1999.<br />
In March 1999, Ron Engineering<br />
and Construction (Eastern) Ltd. was hired<br />
as the construction management firm for the<br />
Stittsville <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>. An official<br />
sod-turning ceremony was held at the site on<br />
Monday, May 3, featuring a blending of soil<br />
by students from Holy Trinity <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> and representatives from other area<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools, namely Holy Spirit,<br />
Georges Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong>, St. Michael<br />
Corkery, St. Philip, St. Mark High <strong>School</strong><br />
and St. Paul High <strong>School</strong>. Father Frank<br />
Scott of Holy Spirit Parish blessed the<br />
project, which had a March 2000 completion<br />
date. In June, a temporary home for the new<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> high school, then well under<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
construction, was found in Confederation<br />
High <strong>School</strong> on Woodroffe Avenue adjacent<br />
to the Nepean Sportsplex. This would house<br />
the enrolment of 700 students in Grades 7<br />
to 11 until the new facility was completed.<br />
Finally, on Monday, March 6, 2000,<br />
at the dawn of the new millennium, the<br />
students and staff of Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
High <strong>School</strong> spent their first day in their<br />
new premises. A brighter glow now shone<br />
on <strong>Catholic</strong> education in Stittsville and in<br />
the western rural areas of the <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
jurisdiction. Enrolment at Sacred Heart<br />
grew steadily. In January 2004, a new<br />
$4 million, 31-room permanent addition was<br />
opened, eliminating a plethora of portable<br />
classrooms that had sprouted at the rear of<br />
the school. Despite the addition, portables<br />
once again appeared at Sacred Heart as<br />
school enrolment neared 2,000 students in<br />
Grades 7 through 12 in the fall of 2005.<br />
One exciting feature of Sacred<br />
Heart High <strong>School</strong> was the inclusion of a<br />
700-seat, state-of-the-art performing arts<br />
theatre. Its presence has encouraged a<br />
steadily growing arts program, including<br />
music, visual arts, drama and dance. <strong>School</strong><br />
productions of Anne of Green Gables and<br />
Little Shop of Horrors on the stage have<br />
proven memorable.<br />
Not only has the enrolment at the<br />
school grown steadily from its inception,<br />
so too have its school spirit and traditions.<br />
Many of these spirit and tradition building<br />
events have focused on charitable ventures.<br />
The annual cake auction at Sacred<br />
Heart has grown into the main charitable<br />
fundraising event, with a record $14,000 in<br />
donations realized in 2005 and turned over<br />
to the various deserving charities involved.<br />
This amount was surpassed in 2006 when<br />
the auction raised almost $20,000. The funds<br />
were donated to the various charities that<br />
the school had adopted for the year: the<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
162<br />
Shepherds of Good Hope, Development and<br />
Peace, Operation Go Home, Waupoos<br />
Foundation, Faith and Light, ALS Research,<br />
Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada,<br />
WaterCan, Judee Orphanage in Haiti and<br />
the Easter Seals Society. Sacred Heart<br />
students also participate in the annual Toy<br />
Mountain initiative and in “Toque Tuesday,”<br />
an event that raises funds for the homeless.<br />
In 2006, Sacred Heart received the “Golden<br />
Toque” award for having raised the most<br />
funds for the homeless of any school in<br />
Canada through the sale of toques in the<br />
annual “Raising the Roof for the Homeless”<br />
event. The “Husky Howl Run/Walk” is now<br />
an annual event, raising funds for the<br />
Stittsville Food Bank. Students have also<br />
been generous in raising money for tsunami<br />
and hurricane relief efforts.<br />
The Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> girls’ hockey team won a provincial<br />
high school hockey championship banner<br />
in 2002; the junior cheerleaders became<br />
provincial champions in 2004. Industry<br />
Canada has recognized the technological<br />
innovation at Sacred Heart by conferring<br />
its Innovative <strong>School</strong>s Award. Sacred Heart<br />
began its life as a school community that<br />
tried to be on the cutting edge in its use of<br />
technology across the curriculum and<br />
continues to do so to this day. In 2005,<br />
Sacred Heart students placed first in<br />
Ontario in achievement on the provincial<br />
literacy test, an indication of the academic<br />
enthusiasm and focus of its students.<br />
Sacred Heart also offers virtually<br />
every sport available through its athletics<br />
program, fielding teams in most<br />
interscholastic sports while also harbouring<br />
an active intramural sports program. Sacred<br />
Heart has received the platinum award<br />
from the Canadian Association for Health,<br />
Physical Education, Recreation and<br />
Dance (CAHPERD) for the past six years,<br />
indicating the school’s focus on physical<br />
fitness.
Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong><br />
maintains a close relationship with Holy<br />
Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong> Parish. Indeed, the<br />
construction of Sacred Heart in the<br />
community was a godsend for Holy Spirit<br />
Parish as it has relocated its Sunday Masses<br />
to the larger gymnasium, having outgrown its<br />
initial home in the Holy Spirit <strong>School</strong> gym.<br />
The parish now has plans to build its new<br />
church across Shea Road from Sacred Heart<br />
High <strong>School</strong>. It is scheduled to be built in<br />
2007. These dual pillars of the <strong>Catholic</strong> faith<br />
in Stittsville will be in full view of each other<br />
as they will undoubtedly continue to work<br />
and worship together in the years to come.<br />
The school has developed “The<br />
Well,” a youth spiritual retreat program,<br />
popular with both students and teachers.<br />
Those involved gather in the school chapel<br />
on Fridays to discuss their faith, to sing and<br />
to pray together.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Valerie McGillis (2005-present)<br />
Principals<br />
John Shaughnessy (1999-2005)<br />
First Teachers and Support Staff<br />
John Shaughnessy, Principal<br />
Sue Henry, Vice-Principal<br />
Tom D’Amico, Vice-Principal<br />
Mark Beaudry, Department Head<br />
Robert Belanger, Department<br />
Head<br />
Carol Bode<br />
Brian Boggs, Department Head<br />
Jeannine Boissonneault,<br />
Curriculum Leader<br />
Larry Brown<br />
Jeannie Cameron, Teacher<br />
Assistant<br />
Sue Camilucci, Secretary<br />
Todd Carley<br />
Lorraine Carney, Department<br />
Head<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Glenn Carr, Department Head<br />
Anne Cheetham-Curry<br />
Krista Chisholm<br />
Paul Collins<br />
Matt Dawber<br />
Christine Deschenes<br />
Matt Dineen, Curriculum Leader<br />
Fran Durocher<br />
Rebeccah Erskine<br />
Kathy Fischer<br />
Heather Fraser, Curriculum<br />
Leader<br />
Dave Hanna<br />
Dave Hansen<br />
H.P. Hansen<br />
Frank Harris, Department Head<br />
Denise Hoppner<br />
Kristen Kelly<br />
Jennifer Klatt<br />
Tracey Labreche<br />
Helen Lafortune, Guidance<br />
Secretary<br />
Ron Lakusiak, Department Head<br />
Lynne Langille, Department Head<br />
Malcolm Lawrence, Department<br />
Head<br />
Dayna Lee<br />
Curtis MacNeil, Curriculum<br />
Leader<br />
Heather MacPhee<br />
Mike Maloney<br />
Catharine Manson<br />
Matt McCarthy<br />
Brid McDonald, Department Head<br />
Nora McKnight<br />
Iliana Mican<br />
Debby Moore, Secretary<br />
Jim Murphy<br />
Halia Osadca<br />
Melissa Perrotta<br />
Marion Poyner, Librarian<br />
Linda Raaymakers, Teacher<br />
Assistant<br />
Sil Sanna<br />
Mary Semenchuk<br />
Len St. Clair<br />
Kelly Stephen, Chaplain<br />
Dan Sullivan<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
163<br />
Robert Tarnoczy, Curriculum<br />
Leader<br />
Josee Turcotte<br />
Brenda Webber, Secretary<br />
Caroline Zentner<br />
Former Students<br />
Alexis MacIsaac, a 2004 graduate,<br />
spent time as a performing member of a<br />
Riverdance touring company. She has a CD<br />
featuring her fiddling and is widely<br />
recognized as an accomplished fiddler and<br />
dancer. While at Sacred Heart, she played<br />
starring roles in the school’s productions of<br />
Anne of Green Gables and Little Shop of<br />
Horrors.<br />
Kyle Wharton, a 2005 graduate,<br />
has played for the Sault Ste. Marie<br />
Greyhounds and also the <strong>Ottawa</strong> 67’s of the<br />
Ontario Junior A Hockey League. He was<br />
the second pick of the Columbus Blue<br />
Jackets in the National Hockey League’s<br />
entry draft in 2004, the 59 th player chosen<br />
over all. In June 2006, he signed an entrylevel<br />
contract with the Blue Jackets.<br />
Staff Recognition<br />
Sacred Heart teachers Matt<br />
Dawber and Helen Pat Hansen received the<br />
Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in<br />
2000.<br />
Sacred Heart teacher Matt Dawber<br />
received the Capital Educators’ Award in<br />
2003. Educators from educational<br />
institutions in the <strong>Ottawa</strong> area are eligible<br />
for this award through a nomination and<br />
selection process.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Red, white and silver
Logo<br />
“Wisdom,” “Faith” and “Purpose”<br />
are the three words that are featured on the<br />
logo of Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>.<br />
“Wisdom” is on the logo as it<br />
represents a higher level of knowledge and<br />
personal growth. Wisdom allows for the<br />
discernment of right or wrong and permits<br />
the individual to better understand his/her<br />
role with respect to community/academics/<br />
life skills, etc.<br />
“Faith” represents the faith that<br />
each person has personally and the faith<br />
that they have in others. It also represents<br />
the school’s commitment to the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
faith as a way of life.<br />
“Purpose” represents the action<br />
achieved through faith and wisdom. There is<br />
purpose in life/school/growth, both personal<br />
and spiritual, and also contribution to<br />
society when a person has faith and wisdom<br />
combined.<br />
The logo was developed after<br />
Sacred Heart students were asked to<br />
suggest possible designs. A committee,<br />
representative of the school community,<br />
selected the most appropriate ideas and then<br />
these ideas were incorporated into the logo.<br />
Teacher H.P. Hansen was instrumental in<br />
helping convert these various ideas into a<br />
finished product.<br />
Besides the words “Wisdom,”<br />
“Faith” and “Purpose,” the logo features the<br />
name “Sacred Heart” across the top, as well<br />
as several symbols.<br />
An open book symbol represents<br />
learning, knowledge acquisition and<br />
academics. It is also representative of the<br />
Bible and the spiritual direction of the<br />
school.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
The cross is the central aspect of<br />
the logo and focuses on the role of personal<br />
and community faith. It represents a<br />
commitment to the principles and practices<br />
of Jesus Christ.<br />
A boy and girl in motion on the<br />
logo represent the movement that young<br />
people have within their development at<br />
school and within their spiritual and<br />
personal growth. It also represents the<br />
strong physical education and attention<br />
to personal development and health that<br />
Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong><br />
promotes.<br />
The pair of creative arts masks on<br />
the logo represents that Sacred Heart has a<br />
vibrant and strong Creative Arts focus in<br />
music, drama and art. It also represents the<br />
school’s humanities focus. The “traditional”<br />
icon of the drama masks has been used to<br />
represent this focus.<br />
A pair of hands symbol on the logo<br />
represents the individuality of each person<br />
and the concept that what a person does in<br />
life is a result of his or her hard work and<br />
contribution to interaction with the<br />
community.<br />
The shape of the Sacred Heart<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> logo is in the form of a<br />
shield. The shield has been based on the<br />
shape of the heart but formed into a<br />
standardized shield similar to those used at<br />
many colleges, universities and other<br />
organizations. This is to bring a familiar and<br />
universally accepted mode of design to the<br />
logo, because people identify with what they<br />
know.<br />
The colours used in the logo are<br />
red, white and black.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
164<br />
Team Names<br />
“Huskies” is the name of the sports<br />
teams of Sacred Heart High <strong>School</strong>, selected<br />
after students submitted suggestions.<br />
A committee, with representatives of<br />
parents, teachers and students, narrowed<br />
the choices submitted and then the students<br />
voted on the names on the shorter list, with<br />
“Huskies” winning the vote. In keeping with<br />
the “Huskies” name, the main gymnasium<br />
at the school is called the “Huskydome.”<br />
A Husky dog’s head is the emblem of the<br />
sports teams at the school.<br />
Prominent Visitor<br />
Margaret Trudeau, former wife of<br />
Prime Minister, the late Right Honourable<br />
Pierre Trudeau, visited Sacred Heart in<br />
June 2006 in her role as Honourary<br />
President of WaterCan, an organization that<br />
works to provide wells in countries around<br />
the world, and to educate the populace about<br />
the use and benefits of clean water. At<br />
Sacred Heart, she accepted on behalf of<br />
WaterCan, a donation of $2,500, part of the<br />
funds raised by the school’s annual cake<br />
auction. Her appearance to receive the<br />
WaterCan donation was arranged by<br />
Stittsville businessman Phil Sweetnam who<br />
is a supporter of the organization. He had<br />
told the school that if $2,500 were raised for<br />
WaterCan from the cake auction, he would<br />
try to have Mrs. Trudeau on hand to accept<br />
the donation. The presentation rather<br />
appropriately took place during the<br />
retirement gathering for Sacred Heart<br />
Teacher Mike Maloney, one of the most avid<br />
promoters of the school’s annual cake<br />
auction.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Chapel<br />
The Grey Sisters donated a<br />
tabernacle and several religious artifacts to<br />
the school after the closure of one of their<br />
convents. These are located in the school<br />
chapel.
Papal Certificate<br />
On the occasion of the official<br />
opening of the school in the spring of 2000,<br />
the school was presented with a certificate<br />
of blessing from Pope John Paul II.<br />
Unusual Events<br />
It happened one day when an<br />
unsuspecting exchange teacher from<br />
Australia, while on his way to the school<br />
along the Trans Canada Trail, winding its<br />
way in front of Sacred Heart, encountered<br />
a bear on the trail. There have been a<br />
number of bear sightings in the area as the<br />
school is located beside a wooded area.<br />
Another unusual happening was<br />
when a gas leak in front of the school forced<br />
a quick evacuation of the building.<br />
Federal Government Grant<br />
The <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> received an $80,000 energy<br />
efficiency grant from the Office of Energy<br />
Efficiency of Natural Resources Canada<br />
related to the construction of Sacred Heart<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>. The grant was the<br />
maximum available under its Commercial<br />
Building Incentive Program. In order to<br />
qualify for the grant, the design of Sacred<br />
Heart <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> had to<br />
demonstrate a reduction in energy use of<br />
at least 25 percent when compared to the<br />
requirements of the Model National Energy<br />
Code for Buildings (1997).<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Peace Tower Flag<br />
Trustee Arthur J.M. Lamarche<br />
presented a Canadian flag, which had flown<br />
on the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> the week before the official opening<br />
of Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> on<br />
May 1, 2000, to the school at the official<br />
opening.<br />
Naming of Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong><br />
The name “Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
High <strong>School</strong>” was selected for the new high<br />
school in Stittsville in June 1999, after a<br />
consultative process involving the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
community of the area, parents, high school<br />
students and staff.<br />
Initially, more than 100 names<br />
were suggested. A steering committee<br />
comprised of the principal and chairperson<br />
of the school councils of the schools that<br />
would be feeding the new high school,<br />
narrowed the potential names to five. These<br />
were then submitted to the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
community for the selection of the three<br />
final names, which were then forwarded<br />
to the trustees of the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> for a final decision,<br />
as required by <strong>Board</strong> policy. The name<br />
“Sacred Heart” was selected.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
165<br />
Popular devotion to the Sacred<br />
Heart of Jesus in the Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Church goes back to the seventeenth<br />
century, when Our Lord appeared to<br />
St. Margaret Mary as she prayed before the<br />
Blessed Sacrament. It is believed that all<br />
of Jesus’ love for humanity is enveloped in<br />
His Sacred Heart. In 1856, Pope Pius IX<br />
introduced the feast of the Sacred Heart into<br />
the church calendar. The feast is now<br />
celebrated on the Friday of the third week<br />
after Pentecost.<br />
At the time of the selection, Father<br />
Frank Scott was the pastor of Holy Spirit<br />
Parish in Stittsville. Father Scott enjoys a<br />
special affinity with the Sacred Heart.<br />
He was ordained at his home church,<br />
St. Michael in Corkery, on Friday, June 29,<br />
1984, which was the feast of the Sacred<br />
Heart that year. For the ordination<br />
ceremony, a banner depicting the Sacred<br />
Heart of Jesus was hung on the front of the<br />
church. This four-foot by eight-foot banner<br />
had been especially made for the occasion<br />
by Marie Pierce, an artist at St. John the<br />
Apostle Parish in Nepean. Father Scott<br />
retained the cherished banner and<br />
frequently displayed it at Holy Spirit Parish<br />
Masses. He also took the banner to a Mass<br />
that he celebrated at the new Sacred Heart<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> in the fall of 1999<br />
while it was located at Confederation High<br />
<strong>School</strong> in Nepean. The banner’s welcoming<br />
representation of the Sacred Heart evoked<br />
a decidedly positive reaction.<br />
At Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong>, the Sacred Heart is beautifully and<br />
prominently depicted in a stained glass<br />
window, donated by the school’s architect,<br />
Edward J. Cuhaci. It is located between the<br />
foyer and the chapel.
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
166
The name St. Andrew is fast<br />
becoming associated with <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
life in the Barrhaven/Longfields<br />
area of South Nepean. Not only does the<br />
school, which opened in late 2003 bear that<br />
name, but also the new church planned for<br />
the <strong>Catholic</strong> community. The school predated<br />
the parish, starting in September 2003, with<br />
the new facility housing the students as of<br />
December 15, 2003.<br />
Monsignor Paul Baxter <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> in the booming new housing area of<br />
Longfields in South Nepean had become<br />
severely overcrowded. This situation was<br />
alleviated with the construction of the new<br />
St. Andrew <strong>School</strong>. St. Andrew began its life<br />
in September 2003, housed in 17 portable<br />
classrooms at Monsignor Paul Baxter<br />
<strong>School</strong>. Many of the St. Andrew students<br />
had been attending Monsignor Paul Baxter,<br />
forming the core of the new school’s student<br />
body. Students who had previously attended<br />
St. Monica <strong>School</strong> also became charter<br />
students at the new school.<br />
The school opened with 544<br />
students, quickly swelling to over 600 in its<br />
first year of operation. Indeed, the demand<br />
for <strong>Catholic</strong> education in the area has<br />
continued unabated, with St. Andrew<br />
housing 870 students by September 2005.<br />
This brought a decision by the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> to build<br />
another school in the area, to be opened<br />
in the 2006-2007 school year — St. Emily<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> — with the St. Andrew<br />
attendance area being divided to relieve it<br />
of its overcrowded situation, while providing<br />
a strong student enrolment base for the new<br />
school.<br />
St. Andrew <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was<br />
built with 18 classrooms, four kindergarten<br />
rooms, a double gymnasium, a library, a<br />
computer lab, an office/reception area, a<br />
resource room and two child care rooms.<br />
The first formal event at St. Andrew was the<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
ANDREW<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
201 Crestway Drive<br />
Nepean K2G 6Z3<br />
613-843-0050<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/and<br />
blessing of the facility, which took place on<br />
October 23, 2003. The ceremony held a<br />
special significance in that this was the<br />
first new school blessed and opened by the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
during the tenure of James McCracken as<br />
Director of Education.<br />
The official school opening<br />
ceremony was held on May 20, 2004, five<br />
months after the students and staff had<br />
moved into the new building. David Pratt,<br />
Member of Parliament for the Nepean-<br />
Carleton riding at that time, was among the<br />
dignitaries in attendance.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
167<br />
Present Principal<br />
Brian Kelly (2006-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Brenda Mulvihill (2003-06)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Helen Bergeron<br />
Susan Dunlap<br />
Stacey Mercier<br />
Shauna O’Farrell<br />
Carolyn Razzouk<br />
Christine Awad<br />
Cheryl Brooks<br />
Amy Latremouille<br />
Simone Villeneuve<br />
Martine Beaulne<br />
Carolyn Brambles<br />
Abby Sullivan<br />
Natalie Davidson<br />
Bernard Vigneault<br />
Cleo Hesselink<br />
James McLaurin<br />
Christine Mulvihill<br />
Susan Hanson<br />
Kate Drummond<br />
Chris Nicoletti<br />
K. McEvoy<br />
K. Shannon<br />
Eileen MacPhee<br />
Line Joyal-Culbertson<br />
Chris Buccini<br />
Joan Rowe<br />
Mary Jo DiFilippo<br />
Christina Sutton<br />
Shannon Asquini, Teacher<br />
Assistant<br />
Sylvia Mackenzie, Teacher<br />
Assistant<br />
Sharyn Vitalis-Burke, Secretary<br />
Toni Hoffe, Secretary<br />
Linda Mancini, Vice-Principal
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
The St. Andrew school colours,<br />
which were selected by the community, are<br />
black, red and grey.<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo was designed to<br />
represent the white saltire, or the cross of<br />
St. Andrew. The waves at the top of the logo<br />
represent the school, home and parishes.<br />
Mascot<br />
<strong>School</strong> mascot is “Andy” the<br />
dragon. The dragon was selected from<br />
submissions entered into a contest by the<br />
students. The dragon was chosen for its<br />
strength.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
168
St. Anne <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> is a beacon<br />
of <strong>Catholic</strong> education in the South<br />
Kanata community of Emerald<br />
Meadows. The school was built to meet the<br />
continued growth of the area, helping to<br />
relieve enrolment pressures at the nearby<br />
St. James <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. St. Anne, which<br />
is named after the grandmother of Jesus,<br />
began in September 1999, not at the<br />
Stonehaven Drive location of the school then<br />
under construction, but at Georges Vanier<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in North Kanata. The school<br />
opened with an enrolment of 231 students,<br />
but within four years the population had<br />
reached 500 in Junior Kindergarten to<br />
Grade 6, reflecting the housing growth<br />
taking place in the immediate community.<br />
St. Anne <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> provides<br />
its families with a local <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
environment integrating the teachings of<br />
Jesus Christ into the day-to-day curriculum<br />
and social fabric of school life and learning.<br />
The mission of the school is to develop<br />
lifelong learners and problem solvers, while<br />
pursuing academic excellence. The school<br />
consists of 17 classrooms, four kindergarten<br />
classrooms, a state-of-the-art computer lab,<br />
a library, a gymnasium, a unit for<br />
developmentally handicapped children, and<br />
a child care facility housing the Emerald<br />
Meadows <strong>School</strong> Age Program.<br />
St. Anne has quickly developed an<br />
infectious school spirit thanks to a host of<br />
activities and events held throughout the<br />
school year that complement the learning<br />
atmosphere fostered by the staff. These<br />
activities and events have included the Wake<br />
Up St. Anne News Show, environmental<br />
and sign-language clubs, reading and<br />
drama clubs, participation in <strong>Board</strong> sports<br />
tournaments, a chocolate fundraiser,<br />
Jump Rope for Heart, a winter carnival and<br />
Education Week open houses. There are also<br />
programs for kindergarten helpers, “reading<br />
buddies” and peer mediators, as well as a<br />
complete intramural sports program.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
ANNE<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
500 Stonehaven Drive<br />
Kanata K2M 2V6<br />
613-271-0308<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/ann<br />
In 2006, the school launched a<br />
PRIDE bully-prevention program. PRIDE<br />
stands for “promoting respect, independence,<br />
diversity and excellence.”<br />
The St. Anne <strong>School</strong> community<br />
has been involved in supporting the “OK<br />
Clean Water Project” since its inception in<br />
2003. The “OK Clean Water Project” (OK<br />
stands for <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Kumbo, a town in<br />
Cameroon in Africa) is an initiative of the<br />
Congregation of Notre Dame, an<br />
international religious community of Sisters<br />
and associates with a strong presence<br />
throughout Canada and a longstanding<br />
dedication to education. The project supports<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
169<br />
the purchase of water pipes, which are laid<br />
from a clean water source into their<br />
communities by villagers in Cameroon. Since<br />
2003, thousands of people in eight different<br />
villages have been helped and more villages<br />
will be aided in the future. St. Anne <strong>School</strong><br />
was one of eight <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> schools, which in 2005-06<br />
raised about $6,000 in total for this project.<br />
St. Anne raised its funds by creating a 540metre-long<br />
coin line, the length of about 90<br />
water pipes. The students receive annual<br />
presentations by Congregation of Notre<br />
Dame associates (women and men who<br />
share in the mission of the congregation)<br />
who show what their funds are used for so<br />
that the students can see for themselves<br />
that their efforts in helping the “OK Clean<br />
Water Project” are making a difference.<br />
In June 2006, two grade six<br />
students, Colleen Mahoney and Libby<br />
Lough, developed a five-minute video about<br />
the “OK Clean Water Project” and showed it<br />
to the assembled students. The video<br />
included interviews with students talking<br />
about helping others and also with Principal<br />
Jane Hill talking about the project. The two<br />
students did the video to help raise<br />
awareness among the students about the<br />
conditions in which others in the world live.<br />
St. Anne <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has an<br />
active school council. Among the annual<br />
events sponsored by the council are a<br />
welcome pizza night in September and<br />
a Spring Fling.<br />
The students and staff at St. Anne<br />
have many opportunities to demonstrate<br />
their <strong>Catholic</strong> faith including school-wide<br />
and classroom liturgies. Father Paul<br />
Shepherd and Father Oliver Rich of Holy<br />
Redeemer Parish visit the school regularly<br />
for these liturgical celebrations, fostering<br />
a strong parish-school link.
In 2005-06, a schoolyard<br />
improvement plan was developed by the<br />
principal in collaboration with the school<br />
council with the goal of making the<br />
schoolyard a place for positive social and<br />
physical activity for students. The plan<br />
included the addition of a second play<br />
structure, line painting for asphalt games,<br />
equipment and toys to support yard games,<br />
a peace corner for conflict resolution, a quiet<br />
area for play, and trees for shade. The new<br />
play structure was installed in the spring of<br />
2006, at the same time as the new outdoor<br />
equipment and the line painting. The new<br />
play structure was made possible thanks to<br />
a community grant from the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong>,<br />
funding from the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> and donations from school<br />
families and local businesses.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Present Principal<br />
Jane Hill (2005-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Lucy Miller (1999)<br />
Daniel Lahey (1999-2004)<br />
Sonja Karsh (2004-05)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Wendy McKinnon<br />
Suzanne Hetu-Descoteaux<br />
Darlene O’Connor<br />
Lisa Connell<br />
Patricia Fiorino<br />
Anna Ferrabee<br />
Mike Kennedy<br />
Joan Sickman<br />
Caroline O’Connor<br />
Josée Hotte<br />
Kevin Carey<br />
Christine Woodley, Library<br />
Technician<br />
Tara Hudon, Educational Assistant<br />
Carolyn Halley, Resource<br />
Joyce Brulé, Secretary<br />
Jacques Cardinal, Custodian<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
170<br />
Staff Recognition<br />
St. Anne <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> teacher<br />
Michael Kennedy received a National<br />
Capital Educator Award in 2006.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Beige, navy and white<br />
Motto<br />
“In Faith We Grow”<br />
Mascot<br />
A lion was chosen as the school’s<br />
mascot as a result of a process in 2006<br />
whereby all students were given the<br />
opportunity to provide suggestions. The top<br />
five suggestions were tabulated and then<br />
narrowed down to two. A lion emerged as<br />
the preferred mascot. A lion is considered<br />
appropriate, as lions are good protectors of<br />
their young and are good mothers.<br />
Team Names<br />
The sports teams of St. Anne<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> will now be known as the<br />
“Lions.”
St. Anthony <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> today,<br />
just as at its beginnings as the<br />
Dante Academy, is a <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
that serves a high proportion of children<br />
from immigrant families living in the<br />
Somerset Street West area of <strong>Ottawa</strong>. It has<br />
always enjoyed a close partnership with<br />
St. Anthony <strong>Catholic</strong> Church and the Italian<br />
community of the area. This partnership<br />
continues today as the school has evolved<br />
into a community blessed with a rich<br />
tapestry of cultures. Many of today’s<br />
students are multilingual, learning both<br />
English and French at school while<br />
maintaining their heritage language in the<br />
home.<br />
St. Anthony <strong>School</strong> was founded<br />
as the Dante Academy in 1925. On June 8,<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Citizen reported on the official<br />
opening of the school as follows: “The official<br />
opening of the Dante Separate <strong>School</strong> for<br />
Italian children took place yesterday<br />
morning, and a special Mass, honoured by<br />
the presence of Monsignor L.N. Campeau,<br />
representing the Archbishop, was celebrated<br />
by Rev. Father L. Larocque at the Church<br />
of St. Anthony. Luigi Scarcella, Chairman<br />
of the Organizing Committee, thanked the<br />
school board, stating that ‘an opportunity<br />
has been given for preserving our tongue<br />
and for our progeny to retain our native<br />
individuality while training them to become<br />
good citizens and lovers of their country,<br />
which has adopted them.’” Following the<br />
Mass, an imposing and beautiful bronze<br />
statue of Dante, executed by Ruotolo, was<br />
blessed and unveiled by Monsignor<br />
Campeau. Mayor Belharrie spoke of the<br />
dedication to Dante, “whose name is<br />
synonymous with patriotism, religion,<br />
devotion to excellence and poetic<br />
inspiration.” The Dominion horticulturalist,<br />
Mr. W. T. Macoun, responded with a promise<br />
to provide a generous donation of trees to<br />
serve as a background to the statue.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
ANTHONY<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
391 Booth Street<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1R 7K5<br />
613-235-0340<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/san<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in this area of<br />
centretown <strong>Ottawa</strong> pre-dates the opening of<br />
the Dante Academy.<br />
St. Agnes <strong>School</strong> on Louisa Street<br />
existed as early as 1890-91 as indicated by<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong> city directory of that time.<br />
St. Agnes <strong>School</strong> later had an annex on<br />
Booth Street near the current site of<br />
St. Anthony <strong>School</strong>. This is how the early<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in the area was<br />
delivered. At around the turn of the century,<br />
approximately 300 people from Italy had<br />
settled primarily in an area that eventually<br />
would be the home both to St. Anthony<br />
Church and the Dante Academy.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
171<br />
In 1908, Capuchin priest Father F.<br />
Fortunato responded to the needs of this<br />
growing Italian community by holding<br />
religious ceremonies in a rented chapel on<br />
Murray Street. This continued until the<br />
completion of St. Anthony Church at the<br />
corner of Booth Street and Gladstone Avenue<br />
in 1913. The Servite Fathers, beginning with<br />
Father Aurelio Prosperi, became responsible<br />
for the parish in 1914. The burgeoning<br />
Italian population in the neighbourhood<br />
convinced the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
to build a school next to the new church.<br />
In addition to English and French, the<br />
school also provided instruction in Italian.<br />
It appears that at first the school was a part<br />
of the French-<strong>Catholic</strong> school system in the<br />
city but that there was an early transition<br />
to the English-<strong>Catholic</strong> system thanks to<br />
two early Italian teachers, Gino Tiezzi and<br />
Louise Guadagni.<br />
The school was originally named<br />
after the famous Italian writer Dante<br />
Aleghieri who ranks as one of the greatest<br />
writers in Western European literature and<br />
whose epic masterpiece, The Divine Comedy,<br />
was completed in 1307. A bust of Dante<br />
graced the entrance to the school until the<br />
Academy was renamed in the late 1940s at<br />
the request of Father Jerome Ferraro, Pastor<br />
of St. Anthony Parish. It was believed that<br />
“St. Anthony <strong>School</strong>” would better reflect the<br />
close affiliation of the school with the parish.<br />
St. Anthony of Padua is the patron saint of<br />
the poor and the oppressed. During these<br />
early years of the Dante Academy and later<br />
St. Anthony <strong>School</strong>, there was a close<br />
association of the area with St. Agnes <strong>School</strong><br />
as well, as the schools served the same<br />
community and students flowed between<br />
the two schools at times. In recent years<br />
and even to this day, St. Anthony <strong>School</strong><br />
continues a close connection with the parish<br />
including the Servite Priests and the Servite<br />
Sisters of the Addolorata, as well as parish<br />
groups such as the Ladies’ Aid and the<br />
Knights of Columbus.
Over the years, the school has<br />
witnessed many special events. On January<br />
12, 1928, His Excellency Monsignor Cassulo,<br />
the Apostolic Delegate to Canada and<br />
Newfoundland, together with other<br />
distinguished visitors including the Consul-<br />
General from Italy, were received as guests<br />
of the Dante Academy by Sister Vincent<br />
Ferrier on behalf of the staff. Six-year-old<br />
Albert Constantini and students Ernest<br />
Dilabbio and Rose Fusi welcomed the newly<br />
appointed representative of the Vatican to<br />
Canada.<br />
In the early years of St. Anthony<br />
Church, the students of the Dante Academy<br />
did their part to help pay off the debt<br />
associated with the building of the church.<br />
One event was a concert presented by<br />
students under the direction of Mrs.<br />
Richards.<br />
Winter carnivals were part of the<br />
life of the school for decades. On February<br />
20, 1950, the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Evening Citizen<br />
reported, complete with photograph, on<br />
the carnival festivities that took place on<br />
the school rink with students of both<br />
St. Anthony <strong>School</strong> and St. Agnes <strong>School</strong><br />
in attendance. John Curran and Eleanor<br />
Romani of St. Anthony were selected as king<br />
and queen of the carnival that year with<br />
Raymond Verdon and Judy Larocque of<br />
St. Agnes serving as the prince and princess.<br />
March 15, 1955 was a significant<br />
date in the life of St. Anthony <strong>School</strong> as it<br />
was the day of the blessing of a new sixroom<br />
addition, as well as the opening of a<br />
school library. The Grey Sisters of the<br />
Immaculate Conception were responsible for<br />
the school at that time, with Sister Mary Ida<br />
as principal. Father Prosperi, who laid the<br />
cornerstone for the original school in 1925,<br />
was present at this ceremony. There were<br />
also 30 altar boys and 15 teachers present<br />
in addition to various dignitaries.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
A student from St. Anthony <strong>School</strong><br />
made headlines in the <strong>Ottawa</strong> daily papers<br />
in December 1956. Daniel Miller, a 12-yearold<br />
student, received the Jack Hammell<br />
Traffic Safety Award for the <strong>Ottawa</strong> District<br />
in recognition of his excellent service as<br />
captain of the school’s safety patrol, which<br />
he had served faithfully and competently<br />
for four years. He was subsequently sent to<br />
participate in the first annual Safety Patrol<br />
Rally in Toronto, thanks to the parentteacher<br />
association.<br />
In February 1960, the students<br />
of St. Anthony <strong>School</strong> sent a pair of baby’s<br />
socks to Queen Elizabeth on the occasion<br />
of the birth of her son, Prince Andrew. They<br />
received a reply from Buckingham Palace on<br />
March 9, 1960, thanking them for their gift,<br />
with the words, “The Queen is most pleased<br />
to accept this gift, and deeply appreciates<br />
their very kind thought, both for her and<br />
for the infant Prince.”<br />
In recent years, St. Anthony <strong>School</strong><br />
has received national and international<br />
recognition for its schoolyard transformation<br />
project. In 1998, the students, staff and<br />
parents were determined to plant trees in<br />
the schoolyard. At one time, there had been<br />
trees on the property, but they had died or<br />
had become a safety concern and had to be<br />
taken down. The school, along with dozens<br />
of others, applied to win the “Ugliest<br />
<strong>School</strong>yard Contest,” sponsored by Earth<br />
Day <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton, the Canadian<br />
Biodiversity Institute and Nortel Networks.<br />
St. Anthony won the contest, which was held<br />
to encourage schools to take positive<br />
environmental action. The Honourable<br />
Christine Stewart, federal Minister of the<br />
Environment, was present when the school<br />
received the award on Earth Day 1998. By<br />
winning the contest, St. Anthony received<br />
$5,000 to help plant trees and make the<br />
schoolyard greener. This award, as well as<br />
the recognized need, resulted in outstanding<br />
parish and community support for the<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
172<br />
project. The students of St. Anthony, along<br />
with some from nearby Cambridge Public<br />
<strong>School</strong> and other youngsters called the<br />
Willow Street Angels, received many local,<br />
national and even international awards and<br />
recognition for the impact of the project on<br />
the school and the community. Awards were<br />
received from the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong>, the Arbour<br />
Foundation and the Canadian Wildlife<br />
Federation. In its publication Real Leaders,<br />
the Caledon Institute of Social Policy<br />
highlighted the work done by the students,<br />
citing the difference this had made within<br />
the community.<br />
Cambridge Public <strong>School</strong> students<br />
and parents participated in the project,<br />
helping with the planting of shrubs. They<br />
were involved because the students were<br />
enrolled in the St. Anthony summer day<br />
camp program.<br />
The Willow Street Angels are a<br />
group of young children in the St. Anthony<br />
area, led by community activitist Angela<br />
Ierullo, who regularly donate their spare<br />
time to pick up litter in their neighbourhood.<br />
The group is so named because Angela<br />
collects angel figurines. In helping with the<br />
schoolyard improvement project at<br />
St. Anthony, the Willow Street Angels realized<br />
that they could improve the neighbourhood<br />
not only by picking up litter but also by<br />
planting flowers, shrubs and trees.<br />
Because of this project, St. Anthony<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has been featured in a<br />
variety of publications including The Green<br />
Teacher and Greening <strong>School</strong> Grounds –<br />
Creating Habitats for Learning, A Guide to<br />
Transforming <strong>School</strong> Grounds, and Asking<br />
Children, and Listening to Children, a guide<br />
which includes a video. In 2002, Duke and<br />
Northwestern Universities in the United<br />
States, as part of a special project, sent<br />
teachers to St. Anthony <strong>School</strong> to learn about<br />
the reasons for its success in serving an<br />
ethnically diverse population.
Present Principal<br />
Theresa Swanson<br />
Past Principals<br />
Sister Joseph of the Sacred Heart,<br />
the school’s first principal in 1925<br />
Sister Bertha Bradley<br />
Sister Francis Morris Tap<br />
Sister Ann of the Cross<br />
Sister Mary Ida<br />
Margaret Wallace<br />
Mary Meagher<br />
Douglas Goodwin<br />
Francesco Lipari<br />
Georges Bouliane<br />
Clifford Foley<br />
John Dorner<br />
First Teachers and Support Staff<br />
Gino Tiezzi<br />
Louise Guadagni<br />
Miss Desormeaux<br />
Mr. Belanger<br />
Miss McCarthy<br />
Miss O’Dare<br />
Former Staff and Students<br />
One teacher of note at the school<br />
was Claire Fox who taught Grade 2 for a<br />
period of 37 years, followed by an additional<br />
three years as a substitute teacher in her<br />
retirement, totaling 40 years teaching at<br />
St. Anthony.<br />
Dennis Boucher won the<br />
CAHPERD (Canadian Association for<br />
Health, Physical Education, Recreation<br />
and Dance) award in 1998 for his work in<br />
creating playground materials and activities<br />
for students.<br />
John Dorner, who was principal<br />
of St. Anthony <strong>School</strong> from 1997 to 2003,<br />
received the Capital Educators’ Award in<br />
2002 and the For the Love of Children<br />
Award sponsored by Child and Youth<br />
Friendly <strong>Ottawa</strong> in 2003.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Principal Sister Mary Ida was well<br />
known for making donuts to be sold at the<br />
school to raise funds for necessary school<br />
items. She also sent students to the school<br />
board with donuts, requesting funds in<br />
return.<br />
Jean-Yves Paul, the coordinator of<br />
the St. Anthony after-school program, won a<br />
Community Builder Award from the United<br />
Way of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton.<br />
Bob Chiarelli is current Mayor of<br />
the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong> and a former chairperson<br />
of the Regional Municipality of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton. He is also a former Provincial<br />
MLA for the riding of <strong>Ottawa</strong> West.<br />
Mary Ierullo, a former student of<br />
the Dante Academy, was recognized by the<br />
Italian-Canadian Women of the Village for<br />
her lifetime of service to the people of the<br />
Preston Street area. The award is now given<br />
annually in her name. Mary and her<br />
daughter, Angela Ierullo, also a former<br />
St. Anthony student, opened the doors of<br />
their home to the children who became<br />
known as the Willow Street Angels.<br />
In 1992, Marina Molinari received<br />
a Terry Fox Humanitarian Award for<br />
exemplary volunteerism in a variety of<br />
settings serving children and the aged.<br />
Angelo Sgabellone is an<br />
internationally acclaimed creative director<br />
and art director with Maclean’s Magazine.<br />
Dr. Aurelio (Fred) Sirianni is<br />
a prominent scientist who developed<br />
technology that aided the allied forces<br />
during the Second World War.<br />
Patsy Guzzo, a student of the<br />
Dante Academy, played for the RCAF hockey<br />
team that won the Olympic gold medal for<br />
hockey in 1948.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
173<br />
Jennie Prosperine, a student of the<br />
Dante Academy, has served in a leadership<br />
capacity with the Ladies’ Aid of St. Anthony<br />
Parish and has been consistently generous<br />
to the school.<br />
Frank Nasso was the first Italian<br />
Canadian lawyer in <strong>Ottawa</strong>.<br />
Tony Licari is a well-known hockey<br />
player. A right-winger, he played nine games<br />
for the Detroit Red Wings in the 1946-47<br />
season. He was known as a reliable scorer in<br />
the minor and senior leagues and in Great<br />
Britain. He played in both the American<br />
Hockey League, with the senior RCAF squad<br />
and with the Harringay Racers in Britain<br />
where he scored 134 goals in three seasons.<br />
Johnny Ostipic became a notable<br />
swimmer.<br />
Ivy O was the primary speaker at<br />
the Citizenship Reaffirmation ceremony held<br />
at the National Arts Centre in 2002 with<br />
many dignitaries present. She is the<br />
daughter of Vietnamese-Canadian parents<br />
who were among the boat people who settled<br />
in <strong>Ottawa</strong>, one of the more recent immigrant<br />
groups to make their home in the<br />
centretown area.<br />
John Chiarelli became a trustee<br />
with the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> and then the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
Sister Emelia Testa, a former<br />
student, is now a strong supporter of<br />
St. Anthony <strong>School</strong>. For years she has<br />
provided daycare for the children in the<br />
neighbourhood.<br />
Italo Tiezzi is a former student<br />
who is a well known supporter of the arts<br />
in <strong>Ottawa</strong>.
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
The original school colours of the<br />
Dante Academy were red, green and yellow,<br />
the colours found on the flag of Italy. The<br />
school colours were changed to blue and<br />
silver after the renaming of the school.<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is a circle with the<br />
name “St. Anthony <strong>School</strong>” around the<br />
outside at the top and the motto “We Help<br />
Each Other” around the outside at the<br />
bottom. Inside the circle is a globe-like map<br />
of the world as well as the faces of four<br />
children. This is meant to be a<br />
representation of the entire world with the<br />
children of various cultural backgrounds<br />
representing the diversity of the student<br />
population at St. Anthony and the spirit of<br />
unity, which exists in the school community.<br />
The logo was developed by Theresa Gardner<br />
who was a teacher of English as a Second<br />
Language at St. Anthony.<br />
Motto<br />
The motto of St. Anthony <strong>School</strong> is<br />
“We Help Each Other.”<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
174
When it first opened in 1964,<br />
St. Augustine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was<br />
on the edge of <strong>Ottawa</strong>’s suburban<br />
growth. There was no housing development<br />
surrounding the school at that time, and<br />
Arnot Road was not paved. Indeed, the new<br />
school was situated in an open field with a<br />
view beyond Fisher Avenue clear through to<br />
Prince of Wales Drive (then the Prescott<br />
Highway) in the east. The Auto Sky Drive-in<br />
at Baseline Road and Fisher Avenue was<br />
clearly visible, as was St. Pius X High<br />
<strong>School</strong> at Fisher Avenue and Dynes Road.<br />
St. Augustine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was<br />
the second school to bear this name. The<br />
original, on Admiral Avenue near Carling<br />
Avenue, had been opened in 1955. This<br />
facility later became St. Elizabeth <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> and is now the site of St. Nicholas<br />
Adult High <strong>School</strong>, operated by the<br />
Continuing and Community Education<br />
Department of the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>. The original St. Augustine<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> on Admiral Avenue quickly<br />
became overcrowded. However, instead of<br />
putting an addition on to the school, the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> opted to construct an entirely new<br />
building on Arnot Road, naming it<br />
“St. Augustine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>” as it was<br />
located within the boundaries of the parish<br />
of the same name.<br />
When the new St. Augustine<br />
<strong>School</strong> opened its doors on January 29, 1964,<br />
there were 230 students enrolled from<br />
Kindergarten through to Grade 8. The school<br />
retained its grade 8 students until 1970.<br />
After that, grades 7 and 8 students attended<br />
Frank Ryan <strong>Catholic</strong> Senior Elementary<br />
<strong>School</strong>. The school was officially blessed<br />
in a ceremony on September 27, 1964.<br />
Terry Murphy was the first<br />
principal of St. Augustine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>,<br />
but he was much more than that. He was<br />
also the classroom teacher for a combined<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
AUGUSTINE<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
1009 Arnot Street<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K2C 0H5<br />
613-225-8020<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/sau<br />
grade 7-8 class numbering 48 students, 27<br />
in Grade 7 and 21 in Grade 8. In addition,<br />
the school at that time had no secretary, so<br />
office work was totally up to the principal<br />
as well. In 1968, with Norah Jackson as<br />
the principal, the school received its first<br />
portable classroom that was used as a gym.<br />
This stayed in place until 1973 when the<br />
portable classroom was relocated to<br />
St. Joseph Junior High <strong>School</strong>. In 1981,<br />
an addition and alterations were made to<br />
the school.<br />
Over the history of the school, it<br />
has been blessed to have the guidance and<br />
consistent visibility of the parish priest of<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
175<br />
St. Augustine Church on Baseline Road<br />
near the intersection of Merivale Road.<br />
Rev. Brendan O’Brien was the pastor at<br />
St. Augustine just prior to his appointment<br />
as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>.<br />
The two-storey school has two<br />
kindergarten classrooms, ten regular<br />
classrooms, a computer lab, a library and<br />
a large schoolyard.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Sheila O’Farrell (2006-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Terry Murphy (1964-68)<br />
Norah Jackson (1968-69)<br />
Doreen A. Hamilton (1970-78)<br />
Ken Kurs (1978-80)<br />
Gilles Doth (1980-84)<br />
Fergus Lyons (1984-88)<br />
Ernest Lefrançois (1989-90)<br />
Lorraine McFaul (1990)<br />
John Kavanagh<br />
Brian Brash<br />
Wayne Moyle<br />
Linda Mosley<br />
Ann Louise Revells<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Mary E. Lenahan<br />
Norah Jackson<br />
Marilyn Wolchuk<br />
Viola McAllister<br />
Averil Gomes<br />
Teresa Howard<br />
Mary Kathleen Heffernan<br />
Terry Murphy
Former Students<br />
Siobhan Karam has represented<br />
her country in national and international<br />
skating competitions.<br />
Brendan Bell played for four<br />
seasons for the <strong>Ottawa</strong> 67’s Junior A Hockey<br />
team of the Ontario Hockey League and was<br />
drafted in the third round (Number 65 overall)<br />
in the 2001 National Hockey League<br />
entry draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs and<br />
is now playing professional hockey.<br />
Joseph Tang is an accomplished<br />
pianist and violinist.<br />
Maria DeRosa won a research<br />
grant at Carleton University.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Blue and white<br />
Logo<br />
The logo includes a cross centred<br />
in three interlocking circles or rings, with<br />
the school name “St. Augustine <strong>School</strong>”<br />
below. The rings represent the connection<br />
among home, school and church.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Clothing<br />
Students adhere to a dress code<br />
reflecting the school colours, namely, a white<br />
shirt or blouse and blue pants or skirt.<br />
Friday is a day on which they may wear<br />
regular clothes.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
176<br />
A Story<br />
There is a story told about<br />
St. Augustine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> regarding a<br />
police constable who used to visit the school<br />
on his motorcycle and took great delight in<br />
giving students a ride in the sidecar. One<br />
day, when the constable was visiting<br />
classrooms, the principal slipped out and<br />
hid the motorcycle. When the poor constable<br />
discovered his motorcycle missing, he was in<br />
quite a state, beset by the thought of having<br />
to report to his superior officer that his<br />
motorcycle had been stolen.
In 2006, St. Bernard <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
reached its milestone 50 th anniversary of<br />
providing <strong>Catholic</strong> education to its area<br />
of Gloucester. At the time of its opening as<br />
a two-room school, it shared space with<br />
Ecole St. Bernard until the French school<br />
relocated just across the street in the new<br />
Ecole St. Bernadette. In 1956, St. Bernard<br />
had two teachers: Jeanne d’Arc Champagne<br />
taught a grade 1-2 class while Leona<br />
McAllister, who was also the principal of<br />
the school, taught the second class including<br />
students from Grade 3 and beyond.<br />
While St. Bernard <strong>School</strong> opened<br />
in 1956, the planning for it began the year<br />
before. In November 1955, trustees of the<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> for <strong>School</strong><br />
Section No. 2 of the Township of Gloucester<br />
purchased a lot on Sixth Avenue and<br />
Rosebella Avenue from Isaac Halpenny for<br />
$2,778.60. This became the site for the new<br />
school. Because additional land was soon<br />
needed, the <strong>Board</strong> of Trustees expropriated<br />
land for enlargement of the existing school<br />
site in October 1958. This provided sufficient<br />
space until 1987 when the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> leased land from the<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Episcopal Corporation of<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> for one dollar a year for ten years<br />
for use as a playground. This arrangement<br />
continues.<br />
The <strong>Board</strong> embarked on a major<br />
renovation and addition to St. Bernard in<br />
1989, which included a number of new<br />
classrooms, a library and a computer lab.<br />
This expansion of the school facility was<br />
necessary due to new residential<br />
developments within the school’s attendance<br />
boundaries. At its peak, the school’s<br />
enrolment approached 650 students. A fiveroom<br />
port-a-pak and two freestanding<br />
portables were later moved on to the site<br />
to handle this increased enrolment.<br />
Following this 1989 expansion of<br />
the school, a developmental education class<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
BERNARD<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
1722 St. Bernard Street<br />
Gloucester K1T 1K8<br />
613-521-5894<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/ber<br />
that had been housed at St. Mary <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> in South Gloucester was relocated to<br />
St. Bernard and has been an integral part<br />
of the school ever since. Its presence in the<br />
school very much captures the spirit of<br />
inclusion which pervades the St. Bernard<br />
<strong>School</strong> family, a diverse community whose<br />
students represent over 35 different<br />
nationalities and languages.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
177<br />
Present Principal<br />
Louise Garby ( 2006-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Leona McAllister(1956-57)<br />
Murray Shane (1957-58)<br />
Margaret Sirna (958-60)<br />
Paul Gravel (1960-61)<br />
Frank Matys (1961-65)<br />
James Mallen (1965-69)<br />
Claude Dubois (1969-73)<br />
Marie Kennedy (1973-78)<br />
Russ Graham (1978-82)<br />
Margaret McGrath (1982-88)<br />
Raymond Lussier (1988-89)<br />
Lloyd Ambler (1989-93)<br />
Paul Fortier (1993-97)<br />
Sherry Swales (1997-2000)<br />
Pat Jennings (2000)<br />
Gerry Gilmore (2000-05)<br />
Former Student and Staff<br />
In 1957, Mary Lee Jennings was<br />
the first and only grade 8 graduate of the<br />
school. She was also the only grade 8<br />
student in the school that year. She later<br />
became a teacher on staff at St. Bernard<br />
(1974-89).<br />
Principal Marie Kennedy (1973-78)<br />
was Provincial President of the Ontario<br />
English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’ Association<br />
during part of her time at St. Bernard.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Navy blue and green<br />
Logo<br />
The St. Bernard <strong>School</strong> logo<br />
includes the image of a torch, which<br />
symbolizes truth and knowledge. Other<br />
symbols on the crest are those of an open<br />
book and a cross, representing learning and<br />
the <strong>Catholic</strong> identity of the school.
St. Bernard <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
presents its grade 6 graduating students<br />
with a lapel pin embossed with the school<br />
logo, with the message to carry the spirit of<br />
St. Bernard with them as they continue on<br />
the next part of their <strong>Catholic</strong> education<br />
journey.<br />
Mascot<br />
A very loveable, cute, furry and<br />
cuddly “Bernie,” a rather large toy St.<br />
Bernard is the school’s mascot. Bernie often<br />
accompanies school teams to tournaments<br />
and other events and also comforts children<br />
in the office area when they are feeling<br />
under the weather. Over the years, through<br />
the kindness of parents and other friends of<br />
St. Bernard, Bernie’s family has grown to<br />
include a number of puppies.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Television News Show<br />
Wake-Up, St. Bernard has been a<br />
weekly television news show that was first<br />
broadcast in 1995 and became a very<br />
popular part of life at St. Bernard,<br />
celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2005.<br />
The show is broadcast live to all classrooms<br />
in the school every Friday morning. Selected<br />
grade 6 students, under the direction of the<br />
program’s founder, Teacher Hugh Connolly,<br />
serve as anchorpersons, interviewers, sports<br />
and special event reporters and technicians.<br />
During the week leading up to the show,<br />
students seek out news items of interest to<br />
the student population and conduct<br />
interviews, tape newsworthy segments and<br />
compile it all for the Friday morning<br />
broadcast.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
178
The history of St. Brigid <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> is linked with the history of<br />
St. Brigid’s Parish, which has been<br />
a Lowertown beacon of the <strong>Catholic</strong> faith<br />
since the church opened in 1890. It served<br />
the Irish <strong>Catholic</strong> community of the area<br />
and was named in honour of the patroness<br />
of Ireland, and a saint who devoted her life<br />
to the service of the poor through her efforts<br />
as a nun, abbess and foundress of an Irish<br />
congregation. It was not long before the<br />
thoughts of the congregation turned to<br />
education for the children of the parish.<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in St. Brigid<br />
Parish can be traced back to the early 1890s,<br />
although records from that time are sketchy.<br />
An early minute book contains an entry<br />
dated October 11, 1892 showing a request<br />
from Brother Patrick, Director of St. Brigid<br />
<strong>School</strong>, for a clock and benches. An old<br />
account book contains a December 31, 1892<br />
item for heating expenses for St. Brigid<br />
<strong>School</strong>. Another dated December 31, 1895 in<br />
an old account book refers to the salaries for<br />
William Burke, Miss M.E. O’Meara, Miss M.<br />
E. Cassidy and Miss Annie McCready of<br />
St. Brigid. Another minute book entry<br />
dated October 9, 1906 makes it clear that<br />
Mr. Burke, principal of the school, was to<br />
receive a maximum salary of $1,000.<br />
An entry dated October 29, 1918<br />
for the period 1913-1918 notes that Principal<br />
Burke was being transferred to St. Joseph<br />
<strong>School</strong> due to the death of Principal<br />
Moriarty. The same minute book also<br />
contains an entry dated November 8, 1918,<br />
in which Mr. Phelan is appointed Principal<br />
of St. Brigid <strong>School</strong>. Finally there is an<br />
entry dated October 26, 1932, noting a<br />
contribution of $7,000 from the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Episcopal Corporation<br />
after a fire at the school.<br />
An early <strong>Catholic</strong> school in<br />
St. Brigid Parish was Our Lady’s Primary,<br />
which was built in 1904 at the corner of<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
BRIGID<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
200 Springfield Road<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1M 1C2<br />
613-746-4888<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/sbr<br />
Murray Street and Cumberland Street in<br />
close proximity to the church. A new<br />
St. Brigid <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was built in 1924,<br />
to provide additional access to a <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education for Lowertown families. Located<br />
at the corner of King Edward Avenue and<br />
Murray Street, this is the present-day site<br />
of the Shepherds of Good Hope soup kitchen<br />
and emergency shelter for the homeless,<br />
which was started in 1983.<br />
Our Lady’s Primary was designated<br />
as a <strong>Catholic</strong> school for girls, under the<br />
guidance of the Grey Sisters. St. Brigid<br />
<strong>School</strong>, meanwhile, was a school for boys,<br />
originally operated by the Christian Brothers.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
179<br />
Eventually, in the early 1950s, the<br />
two schools became coeducational, providing<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education to area families. Our<br />
Lady’s Primary housed the grades 1 to 3<br />
students while St. Brigid accommodated<br />
those in Grades 4 to 8.<br />
This continued until 1971 when<br />
Our Lady’s Primary was closed and the<br />
original site of St. Brigid <strong>School</strong> was<br />
abandoned in favour of a new location,<br />
occupying a former girls’ high school facility<br />
at the corner of Maple Lane and Springfield<br />
Road in Rockcliffe Park. This building was<br />
originally designed in 1966 as a French girls’<br />
high school run by the Sisters of Charity,<br />
whose convent next door was the home of<br />
the staff of teaching sisters. Since it was<br />
built as a high school, the school featured<br />
lockers, wide hallways and a number of<br />
oversized rooms, which had been used as the<br />
high school cafeteria. With this move in<br />
September 1971, St. Brigid <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
flourished under the guidance and<br />
leadership of Principal Sister Eleanor<br />
Hennessey who was in charge of the school<br />
from 1968 to 1984. It truly lived up to its<br />
mission statement of “fostering learning and<br />
growth in a caring Christian community.”<br />
The Sisters of Charity supported this new<br />
school in their former building by allowing<br />
the student body to utilize their adjacent<br />
land for athletic and physical education<br />
purposes. This arrangement continued until<br />
a new gymnasium was built at the school in<br />
2001.<br />
Throughout the years, St. Brigid<br />
<strong>School</strong> has benefited from the caring and<br />
supportive work of the priests of St. Brigid<br />
Parish as well as from the involvement of<br />
many religious Sisters. Many former<br />
principals were members of the Grey Sisters<br />
of the Immaculate Conception. Sister<br />
Eleanor Hennessey, after her years as<br />
principal, remained as the parish liaison<br />
person with the school from 1985 through<br />
to 1998. Her spirit and love of education are
very much viewed as symbolic of the<br />
tradition of a strong link between the school<br />
and the parish that has existed at St. Brigid.<br />
This relationship between school and church<br />
is also exemplified by the efforts of Sister<br />
Jean Goulet, a Sister of Holy Cross, who has<br />
been involved in sacramental preparation<br />
at St. Brigid in recent years, starting in<br />
the early 1990s on an invitation from Sister<br />
Eleanor Hennessey.<br />
The school-parish relationship,<br />
going back over 100 years to the opening<br />
of the first parish school in the fledgling<br />
St. Brigid Parish, continues today, with one<br />
of the shared parish-school activities being<br />
the celebration of the feast of St. Brigid on<br />
February 1. The school participates in this<br />
celebration by providing student liturgical<br />
dancers and altar servers as well as the<br />
voices of the school choir. A display of<br />
religious artwork by students is also a<br />
feature of the celebration.<br />
Throughout the school year, a<br />
number of Masses are celebrated today in<br />
the school gym, with students, staff, parents<br />
and parishioners in attendance. Retired<br />
Sisters of Charity from the neighbouring<br />
convent also attend these school liturgies.<br />
The reception of the sacraments of the<br />
Eucharist and Confirmation by students is<br />
a highlight of spring at St. Brigid Church<br />
today, as is a children’s pageant on<br />
Christmas Eve. The parish and school also<br />
collaborate on holding a “Spring Fling”<br />
which sees students and their families have<br />
fun on the school property, with games and<br />
activities, while celebrating together as a<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> community.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Present Principal<br />
Geoff Burridge<br />
Past Principals<br />
Lionel J. O’Connor (1945-48)<br />
Sister Maureen (1949-50)<br />
Sister Mary Lawrence (1951-56)<br />
Sister St. Brendan (1957-59)<br />
Sister Mary Gregory (1960-67)<br />
Sister Eleanor Hennessey (1968-84)<br />
Mary Durst<br />
Yvonne Harper<br />
Philip Butler<br />
Peter Daly<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Teaching Staff 1971-72<br />
(First year at the 140 Springfield<br />
Road location)<br />
Lynda Pollex<br />
Carol Greer<br />
Susan West<br />
Yvonne Harper<br />
P. Vervaeke<br />
Morley LaBelle<br />
Sister Teresa O’Reilly<br />
Diane Lorbetskie<br />
Donna Burke<br />
Michael Newton<br />
Lorraine Keyuk<br />
Dalia Naujokaitis<br />
Teaching Staff 1972-73<br />
(Second year at the 140 Springfield<br />
Road location)<br />
Francis Kiem<br />
June Domokos<br />
Lynda Pollex<br />
Carol Greer<br />
P. Vervaeke<br />
Yvonne Harper<br />
Barbara Gutz<br />
Morley LaBelle<br />
Susan West<br />
Donna Burke<br />
Anne McCready<br />
Michael Newton<br />
Lorraine Keyuk<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
180<br />
Former Students<br />
Wayne Rostad, television host and<br />
country singer<br />
King Clancy, <strong>Ottawa</strong> Senator and<br />
Toronto Maple Leaf hockey player, long-time<br />
Toronto Maple Leaf executive and member<br />
of the Hockey Hall of Fame<br />
Jason Lachance, a Canadian<br />
paralympic track athlete<br />
Elder Marques served as a student<br />
trustee with the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> during the 1997-98<br />
school year. He has earned a Masters degree<br />
from the London <strong>School</strong> of Economics.<br />
Having entered the field of law, he is<br />
presently articling at the Supreme Court of<br />
Canada and plans to practice law in Toronto.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Gold and green<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is a stylized<br />
version of a famous Celtic symbol, the cross<br />
of St. Brigid.<br />
Motto<br />
Grace”<br />
“Growing Together in Wisdom and<br />
Remembering a Grey Sister<br />
Carmel Maloney started her<br />
education at Our Lady’s <strong>School</strong>. When it<br />
was closed, she was among those students<br />
who were sent to St. Brigid <strong>School</strong> where<br />
the Grey Sisters were teaching at the time.<br />
Carmel especially remembers Sister Mary<br />
David, who later taught her once again at<br />
Immaculata High <strong>School</strong>.
While St. Catherine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
itself is nearing 50 years of<br />
providing education in the<br />
Metcalfe area, <strong>Catholic</strong> education has even<br />
deeper roots in the community, reaching<br />
back about 150 years. The first settler in<br />
the area was Lt. Col. Archibald McDonell,<br />
a veteran of the War of 1812, who received<br />
a large grant of land in Osgoode Township,<br />
settling south of present-day Metcalfe in<br />
1827, with his wife Catherine and eight<br />
children. His ninth child was the first child<br />
born in Osgoode Township. By 1831,<br />
33 other families had settled in the area,<br />
most as a result of Archibald McDonell’s<br />
involvement.<br />
In 1834, Archibald McDonell<br />
moved to what is now Metcalfe village where<br />
a frame Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> church was built in<br />
1838 on land donated by his wife Catherine.<br />
A new church, built in approximately 1859<br />
on the site of present-day St. Catherine of<br />
Siena <strong>Catholic</strong> Church, replaced this early<br />
chapel, located just west of Metcalfe village.<br />
At some point between 1840 and 1859,<br />
a school was built just south of this new<br />
church site. There was a period of time after<br />
the original chapel was razed and the new<br />
church built when Mass was celebrated in<br />
that schoolhouse.<br />
It is reasonable to assume that<br />
this first school was in essence a <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school, since Catherine and Archibald<br />
McDonell had 13 children in total, and since<br />
Mrs. McDonell was such a devout <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
that the early churches were known as the<br />
Mission of St. Catherine, a name that was<br />
retained when the <strong>Catholic</strong> community<br />
became a full-fledged parish in 1898, and<br />
renamed “St. Catherine of Siena.” By 1880,<br />
the population of Metcalfe had grown to<br />
80 families, 20 of whom were <strong>Catholic</strong>. The<br />
parish drew from a wider area as it counted<br />
65 families in its congregation in 1885, most<br />
of them of Irish descent. Just how long this<br />
early <strong>Catholic</strong> school continued in Metcalfe<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
CATHERINE<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
2717 - 8th Line Road<br />
Metcalfe K0A 2P0<br />
613-821-1002<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/cat<br />
is unknown, although it was definitely<br />
closed by the turn of the century. In 1884,<br />
a two-room brick school was built where<br />
Metcalfe Public <strong>School</strong> now stands. It is<br />
possible that <strong>Catholic</strong> students in the area<br />
were then attending this school, since it is<br />
known that, by 1890, the parish was<br />
providing Catechism classes on Sundays<br />
to the <strong>Catholic</strong> children of the area.<br />
It is indisputable that there was<br />
a strong and active <strong>Catholic</strong> presence in the<br />
Metcalfe area right from its earliest days<br />
and that this included a <strong>Catholic</strong> school, at<br />
least for a period of time. This, though, was<br />
not the only <strong>Catholic</strong> education presence in<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
181<br />
the area. In 1876, Patrick Herbert donated<br />
land for use by Osgoode <strong>School</strong> Section No.<br />
14, on which was built an elementary<br />
school to serve an Irish settlement of<br />
approximately 13 <strong>Catholic</strong> and five<br />
Protestant families who lived in the vicinity.<br />
The teachers in this S.S. No. 14 school were<br />
of Irish <strong>Catholic</strong> descent but no religion was<br />
taught at the school because some of the<br />
students were Protestants. The children<br />
received their religious instruction at home,<br />
as well as at St. John the Evangelist<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Church, where Catechism classes<br />
were taught.<br />
Following World War I, the area<br />
around this school attracted a number of<br />
French-Canadian families and their children<br />
attended this English public school.<br />
However, a dispute arose when the French-<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> parents wanted the rosary and<br />
Catechism introduced into the school.<br />
Eventually, a compromise was reached<br />
whereby <strong>Catholic</strong> students stayed in class<br />
at noon to say the rosary and remained<br />
after school when a teacher taught them<br />
Catechism. Finally, the French-<strong>Catholic</strong><br />
parents purchased S.S. No. 14 and the<br />
school became a French-<strong>Catholic</strong> bilingual<br />
school called R.C.S.S. No. 14 of Osgoode. It<br />
remained a flourishing school for a number<br />
of years, attracting as many as 50 students.<br />
St. Catherine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
opened in Metcalfe village in 1961. By 1966,<br />
the Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> S.S. No. 14 Osgoode<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> had dissolved because an<br />
overwhelming majority of its Francophone<br />
ratepayers voted to support St. Catherine<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> where their children could<br />
be educated. A population influx in the<br />
Metcalfe area in the 1950s following the<br />
Second World War saw numerous Dutch,<br />
Irish, British, Scottish and French families<br />
join St. Catherine Parish. Many of these new<br />
parishioners had received their education in<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools in their native countries<br />
and, as a result, were eager to have their
children given the opportunity to attend a<br />
school where the <strong>Catholic</strong> faith could be an<br />
integral part of school life.<br />
This idea was also attractive to<br />
long-time parishioners, so the parish priest,<br />
Father Pierre Martel, was approached about<br />
the possibility of having a <strong>Catholic</strong> school in<br />
Metcalfe. Father Martel fully supported the<br />
concept. In 1960, a meeting was held in the<br />
basement of the church. There emerged<br />
some concerns about whether such a<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school in the community would<br />
prove to be a tax burden for the residents,<br />
but these were overcome as a majority<br />
favoured going ahead with the idea.<br />
The members of the parish elected<br />
a school board consisting of Gerry Mullins,<br />
Jim Rowan and Bert van Rens. The project<br />
got underway immediately, with the new<br />
board meeting with school inspector Leo<br />
Dupuis to gain guidance and advice on how<br />
to accomplish their aim of having a <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school in Metcalfe. The school board<br />
purchased a parcel of land next to the<br />
existing Metcalfe Public <strong>School</strong>, paying one<br />
dollar to the parish. The <strong>Board</strong> arranged<br />
the financing for construction of the new<br />
St. Catherine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> at a cost of<br />
$45,000. Henri D’Aoust was the contractor<br />
for the construction of this new school,<br />
which consisted of three rooms. It opened<br />
its doors in September 1961.<br />
Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Windle<br />
visited the school for its official opening and<br />
blessing, which was a true parish effort. The<br />
ladies of St. Catherine of Siena Church, for<br />
instance, raised funds to provide for the<br />
learning materials needed. The parish also<br />
helped out in the early years of the school<br />
by purchasing items such as venetian blinds,<br />
clocks, paint and sports equipment.<br />
An early hurdle for the <strong>Board</strong>, once<br />
the school was constructed, was hiring<br />
teachers. Most new teachers wanted to teach<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
in the city rather than in a distant rural<br />
area like Metcalfe. Interviews at the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Teachers’ College in downtown <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
proved fruitless, but then the school board<br />
heard about Miss Madeleine Bourbonnais, a<br />
former nun who was living in Embrun. She<br />
was hired, as was Miss Gisele Boisonneault,<br />
another former nun who was living on<br />
Snake Island Road near Metcalfe.<br />
Initially, St. Catherine <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> had three classrooms, serving<br />
students from Grades 1 through 8. There<br />
was one class for students in Grades 1, 2<br />
and 3, another class for those in Grades 4, 5<br />
and 6, and a third for Grades 7 and 8.<br />
One problem emerged in those<br />
early years: the school had been built too<br />
low, with the result that in the springtime,<br />
the septic weeping bed backed up into the<br />
school. This resulted in some quick action in<br />
which school board member Bert van Rens<br />
and another man took to the shovels,<br />
digging a drainage ditch to relieve the<br />
situation. This obstacle was overcome<br />
permanently in 1965 when an addition with<br />
new classrooms was added to the original<br />
building, built at a higher elevation and<br />
joined to the original school by a ramp.<br />
St. Catherine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
continued to grow. In 1966, three more<br />
classrooms were added. This was followed<br />
by another expansion in 1968, adding<br />
another three classrooms and a gymnasium.<br />
St. Catherine <strong>School</strong> had grown from a<br />
three-classroom facility when it opened in<br />
1961 to an 11-classroom school in 1968,<br />
complete with gymnasium, kitchen facilities,<br />
staff room, principal’s office and supply<br />
room, staffed by 12 teachers, a principal<br />
and a full-time secretary.<br />
St. Catherine <strong>School</strong> underwent an<br />
extensive renovation project in 2005, which<br />
included a new library and a state-of-the-art<br />
computer lab for the school.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
182<br />
The latter part of the 1960s saw<br />
changes in the governance of local schools.<br />
This affected St. Catherine because the<br />
local school board was replaced, first by a<br />
township board representing a wider area<br />
and then, in 1969, by the newly-formed<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>,<br />
on which a single trustee, Mike Kelly,<br />
represented the Osgoode area.<br />
St. Catherine remained as a<br />
kindergarten to grade 8 school until 1980,<br />
when grades 7 and 8 students were<br />
reassigned to the new Southern Area Junior<br />
High <strong>School</strong> (now St. Mark <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong>) near Manotick.<br />
Over the years, St. Catherine<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has maintained a unique<br />
and close relationship with St. Catherine<br />
of Siena <strong>Catholic</strong> Church, which is located<br />
directly across the Eighth Line Road.<br />
Students walk across the street weekly for<br />
Masses and special liturgies. A tradition has<br />
evolved where the priests visit the school<br />
almost every day, bringing the Gospel and<br />
love of Christ right into the classrooms and<br />
hallways of the school. The parish priests<br />
who have been involved with the school<br />
include Father Pierre Martel (1958-65),<br />
Father L. Frappier (1965-70), Father A.<br />
Fortin (1970-71), Father M.A. Minvielle<br />
(1971-84), Father R. Lafleur (1984-90),<br />
Father J. E. Vayalil (1990-99), Father<br />
Lindsay Harrison (1999-2002), Father<br />
Glycerio Jiminez (2002-03) and Father Giles<br />
Joly (2003-present).<br />
This special church-school<br />
relationship is but one of a variety of<br />
traditions and activities that have developed<br />
at St. Catherine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. Students<br />
annually attend and participate in the<br />
Metcalfe Fair. Other events include<br />
breakfast with Santa, a Halloween<br />
spooktacular, Christmas shopping in the<br />
gym, a “Spring Fling,” a Christmas concert,<br />
a float in the community’s Christmas
parade, an Advent food drive, public<br />
speaking contests and the “Jump Rope For<br />
Heart” fundraising activity for the Heart<br />
and Stroke Foundation.<br />
Academic excellence has always<br />
been at the forefront of life at St. Catherine.<br />
This reached a peak in 2005 when the<br />
Ontario Ministry of Education named<br />
St. Catherine <strong>School</strong> as one of two<br />
exemplary schools in Eastern Ontario,<br />
because the school’s Education Quality and<br />
Accountability Office (EQAO) test results<br />
had improved progressively over a five-year<br />
period, indicating strong student academic<br />
achievement. Anna Yates, principal at the<br />
time, credited this success story to the<br />
school’s approach to shared responsibility for<br />
student learning. “We have excellent team<br />
effort at all levels – home, parish, school and<br />
board – in sharing responsibility for student<br />
learning,” she told Ministry officials when<br />
explaining the school’s achievement.<br />
While academic success has been<br />
paramount at St. Catherine <strong>School</strong>, so too<br />
has athletic and sports effort and<br />
participation. From 1999 through 2005,<br />
the school received various gold, platinum<br />
and diamond awards from the Canadian<br />
Association for Health, Physical Education,<br />
Recreation and Dance (CAHPERD) in<br />
recognition of its quality daily physical<br />
education programs. In 2006, St. Catherine<br />
was awarded an Outstanding Intramural<br />
Recreation Achievement Award from the<br />
Canadian Intramural Recreation Association<br />
– Ontario (CIRA), a national organization<br />
that recognizes excellence in recreation and<br />
extra-curricular programs for students.<br />
Students enjoy intramural sports programs<br />
and participate in <strong>Board</strong>-wide athletics<br />
tournaments.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Thanks to the commitment of the<br />
staff and to community involvement, the<br />
school has been able to offer numerous extra<br />
activities such as piano, music and drama.<br />
An active and involved parental community,<br />
going right back to the initial support from<br />
the parish when the school was first built,<br />
has supported all this over the years.<br />
The parents of St. Catherine play<br />
a role in the life of the school on a daily<br />
basis. They are curriculum helpers in the<br />
kindergarten classes as well as in the<br />
French program and assist overall with<br />
reading and writing initiatives. Parent<br />
volunteers prepare hot lunches on certain<br />
days, help maintain the school grounds and<br />
are continually involved in school activities.<br />
Every fall, for instance, parents assist the<br />
grade 6 graduating students in planting<br />
tulip bulbs at the school.<br />
The school council at St. Catherine<br />
consistently raises funds to purchase special<br />
resources to help improve the learning<br />
environment. In 2003, St. Catherine <strong>School</strong><br />
families raised the funds for a new sun<br />
shelter in the school playground and then<br />
undertook its construction. In 2006, families<br />
became involved in a fundraising effort to<br />
build a new play structure that is to be a<br />
joint enterprise with the adjacent Metcalfe<br />
Public <strong>School</strong>. Indeed, St. Catherine <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> maintains a cooperative working<br />
relationship with its neighbour and the two<br />
schools attend each other’s special events on<br />
occasion.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
183<br />
Present Principal<br />
Donald Kearnan<br />
Past Principals<br />
Madeline Bourbonnais<br />
Andrew McKinley (1966-73)<br />
John Delorme<br />
Gary Valiquette<br />
Lyle Bergeron<br />
Gerry Coulombe<br />
Basil Tomlinson<br />
Judy Sarginson<br />
Brenda Mulvihill<br />
Jean-Marie Stewart<br />
Anna Yates<br />
Eileen Maychruk<br />
First Teachers and Support Staff<br />
Mrs. Curran<br />
Miss Zappia<br />
Miss Scanlon<br />
Ray McShane<br />
Linda Bekkers<br />
Kathy Kelly<br />
Michelle Mazarole<br />
Cathy Coletti<br />
Noella Crawford (Chisholm)<br />
Al Micus<br />
Cathy Robillard<br />
Mr. Joseph<br />
Linda Groves<br />
Elizabeth Rock<br />
Jackie Graham<br />
Carol King Bourdeleaux<br />
Dorothy Pickering (Collins)<br />
Leslie MacDonald<br />
Michelle Desjardins<br />
Elaine Barr<br />
Antoine Joinette<br />
Gwen Blais, Secretary<br />
Catherine Clennett, Secretary<br />
Darlene Longchamps, Secretary<br />
Agnes Lee, Secretary (current)
Former Student<br />
Heather Purcell, a member of the<br />
Canadian gymnastics team in the 2004<br />
Summer Olympics in Greece<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
The school colours are blue and<br />
light blue.<br />
Logo<br />
A halo with the letters “SCS”<br />
under it was a logo first used in a yearbook<br />
design in 1978. A later logo consisted of a<br />
book with a heart and a cross in the middle.<br />
The school’s latest logo is a scholar holding<br />
an interlocking “St. C,” in the school colours<br />
of blue and light blue.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Former Trustees<br />
Trustees who served on the local<br />
school board for St. Catherine <strong>School</strong> prior<br />
to the formation of the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in 1969<br />
included Jim Rowan, George Van Berlo, Joe<br />
Rowan, Gerald Mullins, Bert Velthuis and<br />
Bert van Rens.<br />
Student Memorial Awards<br />
Sean Patterson Christian Leadership Memorial<br />
Award<br />
Sean Patterson was a grade 1<br />
student at St. Catherine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
who died with his grandmother in a car<br />
accident in Metcalfe in July 2004. In his<br />
honour, a medal for Christian leadership is<br />
presented annually to a student in each<br />
grade who has demonstrated respect for<br />
others and who has demonstrated kindness<br />
to everyone, both within the school and in<br />
the wider community.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
184<br />
Kristy MacDowell Memorial Award<br />
Kristy MacDowell attended<br />
St. Catherine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> from Junior<br />
Kindergarten through to Grade 6. In March<br />
1996, Kristy was diagnosed with leukemia.<br />
She and her classmates were preparing<br />
for their Confirmation during the year<br />
that Kristy was ill, and, as part of their<br />
Confirmation project, they raised money for<br />
leukemia research. St. Catherine <strong>School</strong> also<br />
hosted a bone marrow donor clinic in hopes<br />
of finding a match for Kristy or someone else<br />
on the waiting list. Unfortunately, Kristy<br />
died a few days before the clinic, but it went<br />
ahead as planned in her memory. After<br />
Kristy’s death, her parents donated a trophy<br />
case and trophy. The Kristy MacDowell<br />
Memory Award is presented annually to<br />
a St. Catherine student who has shown<br />
courage and determination in academics<br />
or in other areas of endeavour.
St. Clare and St. Francis of Assisi<br />
are two saints who had a strong<br />
relationship with each other, and<br />
so it is no coincidence that St. Clare <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> and St. Francis of Assisi <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>, both serving the Orléans area, bear<br />
their names.<br />
St. Clare <strong>School</strong>, built to<br />
accommodate a growing student population<br />
in the area, causing serious overcrowding at<br />
St. Francis of Assisi, opened its doors in<br />
1994. The name “St. Clare” was chosen for<br />
the school because she was a good friend and<br />
associate of St. Francis of Assisi and because<br />
there was a desire within the area to<br />
maintain a strong relationship between the<br />
St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare <strong>School</strong><br />
communities. (St. Clare founded the Order<br />
of Poor Ladies. Born in 1194 in Assisi, Italy,<br />
she gave her life to God after hearing<br />
St. Francis preach in the streets).<br />
St. Clare <strong>School</strong> has shown in its<br />
community outreach over the years that,<br />
like St. Clare, it has helped the less<br />
fortunate in society through such programs<br />
as Christmas hampers, a Lenten drive and<br />
Habitat for Humanity, as well as supporting<br />
UNICEF, the United Way, the Red Cross, the<br />
Terry Fox Run and the victims of the<br />
tsunami in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in<br />
2005.<br />
The school was formed in<br />
September 1993, and spent the first months<br />
of its existence in premises at St. Francis of<br />
Assisi <strong>School</strong>, moving to its new location on<br />
March 3, 1994, after construction was<br />
completed. During the building of the new<br />
school in the fall of 1993, Teacher Mrs.<br />
Lynne Charette and her grade 4-5 class<br />
planted a time capsule in the central office<br />
area. The plan is to open this time capsule<br />
at the school’s 25 th anniversary in 2019.<br />
St. Clare <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has<br />
always benefited from strong parental<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
CLARE<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
2133 Gardenway Drive<br />
Orléans K4A 3M2<br />
613-834-6334<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/cla<br />
support, with an average of 150 parent<br />
volunteers helping out annually at the<br />
school. The school council at St. Clare is an<br />
active group working tirelessly for the needs<br />
of all of the students. A recent fitness<br />
structure in the schoolyard that enhances<br />
the natural and aesthetic appearance of the<br />
area was created with the recent efforts of<br />
their work. This schoolyard includes a<br />
number of trees planted by the school’s<br />
Earth Club.<br />
The school has supported the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Wild Bird Care Centre and has<br />
received recognition for its good works by<br />
becoming recipients of the <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
185<br />
Environment Award, the Ecological Literacy<br />
Award and the EcoKids Award for 1999-<br />
2000. The EcoKids Award is sponsored by<br />
Earth Day <strong>Ottawa</strong> as part of its Earth Day<br />
Canada focus. Ann Jarnet, Senior Manager,<br />
Environmental Learning, Environment<br />
Canada presented the Ecological Literacy<br />
Award to the school in the spring of 2003, in<br />
recognition of the school’s efforts to support<br />
the Framework for Environmental Learning<br />
and Sustainability in Canada.<br />
St. Clare <strong>School</strong> has a talented<br />
choir who has taken part in recent <strong>Board</strong>wide<br />
musicals. In addition, the school has<br />
annually produced its own major shows for<br />
the past decade. St. Clare <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
partners with a variety of other<br />
organizations, such as the <strong>Ottawa</strong> 67’s<br />
Adopt-a-<strong>School</strong> program, co-op students from<br />
local high schools and student teachers from<br />
Potsdam University, the University of<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>, Nipissing University and Algonquin<br />
College.<br />
Parish priests from Divine Infant<br />
Church, the parish for the area in which the<br />
school is located, are involved in the faith<br />
life of the school, celebrating liturgies and<br />
helping prepare the students for their<br />
sacraments.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Joanne Meredith<br />
Past Principals<br />
Dorothy Collins<br />
Dianna Gardner<br />
Vice-Principals<br />
Gloria Horan<br />
Madelaine Soulière-Brown<br />
Carmel Horan
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Francine Marleau<br />
Jo-Ellen Meeck<br />
Alveta Goguen<br />
Mary-Lee Jennings<br />
Kim Whattam<br />
Lynne Charette<br />
Cheryl Tymchuk<br />
Catherine Roy<br />
Yvonne Smith<br />
John Weir<br />
Donna Keating<br />
Gabriel Massicotte<br />
Helen O’Hara<br />
Michel Rozon<br />
Gerald Breau<br />
Barbara St-Pierre<br />
Dorothy Collins<br />
Former Students<br />
Courtney Pilypaitis was captain of<br />
the Ontario juvenile team, winning a gold<br />
medal at the Canada Games.<br />
Kyle Chin D’Aoust played for the<br />
Little League baseball team that won the<br />
Canadian championship and placed sixth in<br />
the world.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
The school colours are purple and<br />
grey. These colours were chosen by the first<br />
group of grade six students who were given<br />
this privilege because there were only 12 of<br />
them, including only one boy.<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is circular with<br />
a banner with the name “St. Clare” going<br />
across the centre of it, and a cross in the<br />
background. The words “<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>”<br />
are at the bottom of the crest.<br />
Mascot<br />
The school mascot is a stuffed<br />
elephant that the students named “Elphis<br />
the Elephant.”<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
186<br />
Song<br />
The St. Clare <strong>School</strong> song was<br />
written by parent Tim Mouchet and his son<br />
Benjamin, who was a student at St. Clare.<br />
Lines in the song, which capture the essence<br />
of the school, are as follows:<br />
“It’s great to know why, St. Clare<br />
by my side, her loving spirit of love guiding<br />
me. My family and I feel so happy inside,<br />
‘cause I’m the best that I can be, at St. Clare<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.”
Aschool that bears a saint’s name<br />
but may really be named in<br />
memory of a departed student;<br />
a school that for years stood as a symbol of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education along a busy street and<br />
is now in a new home; and a school that<br />
owes much of its beginning to the Basilian<br />
fathers of St. Basil’s Parish — this is<br />
St. Daniel <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
The school, originally called<br />
Maitland Avenue <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, opened<br />
in September 1961, although its official<br />
naming, opening and blessing didn’t take<br />
place until February 1962. Construction<br />
of the school was not fully completed until<br />
February 1966. An addition consisting of<br />
four classrooms and a general-purpose room<br />
was constructed in 1965.<br />
The school community chose the<br />
name “St. Daniel.” This may have been due<br />
to the fact that a young student named<br />
Danny was involved in a fatal car accident<br />
near the school, with the community<br />
choosing the name in his memory. As well,<br />
Father A.J. Ruth, Pastor of St. Basil Church,<br />
submitted the name of St. Daniel to the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in<br />
February 1962. In the final analysis, the<br />
school was formally named after Daniel,<br />
the great prophet of the Old Testament.<br />
On February 23, 1971, at 4:30<br />
a.m., Raymond Groulx, the Administrator<br />
and Secretary-Treasurer of the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>,<br />
received a call from a district chief of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Fire Department telling him about<br />
a serious explosion at St. Daniel <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>. The glass block panels on the first<br />
floor were shattered by the blast. Walls had<br />
collapsed and ceilings were cracked. Doors<br />
on the second floor were broken. However,<br />
the building was found to be structurally<br />
sound. Investigators believed that a buildup<br />
of carbon in the furnace caused the<br />
explosion. While repairs were being made to<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
DANIEL<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
1313 Field Street<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K2C 2P9<br />
613-225-4603<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/sda<br />
the damaged school, the students had to be<br />
accommodated elsewhere. As of Monday,<br />
March 1, all of the students from St. Daniel<br />
were housed in four neighbouring schools<br />
and transported by bus. The grades 5 and 6<br />
students attended St. Leonard <strong>School</strong> on Rob<br />
Roy Avenue, while Our Lady of Fatima<br />
<strong>School</strong> on Knightsbridge Road housed the<br />
grades 1, 2, 3 and 4 students. St. George<br />
<strong>School</strong> on Piccadilly Avenue was the<br />
temporary home for two kindergarten<br />
classes, and St. Basil <strong>School</strong> took two other<br />
classes. The minister at Trinity United<br />
Church on Maitland Avenue near St. Daniel<br />
offered his church basement as temporary<br />
accommodations as well. The students<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
187<br />
remained in these temporary quarters until<br />
May 10 when everyone returned to their<br />
refurbished school.<br />
St. Daniel <strong>School</strong> continued to<br />
operate at its Maitland Avenue site until<br />
September 2001, when it moved to the<br />
former Ecole Gaston Vincent on Field Street<br />
near Woodroffe Avenue. This French<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> elementary school was in better<br />
condition than the 40-year-old Maitland<br />
Avenue facility and was of a more<br />
appropriate size. With renovations and<br />
improvements, it became the new home of<br />
St. Daniel. A dedication of the site took place<br />
on October 30, 2001.<br />
In 2005-06, St. Daniel <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> had 142 students, representing 106<br />
families, as well as a staff of 17, including<br />
ten teachers, one teacher assistant, one<br />
secretary, one library technician, two<br />
custodians, one English as a Second<br />
Language teacher and a principal. St. Basil<br />
Church is still involved with the school, with<br />
Father Bosco Wong visiting the school<br />
regularly.<br />
St. Daniel <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was one<br />
of eight <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> schools that in 2005-06, raised<br />
approximately $6,000 in total for the “OK<br />
Clean Water Project.” This project (OK<br />
stands for <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Kumbo, a town in<br />
Cameroon in Africa) is an initiative of<br />
the Congregation of Notre Dame, an<br />
international religious community of Sisters<br />
and associates. The “OK Clean Water<br />
Project” supports the purchase of water<br />
pipes, which are laid from a clean water<br />
source into their communities by villagers<br />
in Cameroon.
Present Principal<br />
Madelaine Soulière-Brown<br />
Past Principals<br />
Madeleine Scissors (1962)<br />
She later became a longtime<br />
personnel officer with the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>.<br />
Mary Meagher (1963)<br />
Douglas Goodwin<br />
Gregory Daley<br />
Fergus Lyons<br />
Gilles Doth<br />
Wayne Carroll<br />
Douglas Goodwin<br />
James Morrison<br />
Yvonne Gliege<br />
Eileen Moriarty<br />
Teaching Staff between 1961 and 1969<br />
Norah O’Donnell (1966)<br />
Alice Coffey (1965)<br />
Jean Marie Enright (1969)<br />
Carol Ann Tobin (1966-69)<br />
Carol Tyers (1964)<br />
Geraldine LaRocque (1965-67)<br />
Carmelita Dencer (1966)<br />
Linda Rusch (1968-69)<br />
Susan McParland (1967-69)<br />
Bernard Bridgeman (1967)<br />
Barbara Burant (1965-68)<br />
Mary Cameron (1968-70)<br />
B. Thomas<br />
Rita Hendrick (1962-63)<br />
Margaret Williams (1963-79)<br />
Kathleen Stanton (1969-82)<br />
Brenda McKernan (1961-66)<br />
Gertrude Chartrand (1962-63)<br />
C. Ross<br />
Audrey Cowan (1962-65)<br />
Gertrude Burrows (1961-64)<br />
C. Schultz; Irene Parama (1967-68)<br />
R. Jordan<br />
Mary Murphy (1966-69)<br />
Doreen Hamilton (1965-66)<br />
Rita Vallance (1963-65)<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
C. Raymond<br />
Catherine Leblanc (1966)<br />
Rita Olson (1968-69)<br />
Mae Cini (1968)<br />
Long-time Staff Member<br />
Dan Donlan was a dedicated and<br />
highly respected teacher on staff, having<br />
spent his entire 31-year teaching career at<br />
St. Daniel <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, from 1970 to<br />
2001.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Green and gold<br />
<strong>School</strong> Logo<br />
The logo features a cross, an open<br />
book, two maple leaves and the silhouette of<br />
four children, two of them sitting on swings,<br />
with the school name “St. Daniel <strong>School</strong>” at<br />
the bottom.<br />
Mascot<br />
The school mascot is a stuffed<br />
animal named “Dandy Lion” which<br />
accompanies the students to all sports<br />
tournaments.<br />
Fond Memories<br />
The following are the memories<br />
of John Woodard, a former student at<br />
St. Daniel <strong>School</strong>, as provided in 2005.<br />
I attended St. Daniel (or<br />
affectionately known while I was there –<br />
St. Danny’s) from 1971 to 1975. The<br />
memories I have from that school have been<br />
retained and will always be with me. It<br />
wasn’t simply a structure of bricks and<br />
mortar holding up a room and housing a<br />
yard. No, St. Daniel was a witness; host to<br />
history. St. Danny’s was my comfortable<br />
constant companion growing up.<br />
In short, here are some of the<br />
memories.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
188<br />
I remember watching the fire<br />
trucks at the school due to the boiler room<br />
fire and the students getting bused to Our<br />
Lady of Fatima <strong>School</strong>. I remember the first<br />
floor boys’ washroom with the round basins<br />
to wash your hands. You had to stomp on the<br />
bar underneath it to activate the water,<br />
which would inevitably start a water fight<br />
all the time. We were boys! I remember the<br />
“beveled” bricks of glass in the lower floor<br />
classes. This prevented the students from<br />
gazing outside into the schoolyard. I recall<br />
reading my first book ever, that was signed<br />
out of the library on the second floor on the<br />
northeast side of the school. The library was<br />
no bigger than a teacher’s lounge. I recall<br />
the Bookmobile arriving and parking at the<br />
north end of the parking lot. It would come<br />
in the morning and the kids had to wait in<br />
line outside of the truck because it could not<br />
accommodate us all at once.<br />
Recess was spent playing dodge<br />
ball, baseball or hopscotch in the summer<br />
and “soccer” hockey (no sticks were allowed<br />
at the school), snow fort building or playing<br />
“King of the Snow Mountain” in the<br />
wintertime. I can recall one specific recordbreaking<br />
snowfall that gave us a couple of<br />
snow days (school was closed) and when we<br />
returned, the snow mountains were so large<br />
you could not see what was on the other<br />
side. I recall having an extended Christmas<br />
break in 1973-74 (?) due to a teachers’ strike.<br />
With regard to teachers, my<br />
teachers were: Grade 3 - Mrs. Webster (my<br />
first crush on a teacher) and our class was<br />
the second one on the left hand side on the<br />
first floor with windows facing the back of<br />
the school; Grade 4 - Mrs. Stanton (who<br />
lived in the neighbourhood – she prayed<br />
at St. Basil and knew all of our parents!)<br />
and our class was on the second floor at the<br />
north end of the school with the windows<br />
facing the back of the school; Grade 5 -<br />
Mrs. Phyllis Menton (who would make the<br />
class laugh with her memorable laughter)
and our class was at the very top of the<br />
south stairs on the second floor with windows<br />
facing Maitland Avenue; and Grade 6 -<br />
Mr. Daniels (who had the hard exterior of a<br />
drill sergeant but once he got to know you, had<br />
a heart of gold) and our classroom was across<br />
the hall from Mrs. Menton’s. I believe the<br />
principal’s name was Mr. Goodwin. With his<br />
size (to us kids he was a giant), intimidation<br />
worked very well for him, considering you<br />
never wanted to be sent to his office!<br />
Father John Ruth from St. Basil<br />
came to say Mass every Christmas and Easter<br />
and it was always a competition to see who<br />
would serve as his altar boys for the Mass<br />
because it meant you got out of class early.<br />
I remember playing ball hockey<br />
every winter morning in the gym before<br />
class. I believe the games started at some<br />
ridiculous time like 7:30 a.m. You could just<br />
imagine how cold it was in that gym!<br />
No student ever went through the<br />
front doors to the school because our main<br />
entrances were on either side of the school<br />
in the schoolyard. I think it was not until<br />
Grade 6 that I actually walked through<br />
those front doors.<br />
The school organized “fun days”<br />
when the field and the hill facing Navaho<br />
Drive were filled with kids doing all sorts<br />
of games and activities — it was almost<br />
carnival-like. We got ribbons and there<br />
were competitions between the classes.<br />
I remember watching the 1972 Hockey<br />
Summit Series on a small TV in the gym<br />
and the elation that resulted throughout<br />
the school –— everyone, kids, teachers and<br />
parents hugging each other.<br />
I remember being part of the first<br />
generation that received “Sex Education” in<br />
Grade 6. I can recall the uneasiness my folks<br />
had whenever I would ask them about<br />
something I did not understand in the book.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
For the grade 6 graduation, we<br />
held a party at lunch time in the gym and<br />
it was catered by the just-recently-opened<br />
(and only the second one in <strong>Ottawa</strong> at the<br />
time) McDonald’s Restaurant on Carling<br />
Avenue at Maitland Avenue.<br />
The skating rink at the bottom<br />
of the hill towards Navaho Drive always<br />
provided fun after school. I remember the<br />
disappointment when not being nominated<br />
as a crossing patrol guard because it meant<br />
that you got hot chocolate in the wintertime,<br />
a movie in the summer and a visit to the<br />
Governor-General’s mansion (it was Roland<br />
Mitchener at the time). I remember having<br />
my parents called at work because I was<br />
stuck inside the school on one very cold<br />
winter day with a broken zipper on my onepiece<br />
snowmobile suit. I remember having<br />
Mrs. Stanton tearfully explain to us about<br />
the crisis at the Munich Olympic Games<br />
when guerrillas stormed the housing and<br />
assassinated the Israeli athletes. As kids, we<br />
were uncertain about the term guerrilla and<br />
thought that she was crying about the apes.<br />
I remember putting on school plays for the<br />
Christmas assemblies in the gym. Inevitably,<br />
Grade 6 always put on the Birth of Christ<br />
play, so when in Grade 6, there was always<br />
a competition to see who would play Joseph<br />
and Mary.<br />
Our grade 5 class visited a<br />
retirement home and sang Christmas carols.<br />
There was a picture published in the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Journal or Citizen of some of us singing.<br />
I remember watching the Apollo 13<br />
touch down on TV. We said prayers every<br />
morning for the astronauts’ safe return to<br />
earth. I remember spending recess trading<br />
Bobby Orr and Bobby Hull hockey cards.<br />
I can still recall the day when in the<br />
schoolyard during recess, the sky was filled<br />
with a cloud of horrible black smoke that<br />
was coming from the Revlon factory fire on<br />
Carling Avenue.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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And, of course, I remember my<br />
classmates. Names like Mike and Stephen<br />
Stefanison, Mark Imbesi, Colleen and Paul<br />
Ryan, Bruce Perry, Stephen Calagoure, Jim<br />
Maclean, David Ladd, Mark and Cameron<br />
Lepine, Debbie Kent, Anne Whitely, Vincent<br />
McMahon, Darcy Jenkins, Wendy Lawruk,<br />
Janet Dancey, Donna Neirenhausen, Mark<br />
Veitch, Paul and Tommy Galvin, Lynne<br />
Nault, Dave King, Veronica Anderson,<br />
Jennifer Powell, the Morins, Colleen<br />
Berrigan and Caroline McCarthy. Although<br />
I have not talked to or seen any of these<br />
folks in decades, because of the fondness<br />
of memories at St. Danny’s, I can still list<br />
close to 20 of them at the drop of a hat.<br />
I apologize if I forgot anyone.
St. Elizabeth <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> did not<br />
start its life as St. Elizabeth, nor is<br />
it now located where it started.<br />
Nonetheless, the story of<br />
St. Elizabeth <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> goes back to<br />
1955 when a site at 893 Admiral Avenue<br />
was purchased. In September 1954, after<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> had received approval from the Ontario<br />
Department of Education, a nine-classroom<br />
school was built and called Admiral Street<br />
<strong>School</strong>. It opened its doors in September 1955,<br />
with Angus McDonald as the principal. The<br />
official blessing of the school took place on<br />
Sunday afternoon, November 27, 1955. Later,<br />
the school was called St. Augustine <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>, because it was affiliated with<br />
St. Augustine Church. It was only in 1964,<br />
when the new St. Augustine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
was opened on Arnot Street, closer to the<br />
church, that this Admiral Street school was<br />
renamed St. Elizabeth.<br />
St. Elizabeth, a cousin of the<br />
Blessed Virgin Mary, was the mother of<br />
St. John the Baptist. Her husband, Zachary,<br />
was a priest of the Temple in Jerusalem.<br />
Her feast day is November 5.<br />
In 1965, three classrooms and<br />
a general-purpose room were added to<br />
the facility. Not long afterwards, in 1971,<br />
another addition was needed and built.<br />
The school expanded again when St. Louis<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was closed and was merged<br />
with St. Elizabeth.<br />
In 2002, the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> acquired a former<br />
French-<strong>Catholic</strong> school on Coldrey Avenue,<br />
west of Merivale Road and the Admiral Road<br />
site. After extensive renovations, it became<br />
the new home of St. Elizabeth <strong>School</strong>. The<br />
former Admiral Avenue premises were then<br />
utilized by the <strong>Board</strong>’s Adult High <strong>School</strong><br />
and its Continuing and Community<br />
Education Department.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
ELIZABETH<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
1366 Coldrey Avenue<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1Z 7P5<br />
613-728-4744<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/sel<br />
Over the years, many annual<br />
drama and musical presentations have been<br />
held at St. Elizabeth. It has also hosted<br />
several well-known performers, including<br />
Dominic D’Arcy, the singing policeman. A<br />
school album was produced by Fran King<br />
and the school choir.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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Present Principal<br />
Linda Gilmour<br />
Past Principals<br />
Angus McDonald (1955-58)<br />
Lionel J. O’Connor (1959-68)<br />
J. P. Coulter (1968-70),<br />
Francesco Lipari, Vice-Principal<br />
Virginia Smith<br />
Glenda MacDonell<br />
John Burns<br />
Alex Nagel<br />
Wayne Carroll<br />
Anthony Charbonneau<br />
Kari Burke<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Laura Anderson, Grades 3 and 5<br />
Sheila Forbes, Kindergarten<br />
Alice Moss, Grade 3<br />
Mrs. J. Clothier, Grades 1 and 2<br />
Rose-Marie Turpin, Grades 2 and 3<br />
Eunice Archibald, Grades 5 and 6<br />
Judith LaSalle, Grade 1<br />
Kathleen Smith, Grade 7<br />
L. Mulherin, Grade 2<br />
Mary T. O’Keefe, Grade 5<br />
Joel Rochon, Grade 8<br />
Mrs. Kenney, Grade 6<br />
Teachers from the 1960s<br />
Alice Cannon<br />
Doreen Brash<br />
Patricia Doyle<br />
Donna Tierney<br />
Charlotte McNulty<br />
Louise McEachern<br />
Allen Young<br />
Mike Therian<br />
Mrs. Shannon Dean<br />
Vivian Vivaldi<br />
Lorraine Legris
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Light blue and dark blue<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is a pair of hands<br />
holding up an oval in which there are<br />
three figures holding hands. The name<br />
“St. Elizabeth <strong>School</strong>” is written in a scroll<br />
beneath the hands.<br />
Mascot<br />
A student designed the school<br />
mascot, an eagle, in 2000.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
192
When the Barrhaven community<br />
of South Nepean started to grow,<br />
so too did the <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
population. St. Patrick <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, the<br />
first <strong>Catholic</strong> elementary school to serve the<br />
community, became overcrowded. This led to<br />
the construction of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, named after the foundress<br />
of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph, the<br />
first new community for religious women<br />
established in the United States.<br />
Born in 1774, St. Elizabeth Ann<br />
Seton not only founded the Sisters of<br />
Charity but also established St. Joseph’s<br />
Academy, the first free <strong>Catholic</strong> school for<br />
girls in the United States. It was staffed<br />
by members of her religious community.<br />
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton became a great role<br />
model for others as she demonstrated a<br />
special interest in the education of children<br />
within the teachings of Jesus Christ. Her<br />
legacy now includes six religious<br />
communities with more than 5,000 members<br />
in total, hundreds of schools, social service<br />
centres and hospitals throughout the United<br />
States and around the world. She was<br />
beatified in 1963 and canonized in 1975 by<br />
Pope Paul VI, and is the first native-born<br />
North American saint.<br />
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton <strong>School</strong><br />
was opened in 1987, with the students and<br />
staff sharing space at St. Patrick <strong>School</strong><br />
beginning in the fall of 1986 until the new<br />
facility was completed. The school<br />
community lost no time in choosing school<br />
colours, a crest and a motto to establish a<br />
unique identity. In addition, a time capsule<br />
was created and it has become a tradition<br />
that each year’s mementos of life at the<br />
school are added to it.<br />
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton <strong>School</strong><br />
grew quickly, reaching a student population<br />
of about 850 students, making it the largest<br />
elementary school within the jurisdiction of<br />
the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST. ELIZABETH ANN<br />
SETON<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
41 Weybridge Drive<br />
Nepean K2J 2Z8<br />
613-825-3596<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/eli<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>. This ended when other<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> elementary schools were built in<br />
the Barrhaven/South Nepean area, such as<br />
Monsignor Paul Baxter <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> and<br />
St. Luke <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
Over the years, St. Elizabeth Ann<br />
Seton <strong>School</strong> has been committed not only to<br />
a high calibre of learning but also to social<br />
justice, both within the community as well<br />
as through outreach initiatives. Its staff and<br />
students have generously supported “Jump<br />
Rope for Heart” for the Heart and Stroke<br />
Foundation and the Terry Fox Run for<br />
cancer research. Other fundraising and<br />
community-support initiatives have included<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
193<br />
the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario<br />
“Wear Your Bear” program, canned food<br />
drives for the Barrhaven Food Cupboard,<br />
the Canadian Hunger Foundation, the “OK<br />
Clean Water Project” which develops wells<br />
in African communities, the Snowsuit Fund,<br />
the United Way, the Shepherds of Good<br />
Hope, Pennies for Pakistan, Christmas<br />
hampers, school supplies for St. Elizabeth<br />
Ann Seton <strong>School</strong> in Louisiana after<br />
Hurricane Katrina, and more than $5,000<br />
for the victims of the tsunami in Southeast<br />
Asia.<br />
The school has organized special<br />
events and hosted tournaments.<br />
Extracurricular activities have abounded,<br />
including athletics, liturgies, dance and<br />
drama events, visual arts projects and<br />
musical and theatrical productions. The<br />
production Our Country Canada Notre Pays<br />
1900-2000 in 2000 involved 300 actors and<br />
100 parents helping backstage. In 2001, it<br />
was Twelfth Night for Kids while Moses and<br />
the Freedom Fanatics was the 2002 offering.<br />
This was followed by Puzzling Parables in<br />
2003, Marvelous Multicultural Event in<br />
2004 and Let’s Pier into the Past in 2005,<br />
a production about Pier 21 in Halifax<br />
through which immigrants came when<br />
arriving in Canada. The production<br />
involved 127 grandparents as well as<br />
parents and students. It also honoured the<br />
60 th anniversary of the war brides coming<br />
to Canada and was attended by Governor-<br />
General Adrienne Clarkson.<br />
The school has received platinum<br />
and gold awards from the Canadian<br />
Association for Health, Physical Education,<br />
Recreation and Dance (CAHPERD) for its<br />
school fitness initiatives. It has also offered<br />
a host of intramural sports during<br />
lunchtime.<br />
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton <strong>School</strong> has<br />
become an integral part of the Barrhaven<br />
community, with the school facility used
after hours by many community groups<br />
including Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Sparks,<br />
Brownies, Girl Guides, sports groups,<br />
Christmas craft shows and special events<br />
such as silent auctions.<br />
The school continues to be the site<br />
for a Sunday morning Mass in the parish<br />
centre, which is affiliated with St. Patrick<br />
Parish in Fallowfield. When St. Elizabeth<br />
Ann Seton was in the planning stages, the<br />
congregation of this parish undertook<br />
fundraising activities so that money would<br />
be available to provide a parish centre<br />
within the school consisting of kitchen<br />
facilities, an office for the priest, a meeting<br />
room and a place for the celebration of Mass.<br />
The <strong>Catholic</strong> Women’s League of St. Patrick<br />
Parish collected Canadian Tire money to<br />
help furnish the kitchen. The Parish Centre<br />
was blessed in 1987.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Dwight Delahunt<br />
Past Principals<br />
Julie Tuepah<br />
Gerry Leveque<br />
Andrew McKinley<br />
Marjorie Hinds<br />
Jean-Marie Stewart<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Gail MacDonald<br />
Shelley Major-Wood<br />
Barbara Heggie<br />
Heather Seeler<br />
Linda Legault<br />
Marthe Graveline<br />
Irene Doth<br />
Louise Lapalme<br />
Carole Laflamme<br />
Patricia Scrim<br />
Antoinetta Bastianelli<br />
Deborah Wensley<br />
Staff Recognition<br />
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> Teacher Joy Forbes was a finalist for<br />
the Governor-General’s Award of Excellence<br />
in Teaching Canadian History in 2003. She<br />
received the Sharon Hiscott Memorial Award<br />
for Leadership and Excellence in<br />
Elementary Creative Arts in 2002. This<br />
award, presented by the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>’s Educational<br />
Programs Department, recognizes an<br />
individual from a <strong>Board</strong> elementary school<br />
who has made a significant contribution<br />
in the creative arts. She also received the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Centre for Research and Innovation<br />
Capital Educators’ Award in 2003.<br />
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> Teacher Mrs. Elizabeth Dean received<br />
the Daniel Patrick Kelly Athletic Award for<br />
leadership in school fitness and sports in<br />
May 2003. This award is presented by the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
Educational Programs Department.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
194<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
The school colours are royal blue,<br />
deep pink and white. The vibrant royal blue<br />
was chosen to represent boys while the<br />
strong pink hue was chosen to represent<br />
girls. White was chosen to represent the<br />
Holy Spirit’s purity and holiness.<br />
Logo<br />
Teacher Sonia Patrice designed<br />
the school logo in 1986 when the school was<br />
established. The flame and the cross<br />
represent Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The<br />
doves represent students soaring to new<br />
heights. The motto “Courage and Faith” on<br />
the logo was chosen because a person needs<br />
courage to stand strongly for the faith and<br />
also because faith gives a person courage<br />
to do what he or she needs to do to succeed<br />
through life. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton<br />
demonstrated both of these qualities in<br />
her life. The logo has the dates 1818 and<br />
1986 —1818 representing the year that<br />
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton established her first<br />
school and 1986 the date that St. Elizabeth<br />
Ann Seton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was established.
The newest elementary school of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>, St. Emily <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
opened in September 2006, albeit in<br />
temporary premises while the new school<br />
facility on Chapman Mills Drive in South<br />
Nepean is under construction. It is expected<br />
that the new school will be completed by<br />
December 2006 or January 2007.<br />
The sod-turning ceremony for<br />
St. Emily <strong>School</strong> took place on Monday,<br />
May 29, 2006, at the six-acre site, adjacent<br />
to a future park. The ceremony included a<br />
blending of the soil, where students from<br />
St. Andrew <strong>School</strong>, the mother school for<br />
St. Emily, combined the soil of their school<br />
with that of the new one. Young students<br />
taking part in this ceremony were Danica<br />
Toscano, Thomas Stevens, Nicholas<br />
Beaudette, Emma Beaudette, Patrick<br />
Stevens and Kristian Toscano.<br />
Taplen Construction Ltd. was<br />
awarded the contract for the construction<br />
of the new 52,000 square foot building,<br />
submitting the lowest of ten tenders at a<br />
cost of $6,765,400. This is the same firm<br />
that constructed St. Anne <strong>School</strong> in Kanata<br />
and a portable complex at St. Matthew High<br />
<strong>School</strong>, and also renovated Our Lady of<br />
Mount Carmel <strong>School</strong>. Bryden Martel<br />
Architects Inc. was chosen as the architect<br />
for this new school, which is being built on<br />
the same plan as the <strong>Board</strong>’s most recently<br />
completed school, St. Jerome <strong>School</strong> in<br />
Riverside South. The only major change is<br />
that the location of the child care facility is<br />
being switched with the kindergarten rooms<br />
because of the location of the parking lot.<br />
The <strong>Board</strong> approved the<br />
construction of this new junior kindergarten<br />
to grade 6 school in September 2005. It will<br />
have a capacity of 502.5 pupil places. The<br />
new school is needed because of continuing<br />
and substantial residential growth in South<br />
Nepean and will alleviate overcrowding at<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
EMILY<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
<strong>School</strong> logo<br />
not yet available<br />
500 Chapman Mills Drive<br />
Nepean<br />
613-825-4300<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/chm<br />
St. Andrew <strong>School</strong>. It is also designed to<br />
accommodate the continuing growth in the<br />
area. It will include a child care facility<br />
called the “Chapman Mills <strong>School</strong> Age<br />
Program,” serving children between the ages<br />
of four and nine.<br />
The new St. Emily <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
was necessary because, without it,<br />
enrolment at St. Andrew would have<br />
exceeded 1,000 students (878.5 full time<br />
equivalent pupils) in 2006-07. St. Andrew<br />
had 11 portable classrooms on site in 2005-<br />
06. With the formation of the new St. Emily<br />
<strong>School</strong>, the expected enrolment breakdown<br />
will be 244 students at St. Emily and 635<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
195<br />
students at St. Andrew. The projections for<br />
the two schools show that enrolment at<br />
St. Andrew will remain in the 600-pupil<br />
range (120 percent of the school’s capacity,<br />
thus requiring four portable classrooms) for<br />
the 2007-11 period. After that, the enrolment<br />
is expected to drop to 100 percent of capacity<br />
by the year 2015 as its attendance area<br />
becomes more stable and mature. St. Emily<br />
<strong>School</strong> is expected to see increasing<br />
enrolment in the coming years, growing<br />
to 550 students in the year 2009 and<br />
continuing to expand to 700 in the year<br />
2011. Construction of another new <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
elementary school in this area of Nepean<br />
South will probably be required, most likely<br />
some time after the year 2011.<br />
A motion of the <strong>Board</strong> at its June<br />
13, 2006 meeting named St. Emily <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>. A list of names had been proposed<br />
through a consultation process that included<br />
parents, teachers, students, and Father John<br />
Whyte, Pastor of St. Andrew Parish. Five of<br />
these names were selected by a steering<br />
committee in consultation with the school<br />
board chaplain, Father Peter Sanders. These<br />
names were then circulated among the<br />
school community and input was sought<br />
about the most appropriate choice.<br />
St. Emily <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> is named<br />
after St. Emily de Rodate, who was born<br />
near Rodez, France, and became a nun at<br />
Maison St. Cyr when she was 18 years old.<br />
In 1815, Emily decided that her vocation<br />
was to teach poor children. With the aid of<br />
three young assistants, she began her work<br />
in her room in St. Cyr. This was the start of<br />
a teaching institute called the Congregation<br />
of the Holy Family of Villefranche. It grew<br />
rapidly, establishing its own motherhouse<br />
and branches. Over time, Emily extended<br />
her activities to caring for unfortunate<br />
women, orphans and the aged. A total of<br />
38 institutions were established before her<br />
death in 1852. St. Emily was canonized in<br />
1950. Her feast day is September 19.
Present Principal<br />
Micheline Harvey<br />
First <strong>School</strong> Staff<br />
Micheline Harvey, Principal<br />
Joan Rowe<br />
Christine Gulas<br />
Karen Kealey<br />
Lynda Lapointe<br />
Jenny Ng<br />
Ardyth Correia<br />
Tammy DeGagne<br />
Catherine House<br />
Sarah Eady<br />
Lucy Huisman<br />
Anna Maria Strizzi<br />
Lloyd Armstrong<br />
Michaela Ahearn<br />
Mary Jo DiFilippo<br />
Lyne Kohut<br />
Carol McBride, Secretary<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
196
St. Francis of Assisi <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
in Orléans opened in September<br />
1988 with students and staff housed<br />
at two campuses while the new facility on<br />
Watters Road was under construction. It<br />
was a happy time in early May 1989, when<br />
everyone came together, 300 students and<br />
staff, at the newly completed school.<br />
Many of the students and staff had<br />
been at Our Lady of Wisdom <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
before the creation of the new school, which<br />
was formed to serve the Fallingbrook and<br />
Cumberland communities. For the first<br />
months of its existence, St. Francis of<br />
Assisi <strong>School</strong> existed in two places. Junior<br />
kindergarten, kindergarten and grade1<br />
students were housed at Chapel Hill <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> while the grades 2 to 6 students were<br />
at Our Lady of Wisdom <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
On October 4, 1989, the Feast of<br />
St. Francis of Assisi, the school celebrated<br />
its official opening. St. Francis of Assisi<br />
<strong>School</strong>, along with Holy Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> in Stittsville, which was built at the<br />
same time, were the first new schools of the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> to<br />
have a child care facility incorporated into<br />
the plans and available to the community.<br />
It was also the first school in the newly<br />
amalgamated <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> to open a class for dependently<br />
handicapped students. These students take<br />
part in regular classroom and school<br />
activities.<br />
The school was named after<br />
St. Francis of Assisi following a consultation<br />
and selection process involving students,<br />
staff and parents. The name was selected<br />
because St. Francis of Assisi was considered<br />
a saint of the times, a person concerned with<br />
the underprivileged, children and things<br />
of nature. He is considered the original<br />
environmentalist, a great fit with the<br />
St. Francis of Assisi <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
community, since one focus of the school<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST. FRANCIS<br />
OF ASSISI<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
795 Watters Road<br />
Orléans K4A 2T2<br />
613-830-3215<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/fra<br />
from the outset has been caring for the<br />
environment. Another focus has been<br />
building community, something which has<br />
been fostered through the school’s “Catch<br />
The Spirit” awards recognizing good<br />
citizenship and through an active presence<br />
within the Orléans community, holding food<br />
drives, welcoming visitors from the Rideau<br />
and Perley Veterans’ Health Centre, the<br />
school choir performing at community events<br />
and twinning with less fortunate school<br />
communities. Indeed, care for others seems<br />
to have been built into the mortar of<br />
St. Francis of Assisi <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> because<br />
it has been and continues to be an example<br />
of living Gospel values.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
197<br />
Participation in athletics is also<br />
a significant part of life at St. Francis of<br />
Assisi, with all students involved. The daily<br />
physical activities program at the school<br />
encourages healthy living.<br />
St. Francis of Assisi is located<br />
within Divine Infant Parish and, while not<br />
geographically close, the two are spiritually<br />
united with a strong bond, as witnessed by<br />
the many school liturgical celebrations held<br />
both at the school and at the church. A<br />
nativity scene appears in the rotunda of the<br />
school during the Christmas season. It was<br />
created by Frank DaCosta, a member of the<br />
school community, who, in so doing, followed<br />
in the footsteps of Saint Francis himself who<br />
did the same for his community of Assisi.<br />
St. Francis of Assisi <strong>School</strong> has<br />
been a busy and welcoming community over<br />
the years since its formation in 1988, as<br />
indicated by this representative list of<br />
special events and activities at the school:<br />
a citizenship ceremony celebrating new<br />
Canadians receiving their Canadian<br />
citizenship; talent shows; a Christmas<br />
hamper program; donating to the tsunami<br />
relief fund; hosting an African children’s<br />
choir; holding an <strong>Ottawa</strong> 67’s anti-bullying<br />
rally; hosting the Royal Canadian Mounted<br />
Police Band; enjoying performers and artists<br />
from the community; holding events such<br />
as barbecues and family breakfasts during<br />
Education Week; initiating a “Gift of<br />
Reading” program; and hosting a cultural<br />
fair.<br />
St. Francis of Assisi <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> has always been blessed with an<br />
active and vibrant school council. A school<br />
beautification plan, conceived and<br />
implemented by the council is one example<br />
of this involvement.
Present Principal<br />
Maurene Atherton<br />
Past Principals<br />
Joanne LaPlante<br />
Bert O’Connor<br />
Julie Tuepah<br />
Louise Roddy<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Joanne LaPlante<br />
Joyce Kealey<br />
Catherine Brown-Roy<br />
Joan MacKinnon<br />
Alveta Goguen<br />
Anne Walsh<br />
Margo MacDonnell (Gautreau)<br />
John Weir<br />
Patrick Shaughnessy<br />
Margo Pearce<br />
Clareen Prabhu<br />
Simone Oliver<br />
Dianne Taylor<br />
Mary Major<br />
Cheryl Tymchuk<br />
Vivian Kelly<br />
Rachelle Giroux<br />
Pierre Monfils<br />
Pat Carrière<br />
Michel Rozon<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Former Students<br />
Keisha Chanté, music; Lou<br />
Dickenson, hockey; Kevin Friday, politics;<br />
Cory Roque, golf; Bill Keating, golf; Matt<br />
Lavallee, football<br />
<strong>School</strong> Council<br />
Tony DeMelo was the first<br />
president of the school council.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Green and white<br />
These colours were chosen to<br />
represent the school’s caring for the<br />
environment.<br />
Logo<br />
Student Troy Mallett designed the<br />
school logo. It features hands holding a dove<br />
with an olive branch, representing the<br />
promotion of peace in a healthy<br />
environment.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
198<br />
Song<br />
Pierre Monfils, a member of the<br />
original staff at the school, wrote the school<br />
song, “Saint Francis, Bless Our <strong>School</strong>.”<br />
The “Prayer of Saint Francis” is also sung<br />
at school liturgies.<br />
Banners<br />
Banners in the rotunda area of<br />
the school depict the many facets of the life<br />
of Saint Francis of Assisi and reflect the<br />
school’s commitment to the community.<br />
Parents and staff made the simple designs<br />
of children into the banners.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Entrance<br />
A striking wooden relief at the<br />
entrance to the school depicts Saint Francis<br />
and St. Clare. It was designed and created<br />
by a Romanian architectural student from<br />
Algonquin College.
The year 1923 saw a flurry of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> activity in the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
West area of what was then still<br />
a part of Nepean Township as <strong>Catholic</strong>s<br />
witnessed the creation of St. George Parish<br />
and, at virtually the same time, the first<br />
step towards the establishment of a <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school in the parish.<br />
The <strong>Ottawa</strong> Archdiocese<br />
established St. George Parish in 1923 to<br />
serve the large geographic area from<br />
Holland Avenue west to Britannia, and from<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong> River south to Manotick, an area<br />
previously served by St. Mary Parish farther<br />
east, which had been founded in 1891. This<br />
new St. George Parish had 160 families at<br />
the time. Monsignor George Prudhomme,<br />
pastor, celebrated the first Masses on<br />
September 30, 1923, at the convent of the<br />
Sisters of the Visitation, which was located<br />
on Richmond Road near the site of the<br />
proposed new St. George Church. The parish<br />
rented the convent’s chapel until completion<br />
of the new church a year later. The<br />
architectural firm of Noffke, Morin and<br />
Sylvester designed the new church that<br />
cost $63,000 to build. Its location near<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong> west station of the Britannia<br />
street car line meant convenient public<br />
transportation access to the Piccadilly<br />
Avenue site of the new church for <strong>Catholic</strong>s<br />
along the line from Holland Avenue<br />
westward, as far as Britannia.<br />
It can be seen how the founding<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> families of St. George Parish closely<br />
linked church and school. While the first<br />
churchwardens were elected at a parish<br />
meeting on October 14, 1923, it was only a<br />
month later, on November 22, 1923, that<br />
the first meeting was held to establish a<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school in <strong>School</strong> Section No. 2 of<br />
the Township of Nepean (Police Village of<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> West). The convent of the Sisters of<br />
the Visitation on Richmond Road was the<br />
site of this meeting, just as it had been the<br />
site of the first Masses celebrated in the<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST. GEORGE<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
130 Keyworth Avenue<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1Y 0E6<br />
613-728-8291<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/sge<br />
parish. At this November 1923 meeting, a<br />
group of Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> ratepayers decided<br />
to establish a <strong>Catholic</strong> school.<br />
A temporary site, a stone building<br />
known as the Chamberlain property on<br />
Hilson Avenue, was selected. The new<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school operated from this site from<br />
January 1924 to June 1924. In June, plans<br />
were drawn up by the pastor, Father<br />
Prudhomme, and the Section <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
for a four-room school to operate in the<br />
basement hall of the new St. George Church.<br />
This was to be the location of the school<br />
from September 1924 to June 1939. During<br />
this time, the school and parish populations<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
199<br />
grew. Eventually, an extension was built at<br />
the rear of the church, providing space for<br />
a new sacristy on the main floor and a<br />
basement area for the first kindergarten<br />
class.<br />
Much of the success of the new<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school could be attributed to the<br />
hard work and dedication of the Grey Sisters<br />
of the Immaculate Conception who began<br />
teaching at the school in 1926. Initially they<br />
traveled by streetcar to the <strong>Ottawa</strong> west<br />
site from their residence in Sandy Hill.<br />
Eventually, in 1941, they established a<br />
permanent residence in St. George Parish.<br />
Indeed, except for a two-year span in 1932-<br />
33, every principal of St. George <strong>School</strong> from<br />
1925 to 1976, a period of over half a century,<br />
was a Grey Sister of the Immaculate<br />
Conception.<br />
From their beginnings in 1923,<br />
both St. George Parish and St. George<br />
<strong>School</strong> flourished, serving the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
families of the area. Students entered their<br />
basement school by way of the parking lot<br />
on the north side of the church. This parking<br />
lot also served as the schoolyard. In the late<br />
1930s, when Father Michael O’Neil was the<br />
pastor of St. George Parish, the school<br />
moved out of the church basement and into<br />
a new building which had been constructed<br />
at 401 Piccadilly Avenue immediately north<br />
of the church, at a cost of $45,000, the result<br />
of collaboration between the local school<br />
trustees and the Provincial Department of<br />
Education. This new school consisted of ten<br />
classrooms and two extra rooms as well as a<br />
fully-equipped shop and home economics<br />
rooms for Grade 9. <strong>School</strong> enrolment at that<br />
time was approximately 350 students but<br />
there was more growth coming, as reflected<br />
by an expansion of the school in 1943 and<br />
a further, major addition in 1949.<br />
Residential growth in the whole<br />
area led to the establishment of Our Lady of<br />
Fatima Parish, farther west, as well as
continued growth for both St. George Parish<br />
and the school. During the 1950s, there were<br />
about 1,000 <strong>Catholic</strong> families in the parish,<br />
with St. George <strong>School</strong> enjoying an<br />
enrolment of 500 to 600 students. It was<br />
during this time that this <strong>Ottawa</strong> West area<br />
of Nepean was annexed by the City of<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>. As a result, the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> assumed<br />
responsibility for St. George <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
In September 1970, St. George<br />
<strong>School</strong> became a kindergarten to grade 6<br />
school, with the grades 7 and 8 students being<br />
sent to Holy Rosary Intermediate <strong>School</strong> on<br />
Melrose Avenue. In September 1973, there<br />
was another redeployment of the grades 7<br />
and 8 students, this time to St. Joseph Junior<br />
High on Broadview Avenue. Ten years later, in<br />
September, grade 6 graduates from St. George<br />
<strong>School</strong> were enrolled in an intermediate school<br />
on Keyworth Avenue.<br />
St. George <strong>School</strong> on Piccadilly<br />
Avenue saw its last major addition in 1986<br />
when a gymnasium was added to the<br />
complex. The school continued at this<br />
location until it was closed by the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in June<br />
2002, with the agreement of the school<br />
community. St. George was relocated to the<br />
former intermediate school premises on<br />
Keyworth Avenue where it now operates as<br />
a junior kindergarten to grade 6 school. The<br />
intermediate student body formerly housed<br />
at this location moved to Notre Dame<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> on Broadview Avenue,<br />
where a new addition and renovations had<br />
taken place to accommodate the influx.<br />
At its present location, St. George<br />
<strong>School</strong> has two kindergarten rooms, six<br />
primary classrooms, eight junior classrooms,<br />
a resource classroom, a computer lab,<br />
library, music room, art room and<br />
gymnasium, with a student enrolment of<br />
over 300 students. It also has a school-age<br />
child care program.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
One long tradition at St. George<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> at its Piccadilly Avenue<br />
location was a “May Day” procession from<br />
the school to Mary’s grotto located on<br />
Piccadilly Avenue next to the former<br />
St. Michael’s Convent. Today, the school<br />
continues with a variety of activities and<br />
events that maintain the school spirit and<br />
sense of community that has characterized it<br />
since first established in those opening years<br />
of the parish. <strong>School</strong> Masses, play days,<br />
Christmas pageants, concerts, fun fairs,<br />
sacramental celebrations, student awards,<br />
Thanksgiving food drives, hot dog and pizza<br />
days, school patrols, visiting drama groups<br />
and graduation ceremonies have all added<br />
to school life over the years.<br />
There has always been a strong<br />
link between the parish and the school,<br />
strengthened no doubt by the close<br />
proximity of one to the other for so many<br />
years. Parent-teacher associations and, more<br />
recently, school councils have strengthened<br />
this link. St. George parishioners, in the<br />
past, willingly paid separate school taxes,<br />
even if they were higher, because they<br />
wanted their children to be educated in a<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school where Gospel values<br />
permeated the curriculum.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
200<br />
Present Principal<br />
Michael Keeler (2004-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Margaret Roche (January-June<br />
1924)<br />
C. McIntosh (1924 interim)<br />
Sister Mary Patrick (1925-26)<br />
Sister Mary Regis (1926-31)<br />
Sister St. Austin (1931-32)<br />
Geneva Prud’homme (1932-33)<br />
Sister Ignatius of Loyola (1933-50)<br />
Sister Elizabeth of the Cross<br />
(1950-55)<br />
Sister St. Helen (1955-58)<br />
Sister Mary Aloysius (Sister Mary<br />
Stanton) (1958-65)<br />
Sister Mary Josephine (1965-67)<br />
Sister Anna Clare (1967-70)<br />
Sister Catherine McCann (1970-73)<br />
Sister Mary Stanton (1973-76)<br />
John Burns (1976-84)<br />
Donald Lenaghan (1984-89)<br />
James Morrison (1989-93)<br />
Alex Nagle (1994-95)<br />
Yvonne Gliege (1995-97)<br />
Georges Bouliane (1997-2004)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff (1924)<br />
Gertrude Gleeson<br />
Clara Pothier<br />
Jas Hall, Custodian<br />
(January-June 1924)<br />
W. Gillisie, Custodian<br />
(September 1924)
Former Students<br />
With over 80 years of history,<br />
St. George <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has had many<br />
of its students go on to play roles of<br />
prominence in society.<br />
Archbishop Brendan O’Brien of<br />
St. John’s, Newfoundland. He grew up at<br />
St. George Church and was Assistant Pastor<br />
under Monsignor John MacDonald who<br />
served from 1967 to 1985. After serving<br />
as an auxiliary bishop of <strong>Ottawa</strong>, he was<br />
appointed Bishop of Pembroke in 1993.<br />
In 1997, he was named Chaplain for the<br />
Ontario Knights of Columbus.<br />
Rev. Brian Swords, Superior<br />
General of the Scarboro Foreign Missions<br />
Rev. Michael Gillissee, Rev. Glen<br />
Clarke, Rev. D’Arcy Coulson, Rev. James<br />
Noonan, O.M.I., Rev. Jack McCann, O.M.I.,<br />
Monsignor Paul Baxter, Rev. Tom Farrell,<br />
Rev. Tom Cassidy, O.M.I., and Rev. John<br />
Massell, O.M.I.<br />
Terry Marcotte, CJOH-TV sports<br />
announcer<br />
Pat Marsden, a sports broadcaster<br />
who was sports director at CKOY radio in<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> before joining CTV as the play-byplay<br />
voice of the network’s Canadian<br />
Football League coverage. He later became<br />
sports director at CFTO-TV in Toronto<br />
before finishing his career at The Fan 590<br />
radio station in Toronto, retiring in 2004.<br />
He is a member of the Football Reporters<br />
of Canada Hall of Fame. In 1972, he was<br />
a studio host for telecasts of the Canada-<br />
Soviet Summit Hockey series.<br />
Hon. Allan Rock, MP, Federal<br />
Cabinet Minister and Canadian Ambassador<br />
to the United Nations<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Citizen reporter Susan<br />
Riley<br />
Sportswriter Eddie McCabe<br />
Tim Higgins, National Hockey<br />
League player<br />
Julie Maloney, 1970 Miss Canada<br />
Tony Graham, Toyota automobile<br />
dealer<br />
Jake Dunlap, General Manager of<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Rough Riders Football<br />
Club<br />
Dr. Tom Anderson, Ophthalmologist<br />
Dr. Edward O’Brien, Cardiologist<br />
Dr. Jim Casserly<br />
Dr. Owen Kealey<br />
Michael Neville, Attorney<br />
Brian Mulvihill, Chartered<br />
Accountant<br />
Colleen Swords, Director General,<br />
Legal Bureau, Department of<br />
Foreign Affairs<br />
<strong>School</strong> Principals Tom Duggan,<br />
Bernard Swords, Wayne Carroll<br />
and James McStravick<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
201<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
From the 1990s to the present —<br />
Navy bottom, red/white top with<br />
the St. George <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> logo<br />
Logo<br />
The St. George <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
logo, in the form of a shield, features a<br />
picture of a dragon reading a book, flanked<br />
by two crosses, with the name “St. George”<br />
at the top. The dragon refers to the<br />
traditional story about St. George.<br />
Motto<br />
The motto of St. George <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> is “<strong>School</strong> for All Children.”<br />
<strong>School</strong> Uniform<br />
The first school uniform, worn<br />
from 1963 to 1967 and only by girls, was a<br />
green jumper with the St. George <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> logo and a white blouse. The second<br />
school uniform worn only in 1967 (one year<br />
only) was also exclusively for girls, and was<br />
a centennial plaid jumper and a white blouse.<br />
Outstanding <strong>School</strong> Trustee<br />
His Holiness Pope Pius XII named<br />
Francis M. Peters a “Knight of St. Gregory<br />
the Great” for outstanding service to<br />
St. George <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, St. George Parish<br />
and the Nepean and <strong>Ottawa</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>s. He was Chairperson of the <strong>Board</strong> of<br />
Trustees for Separate <strong>School</strong> Section No. 2<br />
in Nepean Township for 17 consecutive years.<br />
Following the annexation of the area by the<br />
City of <strong>Ottawa</strong> in 1950, Mr. Peters became<br />
a Trustee of the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> where he served as<br />
Chairperson of the <strong>Board</strong> and Chairperson of<br />
the Finance Committee, alternatively every<br />
two years until at least 1963.<br />
Child Care Program<br />
St. George <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> offers<br />
a school-age child care program.
St. Gregory <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> is one<br />
of the schools established in the<br />
former Nepean Township prior to<br />
the creation of the county-wide Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
Opened in 1960, it was part of the<br />
blossoming of <strong>Catholic</strong> education in the<br />
growing township in the two decades from<br />
1950 to 1970.<br />
Most Rev. J.R. Windle, Auxiliary<br />
Bishop of <strong>Ottawa</strong>, blessed the new school in<br />
City View on June 18, 1959, assisted by<br />
Rev. Father Allan Charnon of St. Augustine<br />
Parish. L.J. Dupuis, Auxiliary Inspector of<br />
separate schools in <strong>Ottawa</strong> West, unveiled<br />
the plaque. At this blessing and official<br />
opening, V.R. “Brud” Zinck, former<br />
Chairperson of the local <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
board, explained that the school was named<br />
St. Gregory in honour of Sister M.<br />
St. Gregory (Bertha Cruikshank) of the<br />
Sisters of Holy Cross who was the founding<br />
principal of nearby St. Nicholas <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>. Sister M. St. Gregory was the<br />
principal and teacher of the senior grades<br />
at St. Nicholas <strong>School</strong> from its opening in<br />
September 1953 until 1958 when she left<br />
for mission work on Moricetown Reserve in<br />
British Columbia. She had endeared herself<br />
to the students and school community<br />
during her time at St. Nicholas.<br />
In 1951, there was only one <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
elementary school in Nepean, with about<br />
200 students. By 1970, there were ten <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
elementary schools in Nepean and the<br />
enrolment was more than 3,000. These schools<br />
were administered by six separate <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school boards, which had long debated uniting<br />
into one. This became a reality when the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> was<br />
established by provincial dictum in 1969.<br />
When Our Lady of Good Counsel<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> on Bowhill Avenue, which<br />
had opened in 1965, was closed in 1983,<br />
students, staff and equipment moved to<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
GREGORY<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
148 Meadowlands Drive West<br />
Nepean K2G 2S5<br />
613-224-3011<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/gre<br />
St. Gregory. In the 1980s, the school was<br />
twinned with the nearby St. Nicholas<br />
<strong>School</strong>, sharing a principal. When<br />
St. Nicholas was closed in 1990, the<br />
students and staff moved to St. Gregory.<br />
St. Gregory <strong>School</strong> itself moved<br />
for the 2001-02 school year after the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> acquired<br />
and then renovated the former Brook Lane<br />
Public <strong>School</strong> on Meadowlands Drive. This<br />
move resulted in St. Gregory moving into<br />
a single-storey building with updated<br />
classrooms and a larger playground. The<br />
school was officially blessed and rededicated<br />
in its new location on February 7, 2002.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
203<br />
As in the past, St. Gregory<br />
continues to meet the challenges of a<br />
changing world, implementing programs<br />
and activities that embody the Gospel<br />
values that are so much a part of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education. A Life Skills class was established<br />
during the 1980s. Barry Olivier, the teacher,<br />
implemented Friday luncheons with his<br />
group. Each week his students shopped for,<br />
prepared, served and interacted with their<br />
paying guests, practicing all the related<br />
skills. Staff and students always eagerly<br />
anticipated these feasts. Teachers Pat<br />
Switzer and Pat Bednarz started an<br />
Environment Club in the 1980s. One of the<br />
criteria behind the formation of the club was<br />
that there would be a relationship with a<br />
third world country. This was the origin of<br />
the school’s Kakinada Connection. Michelle<br />
Dussault, a French teacher at the school,<br />
lived next door to Dr. Chandra Sankurathri,<br />
a biologist who had lost his family in the<br />
tragic Air India crash of 1982. Dr. Chandra<br />
established the Manjare Sankurathri<br />
Memorial Foundation in his home village<br />
of Kakinada, India. This foundation sponsors<br />
a school and an eye clinic. St. Gregory<br />
<strong>School</strong> supports his work through its Lenten<br />
project fundraising each year. In December<br />
2004, St. Gregory <strong>School</strong> Principal, Theresa<br />
Kryski, traveled to Kakinada where her visit<br />
became part of a CBC-TV documentary on<br />
the work of Dr. Chandra.<br />
An Advent family Mass was<br />
implemented at St. Gregory <strong>School</strong> during<br />
the 1990s to encourage a closer connection<br />
among school, church and home. It became<br />
a highly successful and well-attended annual<br />
event, with parents and teachers sharing the<br />
organizational responsibility.<br />
A fun fair is currently the primary<br />
fundraiser at the school, taking place every<br />
spring under the guidance of the school<br />
council with the support of the staff and<br />
community. A huge raffle with prizes galore<br />
is a main drawing card for the event, as are
the food and the games. This has been a<br />
highlight of the school year at St. Gregory<br />
for almost 15 years.<br />
Both the arts and sports are also<br />
important to the school community. Visits<br />
by Friends of the National Gallery were<br />
inaugurated during the principalship of<br />
Helen Anderson. Her legacy with regard to<br />
promotion and encouragement of the arts<br />
at the school can be found in the school’s<br />
annual Fine Arts Award. <strong>School</strong> sports<br />
teams and programs really came into their<br />
own under the leadership of Principal Pat<br />
Jennings. Dedicated student athletes and<br />
enthusiastic teacher-coaches combined to<br />
develop successful school teams and<br />
personal-best performances by students.<br />
St. Gregory <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
today has an enrolment of approximately<br />
275 students, encompassing Junior<br />
Kindergarten through Grade 6. The school<br />
has 14 regular classrooms, a resource area,<br />
a junior special needs classroom, a computer<br />
lab, a library, a gymnasium with a stage,<br />
and two unique courtyards, as well as a<br />
schoolyard. The school enjoys a strong<br />
partnership with St. Maurice <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Parish, which is served by priests of the<br />
Order of the Companions of the Cross.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Present Principal<br />
Kari Burke<br />
Past Principals<br />
Mary Doyle<br />
Gerard LeClair<br />
Bob Slack<br />
Peter Gravelle<br />
Joan Gravel<br />
John Power<br />
Sister Rita McBane<br />
Helen Anderson<br />
Pat Jennings<br />
Gerry Gilmour<br />
Theresa Kryski<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Mary Doyle, Principal<br />
Rima Bakunas, Grade 1<br />
Lots Ryan, Grade 2<br />
Teresa Doyle, Grade 3-4<br />
Bernadette Ryan, Kindergarten-<br />
Primary<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
204<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Blue and gold<br />
Logo<br />
Designed by teachers Pat Switzer<br />
and Barry Olivier, both now retired, the logo<br />
includes the name “St. Gregory” diagonally<br />
across the crest. Symbols on the logo include<br />
an open book, sports equipment, two joined<br />
hands, and a cross.
While St. Isidore <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
in South March has provided<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education for families in<br />
the area for half a century, the history of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in this part of the <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
jurisdiction goes back more than 130 years.<br />
The exact date of the construction of the<br />
first <strong>Catholic</strong> school in March Township is<br />
not known, but township minute books refer<br />
to a grant given to a Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
Section as early as 1872. There did exist,<br />
following the devastation caused by the<br />
Carleton County fire of 1870, two <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools in the area, one in the vicinity of the<br />
present-day St. Isidore <strong>School</strong> and the other<br />
in the northwest part of the township,<br />
known as Separate <strong>School</strong> Section No. 3.<br />
This latter school also drew some pupils<br />
from the southern portion of the adjacent<br />
Torbolton Township to the north.<br />
While dates are uncertain, a story<br />
of the beginning of the school does exist,<br />
one that seems to have more to do with its<br />
location rather than with its denominational<br />
status, although there is no doubt that the<br />
religion of the parties involved played a role.<br />
Those who lived on the Third Line in March<br />
Township felt that the school should be built<br />
on that road. These residents were mainly<br />
Protestant. However, residents on the first<br />
and second concession roads in March<br />
wanted to see the school built on the Second<br />
Line, believing such a site would be most<br />
central for all of the students involved.<br />
Most of the residents of the first and second<br />
concession lines were Roman <strong>Catholic</strong>.<br />
When S.S. No. 3 in March Township ended<br />
up being built on the Third Line, the Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>s of that section decided to open<br />
their own school. The Carroll family<br />
permitted the school to be built on a part of<br />
their farm. As there was no money available,<br />
each family brought a pine log for the<br />
construction of the building. In addition,<br />
each family contributed to the salary and<br />
board of a teacher. Jim Armstrong of<br />
Dunrobin built the blackboard and desks.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
ISIDORE<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
1105 March Rod<br />
Kanata K2K 1X7<br />
613-592-1798<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/isi<br />
Later, the original log building was clad with<br />
wood. In 1905, the original school building<br />
was demolished and a slightly larger brick<br />
schoolhouse was erected, featuring a raised<br />
platform at the front, which also served as<br />
a stage for Christmas concerts, a popular<br />
annual event at the school.<br />
In June 1965, the doors of this<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school, Separate <strong>School</strong> Section<br />
No. 3 of March Township, were shut forever,<br />
because its students would be attending an<br />
enlarged St. Isidore <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> near<br />
St. Isidore Church, ending the presence of<br />
a <strong>Catholic</strong> school in the northern part of the<br />
township. St. Isidore <strong>School</strong> in South March,<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
205<br />
likewise, goes back to the 1870s; however,<br />
the St. Isidore <strong>School</strong> of today was originally<br />
built as a one-room schoolhouse in 1956 on<br />
land donated by Joseph and Helena<br />
Scissons. This modern red brick school was<br />
built because the local <strong>Catholic</strong> families —<br />
the Foleys, Majors, Maxwells, Monaghans,<br />
Nashs, Nugents among others — wanted the<br />
best possible <strong>Catholic</strong> education for their<br />
children.<br />
James More & Sons Ltd. was the<br />
contractor for the school, following the plans<br />
of professional engineer, W.G. More. There<br />
were just two teachers, Anne Szabo and<br />
Charles Sherritt, and an initial enrolment<br />
of about 20 students, covering Grades 1 to 8.<br />
The students either walked to school or were<br />
driven by their parents.<br />
In 1965, the two separate school<br />
sections in March Township, S.S.S. No. 3 on<br />
the Second Line and S.S. No. 2 (St. Isidore)<br />
amalgamated, with the former being closed<br />
and St. Isidore receiving a three-classroom<br />
addition built by W.N. Construction. That<br />
marked the end of the one-room schoolhouse<br />
for <strong>Catholic</strong> students in March Township,<br />
and the first of several additions and<br />
improvements at St. Isidore. In 1968, there<br />
was another major addition to the school,<br />
including a gymnasium, a library and five<br />
classrooms. In 1996, changes were made<br />
to the kindergarten area, followed by<br />
renovations to the administration section<br />
in 1997. In 2000, a major addition and<br />
extensive alterations reshaped St. Isidore.<br />
Included were the administration area, the<br />
school library and eight new classrooms.<br />
Mechanie Construction was the contractor<br />
for this project and the firm of Edmundson<br />
Matthews served as the architect.<br />
The present day school, which<br />
has a 2005-2006 enrolment of 456 students,<br />
many from the urban growth areas in<br />
Kanata, sports 15 classrooms, a computer<br />
lab, a library, a resource room, a
gymnasium, an office area and staff room,<br />
a welcoming foyer and four portable<br />
classrooms, all served by a fleet of 12 school<br />
buses. While the facility has been altered,<br />
nothing really has changed with regard to<br />
the desire by today’s parents and teachers to<br />
have the best possible <strong>Catholic</strong> education at<br />
St. Isidore. The school maintains a strong<br />
partnership among parish, home and school,<br />
with everyone working together to nurture<br />
the truth and values of the <strong>Catholic</strong> faith.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Theresa Kryski<br />
Past Principals<br />
(since 1955)<br />
Anne Szabo<br />
Charles Sherritt<br />
Noreen Murphy<br />
Carmel Murphy<br />
Peter MacKinnon<br />
Peter Phelan<br />
Richard Dittmann<br />
Julie Tuepah<br />
Yvonne Benton<br />
Mary Armstrong Moss<br />
Gerry Gilmour<br />
Roberto Santos<br />
Linda Gilmour<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Former Students<br />
Raymond Zahab, a fitness<br />
instructor and cross-country runner who<br />
would like to run across the Sahara Desert<br />
Todd White, former <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Senators player now with the Minnesota<br />
Wild<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Blue and gold<br />
Logo<br />
Kathy Sheridan designed the logo<br />
for the letterhead of the school. The three<br />
people represent child, home and school. The<br />
three hearts and the three people represent<br />
love – to love one another, to reach out in<br />
love in the home, school and parish/<br />
community. The cross represents <strong>Catholic</strong>ity.<br />
Mascot<br />
“ISI,” the sand shark<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
206<br />
Thoughts of Former Principal Julie<br />
Tuepah<br />
I was made Principal of St. Isidore<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in South March in 1982 …<br />
population 125. It was a wonderful place to<br />
begin my career as a principal. I also began<br />
teaching the Principal’s Course at Queen’s<br />
University and continued teaching this<br />
course over the next ten years, both at<br />
Queen’s and at the University of <strong>Ottawa</strong>.<br />
I was a half-time teaching principal at<br />
St. Isidore and during this time helped to<br />
develop the Science/Social Studies/Health<br />
integrated curriculum. This was a total<br />
package for teachers and was intended to<br />
be an activity-oriented program for students.<br />
All of the activities, tapes, books, films, etc.<br />
listed in the binder were provided for<br />
teachers in activity kits available through<br />
the Teacher Resource Centre.
Growth in the Bridlewood area of<br />
Kanata led to the opening of<br />
St. James <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in<br />
January 1994. Previously, the students from<br />
the area had been attending Georges Vanier<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in the Beaverbrook area.<br />
The school community was actually<br />
established in September 1993, and was<br />
housed at Georges Vanier while the new<br />
school was under construction. It was not<br />
until January 3, 1994 that the students and<br />
staff of the school moved into the new<br />
facility. The initial student population was<br />
299 students, ranging from Junior<br />
Kindergarten to Grade 5. Grade 6 was added<br />
in September 1994.<br />
The school was named after<br />
St. James, one of the apostles, through a<br />
selection process that saw parents and<br />
others in the school community suggest<br />
names for the new school. The official<br />
opening took place on Thursday, May 5,<br />
1994, when it was blessed by the Most<br />
Reverend Marcel Gervais, Archbishop of<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>. Guest speakers on this occasion<br />
included Trustee June Flynn-Turner, Vice-<br />
Chairperson of the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, Lanark-Carleton MP Ian<br />
Murray, Lanark-Carleton MPP Norman<br />
Sterling, Mrs. Merle Nicholds, Mayor of the<br />
City of Kanata, Maynard Valois, President<br />
of the St. James Parent-Teacher Association,<br />
and Kanata Trustee Arthur J.M. Lamarche.<br />
<strong>School</strong> grounds beautification,<br />
recycling, quality daily physical education<br />
and environmental awareness have all been<br />
focuses at St. James <strong>School</strong> since it opened,<br />
as have academic achievement and faith<br />
development. <strong>School</strong>-wide and classroom<br />
liturgies, sacramental celebrations and<br />
regular school visits from parish priests<br />
have provided opportunities to pray and<br />
demonstrate <strong>Catholic</strong> faith development.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
JAMES<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
50 Stonehaven Drive<br />
Kanata K2M 2K6<br />
613-599-6600<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/jam<br />
The school supports such<br />
charitable initiatives as the Kanata Food<br />
Cupboard, the Canadian Hunger<br />
Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Jump<br />
Rope for Heart and the United Way.<br />
St. James <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has<br />
received the Canadian Association for<br />
Health, Physical Education, Recreation<br />
and Dance (CAHPERD) awards frequently<br />
through the years as well as the<br />
Environmental Award given by the school<br />
board.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
207<br />
Present Principal<br />
Mary Anne Cowan<br />
Past Principals<br />
Lloyd Ambler<br />
Helen Anderson<br />
Robert Benning<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Debbie McGiffin, Junior<br />
Kindergarten (English)<br />
Marie Dummond, Junior<br />
Kindergarten and Grade 2<br />
(French)<br />
Eileen Painchaud, Senior<br />
Kindergarten (English)<br />
Line Gauthier, Senior<br />
Kindergarten and Grades 1 and 2<br />
(French)<br />
Susan Kelso-Martin, Grade 1<br />
Brenda Jolicoeur, Grade 1<br />
Brenda McDonald, Grade 2<br />
Anne-Marie Ronan, Grade 2<br />
Priscilla Hossick, Grade 3<br />
Dayna Bedecki, Grade 3-4<br />
Laurie DiLabio, Grade 4-5<br />
Glenn Kennedy, Grade 5 and<br />
Principal-Designate<br />
Raymonde Ibrahim, Grade 1<br />
(French)<br />
Paul Boulet, Grade 3-5 (French)<br />
Bernadette Murphy, Resource<br />
Colleen McKee, Library Technician<br />
Marilyn O’Connor, Music Itinerant<br />
Susan Leblanc, Secretary<br />
Neil Gosselin, Head Custodian<br />
Wesley Hacker, Night Custodian<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Gold and maroon<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is maroon in<br />
colour, with a large cross through it. In the<br />
centre is a book with pictures of a fish and<br />
a dove. Below the book are silhouettes of<br />
four children holding hands. The words<br />
“St. James” are above the crest.
St. Jerome, a noted scholar, found<br />
time in his life of devotion to God<br />
and the Church to open a school.<br />
It is thus quite fitting and<br />
appropriate that the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, which likewise has a<br />
devotion to God and the Church by ensuring<br />
that the teachings of Jesus Christ are<br />
integrated into the day-to-day curriculum<br />
and social fabric of school life, should have<br />
a school named after him. This became a<br />
reality in 2004 when a new <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
elementary school opened in the growing<br />
Riverside South urban development area of<br />
Gloucester South. It was named “St. Jerome<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>” following consultation with<br />
parents and the community.<br />
St. Jerome <strong>School</strong> opened its doors<br />
for the first time on September 7, 2004, with<br />
a student population of 190, most having<br />
previously attended Uplands <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>. This first day was a day of<br />
celebration, with members of the school<br />
community on hand to mark the event and<br />
to participate in the celebrations, including<br />
a special blessing and attendance by local<br />
dignitaries who stopped by to offer their<br />
congratulations and best wishes for the new<br />
school, built by Frecan Construction Ltd.<br />
The media were also on hand to mark the<br />
opening of this first new elementary school<br />
in the Riverside South community.<br />
Having a <strong>Catholic</strong> elementary<br />
school in the community had been a goal<br />
of <strong>Catholic</strong> parents and of residents of the<br />
community in general, as represented by<br />
their community association, for several<br />
years. The community had made<br />
presentations to the trustees of the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, outlining<br />
the growth in the community and its<br />
burgeoning population of school-aged<br />
children. These presentations made the<br />
trustees and <strong>Board</strong> staff aware of the<br />
situation, but other construction priorities<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
JEROME<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
4330 Spratt Road<br />
Gloucester K1V 2A7<br />
613-822-1116<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/jer<br />
and a desire to wait until student number<br />
projections ensured the viability of the new<br />
school, meant that the decision to build the<br />
school would not be made until 2003.<br />
Enrolment increased from the initial 190<br />
students to 340 in the fall of 2005 and<br />
continued growth is expected as<br />
development in the Riverside South<br />
community proceeds as planned.<br />
St. Jerome <strong>School</strong> has quickly<br />
become a vibrant <strong>Catholic</strong> beacon in this<br />
new subdivision area.<br />
The official opening ceremony for<br />
the school was held on December 2, 2004,<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
209<br />
with the highlight being the presentation<br />
of banners, created by each grade level,<br />
to the school. These banners now hang in<br />
the gymnasium. The vital nature of the<br />
St. Jerome <strong>School</strong> community was much in<br />
evidence in the first year, as the school<br />
raised enough funds to purchase a topquality<br />
dynamic play structure. Other<br />
additions that were provided to the<br />
schoolyard included basketball nets, asphalt<br />
games and an infinity loop. All of this has<br />
allowed the students to have fun while being<br />
physically active in the outdoors. The main<br />
fundraising event for the play structure was<br />
a walk-a-thon, which promoted physical<br />
fitness and camaraderie. Indeed, the event<br />
was so popular that it has become an annual<br />
event.<br />
St. Jerome <strong>School</strong> is a place where<br />
concern for others, especially those in need,<br />
has become a guiding principle. In 2004,<br />
the school chose to direct this concern to<br />
tsunami relief and to “sponsor-a-child,”<br />
inaugurating a tradition of “giving back,”<br />
which will continue in the future. St. Jerome<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was one of eight <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> schools in<br />
the 2005-2006 school year that raised about<br />
$6,000 in total for the “OK Clean Water<br />
Project.” The “OK Clean Water Project”<br />
(OK stands for <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Kumbo, a town in<br />
Cameroon in Africa) is an initiative of<br />
the Congregation of Notre Dame, an<br />
international religious community of<br />
Sisters and associates with a strong<br />
presence throughout Canada and a<br />
longstanding dedication to education. The<br />
“OK Clean Water Project” supports the<br />
purchase of water pipes that are laid from<br />
a clean water source into their communities<br />
by villagers in Cameroon.<br />
St. Jerome has quickly become<br />
an integral part of the Riverside South<br />
community. The <strong>Ottawa</strong> Public Library’s<br />
Bookmobile, which serves the area, makes<br />
a weekly stop at St. Jerome, enhancing
student access to the world of literacy and<br />
complementing the school’s own resources,<br />
while helping to instill a love of reading and<br />
learning in the students.<br />
The school provides opportunities<br />
for students and staff to pray and<br />
demonstrate their <strong>Catholic</strong> faith, through<br />
both school-wide and classroom liturgies.<br />
Father Geoff Kerslake, the parish priest<br />
at St. Leonard <strong>Catholic</strong> Church in nearby<br />
Manotick, the parish which includes<br />
Riverside South, leads these liturgical<br />
celebrations and visits the school on a<br />
regular basis.<br />
St. Jerome <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> offers<br />
a junior kindergarten to grade 6 curriculum<br />
as well as a variety of co-curricular activities<br />
such as environment, dance, chess, peacemaker<br />
and multicultural clubs. It also<br />
provides for a wide range of athletic<br />
activities.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Present Principal<br />
Gerry Gilmore (2005-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Bert O’Connor (2004-05)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Angela Marcantonio<br />
Chantelle Woods<br />
Paule Blais, Kindergarten<br />
Carolina Anton;<br />
Delta Jones, Grade 1<br />
Elizabeth Fata, Grade 2<br />
Connie Drew, Grade 3<br />
Samara Somers, Grade 3-4<br />
Lisa Ricciuti, Grade 5<br />
Penny Zorn, Grade 5-6<br />
Tina Dicembre<br />
Antoinette Abi Khalil, French<br />
Susan Schroeder, Resource<br />
Kelly Fahey, Educational Assistant<br />
Carole Hausser, Secretary<br />
Pierre Larocque, Head Custodian<br />
Phil Kelly, Head Custodian<br />
Marcel Pharand, Custodian<br />
Romeo Robinson, Custodian<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
210<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Blue and gold, as chosen by the<br />
students in the fall of 2004.<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is a lion<br />
emblazoned with the name “St. Jerome,” the<br />
school motto “Today’s Believers, Tomorrow’s<br />
Achievers,” and the school’s initials “SJCS”<br />
flanking a beacon-like cross. The lion is<br />
linked with St. Jerome. In church history,<br />
he is often pictured with a lion as he was<br />
reported to have drawn a thorn from a lion’s<br />
paw after which the lion stayed loyally at<br />
his side for years. The lion is thus<br />
considered an appropriate symbol to have on<br />
the logo of the school named after so fearless<br />
a champion of the <strong>Catholic</strong> faith.<br />
Motto<br />
“Today’s Believers, Tomorrow’s<br />
Achievers”
St. John the Apostle <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
in Nepean began as a school<br />
without a building. It opened its<br />
doors to 275 students from Kindergarten<br />
to Grade 8 in 1969, created by the newly<br />
formed Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>, to meet the expanding growth in<br />
such Nepean neighbourhoods as Trend-<br />
Arlington, Arlington Woods, Leslie Park,<br />
Briargreen, Graham Park, Qualicum and<br />
Bells Corners.<br />
However, the doors that were<br />
opened in 1969 were not the doors of a school<br />
building, but rather those of eight portable<br />
classrooms situated at the Costello Avenue<br />
site of the future school, as well as two<br />
classrooms housing grades 7 and 8 students<br />
at Pope John XXIII <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> on<br />
Knoxdale Avenue. The actual school building<br />
for St. John the Apostle <strong>School</strong> was not ready<br />
for occupancy until the spring of 1971, at a<br />
cost of $950,000 for a first phase consisting<br />
of eight classrooms, a kindergarten area,<br />
a library, a general purpose room, a health<br />
room, a teachers’ lunch room and lounge,<br />
a principal’s office, a general administrative<br />
office, janitorial facilities and washrooms.<br />
The design of the school, by<br />
Architect Edward Cuhaci, won first prize<br />
in an architectural design contest for<br />
elementary schools, thanks in part to being<br />
the first elementary school designed to<br />
feature the “pod” concept. This open area<br />
concept, featuring four pods, each of which<br />
contained four classrooms, was considered<br />
unique at the time.<br />
In September 1971, St. John the<br />
Apostle <strong>School</strong> community was truly able<br />
to enjoy its new building. Terry Murphy was<br />
the school’s first principal, and Father John<br />
Whalen, Pastor of St. John the Apostle<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Parish on Baseline Road, was the<br />
first priest to serve the school.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST. JOHN THE<br />
APOSTLE<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
30 Costello Avenue<br />
Nepean K2H 7C5<br />
613-828-0644<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/apo<br />
At the end of the 1978 school year,<br />
grades 7 and 8 students attending St. John<br />
the Apostle were transferred to Frank Ryan<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Senior Elementary <strong>School</strong> and,<br />
subsequently, to St. Paul <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong>. From 1979 to the present day,<br />
St. John the Apostle has operated as a<br />
kindergarten to grade 6 elementary school.<br />
St. John the Apostle <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> is named after St. John, the apostle<br />
who is the patron saint of charities.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
211<br />
Present Principal<br />
Nuala Durkin (2004-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Terry Murphy (1969-73)<br />
Mae Rooney (1973-78)<br />
Gerard LeClair (1978-83)<br />
Lyle Bergeron (1983-87)<br />
Gary Valiquette (1987-91)<br />
Kevin Mullins (1991-95)<br />
John Delorme (1995-99)<br />
Edward Rogan (1999-2004)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Terry Murphy, Principal<br />
Jim O’Brien, Vice-Principal and<br />
Grade 8<br />
Jean Desormeaux, Grade 6<br />
Mary Jean Thompson, Senior<br />
Kindergarten<br />
Sandra Boyer, Grade 1<br />
Tom McGurn, Grade 7<br />
Sandra Stafford, Grade 2<br />
Georgia Morissette, Grade 4<br />
Lynne Garston, Grade 3<br />
Margaret Pappin, Grade 5<br />
Former Students<br />
Corey Smith plays for the<br />
Canadian national wheelchair basketball<br />
team.<br />
Grade 2 student Daniel Stanton,<br />
who is battling cancer, presented flowers to<br />
current Governor-General, Her Excellency<br />
the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean at her<br />
swearing-in ceremony on Parliament Hill.<br />
Julia Hicks is a track athlete who<br />
received an athletic scholarship to a United<br />
States university.<br />
Geoffrey Kerslake is now the<br />
parish priest at St. Leonard Parish in<br />
Manotick.
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
The school colours are burgundy<br />
and yellow.<br />
Logo<br />
Gina Ourney, a supply teacher at<br />
the school, designed the school logo as part<br />
of a contest open to students. The round logo<br />
features a cross, three outstretched hands<br />
and the words “St. John The Apostle <strong>School</strong>,”<br />
“Together In Faith” and “Together In<br />
Friendship.”<br />
Other Interesting Facts<br />
Teacher Vicky Jacobson took her<br />
class to see Prince Charles where the class<br />
had an opportunity to have a picture taken<br />
with the Prince.<br />
The school placed second in a<br />
gingerbread house competition sponsored<br />
by Habitat for Humanity. The entry was<br />
created by the school’s “Circle of Friends”<br />
program. Close to $500 was raised.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
212
St. Joseph <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> in<br />
South Nepean bears a name that<br />
was previously used in the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
area, and is best known as the name of a<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> high school on Broadview Avenue<br />
beginning in the late 1950s when there was<br />
no government funding beyond Grade 10.<br />
The name itself though, was not being used<br />
for any school under the jurisdiction of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in<br />
2002 when a new <strong>Catholic</strong> high school was<br />
planned to serve the growing South Nepean<br />
community to relieve an overcrowded<br />
situation at Mother Teresa <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong>. So the name of Saint Joseph, patron<br />
of workers, was selected. It was built<br />
following the design first developed by<br />
architect Edward J. Cuhaci in 1990 for Holy<br />
Trinity <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> in Kanata and<br />
replicated at other subsequent new high<br />
schools, albeit with alterations and<br />
improvements each time.<br />
The school opened on October 11,<br />
2002. Previously the student body and staff<br />
had been housed at Mother Teresa High<br />
<strong>School</strong> since the start of school in September<br />
while the new school was being completed.<br />
The official opening ceremony took place on<br />
February 5, 2003. On opening day, the school<br />
boasted an enrolment of 1,000, growing to<br />
over 1,500 students by the fall of 2005.<br />
The school facility includes a<br />
chapel, four gymnasiums, a staff room, three<br />
teacher preparation rooms, five computer<br />
labs, a library, biology, chemistry, physics<br />
and science labs, a fully-equipped exercise<br />
room, two art rooms, and labs for<br />
photography, transportation, communication<br />
and construction, as well as numerous<br />
regular classrooms.<br />
In its first three years of existence,<br />
St. Joseph High <strong>School</strong> has had six sports<br />
teams go to the Ontario Federation of<br />
Secondary <strong>School</strong>s Athletic Association<br />
provincial championships. In April 2006,<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
JOSEPH<br />
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL<br />
3333 Greenbank Road<br />
Nepean K2J 4J1<br />
613-823-4797<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/sjh<br />
the St. Joseph Junior Cheerleading Squad<br />
won the provincial championship, competing<br />
in the highest of four levels in the category.<br />
The 31-member team consisted of grades 7<br />
and 8 students. Besides participating in<br />
more than 25 high school sports within the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> area, St. Joseph High <strong>School</strong> has<br />
also won each year the Canadian Association<br />
for Health, Physical Education, Recreation<br />
and Dance (CAHPERD) and Canadian<br />
Intramural Recreation Association (CIRA)<br />
awards for its daily quality physical<br />
education program and its intramural sports<br />
program respectively.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
213<br />
The school’s mission statement<br />
reads — “At St. Joseph <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong>, faith, dedication, respect and justice<br />
are the cornerstones of our community.<br />
We stand to uphold Christian values and<br />
promote a positive and progressive learning<br />
environment. Through dedication and<br />
perseverance, we hope to achieve excellence<br />
within ourselves and our community.”<br />
St. Joseph High <strong>School</strong> has<br />
demonstrated its commitment to the<br />
community by fundraising for the Children’s<br />
Hospital of Eastern Ontario, the Waupoos<br />
Foundation, the United Way, the Heart and<br />
Stroke Foundation and the Multiple<br />
Sclerosis Society. Students also deliver the<br />
ABC Literacy Program to St. Elizabeth Ann<br />
Seton <strong>School</strong> in Barrhaven. St. Joseph<br />
students help one another through<br />
leadership development camps, a peer<br />
helpers program, a liturgical team and a<br />
peer pals program.
Present Principals<br />
Greg Mullen (2002-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
N/A<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Greg Mullen, Principal<br />
Rasa Augaitis<br />
Frank Bastianelli<br />
William Barrett<br />
Robert Belanger<br />
Karin Bellavance<br />
Emily Brazeau<br />
Guilia Briglio<br />
Scott Broadhurst<br />
Carole Brooks<br />
Damien Brown-Graham<br />
Kristine Burgoyne<br />
Bonnie Campbell<br />
Sandra Cappelletti<br />
Lisa Clermont<br />
Chris Copley<br />
Wade Cotnam<br />
René Coutu<br />
MaryLou Dean<br />
Rick Farrah<br />
Sean Flynn<br />
Anne-Marie Fraser<br />
Robert Garnett<br />
Michelle Gauthier<br />
Sharon Gilmour<br />
Gerald Guzzo<br />
Patricia Harris<br />
Darlene Hickman<br />
Robin Howard<br />
Toni Ienzi<br />
Stephen Kenny<br />
Robert Lackey<br />
Tracey Labreche<br />
Sylvain Lamarche<br />
Cathy Landry<br />
Eric Lehmann<br />
Brian Lever<br />
Rosetta Licandro<br />
Carrie Lindsay<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Rosemary Marshall, Head<br />
Secretary<br />
Anne Mason<br />
Michael McCloskey<br />
Tracy Mercy<br />
Claire Montpetit<br />
Cleary Morris<br />
Tara Murphy<br />
Sarah Murray<br />
Donald Nault<br />
Mario Panetta<br />
Shelley Pankow<br />
Dan Pilon<br />
Helen Prince<br />
Merlene Reid<br />
Jennifer Rusch<br />
Rae Salter<br />
Isabella Santini-Cousineau<br />
Wendy Scully<br />
Louise Shaughnessy<br />
Jennifer Simpson<br />
Judith Smith<br />
Mary-Lou Tirabasso<br />
Rosario Vidosa<br />
Anna Vincent<br />
Lorraine Vlcek<br />
Debra Wallingford<br />
Virginia Winfield<br />
Fiona Weir<br />
Carol Young<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
214<br />
Logo<br />
A stylized anchor in the form of<br />
a “J” with the school motto, a cross and the<br />
name “St. Joseph.”<br />
Motto<br />
“Dedication Today, Success<br />
Tomorrow”<br />
Team Name<br />
Jaguars
St. Leonard <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in<br />
Manotick opened in 1965 with six<br />
rooms, but just two years later<br />
a major addition was built encompassing<br />
a library, gymnasium and four more<br />
classrooms. <strong>School</strong> board trustees when<br />
the school opened were Percy Macdonald,<br />
Stephen Brownrigg, Des McEvoy, Patrick<br />
Bergin and Clarence Curry.<br />
St. Leonard <strong>School</strong>, on Long<br />
Island Road in Manotick, was part of the<br />
momentous change which took place at the<br />
time of its opening in 1965 when the former<br />
one-room country schools were being<br />
replaced by larger, central schools serving<br />
a wider area. In the case of St. Leonard,<br />
students were bussed in from areas of four<br />
different townships: Osgoode, Gloucester,<br />
Nepean and North Gower. One of the<br />
country schools, which closed at the time<br />
of the opening of St. Leonard, was Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> No. 1, Osgoode<br />
(St. Brigid), which was near St. Brigid<br />
Church on River Road. It began in 1874, but<br />
by 1902, the school’s population had grown<br />
beyond the capacity of the original small,<br />
one-room school, so it was replaced by a<br />
larger one-room building, which served<br />
faithfully until it was closed in 1965 when<br />
St. Leonard was established in Manotick.<br />
Another <strong>Catholic</strong> rural school that<br />
closed at that time was Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> Section No. 4, Osgoode, known as<br />
Herberts Corners <strong>School</strong>. The original<br />
school was a log structure, which opened<br />
in November 1844 with an enrolment of<br />
28 students. The teacher was <strong>Catholic</strong>. A<br />
new school replaced the log schoolhouse in<br />
1890, located on a nearby site purchased<br />
from Michael Herbert and his wife Ellen<br />
Nash for $35. Andrew Doyle, Patrick O’Brien<br />
and James Herbert signed the agreement of<br />
purchase. In the 1950s, a new and modern<br />
classroom was added to this frame building<br />
to meet the needs of the growing student<br />
population. Once St. Leonard in Manotick<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
LEONARD<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
5344 Long Island Road<br />
Manotick K4M 1E8<br />
613-692-3521<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/leo<br />
became the school for the area in 1965, this<br />
Herberts Corners <strong>School</strong> was used briefly in<br />
the late 1960s by the public school board. It<br />
was then reopened by the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> and used for Home<br />
Economics and Woodworking classes until<br />
1980. In September 1980, the Community<br />
Christian <strong>School</strong> Association rented the<br />
building for use as a school.<br />
St. Leonard <strong>School</strong> opened in 1965<br />
with Principal Bob Slack and a staff of five,<br />
including three teachers. What a change the<br />
years would bring, as evidenced by the fact<br />
that in the 2003-04 school year, enrolment<br />
reached 694 students and a staff of 50!<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
215<br />
The name of the school comes from<br />
the fact that the school and the adjacent<br />
church are built on the former Leonard<br />
Driscoll family farm. Leonard died in World<br />
War II and his family donated the land in<br />
his memory. St. Leonard, whose name the<br />
school bears, was a charismatic Franciscan<br />
priest whose efforts converted thousands.<br />
He died in 1751 and is the patron saint of<br />
parish missions.<br />
St. Leonard <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has<br />
a history of growth. Classrooms had to be<br />
rented at the nearby Manotick Public <strong>School</strong><br />
in the early days of the school. There was an<br />
addition in 1967, and a further fiveclassroom<br />
expansion in 1968. Z.J. Nowak<br />
was the architect and Robert Construction<br />
the contractor.<br />
In the late 1970s, St. Leonard had<br />
an annex on River Road, which housed<br />
kindergarten pupils. In 1989, the school<br />
received a major facelift that improved and<br />
updated the appearance of the front of the<br />
building. Westeinde Construction undertook<br />
this work on behalf of the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
St. Leonard continued to grow<br />
along with Manotick and the surrounding<br />
community. This brought about the need for<br />
the addition of a portable complex in 1997,<br />
with Garvey Construction Ltd. serving as<br />
the contractor for the project. This was<br />
followed by the addition of a new library<br />
the following year. Rham Construction<br />
performed the construction work according<br />
to the plans laid out by the architectural<br />
firm, Bryden Martel.<br />
In 1998, St. Leonard <strong>School</strong><br />
received $2,300 in funding from Canada<br />
Trust to improve the schoolyard. This<br />
funding came about thanks to a presentation<br />
made by teacher Anne Moore and parent<br />
Mrs. Lenjosek.
St. Leonard <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> is<br />
known throughout the community for its<br />
spirit. This is evident at the school’s various<br />
spirit days and by the school’s ability to call<br />
on over 100 volunteers. <strong>School</strong> events such<br />
as Christmas concerts, parent nights,<br />
Halloween and winter parties, end-of-theyear<br />
barbecue and Education Week and<br />
Advent activities are all well attended.<br />
Parent volunteers regularly organize hot<br />
dog/pizza/sub lunches as fundraising<br />
initiatives for the school council. The school<br />
choirs have entertained seniors, church<br />
congregations and others in the community<br />
over the years. The school mascot, Lenny<br />
the Lion, is a source of much student<br />
enthusiasm and spirit. Lenny’s face can be<br />
found on many objects around the school.<br />
St. Leonard has won several<br />
environmental awards as the school stresses<br />
the importance of caring for the world. This<br />
has led to litterless lunches, waste audits,<br />
electricity preservation, creating beautiful<br />
gardens and a child-friendly schoolyard.<br />
Students are responsible for the planting<br />
and upkeep of the gardens at the school.<br />
During the millennium year, more than<br />
2,000 tulips were planted at the school.<br />
The Anne Morre Peace Garden was created<br />
and many trees have been planted. Students<br />
have planted trees and cared for the<br />
community park on the Rideau River across<br />
the street from the school. They have<br />
entered floats in the Dickinson Day event in<br />
Manotick and in Christmas parades in the<br />
community. The school is always represented<br />
at the Remembrance Day service at the<br />
Manotick cenotaph.<br />
Besides school spirit, St. Leonard<br />
<strong>School</strong> is also known for its high academic<br />
standards and its sports teams. Intramural<br />
sports are played daily and the school has<br />
collected numerous trophies, as well as<br />
much praise for the sportsmanship of its<br />
student athletes.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
The close proximity of the school to<br />
St. Leonard <strong>Catholic</strong> Church next door gives<br />
the students the opportunity to attend<br />
weekly Mass in addition to helping in<br />
preparation for the sacraments.<br />
St. Leonard <strong>School</strong> also has a<br />
caring heart as evidenced by its charitable<br />
activities. Students have collected cans,<br />
clothing, money, Canadian Tire money,<br />
mittens, toys, socks, and blankets for the<br />
less fortunate during Advent and Lent. The<br />
Youville Centre, St. Brigid’s, the Cantwell<br />
Centre, St. Mark Dominican Republic<br />
Project, Development and Peace and the<br />
Samaritans’ Purse are among the many<br />
organizations that have benefited from this<br />
charitable fundraising work at St. Leonard.<br />
The school has had hunger lunches of bread<br />
and soup to raise funds for the needy.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Jim Rogers<br />
Past Principals<br />
Robert Slack<br />
Andrew McKinley<br />
Greg Peddie<br />
Richard Dittman<br />
Russ Graham<br />
Ralph Watzenboeck<br />
Bert O’Connor<br />
Paul Fortier<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff (1965)<br />
Robert Slack, Principal<br />
Claire Loughlin<br />
Judy Van Zant<br />
Regina Kelly<br />
Anita McGuire, Secretary<br />
Mr. Reynen, Custodian<br />
Teachers at Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
Section No. 1, Osgoode ( St. Brigid’s) which<br />
operated from 1874 to 1965<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
216<br />
(After it was closed, students from<br />
the area were bussed to the new St. Leonard<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Manotick)<br />
Hanna Foran<br />
Agnes A. Loughlin<br />
Julia McMahon<br />
Miss J. McGahey<br />
John Loughey<br />
John Brennan<br />
Miss M. McDonald<br />
Nellie McMahon<br />
Miss M. McKenna<br />
Miss M. McDermott<br />
Miss A. Joyce<br />
Miss J. O’Malley<br />
Miss J. Ryan<br />
Miss E.J. Loughlin<br />
Miss Daverin<br />
Miss E. McGill<br />
Miss K. Cummings<br />
Miss F. Hayes<br />
Miss G. Gleason<br />
Miss T. Daley<br />
Miss A. Dewan<br />
Miss V. Redmond<br />
Miss L. Scott<br />
Miss M. Kelly<br />
Marion Mulville<br />
Miss V. Rooney<br />
Kay Pageau<br />
Miss B. Donnelly<br />
J. J. O’Donnell<br />
Rita O’Neil<br />
Mary Quigley<br />
Mary Forest<br />
Regina Girouard<br />
Mary Kennelly<br />
Rita Conway<br />
Vivian Kitts<br />
Ethel Dillon<br />
Ruth MacCormack<br />
Mrs. D. Curren<br />
Mrs. T. Thibert<br />
Mrs. D. Kelly<br />
Mrs. E. Kelly<br />
Geneva Dupuis
Some of the teachers who taught<br />
at Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> Section No. 4,<br />
Osgoode (Herberts Corners) which operated<br />
from 1844 to 1965 when it closed.<br />
Michael Wallace<br />
Martin Brophy<br />
Miss Doyle<br />
Mary Forrest<br />
Miss Scanlon<br />
Miss Nagle<br />
Millie Day<br />
Miss O’Grady<br />
Miss McStraveck<br />
Loretta Ryan<br />
Myrtle Allen<br />
Bernadette McKiernan<br />
Hilda Kennedy<br />
Sarah Steffler<br />
Peggy Donnohue<br />
Mrs. Pete Bax<br />
Miss O’Brien<br />
Mrs. Scissons<br />
Jimmie O’Brien<br />
Neil Kelly<br />
Frank Leonard<br />
Dorothy Kennedy<br />
Sheila McPhail<br />
Ethel Anderson<br />
Teresa McGahey<br />
Mrs. Kealey<br />
Peter McEvoy<br />
Bruce Topping<br />
Mr. Curtis<br />
Gayle Barr<br />
Mrs. Legroes<br />
Miss Blimpki<br />
Patrick McEvoy<br />
The last students to attend Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> Section No. 1, Osgoode<br />
(St. Brigid) in 1965<br />
Kevin Kelly<br />
Carol Martin<br />
Paddy Smith<br />
Gerry Martin<br />
Debbie Kelly<br />
Kristeen French<br />
Evelyn Martin<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Maureen Martin<br />
Jean Kelly<br />
Wendy Latimer<br />
Kathleen Kelly<br />
Wayne Latimer<br />
Kenny Kelly<br />
Cathy Martin<br />
Carmen Martin<br />
Hugh Doyle<br />
Pat Kelly<br />
Randy Latimer<br />
Steven Boyer<br />
Gerry Labelle<br />
Phil LeGeyt<br />
Peter Kelly<br />
Marty Kelly<br />
Sharon Kelly<br />
Linda Labelle<br />
Graham Kelly<br />
Suzanne Marcotte<br />
Helen Martin<br />
Suzie Boivin<br />
John Kelly<br />
Students at Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
Section No. 4, Osgoode (Herberts Corners) in<br />
1963, just before it closed.<br />
Robert Shields<br />
Terry O’Brien<br />
Aurel Albert<br />
Michael Vilandre<br />
Neil McDermid<br />
Peter Vriend<br />
Brenda McDermid<br />
Bonny Allard<br />
Madeline Vilandre<br />
Leonard Lapensee<br />
Jimmy Dewan<br />
Dennis Daley<br />
David Derwin<br />
Marlene O’Rourke<br />
Norma Tubman<br />
Gisele Sparrow<br />
Lynn Daley<br />
Sharon Dewan<br />
Jimmy Cleasy<br />
Larry McEvoy<br />
Alan Zirk<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
217<br />
Diane Dumoulin<br />
Bobby Dewan<br />
Karen Zirk<br />
Danny O’Brien<br />
Connie Vriend<br />
Louise Poirier<br />
Jimmy Soubliere<br />
Chris Vriend<br />
Norman Dewan<br />
Andre Lapensee<br />
Danny O’Rourke<br />
Nelkie De Rock<br />
Margaret Ann Burns<br />
Barry Daley<br />
Former Students<br />
Brad Fritsch, a golfer on the<br />
Canadian Professional Golf Tour who<br />
qualified to play in the 2006 United States<br />
Open at the Winged Foot Golf Club in<br />
Mamaroneck, New York<br />
Elisa Kurylowicz, a member of the<br />
Canadian Freestyle Ski Team. She retired<br />
from the team in 2006 after four full seasons<br />
and another three as a part-time member.<br />
She competed in a total of 44 World Cup<br />
meets, posting 13 top-ten results in<br />
individual moguls and five top-ten finishes<br />
in dual moguls. Her only World Cup gold<br />
medal finish was in January 2004 in British<br />
Columbia, where she won the dual moguls<br />
competition. She also had three top-ten<br />
results at two world championships and was<br />
the first freestyle skier to land a back flip<br />
with a full twist in competition.<br />
Liam Maguire, a sports author and<br />
hockey trivia expert<br />
Greg McEvoy, an author of<br />
children’s books (Alfie’s Long Winter)<br />
John O’Brien, owner of O’Brien’s<br />
Bus Company<br />
Ian McCrae, a published author<br />
of children’s literature
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Red and white<br />
Mascot<br />
“Lenny the Lion”<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
218
St. Luke <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has been<br />
another stepping stone on the<br />
pathway of <strong>Catholic</strong> education in<br />
the Barrhaven/South Nepean growth area.<br />
Opened in 1994 by the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, it followed in the<br />
footsteps of its predecessor schools,<br />
St. Patrick and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton,<br />
and in turn provided the formative footprint<br />
for the future <strong>Catholic</strong> elementary schools<br />
of Monsignor Paul Baxter and St. Andrew<br />
in this fast-growing suburban community.<br />
Indeed, it has been the growth of the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school system in the community,<br />
with five elementary schools and two high<br />
schools that helped accelerate the formation<br />
of the new <strong>Catholic</strong> parish of St. Andrew in<br />
the Barrhaven/Longfields/South Nepean<br />
area in 2001.<br />
St. Luke <strong>School</strong> now maintains a<br />
strong relationship with St. Andrew Parish.<br />
Father John Whyte, the current pastor,<br />
visits St. Luke regularly for liturgical<br />
celebrations. This <strong>Catholic</strong> focus of the<br />
St. Luke <strong>School</strong> community can also be<br />
seen in its numerous charitable endeavours<br />
including helping food and clothing shelters,<br />
supporting Christmas baskets, Lenten<br />
projects and support of the Canadian<br />
Hunger Foundation, among others. There<br />
are school-wide and classroom liturgies and<br />
the celebration of the sacraments of First<br />
Eucharist, Reconciliation and Confirmation<br />
all take place at the grade 2 level each year.<br />
St. Luke <strong>School</strong> has received the<br />
school board’s Environmental Award<br />
regularly and is a gold and platinum award<br />
recipient for physical education.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
LUKE<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
(NEPEAN)<br />
60 Mountshannon Drive<br />
Nepean K2J 4B8<br />
613-825-2520<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/luk<br />
At the school’s grand opening<br />
ceremony, the St. Luke community came<br />
together to make the event truly memorable.<br />
Many of the guests and visitors chose<br />
kindergarten-made corsages over<br />
commercial ones, showing in this small<br />
gesture, how St. Luke has its focus on its<br />
students, their achievements and successes.<br />
One event in 2005, which provided<br />
a unique experience to the students and<br />
staff, was the evacuation of the school on a<br />
day in early March when a family of eight<br />
skunks decided to move into the school. This<br />
caused considerable turmoil but, with the<br />
assistance of police, the staff managed to<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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guide the entire school population to Mother<br />
Teresa High <strong>School</strong> where they were housed<br />
for the day. This truly was the day that<br />
St. Luke <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was “skunked.”<br />
One of the traditions that was<br />
created at the school is the St. Luke TV<br />
Show. The program was initiated by Teacher<br />
Julian Hall and continued by Teacher Don<br />
Burke. Held on Friday afternoons, this show,<br />
produced by students, involved interviewing<br />
staff, writing up interviews and filming.<br />
Students gathered in the gymnasium every<br />
Friday to view the week’s production. The<br />
program ran from 1998 to 2000.<br />
The school council at St. Luke has<br />
been the source of numerous special events,<br />
including barbecues, school dances,<br />
Christmas fairs and book fairs.
Present Principal<br />
Ben Vallati<br />
Past Principals<br />
Yvonne Benton<br />
Sam Coletti<br />
Lyle Bergeron<br />
Roberto Santos<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Yvonne Benton, Principal<br />
Don Burke<br />
Bonnie McLaurin<br />
Santina Palumbo<br />
Claire Paquin<br />
Maureen Speer<br />
Lynne Bedard<br />
Marie Tanguay<br />
Lianne Doherty<br />
Joanne Blake<br />
Janice Estey<br />
Joyce Brule<br />
Carole Polnicky<br />
Natalie Arellano<br />
Joyce Brulé, Secretary<br />
Richard Francis, Custodian<br />
George LaFramboise, Custodian<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Former Students<br />
James Valitchka, a former<br />
St. Luke student who now lives in the<br />
Toronto area, was the guest speaker at the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
elementary schools’ Peace Conference at the<br />
Nepean Sportsplex in May 2006. An antibullying<br />
activist, the 11-year-old has written<br />
six books including I’m Not Brown I’m<br />
Human, which celebrates differences and<br />
talks of eliminating hurtful discrimination,<br />
and Superheroes Don’t Have Dads about<br />
building self-esteem, the evils of bullying<br />
and the trials of single parenting. The books<br />
have been translated into French and<br />
Spanish and have enjoyed widespread<br />
readership. He has done a national book<br />
tour and makes regular guest appearances<br />
in schools.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
The school colours are hunter<br />
green, cream and silver.<br />
Logo<br />
Jennifer Wood, a grade 5 student,<br />
designed the school logo in 1994. Her<br />
submission was selected as the winning<br />
design by a panel of teachers and student<br />
teachers. Jennifer drew a cross with the<br />
school name and four symbols: a medical<br />
symbol signifying health of the body, a scroll<br />
representing health of mind, a dove for<br />
peace and a maple leaf for Canadian culture.<br />
The logo is meant to show that the school<br />
builds a healthy mind and a healthy body.
St. Luke <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> opened in<br />
1963 at a site on Furby Avenue, and<br />
was originally known as Hawthorne<br />
Meadows <strong>School</strong>. It was renamed in 1965.<br />
It later moved to its current address on<br />
Dwight Crescent, where it shared a threestorey<br />
facility with Ecole St-Luc. An<br />
addition was built in 1998 as school<br />
enrolment grew due to the closing of<br />
Immaculate Heart of Mary <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
in 1999. In 2002, Ecole St-Luc was closed<br />
and its students moved to Ste. Genevieve<br />
<strong>School</strong> next to Resurrection of the Lord<br />
Church on Saunderson Drive. The McHugh<br />
<strong>School</strong> now occupies the space in the<br />
building, which was previously used by<br />
Ecole St-Luc.<br />
St. Luke <strong>School</strong> has become a<br />
community of students, staff and parents<br />
working together for academic excellence,<br />
social justice and equity for all, in the<br />
spirit of the teachings of Jesus. Within a<br />
vibrant learning environment, the school<br />
demonstrates exemplary practices in the<br />
areas of physical fitness, energy<br />
conservation and waste reduction. A “Fit<br />
Kids” exercise and games program operates<br />
every day before and after school. A number<br />
of parent and community volunteers help<br />
the staff in supporting early literacy and<br />
numeracy initiatives, especially by working<br />
one-on-one with students.<br />
But the St. Luke <strong>School</strong><br />
community is about more than just<br />
academics and learning. It is also about<br />
living the Gospel values by helping and<br />
caring for others. A breakfast program<br />
supported by the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Centre for<br />
Research and Innovation provides a<br />
nutritious meal for students who may<br />
require such assistance. The St. Luke school<br />
council provides financial support through<br />
a variety of fundraising activities, helping<br />
to cover the cost of student bus trips, audiovisual<br />
equipment and special classroom<br />
supplies, among other things. The school<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
LUKE<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
(OTTAWA)<br />
2485 Dwight Crescent<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1G 1C7<br />
613-731-3541<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/slu<br />
council members also coordinate hot lunch<br />
and milk programs.<br />
The parish of Resurrection of the<br />
Lord, within whose boundaries the school is<br />
located, also plays a key role in the life at<br />
St. Luke <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. There are Masses<br />
and liturgical celebrations held over the<br />
course of the school year. These are<br />
augmented by regular visits by one of the<br />
priests of the parish as well as by a member<br />
of the parish team.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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Present Principal<br />
Glenn Kennedy<br />
Past Principals<br />
James Coulter<br />
Brian Bourbeau<br />
Douglas Goodwin<br />
Philip Kelly<br />
James MacPherson<br />
Gilles Doth<br />
Emilio D’Errico<br />
Richard Schmaltz<br />
Yvonne Harper<br />
Francesco Lipari<br />
Johanne Clouthier<br />
Marcel Lafleur<br />
Francis Kenny<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
James Coulter<br />
Audrey Misericordia<br />
Monique Foubert<br />
Angela MacDonald<br />
Anne Marie MacKinnon<br />
Grace McDermott<br />
Monica Paynter<br />
Carolyn Racicot<br />
Eva Konopacki<br />
Lorraine Beauchamp<br />
Mike Erdelyi, Custodian<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Green and gold<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is a cross with<br />
the words “Saint Luke” across the top and<br />
“<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>” across the bottom. In the<br />
centre of the cross are the three words<br />
“Caring, Sharing, Preparing.”<br />
Mascot<br />
The St. Luke school mascot is a<br />
Lion named “Maximus.”
Team Names<br />
The school teams are called the<br />
St. Luke Lions.<br />
Staff Note<br />
Terry McGuinty, wife of Ontario<br />
Premier Dalton McGuinty, taught at the<br />
school.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
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Share, We Care, We Dare.”<br />
“We<br />
This is the motto of St.<br />
Marguerite d’Youville <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> characterizing the school’s approach<br />
to an education that integrates the teachings<br />
of Jesus Christ into its day-to-day<br />
curriculum and life.<br />
The school, located in Hunt Club<br />
Park off Conroy Road and Hunt Club Road,<br />
began in September 1990, although the first<br />
month for its 512 students was spent in<br />
temporary quarters at St. Leo and<br />
St. Marguerite Bourgeois <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>s.<br />
The official opening of the school was held<br />
on November 15, 1990, less than a month<br />
before the canonization of St. Marguerite<br />
d’Youville, the first Canadian-born saint and<br />
foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters<br />
of Charity of Montreal, more commonly<br />
referred to as the Grey Sisters. A six-room<br />
addition was built on to the school in 1991.<br />
The school’s unique architectural<br />
design provides an environment that allows<br />
students the opportunity to work as separate<br />
classes within a pod while still maintaining<br />
a sense of community. These pods are<br />
currently delineated according to age groups.<br />
This permits the students to interact more<br />
readily with age-appropriate peers. In<br />
addition, the students and teachers have<br />
the opportunity to come together as a<br />
school community in the multi-purpose<br />
gymnasium, which, besides being a venue<br />
for sporting events, is also used for school<br />
assemblies and for dramatic productions.<br />
In the tradition of its patron saint,<br />
St. Marguerite d’Youville offers itself as a<br />
community hub. A very active child care<br />
program is located at the facility and many<br />
after-school programs have been established.<br />
A variety of community groups make use of<br />
the school, with activity taking place most<br />
evenings. On the weekends, the school is the<br />
host of a hugely successful international<br />
language school in which the Chinese<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST. MARGUERITE<br />
D’YOUVILLE<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
89 Lorry Greenberg Drive<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1T 3J6<br />
613-737-1141<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/smy<br />
community offers, in conjunction with the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>,<br />
many elementary levels of language<br />
instruction for those interested in<br />
maintaining an ancestral language, as well<br />
as for those who simply wish the experience<br />
of learning another language.<br />
The sharing, caring and daring<br />
referred to in the school motto are reflected<br />
in many of the activities undertaken at<br />
St. Marguerite d’Youville <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>,<br />
such as annual food drives, Lenten projects<br />
and various charity fundraisers such as<br />
tsunami relief and the Terry Fox Run.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
223<br />
Present Principal<br />
John McGrath<br />
Past Principals<br />
Lucille Pummer<br />
Bernard Swords<br />
Theresa Pugliese<br />
Sam Coletti<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Lucille Pummer, Principal<br />
Hazel Lambert, Vice-Principal<br />
(half-time) and Grade 2<br />
Carolyn Deschamps, Resource<br />
Brigitte Guay, Non-Contract<br />
Lorraine Leblanc, Non-Contract<br />
Mary Nash, Librarian and<br />
Non-Contract<br />
Leslie McCarthy, Teacher Assistant<br />
Ole Bisch, Student Teacher<br />
Lucien Bolduc<br />
Patricia Brown<br />
Rosemary Burgess<br />
Margot (Lapointe) Canough<br />
Andre Carrigan<br />
Agathe D’Errico<br />
Anna Dorner<br />
Alain Dumontier<br />
Dorothy Hauck-Ozimkowski<br />
Louise Joncas<br />
Diane Kurs<br />
Sister Constance Lacroix<br />
Florence Lamrock<br />
Marcia Lynch<br />
Gina McAlear<br />
Frances McGilchrist<br />
Luce Paquette<br />
Lucy Reynolds<br />
Patricia (Hines) Rhodes<br />
Sylvia Rodrigues<br />
Mary Vermette-Apostle<br />
Carol Villeneuve (half-time)<br />
Louis Beaulne, Custodian<br />
Cicely Berry, Secretary<br />
Marilyn Turner, Secretary<br />
(half-time)
Virginie Werlen-Ball, Teacher<br />
Sanna Abu-Dawood, Lunch Room<br />
Monitor<br />
Carol Araujo, Lunch Room Monitor<br />
Sonja Hutchins, Lunch Room<br />
Monitor<br />
Murielle Lacroix, Lunch Room<br />
Monitor<br />
Najwa Taweel, Lunch Room<br />
Monitor<br />
Joe Goulay, Custodian<br />
Louis Beaulne, Custodian<br />
Staff Recognition<br />
Alain Dumontier received the<br />
Prime Minister’s Award for involvement and<br />
innovation with technology.<br />
Anna Dorner, grade one English<br />
teacher, won the Tip of the Hat Award from<br />
the Council for Exceptional Children, Rideau<br />
Chapter, in 1997 for providing exemplary<br />
contributions and commitment to students<br />
with exceptionalities; she was recognized<br />
as part of the writing team for the National<br />
Religious Education program, Born of the<br />
Spirit Catechetical Program, We Belong to<br />
God. Her students' artwork was used in<br />
both the grade one and grade two program,<br />
namely, We Belong to God and We Belong to<br />
the Lord Jesus; and she was also recognized<br />
as a special contributor to the Novalis<br />
Sacramental Preparation Resource for<br />
Parishes, Come Join Us at the Table.<br />
Cicely Berry, <strong>School</strong> Secretary, won<br />
the Director of Education Commendation<br />
Award.<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo features a<br />
rendering of St. Marguerite d’Youville with<br />
the name of the school and the school motto.<br />
Motto<br />
“We Share, We Care, We Dare”<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Significant Events<br />
As stated earlier, St. Marguerite<br />
d’Youville <strong>School</strong> was constructed with a<br />
new design fostering active, collaborative<br />
learning. With this type of education in<br />
mind, the school community embraced many<br />
new initiatives with great fervor and<br />
sustained energy, which enriched the lives<br />
of the students and teachers.<br />
Teacher – Professional Development:<br />
St. Marguerite d’Youville <strong>School</strong>, in its first<br />
year, joined ten other elementary schools<br />
that were participating in the project From<br />
Vision to Reality: Teacher Education for the<br />
Nineties and Beyond: the Cooperative-<br />
Learning <strong>School</strong>s Project. This project,<br />
coordinated by the ORCCSB and involving<br />
selected schools in five outlying boards, was<br />
part of the Ontario Ministry of Education’s<br />
<strong>School</strong> Based Projects to Promote Excellence<br />
in Learning Skills in Ontario Elementary<br />
<strong>School</strong>s. With this initiative the school had<br />
two division heads (one primary/French and<br />
the other junior/English and then viceversa).<br />
These individuals worked with staff<br />
using a coaching process and a professional<br />
development program offered by the project,<br />
to implement the new common curriculum<br />
and cooperative learning during the period<br />
from 1990 to 1995.<br />
<strong>School</strong>Net Project: St. Marguerite d’Youville<br />
<strong>School</strong> was one of two schools in the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
area, and part of the initial group of<br />
300 schools in Canada, chosen by Industry<br />
Canada (then known as Industry and<br />
Science Canada) to participate in the<br />
<strong>School</strong>Net Project: Plugging Kids into<br />
the World. This was a cooperative federal/<br />
provincial/territorial initiative announced<br />
by the Prime Minister in August 1993. It<br />
enhanced educational opportunities and<br />
provided electronic connectivity across<br />
Canada and made national and<br />
international resources available to the<br />
teachers and students. Further resources<br />
were provided by Carleton University such<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
224<br />
as access to FreeNet, in servicing of staff in<br />
networking and available resources and<br />
programs. The Faculty of Education at the<br />
University of <strong>Ottawa</strong> also provided support.<br />
The students participated in local and global<br />
initiatives in the area of language/writing,<br />
science/technology/mathematics and the<br />
social sciences. Not only their academic and<br />
networking skills were enhanced, but also<br />
their social and communication skills.<br />
Computers for Education: Thanks to Industry<br />
Canada’s Computers for Education program<br />
in the early 1990s and Bell Canada, the<br />
school was able to enhance their computer<br />
laboratory and provide a cluster of five<br />
computers in each of five junior division<br />
classrooms and a cluster of three computers<br />
in each of the grade three classrooms. This<br />
provided more possibilities to enhance the<br />
integration of Design and Technology across<br />
the curriculum, an initiative then being<br />
promoted for the first time by the Ministry<br />
of Education. In addition to this, the school<br />
set up a special design and technology<br />
classroom with all the resources (funded<br />
in part by the school, the Vision to Reality<br />
Project and the <strong>School</strong> Parent Council) to<br />
support the teachers’ work in integrating<br />
language development, science, mathematics<br />
and art.<br />
Integration: In the first year of existence,<br />
St. Marguerite d’Youville <strong>School</strong> determined<br />
that they should offer a more systematic<br />
approach to integrating children from the<br />
full range of exceptionalities as it was a<br />
large school with a very diverse population.<br />
The school developed and implemented an<br />
Integration Plan, which was based on an<br />
adapted version of the Cascade Model that<br />
best met students’ needs. Collaborative<br />
planning involving parents, teachers,<br />
administrators, teacher assistants, care staff,<br />
secretary, lunch monitors, <strong>Board</strong> resource<br />
personnel, the parish priest, and the school<br />
police constable, was one of the cornerstones<br />
of the model. Besides the in-class
programming which was offered, intensive<br />
small group programming was provided with<br />
special programming including the use of the<br />
Circle of Friends program, special noon-hour<br />
activities and ongoing in-service for the<br />
teachers and teacher assistants. In 1995<br />
St. Marguerite d’Youville <strong>School</strong> was given<br />
special recognition by the Ministry of<br />
Education and received the Exemplary<br />
Practice in Integration Award.<br />
Conflict Resolution Program: Early on the<br />
school introduced a very successful “Win-<br />
Win” initiative, i.e. a conflict resolution<br />
program, which was supported and funded<br />
by the school board, parent council, a local<br />
business – Southgate Loeb — and the staff.<br />
It consisted of staff development with the<br />
assistance of specialists from various<br />
Canadian Conflict Resolution Institutes,<br />
special in-class programs and student<br />
conflict resolution mediators on the<br />
playground, the latter being trained each<br />
year. <strong>School</strong> rallies and the school board’s<br />
“Peace Conference” recognized the work of<br />
the children.<br />
Global Education: For several years a Global<br />
Education program was offered. Part of the<br />
initiative involved the Literacy Skills<br />
program run by the Canadian Organization<br />
for Development and Education (CODE),<br />
which twinned us with a school in Malawi.<br />
As part of the project the school donated<br />
Literacy Kits consisting of items the<br />
students purchased from fundraising, and<br />
which they packaged before being shipped<br />
by CODE to Malawi.<br />
Enrichment Program: A Junior Division<br />
Enrichment Program was developed by<br />
several staff members of the school to<br />
further enhance literacy skills. Students had<br />
creative writing and publication workshops<br />
resulting in the production of student novels<br />
that were read at the “Authors Tea” for<br />
parents, grandparents and siblings, and<br />
then placed in the school library. The project<br />
SCHOOLS HISTORIES<br />
also involved the grade four story-writing<br />
exchange with a school in Nova Scotia.<br />
Theatre Workshops: Theatre workshops<br />
for the Junior Division were offered and<br />
resulted in the amazing and professional<br />
production and performance of the Wizard<br />
of OZ. The backdrops, chorography,<br />
costumes, lighting and arrangement of<br />
music selections were prepared by the staff<br />
and parent volunteers.<br />
Adult Education: For several years<br />
St. Marguerite d’Youville <strong>School</strong> offered a<br />
series of Adult Education Programs for<br />
parents in the community with an emphasis<br />
on child and parent self-esteem, positive<br />
behaviour, problem solving, conflict<br />
resolution programs, and communication<br />
skills.<br />
Significant Staff, Students & Other<br />
Successes (Academic, Arts and/or<br />
Sports)<br />
In 1993, together with two other<br />
schools, St. Marguerite d’Youville raised<br />
funds to build an entire playground for<br />
children in Barreo Recreo in Managua,<br />
Nicaragua; as well, some staff members<br />
funded, for a year, a kindergarten teacher’s<br />
salary for the same community in Managua.<br />
A play structure volunteer building<br />
group for St. Marguerite d’Youville <strong>School</strong>,<br />
organized by a kindergarten teacher, raised<br />
funds from the school council, school board<br />
and City of <strong>Ottawa</strong> and erected a<br />
kindergarten play structure in a weekend<br />
which was later improved again with the<br />
assistance of parent volunteers and a<br />
donation from Wood Gundy Inc.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
225<br />
The students of grade five were<br />
involved in a Senior Citizens’ Buddy<br />
Program with the seniors at St. Patrick’s<br />
Residence consisting of monthly visits at the<br />
senior home and shared celebrations, such<br />
as Thanksgiving Dinner and a Spring Tea at<br />
the school.<br />
The entire school had a Reading-<br />
Buddy Program involving junior division<br />
students reading to kindergarten and<br />
primary students twice a month.<br />
The grade six students<br />
participated in the Skills Canada Marsville<br />
program, which integrated their skills in<br />
science, mathematics and technology and<br />
provided the opportunity for teamwork and<br />
interaction with other elementary schools<br />
and scientists from the Canadian Space<br />
Centre.<br />
The school had many active clubs<br />
— Student Council, Ukulele Club, Primary<br />
and Junior Choirs, Drama Club, Library<br />
Club, Writers’ Club, Ski Club, Computer and<br />
Photography Club, Environmental Club,<br />
Safety Patrol Club, as well as an Intramural<br />
Sports program.<br />
For some years the Junior Choir<br />
competed in the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Kiwanis Music<br />
Festival.<br />
The school had a very active<br />
Parent Volunteer group from the day it<br />
opened, in fact for several weeks before it<br />
opened. Not only did they help in the<br />
kindergarten classes and the first days of<br />
school by assisting teachers and bus drivers,<br />
but they also assisted with outdoor activities<br />
such as skating, skiing, snowshoe events,<br />
Winterlude, school trips, fundraisers and<br />
outdoor education programs, pizza days and<br />
musical performances.
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
226
St. Mark <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong><br />
outside Manotick has grown in a<br />
quarter-of-a-century from a small<br />
rural junior high school to a vibrant,<br />
energetic, bursting high school, one of the<br />
largest in the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>. Through all of this growth and<br />
change, St. Mark has developed and built on<br />
the traditions of the community, of caring, of<br />
athletic prowess and of academic excellence<br />
that have made it a beacon not only of<br />
education, but of community life itself in the<br />
rural southern area of what is now the City<br />
of <strong>Ottawa</strong>.<br />
Past Principal Ron O’Toole, writing<br />
in the school’s 25 th anniversary reunion<br />
booklet in May 2005, summed it up best<br />
when he wrote, “The school has certainly<br />
changed and has grown. From a junior high<br />
school in the first few years, it has become<br />
one of the largest <strong>Catholic</strong> high schools in<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
One of the many features of the St. Mark<br />
community that has made the school so<br />
successful is the tremendous school spirit<br />
that defines St. Mark. You can always feel<br />
the positive energy that seems to permeate<br />
the corridors of St. Mark. St. Mark has<br />
served as a meeting place for rural South<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> — a place where people meet and<br />
a place where we become good friends.”<br />
The school opened in September<br />
1980. It had been referred to during<br />
construction as the South Gloucester Senior<br />
Elementary <strong>School</strong>, and became known as<br />
Southern <strong>Catholic</strong> Junior High when it first<br />
opened with 250 grades 7 and 8 students<br />
coming from the feeder schools of<br />
St. Bernard, St. Catherine, St. Leonard,<br />
St. Mary and St. Philip. A grade 9 program<br />
was added in September 1981, increasing<br />
the school’s enrolment to about 450 students.<br />
Grade 10 was included in 1982. The original<br />
building, built for the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> by Paul Daoust<br />
Construction, cost $1,913,610.11. The firm<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
MARK<br />
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL<br />
1040 Dozois Road<br />
Manotick K4M 1B2<br />
613-692-2551<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/mrh<br />
of Craig, Kohler, Dickey was the architect<br />
for the project.<br />
The coming of full funding for<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in the Province of<br />
Ontario in 1984 meant that St. Mark, which<br />
the school was then called, would add Grade<br />
11 in 1985, Grade 12 in 1986, and a Grade<br />
13 in 1987. This greatly increased the<br />
student enrolment at the school, a growth<br />
that was met by two expansion projects.<br />
A 12-classroom addition was built in 1985,<br />
with Nicolini Construction Ltd. carrying<br />
out the work. This was followed by a major<br />
project involving an addition and alterations<br />
in 1987. This time, MCY Construction did<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
227<br />
the renovation. A beautician laboratory and<br />
a new chaplain’s office were both created in<br />
1988, while an elevator was installed in 1989.<br />
Continued population growth<br />
in the school resulted in another major<br />
construction project in 1993. This $6,391,000<br />
endeavour, executed by Nicolini<br />
Construction, involved both an addition<br />
and alterations.<br />
The growth and changes at<br />
St. Mark did not stop there. In 1997, the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
installed a 12-classroom portable complex at<br />
the school to meet the continuing enrolment<br />
growth. In 2005, the school had 33 portable<br />
classrooms to accommodate its student<br />
enrolment of 1,746 students, a far cry from<br />
the 250 who were registered in 1980. The<br />
20 teachers and support staff of 1980 had<br />
increased to more than 100.<br />
In 2006, the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> began a two-stage<br />
project that will see St. Mark receive major<br />
upgrades and improvements to its facilities.<br />
A renovation-conversion program for specific<br />
areas of the school was carried out in the<br />
summer of 2006. This included provision of<br />
a new weight room and high-needs<br />
classroom, expansion of the dependently<br />
handicapped classroom, a new resource<br />
classroom and teachers’ work room, along<br />
with improvements to the senior science<br />
labs, plumbing, heat control in computer<br />
rooms and teachers’ rooms, handicapped<br />
access, electrical supply, the cafeteria floor,<br />
and new exterior doors. Cost of this work<br />
was in the neighbourhood of $300,000. Still<br />
to come is the construction of a major twostorey<br />
addition at an estimated cost of<br />
$2,200,000, to be ready for September 2007.<br />
This addition, along with the opening of a<br />
new high school in the Riverside South area<br />
planned for September 2008, which will<br />
become the new high school home for<br />
St. Bernard <strong>School</strong> graduates, should result
in the elimination of the free-standing<br />
portables currently in use at the school.<br />
Enrolment and infrastructure<br />
growth over the years at St. Mark, while<br />
impressive, tell only a small part of the story<br />
of St. Mark <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>. Over these<br />
same years, the school community has<br />
developed a spirit that is best manifested in<br />
a number of ongoing traditions: the end-ofyear<br />
outdoor Masses, the annual trips to<br />
the Dominican Republic, the annual canned<br />
food drives and the successful school teams<br />
and athletes. For the past decade, senior<br />
students at St. Mark High <strong>School</strong> have<br />
traveled to the Dominican Republic for a<br />
week, where they experience first-hand the<br />
culture and way of life in a Third World<br />
country. While the trip lasts only seven days,<br />
its effects endure for a lifetime in the hearts<br />
of those involved, as it usually proves to be<br />
a life-changing experience.<br />
Since 1988, St. Mark <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
High <strong>School</strong> has held an annual canned food<br />
drive. Over a period of 17 years, more than<br />
688,000 cans have been collected to help the<br />
less fortunate and the needy in the greater<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> community. The St. Mark canned<br />
food drive has become one of the most<br />
successful such events anywhere, annually<br />
reaching over 50,000 cans in the past few<br />
years.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Present Principal<br />
Joseph Veryard<br />
Past Principals<br />
Peter Linegar<br />
Starr Kelly<br />
Julian Hanlon<br />
Don Doyle<br />
Ron O’Toole<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Rosanne Mullins<br />
Betty Craig<br />
Margaret Ironstone<br />
Eileen Sametz<br />
Marilyn Kelly<br />
Val Cassaratto<br />
Linda Bekkars<br />
Ben Vlutebeld<br />
Dave MacDonald<br />
Denis O’Brien<br />
Wendy Reynolds<br />
Marg Sampson<br />
Bernadette Ryan<br />
Sam Colletti<br />
Ken Souliere<br />
Peter Linegar<br />
Doug Charland<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
228<br />
Former Students<br />
Evan MacDonald, wrestler for<br />
Canada in the 2004 Summer Olympic<br />
Games in Athens<br />
Heather Purnell, Olympic gymnast<br />
in 2004, Canadian national champion in<br />
vaults and recipient of a full scholarship to<br />
Stanford University<br />
Elisa Kurylowicz, a member of<br />
the Canadian Freestyle Ski Team for four<br />
seasons, retiring in 2006. She won a gold<br />
medal in dual moguls in a World Cup<br />
competition in British Columbia in 2004.<br />
Motto<br />
“Respect and Responsibility”<br />
<strong>School</strong> Mascot<br />
St. Mark Lion<br />
Team Names<br />
Lions
St. Martin de Porres <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
in the Glen Cairn area of Kanata<br />
opened in September 1975, sitting<br />
alone in a field, accessible only by a street<br />
extension past the adjacent Glen Cairn<br />
arena (now the Jack Charron Arena). The<br />
school, built with a capacity of 420 students,<br />
sat on a seven-acre site fronting on the<br />
future McKitrick Drive. At the time of its<br />
construction it was considered to be a<br />
modern and well-designed school with many<br />
unique features, making it one of the most<br />
advanced schools in the province. For<br />
instance, there was an entrance to the<br />
gymnasium directly from the outside,<br />
meaning that the gym could be used by the<br />
community and others while the rest of the<br />
building remained secure. The school had<br />
seven entrances and exits, ensuring rapid<br />
access and egress for both recess and in<br />
emergencies. Each group of classrooms had<br />
its own set of washrooms. The gym was<br />
designed with exceptionally large equipment<br />
storage areas and there was also a special<br />
storage area included in the kindergarten<br />
area. This proved particularly beneficial for<br />
the storing of the large playthings used by<br />
kindergarten students. They also had direct<br />
access to a special fenced-off play area at the<br />
front of the building. The classrooms were<br />
designed with separate areas for cloakrooms<br />
while the primary class section was built in<br />
an open-area format, with two walls jutting<br />
out 12 feet. These walls cut down the noise<br />
in the open area and effectively made it into<br />
three separate classrooms, while still<br />
theoretically maintaining an open design.<br />
The school actually had its<br />
beginnings in September 1972 as a couple of<br />
portables housing primary grades only, and<br />
called “Glen Cairn <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>,” located<br />
on land that is now a playing field at the<br />
nearby A.Y. Jackson Secondary <strong>School</strong>.<br />
While the primary grades attended the<br />
portable complex, the junior students shared<br />
space at Georges Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in<br />
the Beaverbrook area of Kanata. In June<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST. MARTIN DE<br />
PORRES<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
20 McKitrick Drive<br />
Kanata K2L 1T7<br />
613-836-4754<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/mrt<br />
1974, the school’s enrolment was<br />
82 students. In September 1974, Brian<br />
Bourbeau became the school’s first resident<br />
principal as the school expanded to nine<br />
portables linked together.<br />
In September 1975, the “real”<br />
St. Martin de Porres <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> opened<br />
for students in Junior Kindergarten to<br />
Grade 8. The children came from the<br />
surrounding Glen Cairn subdivision as well<br />
as from the Stittsville and Fallowfield areas.<br />
The school was formally named<br />
“St. Martin de Porres <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>” in<br />
early 1976 because the Glen Cairn area was,<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
229<br />
at that time, part of the St. Martin de Porres<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Parish with its church in Bells<br />
Corners. St. Martin de Porres was a 16 th and<br />
17 th century lay helper and then Brother of<br />
the Dominican Order of Preachers with a<br />
special devotion to the plight of the poor and<br />
to orphans. He lived in Peru from 1579 to<br />
1639. He was canonized by Pope John XXIII<br />
in 1962 and is the patron saint for social and<br />
inter-racial justice.<br />
By June 1976, the school’s<br />
enrolment had grown to 370 students,<br />
taught by a staff of 17, with a further<br />
increase in students expected in the fall.<br />
The presence of St. Martin de<br />
Porres <strong>School</strong> in the community was a key<br />
ingredient in the formation of Holy<br />
Redeemer <strong>Catholic</strong> Parish, which would<br />
serve the South Kanata area as well as<br />
Stittsville in its early years. A regular five<br />
o’clock Saturday evening Mass was held at<br />
St. Martin de Porres <strong>School</strong> starting in 1977,<br />
celebrated by priests from St. Martin de<br />
Porres Parish in Bells Corners. In the fall of<br />
1980, a mission of St. Martin de Porres<br />
Parish was established at the school, with<br />
regular Saturday evening and Sunday<br />
morning Masses held in the gymnasium. On<br />
June 25, 1981, the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Archdiocese, with<br />
Masses still being celebrated in the school<br />
gymnasium, established a new parish, Holy<br />
Redeemer. The parish grew from these<br />
beginnings, with the cornerstone for the new<br />
church being blessed by Pope John Paul II<br />
during his visit to <strong>Ottawa</strong> in September<br />
1984.<br />
The gymnasium at St. Martin de<br />
Porres <strong>School</strong>, the site of so many Masses in<br />
those years, was often referred to as the<br />
“basketball church” because of the hoops in<br />
the gymnasium. Student artwork decorated<br />
the walls for such gatherings. These<br />
gymnasium Masses ceased with the opening<br />
of Holy Redeemer Church in December 1985.
Besides being the original home of<br />
Holy Redeemer <strong>Catholic</strong> Parish, St. Martin<br />
de Porres <strong>School</strong> was also the mother of two<br />
new schools, Holy Redeemer <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
in the Hazeldean North/Katimavik area of<br />
Kanata which opened in January 1988, and<br />
Holy Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Stittsville,<br />
which commenced operations in September<br />
1988, sharing space at St. Martin before<br />
moving into its new building in Stittsville<br />
in May 1989.<br />
St. Martin de Porres now serves<br />
a stable population base in the mature Glen<br />
Cairn subdivision of Kanata, with enrolment<br />
hovering at around the 400 mark. The school<br />
has two kindergartens, seven primary and<br />
six junior classrooms, as well as a special<br />
education classroom, a computer lab, a<br />
library and a gymnasium.<br />
A parent-teacher association was<br />
formed at the school in 1975. In 1976 it was<br />
instrumental in launching a Block Parent<br />
program in the Glen Cairn subdivision.<br />
St. Martin de Porres, which had<br />
its official opening on June 6, 1976, has been<br />
the home school to 12 teachers, student<br />
teachers and vice-principals who went on<br />
to become <strong>Board</strong> principals: Helen Anderson,<br />
Robert Benning, Lyle Bergeron, Theresa<br />
Swanson, Sherry Swales, Gloria Sterling,<br />
Anna Yates, Paul Wubben, Sonja Karsh,<br />
Eileen Moriarty, Mary-Anne Cowan and<br />
Jane Hill. The first principal of the school,<br />
Brian Bourbeau, went on to become an<br />
Acting Director of Education with the<br />
Windsor-Essex <strong>Catholic</strong> District <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>. Former Vice-Principal Paul Wubben<br />
is now a Superintendent with the St. Clair<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> District <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
The year 1994 was significant for<br />
St. Martin de Porres <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> because<br />
it marked the beginning of the “Friends of<br />
the Awesome Outdoors,” a committed group<br />
of parents, students and teachers who<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
helped develop and maintain the gardens,<br />
trees and bird feeders on the school grounds.<br />
The school has been an annual recipient of<br />
the school board’s Environmental Award<br />
and, in 2004, was recognized when it<br />
received the prestigious platinum-level<br />
award for quality daily physical education.<br />
Every November for the past<br />
decade, St. Martin de Porres <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
has held a craft fair, which has become a<br />
community favourite.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Lynne Charette (2005-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Brian Bourbeau<br />
Audrey Bayles (from the Ministry<br />
of Education, who did a one-year<br />
exchange with Brian Bourbeau)<br />
Andy Groulx<br />
Greg Peddie<br />
Mae Rooney<br />
Brent Wilson<br />
Mary-Pat Kelly<br />
William Tomka<br />
Jane Hill<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Brian Bourbeau, Principal<br />
Helen Sheehan<br />
Sandra Boyer<br />
Grace Anderson<br />
Lynn Forget<br />
Helen Anderson<br />
Nancyjane Cawley<br />
Kit Fraser<br />
Elizabeth Mahan<br />
John Demormeaux<br />
Sheila Quinlan<br />
Patricia O’Connor<br />
Anna Schilebeeck<br />
Colleen Laliberté, Secretary<br />
Valentino Gervassi, Custodian<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
230<br />
Former Students<br />
Sean O’Connell, National Hockey<br />
League player<br />
Pat Woodcock, Canadian Football<br />
League player<br />
Father Paul Shepherd, current<br />
Pastor of Holy Redeemer <strong>Catholic</strong> Parish<br />
Logo<br />
<strong>School</strong> Principal Mae Rooney and<br />
Teacher Sherry Swales helped develop the<br />
first school logo.<br />
Principal Jane Hill and parent<br />
Susan Skinner assisted in updating the logo<br />
in 2004.<br />
Mascot<br />
Principal Jane Hill introduced<br />
“Marty” as the school mascot. Marty is a<br />
condor from South America who promotes<br />
school spirit with the Marty Awards, given<br />
monthly to students who demonstrate<br />
positive social skills.<br />
Song<br />
Principal Jane Hill invited<br />
musician Julie Krick to work with students<br />
to develop the school song in 2004.<br />
Teaching at St. Martin de Porres<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
Ann Heide is a former teacher and<br />
Program Department Consultant with the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, and<br />
then with the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>. She taught at St. Martin de<br />
Porres <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Kanata in the late<br />
1970s and provided this story about openconcept<br />
teaching at the school at that time.
Brian Bourbeau had a gift for<br />
gathering energetic and creative young<br />
teachers, undoubtedly one of the reasons he<br />
finished his long career in education as a<br />
superintendent for the Essex County Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
In 1976, upon my returning to the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> after<br />
two years as a consultant in the Northwest<br />
Territories, Brian managed to get me a<br />
teaching position at St. Martin de Porres<br />
where he was principal. I was so very<br />
privileged to join the ranks of talented<br />
teachers like Ruth Dempsey, Sherry Swales,<br />
Helen Anderson, Gloria Sterling, Bob<br />
Benning, Theresa Swanson, Louise Turcotte,<br />
Loretta Enright, Phyllis O’Neill and Helen<br />
Sheehan. I learned many valuable lessons<br />
from them over the years.<br />
The “primary pod” in St. Martin<br />
was Brian’s pride and joy. The three<br />
“classrooms” were separated only in their<br />
front corners, where we would gather our<br />
group for lessons, stories and discussions.<br />
“Open concept” was floundering in many<br />
places but Brian was determined<br />
to make it work, starting by joining only two<br />
of the three areas (the third was “walled off”<br />
with bookcases), and staffing it with<br />
teachers whose styles were well suited to<br />
one another.<br />
He paired me with Sheila<br />
Livingstone to team-teach Grade 1. That<br />
Sheila and I became best friends and still<br />
remain so after 30-plus years is proof of his<br />
good judgment. We had such fun working<br />
together and still treasure our time with one<br />
another! Our enthusiasm carried over to our<br />
students, making our pod a happy beehive of<br />
activity. It was rarely a quiet place but lots<br />
of learning was going on all the time. We<br />
were each ultimately responsible for our own<br />
30 or so students but they were crossgrouped<br />
for reading and math. We took<br />
turns teaching whole-group lessons in<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
science, social studies and health, but kept<br />
our own “class” for family life, stories, showand-tell<br />
and the beginning and end of each<br />
day. Sheila was happy to take half the<br />
students off to the gym or outdoors while<br />
I used the whole open space for mucking<br />
around with art or drama, so that worked<br />
out perfectly. We worked thematically and<br />
did all our planning together, each Thursday<br />
evening meeting at one or the other of our<br />
homes. We used a combination of learning<br />
centres and teacher-directed activities and<br />
were always cognizant of balancing wholegroup,<br />
small-group and individual pursuits.<br />
Parent interviews were a bit more grueling<br />
than usual as we both wanted to meet all<br />
the parents of our collective 60 or so<br />
students.<br />
At the end of our second year,<br />
Brian invited us to keep our students and<br />
take them on into Grade 2. That was a<br />
memorable time as we had wonderful<br />
supportive parents and a terrific group of<br />
students who were all adjusted to the<br />
routines of the pod. One year just flowed on<br />
into the next and we became more and more<br />
of a team. Sheila and I often talk of those<br />
particular students and have happily<br />
encountered many of them or their parents<br />
over the years. I recall that one of my yearly<br />
aims and objectives was to greet and leave<br />
my students with a smile each day. It was<br />
easy that year!<br />
Brian bought us a “log house”<br />
which served as a getaway place where our<br />
little ones could curl up with a book or lie<br />
on the floor to work in peace. I often wonder<br />
what became of it.<br />
Visitors would traipse in and out<br />
to observe the open area in action. I vividly<br />
recall the day a newly-hired school board<br />
superintendent named John McGuinness<br />
came to meet us. We were just beginning<br />
a new unit about aboriginal peoples. Our<br />
students and we were sitting cross-legged on<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
231<br />
the floor in two very long rows with a sheet<br />
of butcher paper in between. Each student<br />
was painting the face of the student across<br />
the paper. As a little girl reached the<br />
paintbrush toward my cheek, I looked up<br />
and there was Mr. McGuinness. “Would you<br />
like your face painted?” I asked him. Luckily,<br />
he laughed.<br />
For Sheila and me, the 1970s at<br />
St. Martin de Porres <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was<br />
a time of pure delight in teaching and<br />
learning. Open concept provided the<br />
challenge but also the flexibility to maximize<br />
each day.
A<strong>Catholic</strong> elementary school has<br />
existed at the corner of Bank<br />
Street (Old Highway 31) and Mitch<br />
Owens Drive in South Gloucester near<br />
Greely for over 115 years. But the story of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in South Gloucester goes<br />
back farther than that, as the first school<br />
built there, near the site of the present<br />
St. Mary <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, was in existence<br />
at least in the 1850s. Indeed, this common<br />
school, as distinguished from a specific<br />
separate school, had about 40 pupils in 1857.<br />
It was not unusual for such a school, serving<br />
an adjacent <strong>Catholic</strong> population, to operate<br />
as a common school since virtually everyone<br />
was <strong>Catholic</strong>. There was no need to form a<br />
separate school board.<br />
In 1890, this original log school<br />
building housing St. Mary and its property,<br />
were sold for $50. The school trustees at the<br />
time were Virgil McKenna, Chairman, Peter<br />
Stackpole, Treasurer, and Patrick Fagan,<br />
Trustee. The building was sold because the<br />
separate school board had purchased a halfacre<br />
of land at the corner (the current school<br />
site). There, a new one-room schoolhouse<br />
was built and opened in September 1889.<br />
This schoolhouse was used until 1950 when<br />
more property was purchased and a new<br />
two-room brick schoolhouse was built. Once<br />
again, the old school building was sold and<br />
removed from the site.<br />
The newly built two-room brick<br />
school opened its doors in 1950. The school<br />
board at that time consisted of Mike Millar,<br />
Chairman, James Downey, Secretary,<br />
Nicholas Tierney, Treasurer, and Joseph<br />
Leahy. A number of additions were made to<br />
St. Mary over the years between 1950 and<br />
the formation of the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in 1969. In 1958,<br />
there was a one-room addition added. This<br />
was followed by the construction of two<br />
additional classrooms and a gymnasium in<br />
1963, and then a further addition of six<br />
classrooms in 1966. In 1968, the school saw<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
MARY<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
(GLOUCESTER)<br />
5536 Bank Street<br />
Gloucester K1X 1G9<br />
613-822-2985<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/mry<br />
the addition of two more classrooms, a new<br />
gymnasium and an administration area.<br />
Some of the trustees who served<br />
St. Mary in this 1950-69 period included<br />
Michael Quinn Jr., Pat Ryan, Bert Bekkers,<br />
Robert Thompson, Bryan Cassidy, Stella<br />
Owens and Ted Jennings.<br />
The next major change at St. Mary<br />
<strong>School</strong> happened in September 1980, when<br />
it became a kindergarten to grade 6 school,<br />
as its grades 7 and 8 students were to be<br />
part of the new Southern Area Junior High<br />
<strong>School</strong> (later St. Mark) in Manotick. This<br />
left the enrolment at St. Mary at about<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
233<br />
200 students. St. Mary <strong>School</strong> came under<br />
the jurisdiction of the newly amalgamated<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in<br />
1998.<br />
In 2003, following presentations by<br />
the St. Mary <strong>School</strong> Council to the <strong>Board</strong> of<br />
Trustees and a resulting assessment of the<br />
school facility by the <strong>Board</strong>’s planning and<br />
facilities staff, St. Mary received another<br />
addition. This time, the $1,079,800<br />
enhancement consisted of five classrooms, a<br />
computer room and a library. The addition<br />
was opened in September 2003. An official<br />
dedication and blessing took place on<br />
November 5, 2003, with <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> Director of Education<br />
James McCracken, whose children had<br />
attended St. Mary at one time, in<br />
attendance.<br />
In 2005, St. Mary had an<br />
enrolment of approximately 400 students<br />
and 32 staff members.
Present Principal<br />
Paul Lahey (2006-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Kent McSwaine<br />
Peter Johnson<br />
Ralph Watzenboeck<br />
Richard McGrath<br />
James MacPherson<br />
Bert O’Connor<br />
Monique Michaud<br />
Lloyd Ambler<br />
Marilyn Gorman<br />
Judi Sarginson<br />
Linda Bevan<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
(in 1950)<br />
Mary McKenna<br />
Peggy Dennis<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Some of the Other Past Teachers<br />
Michael Creghan (c. 1857)<br />
Miss Cameron (c. 1866)<br />
Frances Dugal<br />
Barbara Kennedy<br />
Margaret Kelly<br />
Anne Rodier<br />
Anne Kavanaugh<br />
Peter Johnston<br />
Richard McSewyn<br />
Dorothy Christian<br />
Sandra Shaw<br />
Mary Kessels<br />
R.G. Morris<br />
Verna Moloughney<br />
Anne Kennelly<br />
Eleanor McEvoy<br />
Principal and Teachers in 1981<br />
Richard McGrath, Principal<br />
Mrs. Beckstead<br />
Mrs. Bruce<br />
Mrs. Donaldson<br />
Mrs. Laviolette<br />
Mrs. Maley<br />
Mr. McEvoy<br />
Mr. Mailot<br />
Mrs. O’Farrell<br />
Mrs. Tisher<br />
Mrs. Brown<br />
Stella Owens, Secretary<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
234<br />
Long-time Teacher<br />
On December 23, 2005, Mrs. Diane<br />
Spenard-Bruce, a very influential teacher at<br />
St. Mary, retired. She worked at St. Mary for<br />
32 years, having spent her whole teaching<br />
career at the school. She helped shape the<br />
future of many students with her passion for<br />
teaching.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Originally red and white; later,<br />
blue was added.<br />
Logo and Motto<br />
In the 1980s, parents, students<br />
and staff at St. Mary came up with the logo<br />
and motto “St. Mary’s In Action.”
St. Mary <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> owes its<br />
long existence to the important<br />
place that <strong>Catholic</strong> education held<br />
for the clergy and parishioners of St. Mary<br />
Parish, one of the oldest parishes in <strong>Ottawa</strong>.<br />
Officially titled Our Lady of Good Counsel<br />
Parish, St. Mary was the first parish to be<br />
carved out of St. Patrick Parish, which<br />
extended from the Rideau Canal all the<br />
way west to Britannia. An expanding city<br />
brought about the creation of St. Mary<br />
Parish in 1889, with the brick church on<br />
Bayswater Avenue built and blessed in May<br />
1891. Father T.J. Cole was the first pastor.<br />
The original population of the<br />
parish was primarily Irish in origin with<br />
most being poor labourers. Despite their lack<br />
of affluence, education was an important<br />
issue for them. The minutes of the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> from<br />
July 12, 1892, just a little over a year after<br />
the blessing of the church, note that Rev.<br />
Father Cole of St. Mary Parish requested<br />
that a school be established in his parish.<br />
It was agreed that $500 would be provided<br />
to pay for a site, and on December 30, 1892,<br />
Rev. Cole was permitted to establish<br />
St. Mary <strong>School</strong>. However, this did not<br />
happen, probably for financial reasons. In<br />
1901, though, Father John Sloan deplored<br />
the fact that many <strong>Catholic</strong> students were<br />
attending a predominantly Francophone,<br />
one-teacher school in Hintonburg. This led<br />
to the opening of the first school in St. Mary<br />
Parish, St. Malachy. Soon, a second school<br />
was needed in the parish and, in 1909,<br />
St. Mary Elementary <strong>School</strong> was erected at<br />
the corner of Young Street and Breezehill<br />
Avenue at a cost of $12,632. It opened as a<br />
parish school, sharing its name, with both<br />
boys and girls in attendance and the Grey<br />
Sisters of the Cross in charge, in<br />
collaboration with the parish.<br />
The school prospered, so a fourroom<br />
addition was built in 1911, followed by<br />
another in 1915 and eight more rooms in<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
MARY<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
(OTTAWA)<br />
175 Beech Street<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1Y 3T1<br />
613-729-1774<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/sma<br />
1916. This growth of the school resulted in<br />
the operation of St. Mary <strong>School</strong> annex on<br />
Preston Street, which existed for several<br />
years but was closed on June 30, 1918.<br />
Father J.T. Brownrigg, who<br />
became Pastor of St. Mary in 1923, was a<br />
particularly zealous supporter of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools. He lobbied the archbishop for school<br />
improvements, part of his strong campaign<br />
to persuade parishioners not to send their<br />
children to the public schools, which were<br />
often better equipped than their <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
counterparts.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
235<br />
In September 1931, two Grey<br />
Sisters of the Cross as well as six lay<br />
teachers taught at the school in a time of<br />
growth and school change. It was not<br />
possible at that time to accommodate all of<br />
the girls in the main St. Mary building, so,<br />
in September 1931, students in Grades 3, 5<br />
and 7 were located at St. Gerard, an<br />
adjacent French school. Grade 1 girls were<br />
accommodated at St. Malachy <strong>School</strong>, while<br />
other grades were housed in the St. Mary<br />
building.<br />
In 1935, the rotary system was<br />
introduced into Grades 6, 7 and 8 at<br />
St. Mary. The following year, the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
decided to retain grade 9 students in its<br />
parish schools. Two grade 9 classes were<br />
formed at St. Mary <strong>School</strong> to accommodate<br />
students not only from St. Mary but also<br />
from St. George, St. Agatha, and Dante<br />
<strong>School</strong>s. In June 1937, the first grade 9<br />
graduation exercises were held. It was also<br />
in 1937 that a household science room was<br />
built at St. Mary to accommodate Grades 7<br />
through 9.<br />
In 1950, the Sisters of St. Joseph<br />
arrived, and began teaching at the school,<br />
just after tragedy struck St. Mary Parish<br />
when the church was destroyed by fire in<br />
January 1949. A new stone church was built<br />
on Young Street and blessed in June 1951.<br />
In 1955, St. Mary got a new<br />
addition to help accommodate its student<br />
enrolment. It was during this time that<br />
St. Mary <strong>School</strong> and the adjacent French<br />
St. Gerard <strong>School</strong> shared the same<br />
schoolyard. A skating rink was built in the<br />
yard for the students of both schools to<br />
enjoy in the winter.<br />
The life of St. Mary <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> took a drastic turn in 1979 when the<br />
school site was sold to a developer for a<br />
housing project. However, St. Mary <strong>School</strong>
did not close but rather began a new chapter<br />
in its life. It moved a few blocks away to the<br />
corner of Beech Street and Breezehill<br />
Avenue in the former Notre Dame du Bon<br />
Conseil <strong>School</strong>, which had been built in 1964<br />
as a French senior elementary school. This<br />
new school was a two-storey facility<br />
complete with a gymnasium and a large<br />
playground. The school community<br />
supported the move. Parent volunteers,<br />
led by Sylvia Armstrong, the chairperson<br />
of the parents’ group, built reading lofts in<br />
the kindergarten classrooms. Later, parents<br />
raised funds and helped build a play<br />
structure in the schoolyard. Soon<br />
afterwards, the yard was provided with<br />
a reading area marked by benches and<br />
surrounded by trees and flowers.<br />
Currently, St. Mary <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
is a junior kindergarten to grade 6 school.<br />
Over the years, numerous and<br />
varied events and activities have taken place<br />
at St. Mary, including a music festival,<br />
school plays, winter camping, skating,<br />
swimming, skiing, Christmas bazaars, food<br />
drives, winter carnivals and family picnics,<br />
among others. St. Mary <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
remains very much a community school,<br />
staying true to its parish roots. Parents,<br />
staff, students and church all work together<br />
in a family atmosphere, emphasizing<br />
community and learning in a <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
environment.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Present Principal<br />
Paul Kelly (2006-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Sister Angela Guiry<br />
Anthony Duggan<br />
Georges Bouliane<br />
Anthony Charbonneau<br />
Brian Brash<br />
Donald Lenaghan<br />
Mary Somers<br />
Marie Boyes<br />
Carole Parent<br />
Micheline Harvey<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
1909<br />
Sister St. Malachy<br />
1910<br />
L.J. Skelly<br />
Mrs. R.V. Robert<br />
Miss A. Slattery<br />
Miss T.E. Ryan<br />
1911<br />
Miss A. Slattery<br />
Sister Marguerite<br />
Sister Geraldine<br />
K. Fortune, caretaker<br />
1912<br />
Charles Burke was the teacher at<br />
the Preston Street annex<br />
Sister Mary Alexis<br />
Carrie L. Jordan<br />
Miss A. Slattery<br />
Miss T.E. Ryan<br />
Sister Mary Gertrude<br />
1913<br />
Sister Mary Gertrude<br />
Sister St. Austin<br />
Carrie L. Jordan<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
236<br />
1914<br />
Miss A. Slattery<br />
Sister St. Augustin<br />
1915<br />
Miss A. Slattery<br />
Carrie L. Jordan<br />
Sister St. Edith<br />
1916<br />
Sister St. Edith<br />
Carrie L. Jordan<br />
1920s<br />
I. Murtagh<br />
Secretarial Staff<br />
Catherine Winters<br />
Patricia Ogden<br />
Betty Shields<br />
Lucille Gagnon<br />
Helen Mahoney<br />
Diane Crete (current)<br />
First Kindergarten Teacher<br />
In 1970, Mrs. J. St. Jacques was<br />
the first teacher of Junior Kindergarten at<br />
St. Mary <strong>School</strong>.<br />
Former Student<br />
His Excellency Most Reverend<br />
John C. Cody, Co-Adjustor Bishop of the<br />
London Diocese, received his elementary<br />
education at St. Mary <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
White and blue<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is a stylized “M”<br />
with a cross rising from it. Principal<br />
Anthony Charbonneau designed this school<br />
logo in 1982.
Mascot<br />
Teacher Mrs. Susan Grainger and<br />
her enrichment group of students in 2003<br />
were responsible for choosing the school’s<br />
mascot, a stuffed wolf. This mascot is taken<br />
to all school sports games.<br />
Flag<br />
One year in the 1990s, all <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
students made their Confirmation together<br />
at the Corel Centre in Kanata. For this<br />
event, <strong>Ottawa</strong> Archbishop Marcel Gervais<br />
requested that each school attend with its<br />
flag or banner. Grade 6 Teacher Theresa<br />
Normoyle decided to hold a flag-designing<br />
competition in her class. The class held a<br />
vote to select the winning design, created<br />
by Krista D’Angelo.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
“From Vision to Reality” project<br />
From the late 1980s into the early<br />
1990s, St. Mary <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was<br />
involved in the “From Vision to Reality”<br />
project in which some teachers from the<br />
school became demonstration classroom<br />
teachers. Throughout this project, these<br />
teachers shared their experiences and<br />
expertise and utilized peer coaching in<br />
response to the need for teacher-centred<br />
professional development.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
237<br />
Breakfast Program<br />
Principal Carole Parent developed<br />
partnerships with local businesses to provide<br />
food donations for a breakfast program at<br />
the school. She also created the school’s first<br />
website.
When St. Matthew <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> opened in 1981, it was<br />
without a formal name. Not until<br />
June 1982, was the school officially named<br />
“St. Matthew” after the writer of one of the<br />
four Gospels of the New Testament. Despite<br />
this slow start, St. Matthew <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> is now known and highly regarded<br />
far and wide.<br />
Indeed, this renown even extends<br />
to the Guinness Book of World Records as<br />
well as across the country due to a national<br />
achievement. On April 23, 2004,<br />
St. Matthew <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> made it<br />
into the Guinness Book of World Records<br />
with the world’s largest bear hug, an<br />
endeavour led by school Principal André<br />
Potvin and an achievement which resulted<br />
in June 9, 2004 being officially declared<br />
“St. Matthew High <strong>School</strong> Day” by <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Mayor Bob Chiarelli. The world’s largest<br />
bear hug involved 5,117 students hugging<br />
for ten seconds. This world record was tied<br />
in with the school’s fundraising for cancer, as<br />
students and staff, with the support of local<br />
businesses and residents, raised more than<br />
$108,000 in four days in April of that year,<br />
surpassing the previous provincial record of<br />
$40,000 and setting a Canadian record for<br />
cancer fundraising by a high school.<br />
St. Matthew High <strong>School</strong> has<br />
become widely known not just because of<br />
this headline-grabbing achievement, but<br />
also by being a caring Christian educational<br />
community known for both its academic<br />
and athletic accomplishments. The whole<br />
spectrum of academic achievements has<br />
flowed from St. Matthew High <strong>School</strong> over<br />
the years, ranging from computer science to<br />
geography, public speaking, mathematics,<br />
science and writing. The school has an<br />
extensive cooperative education program<br />
involving numerous business partners who<br />
accept co-op students for field placements.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
MATTHEW<br />
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL<br />
6550 Bilberry Drive<br />
Orléans K1C 2S9<br />
613-837-3161<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/mth<br />
St. Matthew has mounted a long<br />
list of annual drama productions, starting in<br />
1986-87 with An Evening of One Act Plays.<br />
Since then, productions have included<br />
Grease (1989-90), Bye Bye Birdie (1993-94),<br />
Little Shop of Horrors (1995-96), The Diary<br />
of Anne Frank (1998-99), Godspell (2001-02)<br />
and Les Miserables (2003-04). At the same<br />
time, the school’s two gymnasiums proudly<br />
display banners representing championships<br />
won in numerous sports, and at various<br />
levels, including the provincial level. The<br />
sports programs extend not just to<br />
interscholastic play but also to intramural<br />
activities where St. Matthew has an active<br />
and full program. The annual Bill Wren<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
239<br />
Basketball Tournament, named after a<br />
teacher who died of cancer, draws high<br />
school teams from across the area. In the<br />
summer of 2006, a new wooden gym floor<br />
was installed at St. Matthew.<br />
The school opened on September 1,<br />
1981, with about 300 students. In its first<br />
year of existence, it was affectionately<br />
known by its first principal, Joseph Ryan, as<br />
“the far eastern school.” It was built by the<br />
firm Kearney and Coles with Edward Cuhaci<br />
as the architect, on property on Bilberry<br />
Drive in Orléans, straddling two sides of<br />
Bilberry Creek. The school’s first yearbook<br />
was entitled, perhaps appropriately,<br />
EMANON which is “NO NAME” spelled<br />
backwards. It did have a name but since it<br />
was the wordy “Eastern Area Elementary<br />
Junior High <strong>School</strong>,” it was, in a sense,<br />
nameless. This all changed at the official<br />
opening on June 16, 1982, when it was<br />
formally named “St. Matthew <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong>.”<br />
The school underwent two<br />
expansions over the years to accommodate<br />
an ever-growing student population, which<br />
peaked at close to 1,800 students. In 1985,<br />
the first phase of a two-part expansion took<br />
place, adding a number of classrooms. This<br />
was followed by a second extension in 1987<br />
that included more classrooms, specialty<br />
areas such as an automotive shop, music<br />
room, drama room and art room and a<br />
second gymnasium/cafeteria. The<br />
construction of St. Peter <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> in 1992 provided spaces for some<br />
students previously at St. Matthew, relieving<br />
some of the enrolment pressures at the<br />
school.
Present Principal<br />
André Potvin (2001-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Joseph Ryan (1981-85)<br />
Rev. Leonard Lunney (1985-86)<br />
Bogdan Kolbusz (1987-91)<br />
Jamie McCracken (1991-95)<br />
Mars Bottiglia (1996-97)<br />
Denise André (1997-2001)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Marie Anstis<br />
Lou Antonucci<br />
Lillian Bertrand<br />
Helene Dubois<br />
Aline Duchesne<br />
Brian Filion<br />
Cathy Flynn<br />
Sharon Gravelle<br />
Brian Harrison<br />
Julian Hanlon<br />
Joseph Kelly<br />
Bogdan Kolbusz<br />
Rollie Lapointe<br />
Mary Lemoine<br />
Katie McDevitt<br />
Kathy McVean<br />
Isobel Menard<br />
Connie O’Connor Duff<br />
Mary Ann Walsh<br />
Charlotte Kozij, Secretary<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Staff Achievements<br />
Father Leonard Lunney, a former<br />
principal of St. Matthew <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong>, now a Monsignor, has worked<br />
tirelessly with the Canadian Conference<br />
of <strong>Catholic</strong> Bishops. He is currently the<br />
Episcopal Secretary for the Archdiocese<br />
of <strong>Ottawa</strong>.<br />
Teacher Robin Messinger received<br />
the Prime Minister of Canada’s Teaching<br />
Award of Excellence in Science in 1995.<br />
Teacher John Bradley received the<br />
Prime Minister of Canada’s Teaching Award<br />
of Excellence in Mathematics in 1997.<br />
Former Students<br />
Andrew Holt was a bronze medal<br />
winner at the Canadian Biology Olympiad<br />
in Bejing, China in 2005.<br />
Antonio Sanchez was 35 th in the<br />
Canadian Mathematics Olympiad in the<br />
2001-02 school year.<br />
Michael Curran is the editor of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Business Journal.<br />
Gary Dimmock is a writer with the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Citizen.<br />
St. Matthew graduates who<br />
became teachers at the school include<br />
Jennifer Brisson, Cory Ell, Chris Fauteux,<br />
Genevieve Lussier, Elisa Robson-Toreja,<br />
Ian Taylor and Jason Wren.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Black and gold (similar to the<br />
colours of the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the<br />
Canadian Football League).<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
240<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is a cross inside<br />
an oval, with four symbols, one in each<br />
quadrant formed by the cross. The four<br />
symbols are a quill representing writing,<br />
a book representing reading, a flame<br />
representing the spirit of sport and folded<br />
hands representing prayer. The name<br />
“St. Matthew” is on a banner at the bottom<br />
of the logo.<br />
Mascot<br />
The school mascot is a tiger.<br />
Team Names<br />
All St. Matthew sports teams are<br />
called Tigers, symbolizing speed,<br />
ferociousness and the ability to dominate<br />
and win over other teams, no matter what.<br />
Cheer<br />
The main school cheer is “Go,<br />
Tigers, Go!!”<br />
True Stories Which Illustrate the <strong>School</strong><br />
Spirit of the St. Matthew Staff<br />
Unbelievable “rookie reviews” such<br />
as one of Mars Bottiglia who was portrayed<br />
as “The Godfather” by Cory Ell.<br />
A rooftop water dousing as a<br />
farewell to Teacher Jim Ricci.<br />
Friday afternoon intercom<br />
broadcasts of “Allelujiah,” initiated by<br />
Richard Johnston.
Education in the Corkery area of<br />
Upper Huntley goes back to the<br />
earliest days of settlement, and<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in particular dates back<br />
to 1919. In 1823, Peter Robinson led a group<br />
of more than 500 settlers to the Upper<br />
Huntley area, nearly all of them Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>. St. Michael Parish was established<br />
in 1824 with visiting clergy who said the<br />
first Masses in the homes of settlers such<br />
as John Manion, John Kennedy and Patrick<br />
Meehan. In 1837, St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Church was built as a log structure. In 1845,<br />
this building was enlarged and covered with<br />
clapboard. It endured until 1864 when the<br />
present stone church was erected.<br />
In these earliest days of<br />
settlement, there were not even school<br />
sections established to build and operate<br />
schools; schools were built as needed. One<br />
of these was the Manion’s <strong>School</strong>, which<br />
was built in 1840 and became S.S. No. 6<br />
Huntley when the school sections were<br />
eventually introduced in 1851. Four schools<br />
served the Upper Huntley area, which had<br />
become an enclave of Irish <strong>Catholic</strong>s, in the<br />
years from 1840 into the 20 th century. There<br />
was S.S. No. 6 at Manion’s Corners, S.S.<br />
No. 7 at the Old Almonte Road and the 12 th<br />
line of Huntley, S.S. No. 8 on the Dwyer Hill<br />
Road west of the Vaughan Sideroad and S.<br />
S. No. 9 and No. 16, a Union <strong>School</strong> with<br />
Goulbourn in the southwest corner of<br />
Huntley. The Union <strong>School</strong> ceased<br />
operations in 1938, while S.S. No. 7 and<br />
S.S. No. 8 both continued until 1965 when<br />
they ceased at the time of the creation of<br />
larger <strong>Catholic</strong> and public schools to serve<br />
the area. S.S. No. 6, meanwhile, is the direct<br />
ancestor of the current St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> in Corkery. It was closed in 1919<br />
when a Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> school was<br />
established in the community.<br />
The first organizational meeting<br />
for the new <strong>Catholic</strong> school was held in<br />
St. Michael Parish hall on June 2, 1919. At<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
MICHAEL<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
(CORKERY)<br />
1572 Corkery Road<br />
Carp K0A 1L0<br />
613-256-3672<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/mic<br />
that meeting, a resolution was adopted<br />
which clearly indicated the purpose and<br />
outcome of the gathering: “…that we, the<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> freeholders of Public <strong>School</strong><br />
Section No. 6, gathered in parish hall,<br />
Huntley, call a meeting for the election of<br />
trustees and the establishment of a Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong>.” A general<br />
meeting was held in the same parish hall<br />
two days later, on June 4, 1919, during<br />
which Tim N. Scott, William J. (Big Bill)<br />
Egan and Frank Forrest were elected as<br />
trustees for the new <strong>Catholic</strong> school. The<br />
motions passed at this meeting were<br />
forwarded to the Department of Education<br />
in Toronto and, subsequently, Father Austin<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
241<br />
Stanton, the parish priest of St. Michael,<br />
announced that the Archbishop had<br />
consented to erect the new school on church<br />
property. The school was built of wood and<br />
was erected as quickly as possible, with<br />
Richard Sawyer as the builder, following<br />
a plan approved by the Department of<br />
Education inspector for the area. When the<br />
school opened in 1919, Miss Ethel Golden<br />
was the first teacher, a position that she<br />
held until 1922.<br />
The students walked to school.<br />
Teachers at times boarded with the priest at<br />
the church rectory. Father Austin Stanton,<br />
who hailed from nearby Fitzroy and was<br />
involved in the building of the new <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school in 1919, also proceeded with church<br />
improvements such as a bell tower, pews<br />
and a new altar. The parish hall became<br />
the site for meetings, Catechism classes on<br />
Sunday afternoons and school plays. In the<br />
1920s and early 1930s, students would<br />
attend weekday funerals and weddings at<br />
the church, originally because the teacher<br />
usually played the organ for these occasions.<br />
Over the years, however, it was common for<br />
the entire school to take part in such events,<br />
especially funerals. This practice continued<br />
on and off until 1964, certainly long after<br />
any teacher served as the church organist.<br />
By the late 1920s and for the ensuing<br />
decades, this <strong>Catholic</strong> school at Corkery<br />
became part of a centre of religious, social<br />
and educational Irish <strong>Catholic</strong> activity and<br />
life in Upper Huntley.<br />
In 1965, the old one-room schools<br />
in Huntley were consolidated when larger,<br />
more modern structures were built. The<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school in Corkery was consolidated<br />
with the S.S. No. 7 and S.S. No. 8 areas,<br />
with a new, modern three-room school,<br />
St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, being built<br />
beside the church. The new school received<br />
a semi-permanent addition in 1967, built<br />
by Halliday Homes Ltd. In 1982, a fiveclassroom<br />
portable expansion was added to
St. Michael, with R.J. Nicol Construction as<br />
the contractor and E.J. Cuhaci & Associates<br />
the architect for this project, which was<br />
carried out by the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>. In 1996, St. Michael<br />
<strong>School</strong> in Corkery received a facelift and<br />
renovations including a 7,000 square foot<br />
addition.<br />
The school currently features<br />
two kindergarten classrooms, five primary<br />
classrooms, five junior classrooms, a<br />
computer lab, a library, a resource centre,<br />
a staff room and a gymnasium. Its current<br />
student enrolment is in the range of<br />
300 pupils.<br />
St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in<br />
Corkery not only offers an academic<br />
program grounded in a <strong>Catholic</strong>-based<br />
curriculum, but also provides a variety of<br />
activities such as intramural sports, an<br />
environmental club, a publishing house,<br />
reading buddies and a no-bullying program.<br />
Special events at the school include liturgies,<br />
a book fair, recognition assembles, a milk<br />
program, winter and summer play days and<br />
attendance at the annual Carp Fair. In 1996,<br />
St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> at Corkery<br />
produced a music CD, Christmas in Corkery,<br />
featuring the voices of all of the students.<br />
The actual recording was done at the<br />
adjacent St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> Church, with<br />
Pastor Rev. Paul Shepherd singing with the<br />
children on the CD.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Present Principal<br />
Roberto Santos (2006-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
William Tomka<br />
Jim O’Connor<br />
Sam Coletti<br />
Edward Rogan<br />
John McGrath<br />
Valerie Wright<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
242<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Green and gold<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is in the form of a<br />
shield, with a cross at the top and a dove in<br />
flight in the middle. The words “St. Michael<br />
<strong>School</strong>” are between the cross and the dove<br />
while the word “Corkery” is at the bottom of<br />
the logo.
While the history of St. Michael<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Fitzroy<br />
Harbour dates back more than<br />
four decades, the story of education and of<br />
the <strong>Catholic</strong> faith in the area go back more<br />
than a century and a half. Fitzroy Harbour<br />
itself had a public school, possibly as early<br />
as the middle of the nineteenth century.<br />
Indeed, in 1864, the school had an<br />
enrolment of about 40 pupils. There is<br />
no doubt that some of these pupils were<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>, since Fitzroy Harbour had an<br />
established <strong>Catholic</strong> community by 1850.<br />
The first <strong>Catholic</strong> services were held in the<br />
houses of parishioners. From 1852 to 1864,<br />
Fitzroy Harbour was a mission established<br />
by the pastor of the Pakenham church.<br />
The present stone St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Church in Fitzroy Harbour was built in 1860<br />
on donated land.<br />
The traditions of education and the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> faith came together in September<br />
1961, when a <strong>Catholic</strong> school opened there,<br />
built to accommodate <strong>Catholic</strong> students from<br />
the Fitzroy and Constance Bay areas. Two<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school boards had been established<br />
to bring about this new school. The first<br />
trustees for the Fitzroy <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>Board</strong> were<br />
Earl Stanton, Jim Lunney and Jack Doyle,<br />
and the original trustees for the Torbolton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>Board</strong> were Tom McHale and<br />
Orville Wilson.<br />
<strong>School</strong>s in Torbolton existed as far<br />
back as 1842 when the township was divided<br />
into two school sections, east and west of<br />
Constance Creek. There was an historic<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> presence in Torbolton. Most of the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> residents lived in the northern area<br />
of the township and were served by St.<br />
Michael Parish in Fitzroy Harbour. In fact,<br />
in 1851, almost 30 percent of Torbolton’s<br />
population was Roman <strong>Catholic</strong>. However,<br />
none of the historic Torbolton-area schools<br />
were <strong>Catholic</strong>, although <strong>Catholic</strong> ratepayers<br />
in the southern part of the township did<br />
access a separate school education through<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
MICHAEL<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
(FITZROY)<br />
159 Kedey Street<br />
Fitzroy Harbour K0A 1X0<br />
613-623-3114<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/mif<br />
an agreement with the adjacent March<br />
Township. The two <strong>Catholic</strong> school boards<br />
created in 1961 continued to exist until they<br />
became part of the new county-wide<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in<br />
1969.<br />
Rev. Monsignor Francis French of<br />
St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> Church did much of the<br />
groundwork to bring about the creation of<br />
this new <strong>Catholic</strong> school in Fitzroy Harbour,<br />
which bore the same name as the local<br />
parish. Rev. Orloffe Dorion, who was the<br />
parish priest when the school opened,<br />
carried on Monsignor French’s groundwork.<br />
Father Dorion and a parent, John Muldoon,<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
243<br />
were responsible for student transportation<br />
from the opening day, with both of them<br />
driving the students to the new school. Mr.<br />
and Mrs. Fred Lawrence donated the land<br />
for the new two-room, grades 1 to 8 school.<br />
Principal Gerry Leveque and Teacher Anne<br />
Leveque taught a total of 49 students in this<br />
inaugural year. At first, all of the school<br />
furniture and books came from the surplus<br />
items of the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>. A teenager did the<br />
cleaning of the school.<br />
By 1965, the enrolment at<br />
St. Michael had risen to nearly 70 students.<br />
In 1969, the two-room structure was<br />
transformed into a seven-room complex<br />
with the addition of a small gymnasium,<br />
a kindergarten room with all-new furniture,<br />
two more classrooms, an office and a staff<br />
room. Z.J. Nowak was the architect for this<br />
addition. St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> saw<br />
another major building project a decade<br />
later when a full-sized gymnasium with<br />
change rooms, four additional classrooms<br />
and a library expansion were built in 1980.<br />
Pye & Richards was the architectural firm<br />
for this project, and the contractor for the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> was<br />
William S. Burnside (Canada) Ltd. In 1999,<br />
the playground at St. Michael was rebuilt,<br />
and primary and junior play structures were<br />
added. A shade structure was installed<br />
during the summer.<br />
In 2000, a millennium garden was<br />
established. The students planted more than<br />
100 tulips to add spring colour to the school<br />
grounds. This beautification process has<br />
continued in recent years by means of a<br />
number of landscaping projects such as the<br />
planting of trees and shrubs, and the<br />
installation of planters at the entrance to<br />
the school.<br />
Currently, St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> in Fitzroy Harbour consists of nine<br />
classrooms and two additional portable
classrooms. The school’s 2005-06 enrolment<br />
was 206 students, ranging from Junior<br />
Kindergarten to Grade 8. It is the only<br />
school within the jurisdiction of the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> that offers<br />
a junior kindergarten to grade 8 program. It<br />
has retained the full program because of the<br />
school’s location in the far northwestern area<br />
of the <strong>Board</strong>’s jurisdiction.<br />
In 1970, St. Michael <strong>School</strong><br />
welcomed its first school secretary, Leona<br />
Watters. She remained at the school for<br />
28 years. The first paid custodian was Ed<br />
Sawyer. In 1983, Mike McHale, a former<br />
St. Michael student, became custodian,<br />
remaining until 2002. Students often<br />
thought that the school was named after<br />
him.<br />
In April 1986, St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> celebrated its 25 th anniversary.<br />
Students released blue and white heliumfilled<br />
balloons into the air with messages<br />
attached to them. They were thrilled when<br />
some messages were returned to the school<br />
with details about where the balloons had<br />
landed.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Present Principal<br />
Caroline O’Connor (2003-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Gerald Leveque (1961-64)<br />
Anne Levesque (1962)<br />
Adele Muldoon (1964-65)<br />
Mary Lunney (1965-66)<br />
Marion Stanton (1966-67)<br />
Patricia Noonan (1967-69)<br />
Gerald Leveque (1969-75)<br />
Andy Groulx (1975-79)<br />
Joan Gravel (1979-82)<br />
Brent Wilson (1982-85)<br />
Kevin Mullins (1985-88)<br />
Robert Benning (1988-91)<br />
Paul Wubben (1991-94)<br />
Diane Jackson (1994-98)<br />
Anne Havey Blier (1998-2000)<br />
Theresa Swanson (2000-03)<br />
Staff Recognition<br />
Craig Skinner, a grade 6 teacher at<br />
St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Fitzroy<br />
Harbour, was one of 16 winners of the<br />
Capital Educators’ Award in 2006. The<br />
award is presented to educators who have<br />
made a significant impact on the lives of<br />
their students in acting as positive role<br />
models using innovative teaching strategies<br />
and instilling a passion for learning. In<br />
2006, more than 350 educators were<br />
nominated for the award, with the judges<br />
narrowing the list down to 65 finalists and<br />
eventually to the 16 winners. Mr. Skinner’s<br />
teaching style includes trying to relate his<br />
lessons to a topic that he knows every<br />
student can appreciate, namely the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Senators.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Blue and white<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
244<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is circular with the<br />
name “St. Michael <strong>School</strong> Fitzroy” on the<br />
upper part of the circle, with the words<br />
“Family,” “<strong>School</strong>” and “Church,” the three<br />
pillars of the <strong>Catholic</strong> faith, in the lower<br />
part of the circle. The interior of the circle<br />
features two youngsters in silhouette, hand<br />
in hand, as well as a figure holding a cross<br />
and a number of books.<br />
Mascot<br />
The mustang (St. Mike’s<br />
Mustangs).<br />
A Former Principal Remembers<br />
Anne Havey Blier was Principal<br />
of St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> at Fitzroy<br />
Harbour from 1998 to 2000. This is how she<br />
remembers her time at the school.<br />
A profound privilege was bestowed<br />
upon me when appointed principal of<br />
St. Michael <strong>School</strong> in June 1998. I found<br />
myself reunited with classmates from<br />
high school, their children and even their<br />
grandchildren! St. Michael drew from a wide<br />
and varied community and when called<br />
upon, every one of these wonderful families<br />
stepped forward to offer support in<br />
fundraising, constructing a new yard and<br />
play structure, celebrating our faith and<br />
guiding their children’s education. The job<br />
of educating their children was made so<br />
much easier due to the outstanding staff,<br />
the dedicated members of the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school council and the spiritual support of<br />
the parish priest. Oh, I will never forget<br />
St. Michael <strong>School</strong> — steeped in tradition,<br />
yet ready to accept any new challenge or<br />
change. And when they challenge you at<br />
St. Michael, they follow through. I did, after<br />
all, kiss that pig after losing a bet with the<br />
students!
St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> has been<br />
a beacon of <strong>Catholic</strong> education in<br />
the Overbrook area of <strong>Ottawa</strong> for<br />
half a century. The school was built in<br />
1956-57 on Bernard Street and opened in<br />
September 1957, under the direction of<br />
Principal John McClave. Before the school<br />
was built, students from the area attended<br />
St. Paul <strong>School</strong> on Donald Street. It is<br />
noteworthy that 44 years later, St. Michael<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was relocated from its<br />
Bernard Street site to a Donald Street<br />
location, occupying the former Ecole St. Paul<br />
premises. For a time, French students<br />
shared the new St. Michael school facility<br />
until Ecole St. Laurent was built in a field<br />
across from the school. In the mid 1960s,<br />
two portable classrooms were installed at<br />
the rear of the school. At one time, growing<br />
enrolment meant that some St. Michael<br />
students were housed at the nearby French<br />
school due to lack of space at St. Michael.<br />
In 1970, the grades 7 and 8 students were<br />
redirected to the Heron Road Intermediate<br />
<strong>School</strong>, and afterwards to Grade 9, either at<br />
St. Patrick’s High <strong>School</strong> or at other nearby<br />
high schools.<br />
The school was threatened with<br />
closure during the consolidation efforts by<br />
the newly amalgamated <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in 1999-2000. But the<br />
parents of the community rallied to the<br />
support of the school, presenting persuasive<br />
arguments for keeping the school as a<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> presence in Overbrook, just as it<br />
had been for more than four decades. The<br />
school board responded positively to this<br />
outpouring of support and, instead of being<br />
closed, the school was moved from its<br />
Bernard Street site to the former Ecole<br />
St. Paul on Donald Street as of September<br />
2001. At long last, St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> had a gymnasium. The old school on<br />
Bernard Street was sold to a development<br />
company in 2002 and was demolished.<br />
St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> today serves<br />
a culturally and linguistically diverse<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
MICHAEL<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
(OTTAWA)<br />
437 Donald Street<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1K 1L8<br />
613-749-1642<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/smi<br />
community, representing those from over<br />
30 countries around the world.<br />
In December 2001, St. Michael<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> received a three-year<br />
literacy grant from the Ontario Ministry of<br />
Education as a pilot initiative to help<br />
improve provincial test reading levels among<br />
the students. St. Michael was one of only<br />
16 schools identified by the provincial<br />
government to take part in this “turnaround<br />
project.” It was chosen because the reading<br />
test scores of its students were very low. The<br />
principal at the time, Sonja Karsh, and her<br />
staff, with the support of the school council,<br />
developed a strategy for the project that was<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
245<br />
based on the acceptance of the fact that the<br />
students could do better despite perceived<br />
drawbacks such as issues of poverty,<br />
language and varied ethnic backgrounds.<br />
The staff had to be open to suggestions, and<br />
they were, spending much of the first year<br />
reading and receiving in-service training<br />
so that they could implement the best<br />
practices possible. Various high-yield<br />
strategies were put in place, such as having<br />
an uninterrupted literacy time each day,<br />
providing many “leveled” texts for reading,<br />
and doing a precise individual assessment<br />
of each student, so that instruction would<br />
be appropriate to his or her level of reading.<br />
The reading test scores went from<br />
22 percent in 2002 to 59 percent in 2005. A<br />
plan to sustain this improvement in reading<br />
by the students, along with the continued<br />
efforts of the staff in this regard, mean that<br />
the “turnaround project” should have longlasting,<br />
positive benefits for students at<br />
St. Michael <strong>School</strong>.<br />
A caring attitude and strong<br />
commitment to the community continue to<br />
prevail at the school in its new premises,<br />
just as they did in its prior existence on<br />
Bernard Street. Students at St. Michael<br />
have enjoyed a wide variety of activities and<br />
events in recent years. They have listened to<br />
members of the <strong>Ottawa</strong> 67’s junior hockey<br />
team speak about bullying when they visited<br />
the school. They have enjoyed a wellattended<br />
hockey night out at an <strong>Ottawa</strong> 67’s<br />
game, and an <strong>Ottawa</strong> Lynx baseball game.<br />
They have re-enacted the Christmas story<br />
annually for several years and have held a<br />
peace rally. They have hosted a<br />
demonstration visit to the school by police<br />
dogs and by Little Ray’s Reptiles. They have<br />
held talent shows and skating evenings. In<br />
2004, students, staff, parents and volunteers<br />
gathered on a weekend to improve the<br />
schoolyard by planting flowers and shrubs<br />
and painting designs and games on the<br />
asphalt pavement, followed by their<br />
enjoyment at a barbeque.
St. Michael <strong>School</strong> has had its<br />
share of visiting dignitaries in recent years.<br />
In the 1999-2000 school year, Governor-<br />
General Adrienne Clarkson visited the<br />
school, as a part of a celebration of Book<br />
Week, to advocate for literacy. In the<br />
following year, national librarian and noted<br />
author Roch Carrière also visited the school<br />
to speak to the students and to read to them.<br />
He brought with him several boxes of books<br />
donated by the Canadian Book Exchange for<br />
the St. Michael <strong>School</strong> library. In 2002-03,<br />
author Brian Doyle corresponded with a<br />
grade 4 class whose students were reading<br />
his book Angle Square. Subsequently, he too<br />
visited them and read from his books.<br />
Books have played an increasingly<br />
important role at St. Michael in recent<br />
years. In 1999, the school received donations<br />
from the Starbucks All Books For Children<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Book Drive. Books were picked up<br />
from various Starbucks locations in <strong>Ottawa</strong>,<br />
resulting in the acquisition of 147 used or<br />
new books for the school library. Fifty-five<br />
storybooks went to the kindergarten classes<br />
and a whopping 17 boxes of books were<br />
distributed among various classrooms.<br />
The involvement with Starbucks<br />
led to a charity auction benefiting the<br />
St. Michael <strong>School</strong> literacy initiative, which<br />
was hosted by Starbucks in Gloucester.<br />
In addition to providing the venue for the<br />
auction, Starbucks also provided dessert<br />
trays, specialty drinks, and coffee and tea for<br />
the guests. Starbucks staff members also<br />
volunteered their time to help school council<br />
members obtain donations for a raffle held<br />
in conjunction with the auction. During the<br />
evening of the auction, the St. Michael<br />
<strong>School</strong> Choir performed to the accompaniment<br />
of a jazz ensemble that volunteered to<br />
perform at the event. Television personality<br />
Max Keeping was the Master of Ceremonies<br />
for the evening, with a total of $5,000 raised<br />
for the school.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
While the students were the<br />
recipients of books to assist in their literacy<br />
initiative, they did not forget others. In the<br />
winter of 2004, they held a drive to collect<br />
books for First Nation communities in<br />
Ontario’s remote northern area, an activity<br />
that was being promoted by the Lieutenant-<br />
Governor of Ontario. In recent years,<br />
St. Michael <strong>School</strong> has received donationsin-kind<br />
from publishers in the form of book<br />
donations. By the spring of 2005, the school’s<br />
literacy effort had received high quality<br />
reading materials from book publishers and<br />
distributors to the value of $25,773.<br />
Once the school had received its<br />
provincial literacy grant, which provided<br />
extra funding for literacy initiatives in the<br />
primary grades, the focus for these ongoing<br />
book donations shifted to satisfying the<br />
needs of the readers in Grades 4 through 6.<br />
All of the books donated through this<br />
initiative were stamped on the cover page<br />
as being the donation of a publisher to<br />
St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. The books were<br />
also marked with happy face stickers on the<br />
upper spine. These donated books were<br />
placed in the school library as well as in<br />
classrooms. The publishers and other donors<br />
who contributed these books to St. Michael<br />
included Annick, Candlewick Press,<br />
Capstone Publishing/National Book Service,<br />
Crabtree, Fenn Group, Firefly, Fitzhenry &<br />
Whiteside, Golden, Harcourt Brace, Harper<br />
Collins, Heinemann/Seedling, Key Porter<br />
Books, Kids Can Press, Lobster Press,<br />
Madison, McClelland and Stewart Inc.,<br />
Michelin, Ocra Books, Oxford University<br />
Press, Pearson Canada, Penguin Canada,<br />
Random House, Raincoast,<br />
Riverwood/Usborne, Scholar’s Choice,<br />
Scholastic, Scholastic Canada, Simon &<br />
Schuster, Stoddart and Tundra.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
246<br />
Present Principal<br />
Teresa Maloney (current)<br />
Past Principals (since 1980)<br />
Philip Kelly<br />
Wayne Moyle<br />
Francesco Lipari<br />
Vincent Iozzo<br />
Sonja Karsh<br />
Principals in the Early Years<br />
John McClave (1957-69)<br />
Monica Lennon (1969-71)<br />
Teachers in the Early Years (1957-1971)<br />
Marilyn Mulvihill<br />
Miss Mitro<br />
Doreen Chisholm<br />
Mrs. S. Carty<br />
Frances Campeau<br />
Marie Thibodeau<br />
Rita Boyd<br />
Brian O’Neill<br />
Greg Daly<br />
Claudette Besner<br />
Miss MacDonald<br />
Mrs. Currans<br />
Joan Mahoney<br />
C. McAllister<br />
Miss D. Brady<br />
Doris Seus<br />
Mrs. A. Schafer<br />
A. Fink<br />
Lorraine McFaul<br />
Miss L. Quinn<br />
Miss A. Howard<br />
M. McClory<br />
Terry Mangan<br />
Mary Hunt<br />
Miss Howe<br />
Joan Knudson<br />
Miss Garvin<br />
Mr. Miles<br />
Mrs. Schoehauser<br />
Ann Androvich<br />
Helen Lambertus<br />
Dorothy Prior
Sally Ogilvie<br />
Valerie Preston<br />
Anita McGovern<br />
Paul Brady<br />
Maureen Farell<br />
Cathy McCarthy<br />
Staff Achievement<br />
Principal Vincent Iozzo helped<br />
start a <strong>Board</strong>-wide peace conference.<br />
Former Students<br />
Former student Brigitte Montsion<br />
is a teacher at St. Michael.<br />
Former student Julian Hanlon is<br />
now Deputy Director of Education of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
A Student Remembers<br />
The following are some<br />
reminiscences provided by Wanda Matton<br />
Proulx, who graduated from Grade 8 at<br />
St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in 1963. Four<br />
members of the Matton family attended<br />
St. Michael.<br />
There was a school uniform of<br />
Black Watch plaid which we wore with a<br />
white blouse (jumper style with a belt).<br />
The uniform was not compulsory but most<br />
mothers who invested in them made their<br />
children wear them. We also had a school<br />
pin.<br />
Of course, there was no gym. We<br />
had what we called “PT” which happened<br />
outside. This consisted of jumping jacks<br />
and other exercises. German ball was a very<br />
popular game that everyone, both boys and<br />
girls, got involved in. We did a lot of<br />
skipping and played a lot of softball.<br />
Cod liver oil pills were handed out<br />
to the students at times. There was always<br />
a school nurse around.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Who could forget the “scribblers”<br />
which all had a picture on the front and the<br />
times tables on the back which really came<br />
in handy a lot. I always thought “scribbler”<br />
was a pretty funny word as nowadays it is<br />
always “notebook.” We were taught to put<br />
“J.M.J.” on the top of each page, standing<br />
for “Jesus, Mary and Joseph.”<br />
Spelling bees were a very common<br />
occurrence at school. For home economics,<br />
we had to walk from St. Michael down to<br />
St. Ignatius on the River Road. Doreen<br />
Chisholm taught us home economics in<br />
Grade 8 in 1962-63.<br />
One rule at St. Michael was that<br />
when you arrived at the school, you had to<br />
go directly into the schoolyard. No one was<br />
allowed to stay at the front of the school.<br />
A hand bell was rung to bring the students<br />
into the school in the morning and at<br />
recesses. This was the practice for many<br />
years until an electric bell system was<br />
installed.<br />
The school library was housed in a<br />
small room leading into the principal’s office.<br />
There was also an art room with long tables<br />
and benches on either side.<br />
The Scarboro Missions was a big<br />
thing for us and we all brought stamps off<br />
envelopes with a bit of paper around them<br />
and they all went to help support the<br />
missions.<br />
Perfect attendance for the year<br />
was rewarded and was something that some<br />
students tried to achieve. Punctuality was a<br />
necessity.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
247<br />
The parish priest for our school at<br />
the time was Father Raymond Burke. The<br />
Matton family lived less than a block away<br />
from him for a time as he lived in a double<br />
on Queen Mary Road in Overbrook until<br />
St. Ignatius Church was built on Donald<br />
Street. As a young girl, he let me help serve<br />
Mass in one of the classes at the school. This<br />
was a time long before girls were allowed on<br />
the altar. We would walk to St. Ignatius<br />
Church on Donald Street for First Friday<br />
Mass or for other Masses when required.<br />
None of the girls or women teachers could<br />
enter the church without a hat on. If you<br />
forgot a hat, a piece of tissue was held in<br />
place on your head with a bobby pin.<br />
Believe it or not, we had swimming<br />
lessons. In the earlier years, we went to the<br />
Champagne Bath on King Edward Street<br />
and in the later years, we went to the<br />
Centennial Pool on St. Laurent Boulevard.<br />
A school picnic was held every year with the<br />
whole school being bussed to the picnic site.<br />
One of my favourite school trips was to<br />
Upper Canada Village.<br />
At lunchtime, I would go to the<br />
teachers’ room and then run up to the<br />
restaurant to get the lunch orders for the<br />
teachers. I remember getting ten cents and<br />
was so excited as I could buy a chocolate bar<br />
with it. One teacher had a punishment if<br />
you got caught chewing gum. You had to<br />
stand on your tiptoes and she drew a circle<br />
on the blackboard and you had to keep your<br />
nose in it.
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
248
St. Monica <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, on<br />
Merivale Road in Nepean, was the<br />
third new <strong>Catholic</strong> school to open in<br />
the City View area of Nepean within a threeyear<br />
period in the 1950s, all staffed by the<br />
Sisters of Holy Cross.<br />
First, there was St. Nicholas<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, opened in September 1953.<br />
This was followed by St. Rita <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>, which opened in February 1955 and<br />
then by St. Monica <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> which<br />
opened in September 1956. Sisters of Holy<br />
Cross were the initial staff in all three of<br />
these schools.<br />
The first staff members assigned<br />
to the school were Sister M. St. Gladys<br />
(Kathleen Martin), who had opened St. Rita,<br />
and Sister Francesca (Jean Shago). The<br />
Sisters teaching in all three of these schools<br />
resided at the Congregation of Holy Cross<br />
residence on Daly Avenue in <strong>Ottawa</strong> and<br />
traveled back and forth daily by taxi, a<br />
distance of some nine miles. In 1957, the<br />
Congregation of Holy Cross bought land and<br />
built Our Lady of Holy Cross Convent on<br />
Baseline Road, a combined house that<br />
served as a novitiate, a scholasticate and<br />
a convent. Indeed, in a sense, the<br />
establishment of this new convent, while<br />
springing from the need for larger quarters<br />
for the novitiate, also came about because<br />
of the need for the teaching services of the<br />
Sisters in the adjacent area of Nepean where<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools were being established in<br />
the 1950s.<br />
St. Monica <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was<br />
officially blessed on September 16, 1956.<br />
It was named “St. Monica” after the mother<br />
of St. Augustine. This was appropriate as<br />
at that time the school was located in<br />
St. Augustine Parish, which had been<br />
officially established in 1953.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
MONICA<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
2000 Merivale Road<br />
Nepean K2G 1G6<br />
613-226-5174<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/mon<br />
When the school was established,<br />
it was under the jurisdiction of a selfcontained<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school board known as<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> Section No. 13,<br />
Nepean. Some of the early trustees were<br />
Joe Wernakowski, Norman Wilson, and<br />
Bud LeClair. The original school consisted<br />
of a two-room building plus one washroom.<br />
Subsequently, a kindergarten room and<br />
two more classrooms were added as the<br />
enrolment increased with continuing<br />
residential growth in the area. A new<br />
addition including a gymnasium was opened<br />
in 1966. In 2006, an addition housing a new<br />
library/computer lab was built on the north<br />
end of the school.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
249<br />
St. Monica <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
preceded St. Monica Parish, which was<br />
created as a mission in 1964. The<br />
kindergarten room at the school served as<br />
the location for a local mass in the years<br />
until St. Monica Chapel was built in 1965.<br />
At that time, the new <strong>Catholic</strong> community<br />
was under the spiritual guidance of a team<br />
from St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary, along<br />
with an active laity. St. Monica became a full<br />
parish in 1988.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Elizabeth Murphy<br />
Past Principals<br />
Sister Gladys of the Sisters of Holy<br />
Cross was the first principal at St. Monica.<br />
Bill Bergin<br />
Derry Byrne<br />
Joanne Laplante<br />
William Tomka<br />
Mrs. Gravelle<br />
Gerard LeClair<br />
Deborah Robinson<br />
Pearl Lavigne-Dimillo<br />
Brenda Wilson<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
(in the early years of the school)<br />
Sister Francis Ann (Bea Keegan)<br />
Sister Francesca (Jean Shago)<br />
Ernie Gauthier<br />
Bill Bergin (who taught Grades 6<br />
through 8)<br />
Sister Gladys<br />
Starting in 1963<br />
Mary MacNeil<br />
Bernadette Roy
Former Students<br />
George Langill is the former Chief<br />
Executive Officer of the Royal <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Hospital.<br />
Peter Ruiter played on the Ontario<br />
basketball team at the 1987 Canada Games.<br />
Father John Vandenakker and<br />
Father Roger Vandenakker are now priests<br />
in the Companions of the Cross.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
The school colours are red and<br />
white.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Logo<br />
The St. Monica <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
logo is a shield featuring a central cross and<br />
three students in silhouette — one playing,<br />
one praying and one learning.<br />
Mascot<br />
The school mascot is a bulldog<br />
called “T-Bone.”<br />
Team Names<br />
The school teams are the<br />
“Bulldogs.”<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
250<br />
Uniforms<br />
In 1959 and 1960, the school had<br />
uniforms. Girls wore a green uniform with a<br />
white Peter Pan collar. The boys wore white<br />
turtlenecks with blue or grey pants.<br />
Early Families<br />
Among the founding families of<br />
St. Monica <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> are the families<br />
of Maurice Labelle, Ferguson Murray and<br />
Ted Stone.
St. Patrick <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was the<br />
first <strong>Catholic</strong> elementary school<br />
to be built in the blossoming<br />
Barrhaven community of South Nepean by<br />
the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
in 1978, in a field on Larkin Drive. Once it<br />
was built, the school was quickly occupied<br />
to capacity.<br />
The new school building was not<br />
quite ready for opening day in September<br />
1978. The students, who had been attending<br />
various schools, were housed at St. John the<br />
Apostle <strong>School</strong> and at St. Gregory <strong>School</strong><br />
until the new building was completed in<br />
November 1978. The new school had been<br />
named “St. Patrick” after Ireland’s patron<br />
saint because it was located within the area<br />
served by the historic St. Patrick Parish of<br />
nearby Fallowfield. Founding Principal<br />
Ralph Watzenboeck and Vice-Principal<br />
Kevin Mullins received strong support from<br />
St. Patrick’s Parish Priest, Father Bourque,<br />
from an involved parental group, and from<br />
an energetic staff.<br />
In 1981, enrolment growth<br />
precipitated the need for an addition of<br />
a six-room portable annex to St. Patrick<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. But the students did not<br />
stop coming, as Barrhaven continued to<br />
grow. By 1984, St. Patrick, which had been<br />
built for 250 students, was serving about<br />
800. By the time a second <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
elementary school was built in Barrhaven,<br />
the ten-classroom St. Elizabeth Ann Seton<br />
<strong>School</strong> on Weybridge Drive, which opened in<br />
February 1987, the yard at St. Patrick was<br />
a sea of 14 portable classrooms.<br />
St. Patrick <strong>School</strong> has been asked,<br />
over the years, to pilot new programs in<br />
technology and religion. The first<br />
communications class in the Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> was<br />
established at St. Patrick.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
PATRICK<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
68 Larkin Drive<br />
Nepean K2J 1A9<br />
613-825-4012<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/pat<br />
It was not only in educational<br />
matters that St. Patrick <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was<br />
a leader. It was also the first school to hold<br />
a “welcome back” barbecue for its school<br />
community when school began.<br />
Over the years, St. Patrick’s choirs<br />
have participated in school board events. It<br />
has fielded teams in various sports. Grade 6<br />
students make retreats at Waupoos Island<br />
and the school has been known for its<br />
charitable support of such worthy causes as<br />
the Snowsuit Fund, the Food Cupboard and<br />
seasonal programs like the mitten tree and<br />
Christmas baskets.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
251<br />
Present Principal<br />
Eileen Moriarity<br />
Past Principals<br />
Ralph Watzenboeck<br />
Mae Rooney<br />
Lyle Bergeron<br />
Russ Graham<br />
Yvonne Benton<br />
Robert Curry<br />
Mary-Pat Kelly<br />
Marie Boyes<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Janet Meyers, Junior Kindergarten<br />
Helen Tremblett, Senior<br />
Kindergarten<br />
Linda Legault, Senior<br />
Kindergarten<br />
Marguerite Bouliane, French<br />
Senior Kindergarten<br />
Elizabeth Bolton, Grade 1<br />
Marina McGinley, Grade 1-2<br />
Eleanor Bellefeuille, Grade 2-3<br />
Priscilla Hossick, Grade 3<br />
Sharon McKenzie, Grade 4<br />
Norma Webster, Grade 5<br />
Kevin Mullins, Grade 5-6 and<br />
Vice-Principal<br />
Francine Chartrant, Office<br />
Assistant<br />
René Ryan, First Custodian<br />
Staff Recognition<br />
St. Patrick <strong>School</strong> Teacher Brenda<br />
Mulvihill, who is now a retired principal<br />
with the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>, received a TVO Technology<br />
Innovations Award.<br />
Michelle Desjardins, a St. Patrick<br />
<strong>School</strong> teacher, received the Prime Minister’s<br />
Award for Education.
Former Students<br />
Vicky Jenkins, author<br />
Nicole Didyk, doctor<br />
Meagan Hammil, doctor<br />
Chad Conway, editor<br />
Donna Casey, writer for the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Citizen<br />
Emily Wong, Olympic swimmer<br />
Logo<br />
A parent, Greg Conway, judged<br />
a contest for the design of the school logo.<br />
It is green and white, with a snake<br />
representing St. Patrick (who, it is thought,<br />
rid Ireland of snakes) wrapped around a<br />
cross representing <strong>Catholic</strong>ism. The crest<br />
also features a shamrock on behalf of the<br />
Irish heritage of the school in its name. The<br />
crest also contains the words “St. Patrick<br />
<strong>School</strong>” and “Barrhaven.”<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Song<br />
St. Patrick <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> had its<br />
own song, composed by teachers Ann Everett<br />
and Tina Rudkoski. Students would chime in<br />
on the chorus. It was also played at the<br />
grade six graduation ceremony. The chorus<br />
was “Wherever I may go, whatever I may<br />
see, St. Patrick’s will be a part of me.”<br />
Statue of St. Patrick<br />
Mr. and Mrs. George Tessier were<br />
two of the parents who strongly supported<br />
the school. Mr. Tessier received a statue of<br />
St. Patrick from Father John Whelan;<br />
however, it needed to be restored. Mr.<br />
Tessier restored and painted the statue and<br />
presented it to the school at the official<br />
opening ceremony. The statue now sits in<br />
the front lobby of the school.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
252<br />
First Custodian<br />
After he died, a tree was planted<br />
in honour of René Ryan, the first custodian<br />
at St. Patrick <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. Mr. Ryan was<br />
a quiet, gentle man who delighted in helping<br />
others.
St. Patrick’s <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> has<br />
a long history, stretching back over<br />
75 years, with more than 40 of them<br />
linked with the Oblates of Mary<br />
Immaculate. Because it was originally<br />
associated with the new St. Patrick’s<br />
College, it was called St. Patrick’s College<br />
High <strong>School</strong> when it was established in<br />
1929. In the beginning, St. Patrick’s College<br />
High <strong>School</strong> was housed in St. Joseph Parish<br />
Hall on Laurier Avenue East in <strong>Ottawa</strong>. The<br />
two-storey, red brick hall accommodated the<br />
135 students registered in the first year of<br />
the high school, and was staffed by seven<br />
teachers.<br />
In the following year, St. Patrick’s<br />
College High <strong>School</strong> moved to join the new<br />
St. Patrick’s College at a joint campus on<br />
Echo Drive. The full complex of buildings<br />
envisioned for this campus never<br />
materialized because of the onset of the<br />
Depression, but the impressive main building<br />
facing Echo Drive and the Rideau Canal<br />
would remain the home of St. Patrick’s<br />
College High <strong>School</strong> for almost four decades.<br />
Total enrolment at the Echo Drive<br />
campus in 1930 for both St. Patrick’s College<br />
of the University of <strong>Ottawa</strong> and St. Patrick’s<br />
College High <strong>School</strong> was 392 students,<br />
taught by a faculty of 22. At this Echo Drive<br />
campus, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate<br />
(St. Peter’s Province) became associated with<br />
Canadian Martyrs Parish. Masses were held<br />
in the college chapel until the church was<br />
built in 1931.<br />
St. Patrick’s College High <strong>School</strong><br />
took in boarders from the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Valley<br />
area as well as from farther afield. This<br />
practice continued until 1964, which marked<br />
the end of “<strong>Board</strong>ertown” at St. Patrick’s.<br />
In 1968, after St. Patrick’s College<br />
became affiliated with Carleton University,<br />
St. Patrick’s College High <strong>School</strong> was<br />
relocated to the Campanile Campus at<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
PATRICK’S<br />
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL<br />
2525 Alta Vista Drive<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1V 7T3<br />
613-733-0501<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/sph<br />
1485 Heron Road, where St. Patrick’s shared<br />
the location with Notre Dame High <strong>School</strong>,<br />
run by the Sisters of the Congregation of<br />
Notre Dame. Notre Dame had just moved<br />
there from its century-old site on Gloucester<br />
Street in <strong>Ottawa</strong>. The Campanile campus<br />
was designed as a multi-building site<br />
connected by underground tunnels. This<br />
1968 move also saw the school change its<br />
name from St. Patrick’s College High <strong>School</strong><br />
to simply St. Patrick’s High <strong>School</strong>. The<br />
Oblates of Mary Immaculate continued to<br />
manage and teach at the school but those<br />
days were numbered. In 1973, the Oblates’<br />
active involvement in the administration of<br />
the school came to an end.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
253<br />
The school was temporarily<br />
renamed St. Jude’s Junior High <strong>School</strong> for<br />
the 1972-73 school year, before readopting<br />
its previous, historic name in the fall of<br />
1973. Because the higher grades were no<br />
longer accommodated, it became known as<br />
St. Patrick’s Junior High <strong>School</strong>. The name<br />
St. Patrick’s High <strong>School</strong> returned in 1986<br />
when the school once again became a fullfledged<br />
secondary school with the extension<br />
of full funding to <strong>Catholic</strong> high schools by<br />
the Provincial Government.<br />
St. Patrick’s High <strong>School</strong> remained<br />
at the 1485 Heron Road site until 1993,<br />
when it was moved once again, this time to<br />
the nearby 2525 Alta Vista Drive site that it<br />
currently occupies, previously the location<br />
of the former Charlebois High <strong>School</strong> of the<br />
French <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
St. Patrick’s High <strong>School</strong> has<br />
developed a number of traditions. The school<br />
band trip to New York City every two years<br />
is one, as are the semi-annual school band<br />
concerts, which are staged at the school.<br />
St. Patrick’s holds an annual stage<br />
production as well as a variety of charity<br />
events such as clothing drives, a 30-hour<br />
famine and involvement with food baskets.<br />
In recent years, St. Patrick’s has<br />
inaugurated a major annual fundraising<br />
event, a “Breakfast for Cancer Research”<br />
raising $4,137 in 2003. This has been<br />
surpassed in each successive year by totals<br />
of $8,824 in 2004, $14,255 in 2005 and<br />
$15,000 in 2006. These funds go to the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Regional Cancer Centre Foundation.<br />
St. Patrick’s also has student ambassadors,<br />
senior students who wear green blazers<br />
with the school crest, and function as<br />
representatives of St. Patrick’s both within<br />
the school and amid the community-at-large,<br />
often volunteering with charitable<br />
organizations.<br />
St. Patrick’s sports teams are also<br />
a formidable force in high school leagues.
Present Principal<br />
Ronald Chisholm (2005-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Albert Meereboer, O.M.I. (1929-30)<br />
J. Harold Conway, O.M.I. (1947-63)<br />
Frank Kavanaugh, O.M.I. (1964-69)<br />
Carl Kelly, O.M.I. (1969-72)<br />
Frank Kavanaugh, O.M.I.<br />
(1972-73) (as St. Jude’s Junior<br />
High <strong>School</strong>)<br />
John Knobel (1973-76)<br />
(as St. Patrick’s Junior High<br />
<strong>School</strong>)<br />
Robert Kendall (1976-83)<br />
Michael Nolan (1983-84)<br />
Georges Bouliane (1984-85)<br />
Sister Anna Clare Berrigan<br />
(1985-86) and (1986-89 at<br />
St. Patrick’s High <strong>School</strong>)<br />
Walter Hempey (1989-93) and<br />
(1993-96 at St. Patrick’s High<br />
<strong>School</strong> on Alta Vista Drive)<br />
John Shaughnessy (1996-2000)<br />
Joseph Mullally (2000-05)<br />
Rectors<br />
(St. Patrick’s College High <strong>School</strong>)<br />
Thomas M. Kennedy, O.M.I.<br />
(1929-30)<br />
Edward Killian, O.M.I. (1929-30)<br />
Denis J. Moriarty, O.M.I. (1930-32)<br />
Patrick Phelan, O.M.I. (1932-35)<br />
Leo Corrmican, O.M.I. (1935-44)<br />
Lawrence K. Poupore, O.M.I.<br />
(1944-53)<br />
Gerald E. Cousineau, O.M.I.<br />
(1953-59)<br />
John J. Kelly, O.M.I. (1959-68)<br />
Deans<br />
(St. Patrick’s College High <strong>School</strong>)<br />
Farrell E. Banim, O.M.I. (1948-61)<br />
Hugh A. MacDougall, O.M.I.<br />
(1962-68)<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Oblates who taught at St. Patrick’s<br />
High <strong>School</strong> during the period 1929-1973<br />
F. Banim<br />
L. Bartley<br />
F. Beck<br />
W. Bernardo<br />
J. Beveridge<br />
L. Beveridge<br />
R. Boucher<br />
S. Bowers<br />
J. Burns<br />
L. Burns<br />
D. Cahill<br />
C. Callanan<br />
C. Campbell<br />
F. Campbell<br />
K. Campbell<br />
M. Campbell<br />
J. Cardo<br />
P. Carpenter<br />
T. Cassidy<br />
E. Clark<br />
P. Collins<br />
E. Connolly<br />
H. Conway<br />
C. Coppens<br />
L. Cormican<br />
G. Cousineau<br />
H. Cromey<br />
J. Curtin<br />
A. Daley<br />
H. Dalton<br />
L. Devine<br />
D. Devoe<br />
W. Doran<br />
J. Dourley<br />
G. Dowsett<br />
D. Driscoll<br />
H. Dunlop<br />
W. Elliott<br />
N. Enright<br />
F. Finley<br />
D. Finnegan<br />
K. Forster<br />
R. Gallagher<br />
D. Galvin<br />
D. Gillen<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
254<br />
A. Gillis<br />
J. Greene<br />
E. Greene<br />
A. Hall<br />
W. Hanley<br />
J. Hattie<br />
F. Hennessy<br />
F. Hobart<br />
P. Howard<br />
T. Hughes<br />
G. Irving<br />
N. Jette<br />
A. Jordan<br />
F. Kavanagh<br />
L. Keighley<br />
C. Helly<br />
J. Kelly<br />
T. Kennedy<br />
B. Kerr<br />
E. Killian<br />
J. Lambert<br />
C. Lavigne<br />
V. LaPlante<br />
P. Linehan<br />
J. Linnehan<br />
P. Little<br />
W. Loftus<br />
A. Macrae<br />
E. MacDonald<br />
L. MacDonald<br />
H. MacDougall<br />
A. MacInnes<br />
A. MacKinnon<br />
E. MacNeil<br />
E. Marcuk<br />
G. Mason<br />
J. Massel<br />
J. McAllister<br />
H. McCabe<br />
J. McCann<br />
J. McCart<br />
F. McCormack<br />
J. McDonald<br />
L. McDonald<br />
A. McDonnell<br />
J. McGrath<br />
D. McIntosh<br />
B. McKenna
B. McLean<br />
D. McLeod<br />
K. McNamara<br />
J. McNeil<br />
E. McSheffrey<br />
A. Meereboer<br />
B. Megannety<br />
J. Michael<br />
P. Miller<br />
T. Mitchell<br />
T. Moreau<br />
M. Morgan<br />
D. Moriarity<br />
D. Morin<br />
J. Mullany<br />
J. Mulligan<br />
J. Mulvihill<br />
T. Murphy<br />
J. Noonan<br />
T. O’Beirne<br />
J. O’Connor<br />
P. O’Dwyer<br />
F. O’Grady<br />
O. O’Regan<br />
P. O’Reilly<br />
L. Paradis<br />
M. Peake<br />
M. Pehlan<br />
P. Phelan<br />
J. Pollock<br />
L. Poupore<br />
M. Power<br />
D. Pruner<br />
O. Rich<br />
C. Rushton<br />
J. Ryan<br />
F. Salmon<br />
M. Schroeder<br />
D. Schumph<br />
A. Sheehan<br />
J. Sheehan<br />
J. Sherry<br />
R. Smith<br />
H. Sorenson<br />
P. Spratt<br />
F. Stafford<br />
J. Stanton<br />
N. St. Louis<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
P. Sutton<br />
L. Sweeney<br />
T. Swift<br />
F. Tedrow<br />
W. Thompson<br />
P. Tobin<br />
J. Trainor<br />
T. Usher<br />
J. Vaneden<br />
F. Wallis<br />
D. Walsh<br />
E. Watson<br />
B. Wren<br />
J. Zachary<br />
These 155 names are engraved on<br />
a plaque that was mounted on an Oblate<br />
cross and presented to the students and staff<br />
of St. Patrick’s High <strong>School</strong> on the occasion<br />
of the renewal of the traditional links with<br />
the Oblates of St. Peter’s Province on March<br />
17, 1986.<br />
Staff Recognition<br />
Rev. J. Harold Conway, former<br />
teacher and principal, received the Order of<br />
Canada in 1976.<br />
Laura Gillespie, Department Head<br />
of Physical Education, received the National<br />
Capital Secondary <strong>School</strong>s Athletic<br />
Association Fellows Award in 2004. This<br />
award is presented to a person who has<br />
contributed to high school sports in a noncoaching<br />
role.<br />
Thomas M. Cassidy, O.M.I. (1956),<br />
former teacher and principal who received<br />
the Order of Canada and who wrote Roots<br />
and Branches: A Diary of St. Peter’s<br />
Province.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
255<br />
Former Students<br />
John Turner, Prime Minister of<br />
Canada in 1984<br />
Dan Aykroyd (1969), an Oscarnominated<br />
and Emmy-winning actor, writer,<br />
director and musician<br />
Bob Chiarelli, Chairperson of the<br />
Regional Municipal of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton and<br />
first mayor of the new amalgamated City of<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> (2001)<br />
Jim Kyte, National Hockey League<br />
player with the Winnipeg Jets and an<br />
advocate for the deaf community<br />
Dalton McGuinty, Premier of<br />
Ontario and Leader of the Liberal Party of<br />
Ontario<br />
Wilbert Keon (1957), founder of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Heart Institute and a senator<br />
justice<br />
Roydon Kealey, a provincial court<br />
Peter Wright (1972), a provincial<br />
court justice<br />
Garry Guzzo (1963), a former<br />
provincial court justice and former MPP for<br />
the <strong>Ottawa</strong> area<br />
Michael Chambers, President of<br />
the Canadian Olympic Committee<br />
author<br />
Chris Nihmey (1992), children’s<br />
Valdy (Valdemar Horsdal), Juno<br />
award winning folk singer<br />
Claude Pilon (1970), a gold medal<br />
winning wrestler in the 1974 Commonwealth<br />
Games
Mark Pilon, son of Claude Pilon,<br />
and a Canadian Football League player with<br />
the Calgary Stampeders, Grey Cup winners<br />
in 2001<br />
Angelo Gavillucci (1977), a silver<br />
medalist in sledge hockey in the<br />
Paralympics in Nagano, Japan in 1998<br />
Mary Dalipaj (2003), who received<br />
an outstanding employee award from the<br />
University of <strong>Ottawa</strong> Heart Institute<br />
Logo and Motto (Armorial Bearings)<br />
In September 1999, Rev. Thomas<br />
Cassidy, O.M.I., who graduated from<br />
St. Patrick’s in 1956 and was a staff member<br />
from 1964 to 1973, had a chance meeting<br />
with the Chief Herald of Canada, Robert<br />
Douglas Watt. From Mr. Watt, he learned<br />
about the function of the Chief Herald,<br />
which is the issuing of royal crests and coats<br />
of arms for Canadian institutions and<br />
individuals.<br />
St. Patrick’s High <strong>School</strong> has had<br />
a crest and motto since its founding in 1929,<br />
most probably drawn by Brother John<br />
Pollock, O.M.I., a British-educated staff<br />
member. Mr. Watt suggested that these<br />
could be submitted for official recognition.<br />
Father Cassidy did this. Although it took<br />
two years of research and work, the efforts<br />
proved worthwhile, as the armorial bearings<br />
of St. Patrick’s High <strong>School</strong> in <strong>Ottawa</strong> was<br />
granted by the Canadian Crown under<br />
powers which are exercised by the Governor-<br />
General and which are “entered in the<br />
Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges<br />
of Canada” were formally presented to the<br />
school on Wednesday, March 6, 2002.<br />
Official notice of these armorial<br />
bearings was published in Part 1 of the<br />
Canada Gazette under the title “Government<br />
House.” All armorial bearings are honours<br />
from the Canadian Crown. They provide<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
recognition for Canadian individuals and<br />
corporate bodies of the contribution that<br />
they make both in Canada and elsewhere.<br />
The eligibility of St. Patrick’s High <strong>School</strong> in<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> was thoroughly researched from its<br />
founding in 1929, and the armorial bearings<br />
were approved by the Chief Herald of<br />
Canada and were granted by the Chancellor<br />
of the Canadian Heraldic Authority in the<br />
name of the Governor-General, the Right<br />
Honourable Adrienne Clarkson. The<br />
Governor-General issued the approval for<br />
the armorial bearings on July 5, 2001. It<br />
must be noted that all grants of armorial<br />
bearings are made by the Crown to be valid<br />
forever and can be changed only by that<br />
same Crown.<br />
The school logo bears the name of<br />
the school, St. Patrick’s High <strong>School</strong>, as well<br />
as the motto “Religio Alit Artes.”<br />
<strong>School</strong> song<br />
Students wrote a school song in<br />
1996. The words of the song are:<br />
Green and Gold<br />
Our Spirits Bold,<br />
Here at St. Pat’s High.<br />
Come and see us,<br />
Come and hear us,<br />
Raise your spirits high.<br />
Here we learn<br />
To be Our Best,<br />
We Reach Towards<br />
The sky.<br />
Years will come and go,<br />
But we’ll keep the flow<br />
At St. Pat’s High.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
256<br />
Other Events<br />
In one of his first public<br />
appearances as Premier of Ontario, Dalton<br />
McGuinty, a St. Patrick’s High <strong>School</strong><br />
graduate, visited the school in 2003 and<br />
addressed students and staff.<br />
The school celebrated its<br />
75 th anniversary in 2004. A video to mark<br />
the occasion was produced by Roy<br />
Ketcheson, a creative arts teacher at<br />
St. Patrick’s.<br />
The school enjoyed a visit by<br />
entertainers Dan Aykroyd, a former student,<br />
and Jim Belushi, in 1996.<br />
The first St. Patrick’s High <strong>School</strong><br />
newspaper, The Patrician, was published in<br />
1934 under the editorship of Leo Devine,<br />
O.M.I.<br />
World War II<br />
A total of 86 former students of<br />
St. Patrick’s gave their lives in World War II<br />
(1939-45).<br />
Alumni Association<br />
The Alumni Association is known<br />
as “The Friends of St. Pat’s.”<br />
Dress Code<br />
The current dress code at<br />
St. Patrick’s High <strong>School</strong> is black dress<br />
pants, white dress shirt or polo shirt with<br />
the St. Patrick’s name, green plaid kilt or<br />
black skirt, green sweat shirt with plaid<br />
letter “P,” green cardigan or pullover with<br />
St. Patrick’s crest, green blazer with<br />
St. Pat’s crest, green rugby shirt with<br />
St. Pat’s and the letter “P.” It is not<br />
necessary to wear all of these items at once.
From a Teacher at St. Patrick’s <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
High <strong>School</strong><br />
I was hired as Head of Social<br />
Sciences at St. Patrick’s High <strong>School</strong> by<br />
Principal Sister Anna Clare in the fall of<br />
1987. I was keen on initiating two specific<br />
projects — to launch a student field trip to<br />
Washington, D.C. and to resurrect a football<br />
program at St. Pat’s.<br />
At lunch one day, I mentioned my<br />
field trip idea to a colleague, whereupon<br />
I heard Sister utter, “Over my dead body!”<br />
to Vice-Principals John Shaughnessy and<br />
Bernie Swords with whom she was having<br />
lunch. However, I proceeded with a plan and<br />
presented it to Sister. On the day in May<br />
1989, when I was leaving for Washington<br />
with a busload of senior students, Sister met<br />
me at her office door with $300 in cash,<br />
telling me to ensure that the students who<br />
might run out of money would have food for<br />
the duration of the trip.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
When I informed Sister about the<br />
plan my colleague Larry Patterson and I had<br />
to bring football back to St. Pat’s, Sister<br />
curtly informed me that she did not want<br />
football and that there would never be a<br />
football program at the school. Larry and I,<br />
however, continued, along with colleagues<br />
Marc Mes and Dave Waterhouse, to put<br />
together a detailed plan extolling the<br />
benefits of football to the school as well as<br />
other information including research on<br />
sports injuries in high schools and financial<br />
details about the program. After we made<br />
this presentation, Sister passed by me in the<br />
lunchroom and with a slight smile said,<br />
“Very interesting.”<br />
In September 1989, the “St. Pat’s<br />
Fighting Irish” hit the field for the first time<br />
since 1975, defeating Laurentian High<br />
<strong>School</strong> in the process.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
257<br />
The Washington trip and the<br />
football team would not have happened<br />
without Sister Anna Clare’s ability to adjust<br />
to credible and legitimate information and<br />
without her concern for her students’<br />
interests and complete education. It was a<br />
pleasure and a privilege to work with her.<br />
Michael Nihmey
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
258
St. Patrick’s <strong>Catholic</strong> Intermediate<br />
<strong>School</strong> has only existed as a<br />
separate entity since 1993, but its<br />
history as a junior high school goes back to<br />
1972, and one can even trace its lineage to<br />
1929 when St. Patrick’s College High <strong>School</strong><br />
was founded.<br />
The new St. Patrick’s College<br />
High <strong>School</strong> began on September 5, 1929<br />
in temporary quarters beside St. Joseph<br />
Church on Laurier Avenue in <strong>Ottawa</strong> East,<br />
with an enrolment of 135 boys and seven<br />
faculty that first year. The Oblates of Mary<br />
Immaculate, St. Peter’s Province, founded<br />
the school. Plans were made for the<br />
development of a complex of buildings on a<br />
site known as Patterson Field on Echo Drive<br />
overlooking the Rideau Canal. The facility<br />
would house not only a high school but also<br />
a college offering Bachelor of Arts and<br />
Bachelor of Science programs. The first<br />
wings of the new St. Patrick’s College<br />
complex were completed in September 1930,<br />
at a cost of over half a million dollars. A<br />
$150,000 addition was built in September<br />
1931. This was an immense outlay of funds,<br />
all for the sake of providing <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education at the high school and university<br />
levels.<br />
However, the Depression of the<br />
1930s struck and the final phase of<br />
construction of the planned campus complex<br />
was never completed. This did not stop<br />
St. Patrick’s from offering the best of<br />
education delivered in a close-knit community<br />
with an identifiable <strong>Catholic</strong> atmosphere.<br />
In 1967, the St. Patrick’s College<br />
High <strong>School</strong> moved from its original site<br />
to the Campanile campus on Heron Road,<br />
which it began sharing in 1968 with Notre<br />
Dame High <strong>School</strong>, run by the Congregation<br />
of Notre Dame. The Oblate Fathers<br />
contributed to the building of a gymnasium<br />
at the Campanile campus to make it a<br />
proper facility for a high school. However,<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
PATRICK’S<br />
CATHOLIC<br />
INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL<br />
1485 Heron Road<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1V 6A6<br />
613-733-3736<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/spe<br />
financial constraints plagued St. Patrick’s<br />
and Notre Dame High <strong>School</strong>s in this<br />
location and so, in 1972, both had to close<br />
their senior divisions. Two of the buildings<br />
though, remained operational as a junior<br />
high school with Grades 7 through 10. This<br />
school was called St. Jude’s Junior High<br />
<strong>School</strong> for the 1972-73 school year, later<br />
reverting to St. Patrick’s Junior High <strong>School</strong>.<br />
With the announcement of full<br />
funding for the <strong>Catholic</strong> school education<br />
system in 1984, St. Patrick’s Junior High<br />
<strong>School</strong> was able to add Grade 11 in<br />
September 1985, and Grades 12 and 13 in<br />
the following two years.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
259<br />
Because of an increasing<br />
enrolment at St. Pat’s, <strong>Board</strong> trustees made<br />
the decision to move the grades 9 to 13<br />
students to nearby premises on Alta Vista<br />
Drive, the current home of St. Patrick’s<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>. The grades 7 and 8<br />
students remained at the Heron Road site,<br />
which was then called St. Patrick’s <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Intermediate <strong>School</strong>.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Gerald Mikalauskas<br />
Past Principals<br />
N/A<br />
Staff Recognition<br />
Rev. J. Harold Conway, a former<br />
teacher and principal at St. Patrick’s, is<br />
a recipient of the Order of Canada.<br />
Former Students<br />
Dan Aykroyd is an Oscarnominated,<br />
Emmy-winning actor, writer,<br />
director and musician.<br />
Dalton McGuinty is the current<br />
Premier of Ontario and Leader of the<br />
Ontario Liberal Party (1996-present).<br />
The Rt. Honourable John Turner<br />
was the 17 th Prime Minister of Canada.<br />
Bob Chiarelli was Chairman of the<br />
Regional Municipality of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
and the first mayor of the new amalgamated<br />
City of <strong>Ottawa</strong> (2001-present).<br />
Jim Kyte played for the Winnipeg<br />
Jets of the National Hockey League.<br />
Dr. Wilbert Keon is a worldrenowned<br />
heart surgeon, founder of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Heart Institute, officer of the Order<br />
of Canada and member of the Senate of<br />
Canada.
justice.<br />
justice.<br />
Roydon Kealey is a provincial court<br />
Peter Wright is a provincial court<br />
Garry Guzzo is a former provincial<br />
court justice and a former member of the<br />
provincial parliament.<br />
Michael Chambers was President<br />
of the Canadian Olympic Committee.<br />
Chris Nihmey is the author of the<br />
children’s book Quarter Past Three.<br />
Valdemar Horsdal (a.k.a Valdy) is<br />
a Juno award-winning folk music artist.<br />
Thomas M. Cassidy is an author,<br />
legal counselor and apostolic nunciature.<br />
Claude Pilon is a wrestler who won<br />
a gold medal at the 1974 Commonwealth<br />
Games.<br />
Garfield Thomas Ogilvie is the<br />
author of the book Once Upon A Country<br />
Lane.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Mark Pilon played for the Calgary<br />
Stampeders of the Canadian Football<br />
League, winning the Grey Cup in 2001.<br />
Angelo Gavillucci won a silver<br />
medal as a member of the Canadian sledge<br />
hockey team at the 1998 Paralympic Games<br />
in Japan.<br />
Dalton McGuinty Sr. was a<br />
member of the provincial parliament and<br />
a founder/first director of the Terry Fox<br />
Scholarship.<br />
Laura Dwyer, a grade 8 student<br />
in the 2005-06 school year, was one of<br />
165 students from across Canada and the<br />
only one from the <strong>Ottawa</strong> area, chosen to<br />
participate in the National Historica Fair in<br />
Halifax in July 2006. Her project, which was<br />
exhibited in a public showcase at the Halifax<br />
Citadel, was about the history of Chinese<br />
immigration in Canada, particularly focused<br />
on the Gold Rush, the head tax and the<br />
Chinese Exclusion Act. Her Halifax trip<br />
experience also included visits to museums<br />
and historical sites. The National Historica<br />
Fair is held in a different location every<br />
year, sponsored by Historica, a foundation<br />
dedicated to helping Canadians learn the<br />
stories that make their history unique and<br />
encouraging Canadian history education.<br />
The Historica Foundation works in<br />
partnership with school boards including the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
260<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Green and black<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is a Celtic cross<br />
with the name “Saint Patrick’s Intermediate<br />
<strong>School</strong>” and four symbols.<br />
Team Names<br />
St. Patrick’s Intermediate <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> sports teams are called the<br />
“Shamrocks.”
In the fall of 1978, the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> opened<br />
its second junior high school. This came<br />
six years after the establishment of the<br />
<strong>Board</strong>’s first junior high school in the east<br />
end of its jurisdiction, Lester B. Pearson, in<br />
1972. This new school would serve students<br />
in the western region of the <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
jurisdiction and was initially called “Bells<br />
Corners Senior Elementary <strong>School</strong>.”<br />
Construction delays meant that the school<br />
did not open until October, so the first<br />
month of that school year found the students<br />
and staff in portables back at their home<br />
schools. In October 1978, the new school<br />
opened.<br />
Later that school year, the school<br />
community unanimously requested that<br />
the school be named after the evangelist<br />
St. Paul — the school board concurred.<br />
Initially, feeder schools for this<br />
new junior high school were Our Lady of<br />
Peace, Bayshore <strong>Catholic</strong>, St. Martin de<br />
Porres, Georges Vanier and St. Thomas.<br />
In later years, St. Paul drew students from<br />
other schools as well, such as St. Philip in<br />
Richmond, St. Isidore in South March,<br />
St. Michael in Corkery, St. Michael in<br />
Fitzroy Harbour and St. John the Apostle.<br />
The school’s first principal, Robert<br />
Curry, and his enthusiastic and gifted staff<br />
quickly made St. Paul one of the more<br />
progressive schools in the <strong>Ottawa</strong> area,<br />
but it was not too long before the school saw<br />
a major change thanks to the full funding<br />
provided for <strong>Catholic</strong> schools by the<br />
Provincial Government. In 1985, Grade 11<br />
was added, followed by Grades 12 and 13 in<br />
subsequent years, as St. Paul grew to be a<br />
complete <strong>Catholic</strong> high school. With this<br />
extension from a junior high school to a<br />
full grades 7 to 13 school came major<br />
renovations and additions. From 1985 to<br />
1991, this inclusion of the higher grades<br />
added to continued growth, with the result<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
PAUL<br />
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL<br />
FILL YOUR YOUR MINDS MINDS WITH WITH<br />
S<br />
T<br />
P<br />
A<br />
U<br />
L<br />
ALL ALL<br />
THAT THAT IS IS TRUE TRUE<br />
2675 Draper Avenue<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K2H 7A1<br />
613-820-9705<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/pah<br />
that more than 75 teachers were hired in<br />
a six-year period.<br />
The opening of Holy Trinity<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> in Kanata in 1990,<br />
as the <strong>Catholic</strong> high school for most<br />
Kanata and Stittsville students, and the<br />
construction of Mother Teresa <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong>, heralded the beginning of a number<br />
of changes, which would impact St. Paul.<br />
In the spring of 1997, students and staff at<br />
St. Paul were informed that students in<br />
Grades 7 to 10 who lived in the Barrhaven<br />
area would be moving in the fall to become<br />
members of the first student body of the new<br />
Mother Teresa <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> in<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
261<br />
Barrhaven. Approximately 350 students and<br />
20 staff members from St. Paul were<br />
affected by this move.<br />
In the spring of 1999, students in<br />
Grades 7 to 10 who lived in the Emerald<br />
Meadows area of Kanata and the Richmond<br />
area were advised that they would be<br />
leaving St. Paul to become part of the new<br />
Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> opening<br />
in Stittsville. Fourteen staff members as<br />
well as about 250 students left St. Paul in<br />
this exodus to Sacred Heart. In the spring<br />
of 2000, the St. Paul <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong><br />
community was once again required to<br />
relocate, this time to the former Sir John A.<br />
MacDonald High <strong>School</strong> on Draper Avenue<br />
in the west end of <strong>Ottawa</strong>. The <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> invested five<br />
million dollars in refurbishing the facility to<br />
bring it up to current standards. What a<br />
facility it was! It had two gymnasiums with<br />
hardwood floors, a university-style lecture<br />
hall, a cafeteria, new science and tech labs<br />
and an auditorium that could hold<br />
750 spectators, ideal for both school and<br />
<strong>Board</strong>-wide performing arts initiatives.<br />
St. Paul High <strong>School</strong> celebrated its<br />
25 th anniversary in May 2004, with many<br />
former students returning to reflect on the<br />
good days that they had spent there. The<br />
enthusiasm exhibited by these graduates<br />
was testament to the great school spirit,<br />
which has been a hallmark of St. Paul over<br />
its history, no matter what its grade<br />
offerings, no matter where its students came<br />
from, and no matter where the school was<br />
located. Such events as “Cassa Café,” open<br />
houses, spaghetti dinners and school plays<br />
have been venues for the development of<br />
this school spirit. In the early years of the<br />
school, some members of the staff and<br />
students made sandwiches after school for<br />
the Shepherds of Good Hope shelter. There<br />
were also canned food drives and school trips<br />
to the Dominican Republic to help the less<br />
fortunate. The more recent efforts at
St. Paul for tsunami relief in Southeast Asia<br />
and for assistance for victims of Hurricane<br />
Katrina are examples of the school’s resolve<br />
to reach out to help others and to assist,<br />
where possible, with the ultimate goal of<br />
encouraging world peace.<br />
St. Paul High <strong>School</strong> was one of<br />
eight <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> schools, which, in the 2005-06 school<br />
year, raised approximately $6,000 in total<br />
for the “OK Clean Water Project.” This<br />
project (OK stands for <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Kumbo, a<br />
town in Cameroon in Africa) is an initiative<br />
of the Congregation of Notre Dame, an<br />
international religious community of Sisters<br />
and associates. The “OK Clean Water<br />
Project” supports the purchase of water<br />
pipes that are laid from a clean water source<br />
into their communities by villagers in<br />
Cameroon.<br />
St. Paul has become known for its<br />
athletics, its community work, its drama,<br />
its music, its debating (the St. Paul<br />
Debating Club won the all-Ontario<br />
championship), its peer helpers, its support<br />
of the Snowsuit Fund and the Waupoos<br />
Foundation project, and its apostolic work<br />
in the Dominican Republic since 1991.<br />
Indeed, a permanent exhibit of the work<br />
that St. Paul students have accomplished<br />
over the years in the Dominican Republic<br />
is on display at the Canada and the World<br />
Museum. In athletics, the school has hosted<br />
the Ontario Federation of <strong>School</strong>s’ Athletic<br />
Association Provincial Girls’ Basketball<br />
Tournament in 2003, the Provincial Girls’<br />
Rugby Tournament, also in 2003, and the<br />
Provincial Boys’ Rugby Tournament in 2004.<br />
St. Paul has won the Canadian<br />
Association for Health, Physical Education,<br />
Recreation and Dance Award (CAHPERD)<br />
for its quality daily physical education<br />
program every year from 1994 through 2005.<br />
It has also received a provincial Outstanding<br />
Intramural Achievement Award.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
The St. Paul <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong><br />
yearbook has been recognized for its<br />
excellence both locally and nationally. This<br />
recognition has included numerous firstplace<br />
awards in the <strong>Ottawa</strong> area as well as a<br />
first-place in the Canadian Yearbook Review<br />
in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and a first-place<br />
rating in the American Scholastic Press<br />
Association judging in both 2004 and 2005.<br />
In all of this, academics have not<br />
been overlooked. Over the years the school<br />
has graduated well-rounded and educated<br />
individuals, successful not only in various<br />
subjects but also in personal growth,<br />
assuming a sense of responsibility for the<br />
world in which they live. St. Paul students<br />
have entered the J.A. Titan Business<br />
Competition at Carleton University, winning<br />
five times. The grad retreat is always a<br />
highlight of the students’ years at St. Paul,<br />
giving them an opportunity to reflect on<br />
their years at St. Paul and on what lies<br />
ahead in life. Priests such as Father Edward<br />
Lunney of St. Martin de Porres Parish,<br />
Father Peter Schonenbach of Holy Redeemer<br />
Parish, and Monsignor Paul Baxter of<br />
St. Patrick Parish have worked closely with<br />
the school to encourage and promote the<br />
prevailing atmosphere of <strong>Catholic</strong>ity.<br />
The spiritual leadership in the school from<br />
chaplains such as Sister Shelly Lawrence<br />
and Nicole Levesque further bless the<br />
school.<br />
St. Paul <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong><br />
became a leader in the development of<br />
special education programs with a focus<br />
on inclusion of all students in the school<br />
community as paramount. A dependently<br />
handicapped unit was opened at the school<br />
in 1987.<br />
The school holds a welcoming<br />
barbecue during the last week of August<br />
for the new grade 7 students.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
262<br />
In 1992, Principal John Shannon<br />
initiated the St. Paul Leadership Camp<br />
where students learn to recognize and<br />
develop their leadership talents, helping<br />
them to take ownership and responsibility<br />
for the life in their school.<br />
Present Principal<br />
William Barrett (2006-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Robert Curry (1978-85)<br />
Michael Baine (1985-91)<br />
John Shannon (1991-97)<br />
Greg Mullen (1997-2002)<br />
Eugene Milito (2002-06)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Robert Curry, Principal<br />
Michael Matthews, Vice-Principal<br />
Bill Murphy<br />
Gary Yates<br />
Margaret Imbleau<br />
Aubrey Ayer<br />
Douglas White<br />
Audrey Lamarche<br />
Alan Dickinson<br />
Celia Groulx<br />
Nancyjane Cawley<br />
Lynne Langille<br />
Pat Richards<br />
Faiz Griplas<br />
Maurice Sullivan<br />
Francine Berthiaume<br />
Remo Zuccarin<br />
Jane Buck, Head Secretary<br />
Jeannie Gorgichuck, Secretary<br />
Staff Achievements<br />
Former Teacher Terry Anne Carter<br />
(1981-2000, English) was <strong>Ottawa</strong>’s “Random<br />
Acts of Poetry” poet for 2005. She has been<br />
the Education Chair of the League of<br />
Canadian Poets and was Vice-President of<br />
Haiku Canada and participated in the Basho<br />
Festival in Japan in 2004.
Former Teacher Margaret Imbleau<br />
(1978-2002, English/Religion) contributed to<br />
two Family Life high school textbooks for<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools in Ontario sponsored by the<br />
Ontario Conference of <strong>Catholic</strong> Bishops.<br />
Former Teacher Audrey Lamarche<br />
(1978-91), Vice-Principal (1991), Department<br />
Head in Contemporary Studies (1989-91),<br />
Subject Advisor Family Studies (1986-89), and<br />
Special Project Assignment Teacher (SPAT) for<br />
Family Studies (1990). She was Vice-President<br />
of the Ontario Family Studies/Home<br />
Economics Educators’ Association (OFSHEEA)<br />
in 1990. She received the OFSHEEA Award of<br />
Excellence in 1991 for her contributions to the<br />
promotion of family studies in Ontario.<br />
Former Teacher Jeri Lunney<br />
(1987-98), Vice-Principal (1987-88) and<br />
Department Head in Mathematics (1988-98)<br />
has co-authored grades 9 and 10 basic-level<br />
textbooks with Nelson Canada and grades 9,<br />
10, 11, 12 and 13 advanced-level texts for<br />
Houghton Mifflin Canada. She received the<br />
Don Attridge Award for teacher excellence<br />
from the Ontario Association for<br />
Mathematics Education, the Prime<br />
Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence in<br />
Mathematics, and the Descartes Medal for<br />
Signal Service to Mathematics in the schools<br />
of Ontario from the René Descartes<br />
Foundation of the University of Waterloo.<br />
Former Teacher Jan Connors<br />
Matthews (1980-2003) received the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Centre for Research and Innovation Award<br />
as one of the top educators in the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton region.<br />
Science Teacher Ralph Carney<br />
received the Prime Minister’s Award for<br />
Teaching Excellence in 2000.<br />
English Teacher Linus Shea served<br />
as President of the local unit of the Ontario<br />
English <strong>Catholic</strong> Teachers’ Association from<br />
2001 to 2005.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Teacher Erika McCarthy (1995-99)<br />
wrote an anti-racism curriculum for the<br />
study of immigration to Canada in 1998. In<br />
1999, she received the Roy C. Hill Provincial<br />
Award for Innovations in Curriculum.<br />
Principal John Shannon received<br />
the Order of Merit For Exceptional Service<br />
from the Archdiocese of <strong>Ottawa</strong> in 1997.<br />
Principal Eugene Milito (2002-06)<br />
was one of 28 recipients of the Canada’s<br />
Outstanding Principal Award.<br />
Former Students<br />
Sean O’Donnell plays for the<br />
Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey<br />
League.<br />
Scott Cashman, a goalie, played at<br />
Boston University and was drafted by the<br />
National Hockey League.<br />
Lisa Bergin played basketball at<br />
the University of <strong>Ottawa</strong>.<br />
Heather McAlpine played<br />
basketball at Carleton University while her<br />
sister Suzanne McAlpine played basketball<br />
at the University of Toronto.<br />
Declan Bonner played soccer at<br />
St. John’s University in the United States<br />
and then returned to play soccer at Carleton<br />
University.<br />
Kelly Vandenberg played soccer at<br />
Carleton University.<br />
Christine Murphy played<br />
basketball at Bishop’s University and is now<br />
an assistant coach there.<br />
Emily Murphy played basketball<br />
at the University of New Brunswick.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
263<br />
Alison Smyth is a singer of opera,<br />
classical music and Broadway musicals. In<br />
2004, she made her professional debut in the<br />
Toronto production of the Broadway musical<br />
Hair Spray.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
The original school colours were<br />
brown and gold. The colours were changed<br />
to blue and gold in the mid-1980s.<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo is in the shape of<br />
a pentagon, with the two angled sides<br />
converging at the bottom. It has a blue<br />
border on a white background. In the centre,<br />
there is a blue cross with the school name<br />
“St. Paul” printed vertically on the cross in<br />
white letters. A gold maple leaf in the<br />
background silhouettes the cross. The crest<br />
is draped with a gold banner having a blue<br />
border. Written on the banner are the words<br />
“Fill Your Minds With All That Is True.”<br />
Symbols<br />
The symbol that distinguishes<br />
St. Paul athletics teams is the golden bear.<br />
The grizzly bear is the school’s mascot. The<br />
bear paw is the logo on the school’s sports<br />
wear. Everything from t-shirts to track<br />
pants have the bear paw stamp. The bear<br />
paw is also painted on the gym floor and on<br />
the walls of the gym, as well as in a number<br />
of other places throughout the school.<br />
Making Science Fun<br />
Teacher Ralph Carney arrived at<br />
St. Paul <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> in 1984 to<br />
teach his favourite subject, science. Head of<br />
the Science Department from 1986 to 2000,<br />
Ralph makes science fun for his students. He<br />
has motivated many to take part in Science<br />
Fairs, the Science Olympics at Carleton<br />
University and the Newton Contest organized<br />
by Waterloo University. His extracurricular<br />
efforts have been centred around the Science<br />
Club, ping pong and the Electronics Club.
Over the years, he has taken a<br />
number of his science classes to Canada’s<br />
Wonderland to analyze the roller coaster<br />
rides. His classes have had lots of fun<br />
building roller coasters, Rube Goldberg<br />
machines, catapults and hovercrafts.<br />
The science lab is one stop that<br />
students do not allow their parents to miss<br />
at the open houses. On these occasions,<br />
Mr. Carney is only too happy to crank up<br />
the Van de Graff machine and watch a<br />
somewhat startled mother stand before it<br />
while the intense static makes her hair<br />
stand straight up. The student invariably<br />
goes home knowing that his or her mother<br />
has enjoyed one of Mr. Carney’s fine<br />
scientific experiences.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Mr. Carney creates an exciting<br />
playing field for science, whether it be in<br />
his lab or in the hallway where students<br />
are often seen testing the machines that<br />
they have built as part of the science<br />
program at St. Paul.<br />
What Makes St. Paul a Special Place?<br />
Former Principal Eugene Milito<br />
provides an insight into the special<br />
character of St. Paul <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong><br />
in his response to the frequently asked<br />
question about what are some of the positive<br />
features of the school.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
264<br />
Without hesitation, my answer<br />
always begins with the dedication that is<br />
shown by the students, staff and parent<br />
community towards the school. We believe<br />
in working with all of our stakeholders in<br />
developing each student spiritually,<br />
academically, physically and emotionally.<br />
We believe that everyone here will<br />
experience success while walking the halls.<br />
We believe in preparing our students to<br />
become positive role models in the<br />
community. Success should not always be<br />
measured on what someone knows. We must<br />
ask, ‘What have you become?’”
St. Peter <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> in<br />
Orléans opened in September 1992,<br />
utilizing the design employed for<br />
the first time in the construction of Holy<br />
Trinity <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> in Kanata.<br />
Eventually, 40 portables were required on<br />
the site to accommodate continuing student<br />
population growth until a 30-room, threestorey<br />
addition to the school was completed<br />
in February 2004.<br />
The school began to take shape<br />
even before it opened, when the newly<br />
appointed first principal, Peter Linegar, met<br />
with his department heads in a supply room<br />
at St. Matthew <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> to plan<br />
the spirit and shape of the new school. What<br />
emerged from this meeting and others like<br />
it, was a high school named after the first<br />
pope, which would support and bask in the<br />
glow of academic success, sports<br />
achievements, arts encouragement and an<br />
overall caring environment, all taking place<br />
in a faith-filled atmosphere.<br />
The academic success rate at<br />
St. Peter is high; for example, one-third of<br />
the graduating class of 2004 were Ontario<br />
scholars and the school enjoyed a 94 percent<br />
success rate in the Education Quality and<br />
Accountability Office (EQAO) literacy test<br />
in 2004-05.<br />
St. Peter has over 40 sports teams,<br />
continues to build on its record of athletic<br />
achievements, and has won numerous<br />
championships. At the grades 7 and 8 levels,<br />
St. Peter has produced championships in<br />
soccer, softball, football, track and field and<br />
basketball. Indeed, St. Peter won the grades<br />
7 and 8 girls’ basketball city championship<br />
three years in a row from 2001 to 2003.<br />
At the high school level, St. Peter has had<br />
success over the years in swimming, crosscountry<br />
running, track and field, basketball,<br />
volleyball, rugby and football. The school has<br />
won football championships at both the<br />
junior and senior levels as well as titles in<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
PETER<br />
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL<br />
750 Charlemagne Boulevard<br />
Orléans K4A 3M4<br />
613-837-9377<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/peh<br />
basketball, volleyball and rugby. Students<br />
have attended provincial high school<br />
championship events in cross-country, track<br />
and field, basketball and soccer. In 2006, the<br />
St. Peter <strong>School</strong> community undertook a<br />
project to refurbish its battered sports field,<br />
the scene of many of its sports victories.<br />
This project, initiated by the school council,<br />
involved new drainage, a more effective<br />
sprinkler system, improved grading and a<br />
reseeded field at a total cost of $25,000. The<br />
school council raised $23,000 for the project<br />
through a silent auction and a golf<br />
tournament.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
265<br />
Arts and music programs thrive at<br />
St. Peter, with success and enthusiasm<br />
displayed in musicals, band concerts and<br />
plays.<br />
St. Peter <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong><br />
is a caring school community, with over<br />
300 special-needs students among the<br />
population in 2005. The Canley Cup canned<br />
food drive and walk, the Children’s Hospital<br />
of Eastern Ontario Telethon, Run for the<br />
Cure, the Nordion Run and tsunami relief<br />
efforts all show the caring attitude that<br />
pervades the St. Peter High <strong>School</strong><br />
environment.<br />
Faith runs throughout the life of<br />
the school as well, and there are frequent<br />
liturgies. <strong>School</strong> spirit is enhanced by such<br />
events as spirit week, career days, law day,<br />
service days, multicultural club assemblies<br />
with guest speakers, student exchanges and<br />
trips, academic and athletic award<br />
ceremonies, a leadership camp, French<br />
cultural events such as the annual<br />
Christmas reveillon, a peer support program<br />
(the Patriots) and the provision of Christmas<br />
hampers for the needy in the community.<br />
Graduates past and present<br />
treasure their days at St. Peter <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
High <strong>School</strong>. As evidence of this, an alumni<br />
association is being planned.
Present Principal<br />
Sue Arbour<br />
Past Principals<br />
Peter Linegar<br />
Brent Wilson<br />
Anne Marie McGillis<br />
John Karam<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Peter Linegar, Principal<br />
Don Doyle, Vice-Principal<br />
Frances Ilugunas, Vice-Principal<br />
Michael Dallaire, Chaplain<br />
Alain Allard<br />
Bruce Burgess<br />
Jacques Cardinal<br />
C. Deevy<br />
G. Levesque<br />
Denis Lortie<br />
M. Pharand<br />
Marc Thivierge<br />
Gilles Villeneuve<br />
Lou Antonucci<br />
Peter Bean<br />
Kathy Constantine<br />
Danielle Davidson-Seguin<br />
Mary Donaghy<br />
Andrea Doyle<br />
Helene Dubois<br />
Anne Marie Ellis<br />
Dave Faloon<br />
Bill Fox<br />
Marion Fuder<br />
Bing Gallant<br />
Bill Gartland<br />
Pius Gratwohl<br />
Teresa Guella<br />
Mike Heney<br />
Donus Houlihan<br />
Joyce Kealey<br />
Anne Marie Kent<br />
Sheila Kerwin<br />
Barry Lemoine<br />
Mary Major<br />
Ignazio Maniscalco<br />
Irene Marotta<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Lisa McLean<br />
Jim Mick<br />
Pierre Monfils<br />
Jean Morin<br />
Mary Murphy<br />
Susan Obertreis<br />
Tom Pakenham<br />
Helene Picard<br />
Dawn Quigley<br />
Sue Rheaume<br />
Ronald Rheaume<br />
Tony Rino<br />
Liz Rollwage<br />
Ron Schiavo<br />
Kim Schreider<br />
Mike Scott<br />
Manon Seguin<br />
Ann Smallian<br />
Danielle Theriault<br />
Angele Tilson<br />
Maura Tubridy<br />
Susan Vail<br />
Lorraine Hubbs, Library<br />
Technician<br />
Claudette Lavoie, Head Secretary<br />
Liz Julien, Guidance Secretary<br />
Vivian Langford, Secretary<br />
Melinda Lefebvre, Secretary<br />
Former Students<br />
Keshia (Harper) Chanté, pop star<br />
Allison Paiano, women’s hockey<br />
player with Ontario provincial hockey team<br />
and National Collegiate Athletic Association<br />
Division One with Colgate University<br />
Jennifer Ashley Scott, a figure<br />
skater who placed sixth in the Canadian<br />
junior championships<br />
Mark Dumalski, a vision-impaired<br />
student who graduated with top honours<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Blue, grey and white<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
266<br />
Motto<br />
St. Peter, the Apostle: “Upon this<br />
rock I build my Church.”<br />
Logo<br />
A shield topped by a medieval<br />
knight’s mask, with “St. Peter <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong>” in a scroll across the bottom. The<br />
logo bears the phrase “Dedicated to<br />
Excellence.”<br />
Mascot<br />
The school mascot is a “knight” in<br />
armour. In sports, St. Peter is the “Home of<br />
the Knights.”<br />
Flag<br />
A school flag bears a picture of a<br />
medieval knight’s mask and plumage.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Fight Song<br />
Stand up, St. Peter’s Knights<br />
Fight, Fight, Fight!<br />
We’ve got the<br />
Team with all the<br />
Might! Might! Might!<br />
We’ll meet the challenge of our<br />
coming foes<br />
Marching right on to victory,<br />
Fight, Fight, Fight!<br />
We never quit until the game is<br />
won<br />
That’s why we are number one –<br />
one!<br />
Shock ‘em, rock ‘em, knock ‘em<br />
with all our might!<br />
We will fight, and we’ll win<br />
For the blue and the white – HEY!
Staff Remembered Posthumously<br />
Susan Davis, an art teacher, for<br />
whom a memorial tree was planted on the<br />
school grounds.<br />
Bing Gallant, a religion teacher,<br />
deacon and rugby coach<br />
Cheri Kernohan, a school secretary<br />
Great Year for Athletes<br />
St. Peter <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong><br />
teams won five National Capital Secondary<br />
<strong>School</strong> Athletic Association championships<br />
in the 2005-06 school year, as well as one<br />
city title in track and field. The Knights<br />
competed in four Ontario high school<br />
championships in the 2005-06 school year,<br />
capturing one gold and one bronze medal.<br />
The athletic success has been attributed to<br />
a combination of quality coaching from the<br />
teachers, the outstanding athletes who<br />
attend the school and the mission statement<br />
which stresses “education through sport,”<br />
challenging each participant to become<br />
“a complete individual, disciplined athlete,<br />
dedicated student and responsible, caring<br />
person.”<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
267
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
268
St. Philip <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in<br />
Richmond sits adjacent to St. Philip<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Church, but the<br />
relationship between the two is more than<br />
just geographic proximity or a name.<br />
Granted, the school does bear the same name<br />
as that of the parish, a name that goes back<br />
to the very earliest settlement in the area.<br />
St. Philip is the second-oldest <strong>Catholic</strong> parish<br />
in the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Archdiocese, dating back to<br />
1819. The school was created because of the<br />
enthusiastic interest and involvement of the<br />
parishioners and clergy of St. Philip Parish.<br />
In 1959, two parishioners of<br />
St. Philip, H.F. Beingessner and Les<br />
Jennings, approached Father T. O’Rourke,<br />
the parish priest, with the idea of forming a<br />
school board and building a <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
in the Village of Richmond. Not only was<br />
Father O’Rourke supportive of the initiative,<br />
but the parish, with the approval of the<br />
Archdiocese, provided the site for the school.<br />
After being contacted about this idea, Father<br />
O’Rourke approached parishioners living<br />
within a three-mile radius of the proposed<br />
school site, since they were eligible to<br />
transfer their school taxes to the new<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school board. A school board was<br />
formed whose members included J.A.<br />
McKiel, Chairperson, H.F. Beingessner,<br />
Secretary-Treasurer, and J.J. Duffy,<br />
W.D. Evans, Doug McNaughton and Des<br />
Stapleton. The parish, with the approval<br />
of the Archdiocese, deeded a portion of its<br />
property to the school board for a token sum.<br />
The contract for the construction of the new<br />
school, which included four classrooms,<br />
washrooms, a furnace room, a principal’s<br />
office and a teachers’ room, was awarded to<br />
John Coady Construction. Roger Thibault<br />
was the architect for the project.<br />
There were no doors on the building<br />
on the scheduled first day of school in<br />
September 1960, so the teachers and students<br />
met in the nearby church to get organized,<br />
then returned home until the following<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
PHILIP<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
79 Maitland Street<br />
Richmond K0A 2Z0<br />
613-838-2466<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/phi<br />
Monday. The new school was ready for<br />
occupancy on Monday, September 12, 1960,<br />
even though there were still no classroom<br />
doors. On that day, St. Philip <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
began, with three classrooms available for the<br />
80 students in Grades 1 to 8. The majority of<br />
the students had been previously enrolled at<br />
Richmond Public <strong>School</strong>, while others came<br />
from <strong>School</strong> Section No. 10 Goulbourn, <strong>School</strong><br />
Section No. 4 North Gower, and <strong>School</strong><br />
Section No. 3 Marlborough.<br />
Sunday, October 23, 1960 was a<br />
great day for <strong>Catholic</strong> education in<br />
Richmond and area as the new St. Philip<br />
<strong>School</strong> was officially opened and blessed by<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
269<br />
Monsignor John O’Neil, Vicar-General of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Archdiocese, assisted by Father Leo<br />
Blanchfield and Father Thomas O’Rourke.<br />
Among the special guests at the ceremony<br />
were L.J. Dupuis, Inspector of Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong>s for <strong>Ottawa</strong> District No. 4, Canon J.J.<br />
Burke, the parish priest at St. Patrick<br />
Church in Fallowfield and J. Edgar Gamble,<br />
the reeve of the Village of Richmond.<br />
The phrase “if you build it, they<br />
will come” proved true in this case as more<br />
and more parishioners of St. Philip and<br />
St. Clare at Dwyer Hill opted to send their<br />
children to this new <strong>Catholic</strong> school in<br />
Richmond.<br />
In 1962, <strong>Catholic</strong> ratepayers of<br />
<strong>School</strong> Section No. 1 Goulbourn in Dwyer Hill<br />
joined the new school board, making it<br />
necessary to open a fourth classroom in the<br />
new building to accommodate the increase in<br />
student enrolment to 117. The next year saw<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> ratepayers in <strong>School</strong> Sections No. 4, 5<br />
and 6 of Goulbourn redirect their school taxes<br />
to the newly formed <strong>Catholic</strong> board and send<br />
their children to St. Philip <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> ratepayers in the Union <strong>School</strong><br />
Section No.10 of Beckwith, Marlborough and<br />
Montague joined the new <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
board in 1964, further increasing the school’s<br />
enrolment. All of this growth meant that<br />
St. Philip <strong>School</strong> had to expand. In 1965, two<br />
more classrooms and a gymnasium with a<br />
large kitchen doubling as a teachers’ room<br />
were added to the original building. W.N.<br />
Construction was the general contractor.<br />
Parishioners’ support of the school<br />
continued and was in evidence in this project,<br />
as they contributed $7,000 towards the<br />
construction costs with the proviso that the<br />
parish could use the new gym and kitchen as<br />
a parish hall, something which it lacked at<br />
that time. The <strong>Catholic</strong> Women’s League of<br />
St. Philip Parish purchased a quantity of<br />
kitchen equipment for the new facility. More<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> ratepayers in the area continued to
sign on and support the new school. In 1967,<br />
the <strong>Catholic</strong> ratepayers of <strong>School</strong> Section<br />
No. 9 Marlborough joined the new <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school board. This, combined with the impact<br />
of a new housing project under construction<br />
in Richmond, resulted in another significant<br />
increase in enrolment at the school.<br />
January 1, 1969 was the date of the<br />
creation of the new county-wide Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>. This meant the<br />
dissolution of the Combined Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> of Beckwith, Goulbourn,<br />
Marlborough and Richmond. Thereafter,<br />
St. Philip became one of the schools of the new<br />
county <strong>Catholic</strong> school board. H.F. Beingessner,<br />
who was so instrumental in the launching of<br />
St. Philip <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, became the<br />
representative for the local area on the new<br />
board of trustees. In 1970, St. Philip received<br />
an addition, which included seven classrooms,<br />
a science room which doubled as a classroom,<br />
a library, storage areas, a principal’s office, a<br />
nurse’s room, a teachers’ room, gym change<br />
rooms, an instructor’s office, and washrooms.<br />
W.N. Construction again served as the general<br />
contractor.<br />
The additional space was needed as<br />
enrolment at St. Philip grew, reaching nearly<br />
500 by the 1980s. An additional three portable<br />
classrooms were required to accommodate the<br />
increased population. The school experienced<br />
some enrolment relief when the Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> opened St. Mark<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> in the fall of 1980.<br />
Grades 7 and 8 students, who had been<br />
attending St. Philip in Richmond, were<br />
transferred to St. Mark that offered these grades<br />
in addition to their high school programs.<br />
Sunday, December 1, 1985, marked<br />
the 25 th anniversary celebration of St. Philip<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>. More than 250 people<br />
attended the event and were treated to<br />
reminiscences by first principal Anne Casey,<br />
who was still teaching at the school, and Harry<br />
Beingessner, one of the original trustees. The<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> trustee at that time, Hugh Connelly, in<br />
his remarks at the celebration, said that the<br />
existence of St. Philip <strong>School</strong> was a tribute<br />
to the local <strong>Catholic</strong> ratepayers who had the<br />
foresight, courage and basic gumption to<br />
ensure that their children were educated in<br />
a <strong>Catholic</strong> environment.<br />
St. Philip received a facelift in<br />
1991, when the older section of the building<br />
was extensively renovated and upgraded.<br />
W.N. Construction was, once again, the<br />
general contractor.<br />
In 2004, a library/computer lab<br />
complex was added, giving the school a<br />
state-of-the-art high-tech information centre.<br />
McDonald Bros. Construction Ltd. carried<br />
out this project for the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> with the firm of<br />
Pye & Richards as the architects.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Edward Rogan (2004-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Anne Casey (1960-62)<br />
Dennis O’Brien (1962-72)<br />
Carolyn Arbour (1972-75)<br />
Peter Gravelle (1975-80)<br />
Gerry Leveque (1980-85)<br />
Sister Rita McBane (1986-91)<br />
Helen Anderson (1991-95)<br />
Joan Gravel (1995-96)<br />
Lucy Miller (1996-99)<br />
Joanne Farquharson (1999-2004)<br />
First Teaching Staff<br />
Anne Casey<br />
Rodrique Boivin<br />
Carol Montabone<br />
Former Students<br />
Dan Murphy, who played in the<br />
Canadian Football League with Edmonton,<br />
Toronto and <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
270<br />
Brad Tierney, who played in the<br />
Canadian Football League with the<br />
Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Rough Riders<br />
Rev. Michael Ruddick, current<br />
pastor of St. Michael’s Parish in Corkery<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Green, white and gold<br />
The Beginnings<br />
Harry Beingessner, speaking at<br />
the 25 th anniversary celebration of St. Philip<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Richmond in December<br />
1985, recollected the beginnings of the school<br />
as follows:<br />
In 1959, he was driving into<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> with another Richmond resident,<br />
Les Jennings, when Mr. Jennings remarked<br />
that his wife Gertrude had suggested that<br />
there should be a <strong>Catholic</strong> school in<br />
Richmond. Mr. Beingessner was intrigued by<br />
the suggestion and began investigating how<br />
to start such a school. The parish priest,<br />
Father O’Rourke, was approached and<br />
supported the idea and Mr. Beingessner was<br />
given the task of finding out how a school<br />
was to be established.<br />
A school board was formed in<br />
Richmond in January 1960, with the rest<br />
of the parish being added over the ensuing<br />
years through the creation of various rural<br />
boards, all coming together to form the<br />
Combined Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> of Beckwith, Goulbourn, Marlborough<br />
and Richmond. This school board became<br />
part of the new Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in 1969.<br />
Dr. J.A. (Bob) McKiel was the first<br />
chair of the school board, and the trustees<br />
were Bill Evans, Jack Duffy, Harry<br />
Beingessner, Des Stapleton and Doug<br />
McNaughton.
St. Pius X <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> has<br />
been one of the brightest beacons for<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
area for almost 50 years. It was founded in<br />
1958 at its current Fisher Avenue site as a<br />
preparatory seminary for boys of high school<br />
age, aimed at fostering vocations to the<br />
priesthood. Archbishop Lemieux named it<br />
after Pope Pius X whom he considered an<br />
appropriate role model for boys interested<br />
in the priesthood.<br />
The original teachers<br />
were priests, mainly from the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Archdiocese, but also assisted by a number<br />
from the Antigonish Archdiocese in Nova<br />
Scotia. The priests lived on site, as did some<br />
of the students who boarded at the school,<br />
including some from as far away as<br />
Hamilton. St. Pius X at that time was the<br />
closest preparatory seminary to Hamilton,<br />
so the Hamilton Diocese made arrangements<br />
for a number of students, usually about<br />
eight, to board at the <strong>Ottawa</strong> facility.<br />
Hamilton students stopped traveling to<br />
St. Pius X around 1967, although the school<br />
continued to have other boarding students<br />
until 1971. The school also drew students<br />
from all parts of the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong>,<br />
although there was no school busing.<br />
Right from the beginning, religion,<br />
academics and sports all played an<br />
important role in school life, a tradition<br />
that has carried on to the present day.<br />
In the 1960s, increasing enrolment<br />
and demand from the community brought<br />
about the construction of a stand-alone<br />
gymnasium as well as the construction<br />
of a cafeteria, a chapel and a residence.<br />
In addition, lay teachers, as well as priests,<br />
were hired. In the early 1960s the school’s<br />
drama guild offered its first production and<br />
an adult training centre program was<br />
established to help support and entertain<br />
disabled adults in the community. This<br />
program, now a 40-year tradition, enables<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
PIUS X<br />
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL<br />
1481 Fisher Avenue<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K2C 1X4<br />
613-225-8105<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/pih<br />
disabled adults to participate in socials<br />
hosted by St. Pius X students on a bimonthly<br />
basis. Both of these initiatives have<br />
continued to thrive over many years.<br />
St. Pius X athletes have proved to<br />
be formidable in sports, beginning with the<br />
school’s first city championship, the 1962<br />
bantam boys’ basketball title. There would<br />
be many more to follow in ensuing years.<br />
Dramatic changes and challenges<br />
ruled the 1970s for St. Pius X <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong>. The Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> was established in 1969, becoming<br />
responsible for grades 9 and 10 students<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
271<br />
at St. Pius X in 1972. The grades 11 to 13<br />
section of the school continued to be<br />
privately run. Female students were<br />
accepted beginning in 1972. As a result,<br />
the student population grew to over 1,000.<br />
The challenge of operating a large,<br />
comprehensive high school with no<br />
government funding for the senior grades<br />
meant financial problems for the school.<br />
This led to the first meeting of the St. Pius X<br />
Parents’ Foundation in December 1974. Over<br />
the next several years, this parents’ group<br />
raised over one million dollars in support of<br />
the school, organizing bingos, lotteries,<br />
spring fairs and other events. Meeting this<br />
financial challenge led to the development<br />
of a strong and special bond among the<br />
teachers, parents and students of St. Pius X<br />
High <strong>School</strong>, fostering a strong sense of<br />
community and pride in the school. In 1984,<br />
full and fair funding was announced by the<br />
Provincial Government, resulting in Grades<br />
11 to 13 being funded and included under<br />
the jurisdiction of the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>. Thus ended more<br />
than 25 years of private funding of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education at St. Pius X.<br />
In the 1980s, daily Mass was<br />
still celebrated at the school. The school’s<br />
academic program was enhanced by a<br />
plethora of sports and school activities,<br />
instilling spirit, enthusiasm and goodwill<br />
throughout the school community. The<br />
school won a total of 56 championship<br />
athletic banners during the 1980s alone.<br />
In the early 1990s, a major<br />
reconstruction and renovation was necessary<br />
at St. Pius X. A new atrium, cafetorium and<br />
chapel became part of a new inter-connected<br />
complex. The opening of new high schools in<br />
the 1990s by the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> meant that some St. Pius X<br />
students and staff were relocated, but<br />
St. Pius continued to flourish and excel.
In 1998, St. Pius X came under<br />
the jurisdiction of the new <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, an amalgamation of<br />
the former Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> and the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
With the new millennium came<br />
more changes in education, such as the<br />
elimination of the Grade 13 year and new<br />
curricula. But St. Pius X <strong>Catholic</strong> High<br />
<strong>School</strong> continues to be, as it was when it<br />
was established nearly half a century<br />
earlier, a well-known and strong bastion for<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in the <strong>Ottawa</strong> area.<br />
The school is now approaching its<br />
50 th anniversary year in 2008. The facility<br />
currently includes 40 classrooms,<br />
20 classrooms in two port-a-paks, five<br />
computer labs, two gymnasiums, a library,<br />
an in-school chapel, a multi-functional<br />
cafetorium and several playing fields.<br />
Enrolment currently stands at around<br />
1,100 students.<br />
Students in Grades 9 through<br />
12 continue to participate in more than<br />
25 high school league sports, as well as in<br />
over 30 clubs and activities at the school.<br />
The school supports a variety of charitable<br />
causes including the Terry Fox Run, Walk<br />
for the Cure, St. Vincent de Paul Society,<br />
Development and Peace, the Children’s<br />
Hospital of Eastern Ontario, <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Missions in Canada, the Shepherds of<br />
Good Hope, Toy Mountain and the Waupoos<br />
Foundation. Since 1975, the Waupoos<br />
Foundation (a registered charitable<br />
foundation) has welcomed families with<br />
children under the age of 16 who have no<br />
other opportunities for holidays, apply for<br />
a vacation at Waupoos Farm or Waupoos<br />
Island.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Present Principal<br />
Jennifer Oake (2006-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Rev. John Capstick<br />
Rev. Robert Bedard<br />
Monsignor Leonard Lunney<br />
Peter Linegar<br />
Bogdan Kolbusz<br />
Lise St. Eloi<br />
Bernard Swords<br />
Tom Duggan<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Rev. John Capstick,<br />
Principal/Teacher<br />
Rev. Murdock J. MacLean,<br />
Rector/Teacher<br />
Rev. William Allen, Bursar/Teacher<br />
Rev. Paul Baxter<br />
Rev. Robert Bedard<br />
Rev. Don Gavan<br />
Rev. Leonard Lunney<br />
D. Gavan, Office Manager<br />
Mrs. K. Terry, Secretary<br />
Companions of the Cross<br />
Rev. Robert Bedard, who was a<br />
teacher and then principal at St. Pius X<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>, founded the<br />
Companions of the Cross, a community of<br />
priests.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
272<br />
Former Students<br />
Rev. C. Monaghan, Rev. J.<br />
Vandenakker, Rev. R. Vandenakker and<br />
Rev. J. Muldoon, are now priests in the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> area.<br />
Dr. Patrick McGrath, is a professor<br />
of psychology in the Psychiatry Department<br />
at Dalhousie University in Halifax and<br />
recipient of the Order of Canada.<br />
Dan Aykroyd, an actor and<br />
comedian.<br />
Jim Foley, played for the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Rough Riders of the Canadian Football<br />
League.<br />
Jesse Palmer, a quarterback,<br />
played for the powerhouse Myers Riders<br />
amateur minor football club in <strong>Ottawa</strong> in<br />
the mid-1990s. He went on to play major<br />
university football on a scholarship at the<br />
University of Florida and then played for<br />
the New York Giants of the National<br />
Football League. In December 2003, Jesse,<br />
while playing for the New York Giants,<br />
became the first Canadian-trained<br />
quarterback to start a National Football<br />
League game.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Green and white<br />
Motto On Crest<br />
“To Establish All Things In Christ”
In February 1955, St. Rita <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>, in the Carleton Heights area of<br />
Nepean, opened with 45 students in two<br />
classrooms. Sister Aimée (Sister Simone<br />
Huot) was the principal who taught<br />
Grades 5 to 8 while Sister St. Gladys (Sister<br />
Kathleen Martin) taught Grades 1 to 4. The<br />
Sisters of Holy Cross remained as the only<br />
teachers at the school until the enrolment<br />
grew and lay teachers were added to the<br />
staff. Other Sisters of Holy Cross who<br />
taught at St. Rita in these early years were<br />
Sister St. Angus (Sister Kathryn Cameron),<br />
Sister Mary Columban and Sister Gerald<br />
James (Sister Norah Phelan). Among the<br />
early lay teachers were Bernard Reitz,<br />
Genny MacLean, Pat MacDonald Campbell<br />
and Francis Kenny.<br />
St. Rita <strong>School</strong> was the second<br />
new <strong>Catholic</strong> school to open in the City<br />
View/Carleton Heights area of Nepean in the<br />
booming early 1950s. St. Nicholas <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> had opened in September 1953, also<br />
under the guidance of the Sisters of Holy<br />
Cross. In October 1955, the official opening<br />
of St. Rita <strong>School</strong> took place. It was blessed<br />
by Monsignor John O’Neil, Vicar-General of<br />
the Archdiocese of <strong>Ottawa</strong>, assisted by Rev.<br />
Father Oswald.<br />
When the school opened, students<br />
who lived far from the school traveled by<br />
shared taxi, while students closer to the<br />
school walked.<br />
It was not long before enrolment<br />
grew. By September 1958, an addition of<br />
four classrooms, a meeting hall and kitchen<br />
area were completed. In 1964, there was<br />
additional expansion, with another four<br />
classrooms added, as well as a state-of-theart<br />
gymnasium. Because of continuing<br />
increased enrolment, an eight-classroom<br />
port-a-pak was added to the school in 1996-<br />
97, along with two portable classrooms.<br />
In November 1976, the school library was<br />
formally dedicated to the memory of Sister<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
RITA<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
1 Inverness Avenue<br />
Nepean K2E 6N6<br />
613-224-6341<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/rit<br />
M. St. Aimé Martyr (Simone Huot), the<br />
school’s first principal. She taught at the<br />
school for 17 years in total, serving for ten<br />
years as principal and French specialist and<br />
then as librarian for seven years. She died<br />
in November 1975. The Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> honoured<br />
her years of service by the dedication of the<br />
St. Rita library to her memory at a<br />
memorial Mass celebration.<br />
St. Rita is associated with<br />
St. Augustine Parish, which was founded<br />
by Augustinian priests and Brothers. It is<br />
appropriate that the school was named after<br />
St. Rita, an Augustinian nun who was born<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
273<br />
in Spoleto, Italy in 1381, and is considered<br />
the patroness of impossible cases. While<br />
St. Rita <strong>School</strong> has brought <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education to the Carleton Heights area, it<br />
has also been a setting for religious services,<br />
both <strong>Catholic</strong> and non-<strong>Catholic</strong>. The<br />
gymnasium, built in 1964, served as the<br />
gathering hall for Sunday Mass for the<br />
Italian community of the area for about a<br />
decade. On the ecumenical side, St. Mark<br />
Anglican Church used classrooms at St. Rita<br />
for Sunday school.<br />
Over the years, St. Rita <strong>School</strong> has<br />
enjoyed active parental support, with funds<br />
being raised for a play structure, to plant<br />
trees and to supply computer programs,<br />
electronic equipment, gym supplies and<br />
extra classroom supplies. An annual family<br />
barbecue, a family Advent Mass and<br />
educational class trips have all become<br />
traditional highlights of the school year.<br />
St. Rita celebrated its 50 th<br />
anniversary with a special celebration of<br />
the Eucharist, followed by an open house,<br />
on Friday, June 16, 2006. The anniversary<br />
celebrations included a slide show put<br />
together by the school staff, featuring many<br />
old photographs and news clippings from the<br />
school’s first half-century of providing<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education in the Carleton Heights<br />
area. Special speakers at the celebrations<br />
included June Flynn-Turner, OCCSB<br />
Chairperson, area Trustee Gordon Butler,<br />
Director of Education James McCracken,<br />
and Principal Linda Mancini. In her<br />
remarks, Principal Mancini specifically<br />
thanked Father Vincent for all of his support<br />
over the past 11 years. In recognition of<br />
their gratitude the school presented him<br />
with a cheque for $500. This money will be<br />
used by Father Vincent at his new parish,<br />
St. Theresa, to assist with work in India<br />
helping to feed and send poor children to<br />
school. The school with the help of its school<br />
council, led by Chairperson Rhonda Hogle,<br />
organized the 50 th anniversary celebration.
The school, which now offers a<br />
junior kindergarten to grade 6 program,<br />
currently has two kindergarten classrooms,<br />
seven primary classrooms, eight junior<br />
classrooms, a computer lab, a library and<br />
a gymnasium. Enrolment currently exceeds<br />
400 students.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Linda Mancini<br />
Past Principals<br />
Sister M. Aimée Martyr<br />
(Simone Huot)<br />
Ralph Watzenboeck<br />
Richard McGrath<br />
Bernadette MacNeil<br />
John Delorme<br />
Beverley Murphy<br />
Robert Benning<br />
Gary Valiquette<br />
Philip Butler<br />
Marcia Lynch<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Staff Achievement<br />
Lise St. Eloi, a teacher at St. Rita<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, became Director of<br />
Education with the French <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>Board</strong> of<br />
Eastern Ontario.<br />
Former Students<br />
Chris Simboli, freestyle skier,<br />
Canadian Olympic Team<br />
Sonja Rusch, downhill skier,<br />
Canadian Olympic Team<br />
Jeremy Akeson, player for the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> 67’s junior hockey team<br />
Danny Quinn, National Hockey<br />
League player<br />
Anne Louise Revells, OCCSB<br />
principal<br />
Kevork Andoninin, pianist and<br />
composer, New York Philharmonic Orchestra<br />
and Los Angeles Orchestra<br />
John Summers, lawyer<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
274<br />
Shaun McEwan, Chief Operating<br />
Officer of Breckenridge Manufacturing<br />
Solutions<br />
Jamie Fraser, musician in<br />
Broadway and Toronto musicals<br />
Dan and Mark Sims, State Farm<br />
Insurance<br />
Rev. Ross Finlan<br />
Joanne Faloon, surgical podiatrist<br />
Leroy Renault, first custodian<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colours<br />
Bright cobalt blue and gold<br />
Logo<br />
The symbols on the logo are a<br />
quill, a bottle of ink, a bible and a cross.
St. Theresa <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in<br />
Orléans has blossomed into a<br />
beautiful example of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education at its best. A painting in the foyer<br />
of the school features floating flowers that<br />
is symbolic of all of the simple but beautiful<br />
things that surround every day life. Indeed,<br />
St. Theresa herself believed that the<br />
ordinary things in life are just as important<br />
as great heroic deeds, when they are done<br />
with love. This is what happens regularly at<br />
St. Theresa <strong>School</strong>. Even though the school<br />
is still young, opening in September 2002,<br />
members of the school community have<br />
already shown through their activities that<br />
they believe, like the patron saint of the<br />
school, that every child is a child of God and<br />
that all people are flowers in God’s garden.<br />
Good acts, done simply and with love, can<br />
become the greatest of deeds.<br />
St. Theresa <strong>School</strong> came about<br />
because of continuing residential growth<br />
in the Orléans-Cumberland community in<br />
the eastern region of the jurisdiction of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
Both St. Clare <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> and<br />
St. Francis of Assisi <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
provided the first students for St. Theresa.<br />
It now draws students from both urban<br />
and rural settings since it is located at the<br />
eastern tip of the metropolitan area.<br />
The official opening ceremony took<br />
place on Wednesday, October 23, 2002.<br />
More than 350 staff, students, parents and<br />
dignitaries gathered in the gymnasium for<br />
the occasion. The ceremony began with a<br />
procession led by students dressed up as<br />
flowers in honour of “Little Flower,” the<br />
patron saint of the school. Speakers included<br />
<strong>Board</strong> Chairperson Thérèse Maloney<br />
Cousineau, local Trustee Des Curley,<br />
Director of Education Philip A. Rocco and<br />
the first school council chairperson, Kim<br />
Beaudoin. Father Gerard Monaghan, Pastor<br />
of Divine Infant Parish in Orléans, formally<br />
blessed the new school. Priests from Divine<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
THERESA<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
2000 Portobello Blvd.<br />
Cumberland K4A 4M9<br />
613-837-4114<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/the<br />
Infant Parish celebrate Masses at the school<br />
and preside over special celebrations such as<br />
the commissioning of the teachers every fall.<br />
The priests also assist in the sacramental<br />
preparation of the students.<br />
The students and staff at<br />
St. Theresa <strong>School</strong> try to follow St. Theresa’s<br />
example of doing simple acts of kindness.<br />
These include collecting funds for<br />
organizations such as the United Way,<br />
UNICEF, the Red Cross and the Canadian<br />
Hunger Foundation. They participate in the<br />
Terry Fox Run while staff members “Run for<br />
the Cure” every year. Staff members also<br />
pay to “dress down” on Fridays, with the<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
275<br />
funds collected going to a variety of<br />
charitable organizations. The students have<br />
food drives for the Cumberland Food Bank<br />
and collect toys for Toy Mountain, as well<br />
as mitts and scarves for the Snowsuit Fund.<br />
Besides these annual fundraising initiatives,<br />
students and staff at St. Theresa rose to the<br />
challenge and supported the victims of the<br />
tsunami and hurricane disasters of 2004-05.<br />
In the fall of 2005, St. Theresa<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> became a French as a<br />
Second Language Immersion Centre,<br />
welcoming to its ranks junior students from<br />
Our Lady of Wisdom <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
St. Theresa <strong>School</strong> benefits from<br />
an active and hard-working group of<br />
volunteers who are involved with the school<br />
council. Funds raised by the council support<br />
the acquisition of books, mathematics<br />
manipulatives and physical education<br />
equipment. Basketball hoops, benches and<br />
gardens adorn the schoolyard thanks to<br />
their efforts. Activities such as a family<br />
barbecue, family dance and a fun fair allow<br />
the community to celebrate fellowship<br />
together. The school also partners with other<br />
organizations for the benefit of the school<br />
community. These include the <strong>Ottawa</strong> 67’s<br />
Adopt-a-<strong>School</strong> program, co-op students from<br />
local high schools, Big Brothers and Big<br />
Sisters of <strong>Ottawa</strong> and student teachers from<br />
various educational institutions.<br />
The St. Theresa <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
Choir sings at Mass at Divine Infant<br />
Church. A no-bullying program with its<br />
peacemakers and an environment club are<br />
two examples of how the students and staff<br />
are trying to make a positive impact on the<br />
atmosphere at the school.<br />
The school, which sits on a<br />
6.98 acre site, has 16 classrooms, a double<br />
gymnasium, a library, a computer lab, a<br />
resource room and two child care rooms.
Present Principal<br />
Cindy Simpson (2004-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Johanne Cloutier (2002-04)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Johanne Cloutier, Principal<br />
Lise Powell<br />
Miriam Bullen<br />
Jennifer LeBelle<br />
Linda Walker<br />
Renee Critchley<br />
Irene Powidajko<br />
Kate Goodine<br />
Anne-Marie Hupé<br />
Loretta DiEugenio<br />
Erin Forman<br />
Julie Kerr<br />
Paul Gautreau<br />
Donna Keating<br />
Susan Gwyer<br />
Chantal Lalande-Lefebvre<br />
Danielle Drouin<br />
Chantal Thauvette, Educational<br />
Assistant<br />
Scott Officer, Educational<br />
Assistant<br />
Jill O’Malley, Educational<br />
Assistant<br />
Kim Dunlop, Secretary<br />
Lorraine Hall, Library Technician<br />
Denis Marcil, Custodian<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
<strong>School</strong> Colour<br />
Blue and yellow<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo features an open<br />
book with a flower across it, as well as a<br />
cross, and the school name.<br />
Origin of <strong>School</strong> Name<br />
The name of the school was chosen<br />
by a committee of parent and teacher<br />
representatives from the founding schools<br />
of St. Clare and St. Francis of Assisi, as well<br />
as by representatives from the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>. The<br />
committee considered a list of names<br />
suggested by parents of the school<br />
community. In honour of St. Thérèse of<br />
Lisieux, also known as St. Theresa of the<br />
Little Flower, the name “St. Theresa” was<br />
recommended to the <strong>Board</strong> of Trustees,<br />
and approved by the <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
Members of the school naming<br />
committee were Johanne Cloutier, founding<br />
Principal, Michael Baine, Superintendent of<br />
<strong>School</strong>s, Des Curley, Trustee, Father Peter<br />
Sanders, <strong>Board</strong> Chaplain, Dianna Gardner,<br />
Principal of St. Clare, Louise Roddy,<br />
Principal of St. Francis of Assisi, Anne-Marie<br />
Hupé, teacher at St. Clare, Lise Powell,<br />
teacher at St. Francis of Assisi, Carol Hunt,<br />
parent at St. Clare, Fran Vanden<br />
Hanenberg, parent at St. Clare, Kim<br />
Beaudoin, parent at St. Francis of Assisi,<br />
and Gwen Despatie, parent at St. Francis<br />
of Assisi.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
276
The construction of St. Thomas<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> came about in 1962<br />
as the result of new residential<br />
development in both the Crystal Beach and<br />
Lakeview communities. This was part of the<br />
burgeoning housing growth taking place<br />
throughout Nepean in the early 1960s.<br />
St. Thomas <strong>School</strong> was originally a<br />
rectangular building, designed to<br />
accommodate approximately 180 students.<br />
Later, the school was enlarged with a new<br />
wing, forming the L-shape, to accommodate<br />
a new French language school with its own<br />
separate entrance, washrooms and principal.<br />
In the mid 1970s, a beautiful new<br />
gymnasium was added to the south side of<br />
the building. Every week, Mass was held in<br />
the school gymnasium; a great asset to the<br />
people since there was not a <strong>Catholic</strong> church<br />
in the community.<br />
In 1977 the Francophone <strong>Board</strong><br />
built a new school in Kanata, moving<br />
students out of the St. Thomas building,<br />
leaving the space empty. For approximately<br />
25 years, the OCCSB used this vacated area<br />
as office space.<br />
In June 1986, the Carleton <strong>Board</strong><br />
of Education closed Sir John A. Macdonald<br />
Public <strong>School</strong> in Crystal Beach, resulting in<br />
many community protests. David Pratt, later<br />
a municipal councillor and then a federal<br />
Member of Parliament, chaired a community<br />
group that tried to convince the Carleton<br />
<strong>Board</strong> of Education and the Carleton Roman<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> to share the<br />
St. Thomas <strong>School</strong> facility. Although the<br />
CRCSSB at that time had no thought of<br />
closing the school, it was operating at less<br />
than one-quarter of its pupil capacity.<br />
After the amalgamation of the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> and the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> to form the new<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST.<br />
THOMAS<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
9 Leeming Drive<br />
Nepean K2H 5P6<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> in<br />
1998, school rationalization brought about<br />
by the funding formula for new school<br />
construction, was undertaken by the<br />
OCCSB. One of the schools examined closely<br />
for closure in this rationalization process<br />
was St. Thomas <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Crystal<br />
Beach. However, community opposition to<br />
the closing, together with the presentation<br />
of the community viewpoint and the value<br />
of the school to the <strong>Catholic</strong> community of<br />
the area, convinced the <strong>Board</strong> of Trustees at<br />
the time to forego the possible closure of the<br />
school. In fact, the <strong>Board</strong> of Trustees even<br />
committed to ensuring that the school would<br />
remain open for at least three years.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
277<br />
Due to declining enrolment,<br />
students at St. Thomas <strong>School</strong> were<br />
redirected to Our Lady of Peace <strong>School</strong><br />
in Bells Corners in September 2005.<br />
Present Principal<br />
N/A<br />
Past Principals<br />
Earl Sonnenburg<br />
Jim Mallen<br />
Paul Fortier<br />
Garry Valiquette<br />
Floriana Argento<br />
Bev Murphy<br />
Mary-Pat Kelly<br />
Dorothy Collins<br />
Hellen Bogie<br />
Greg Peddie<br />
Sharon O’Connor<br />
DanLahey<br />
Jo-Ann Blake<br />
William Tomka<br />
Linda Mancini<br />
Highlights from 1962 to 2006<br />
“Jump Rope for Heart,” Club 2000,<br />
FAMSAC, Peer Mediators, St. Vincent de<br />
Paul, Cookies for Comfort, Scholastic Book<br />
Fair and “OK Water Project” were but a few<br />
of the projects in which the students were<br />
involved.<br />
A St. Thomas student won MPP<br />
Jim Watson’s Christmas Card Contest.<br />
Mr. Watson used the card that Christmas<br />
to send out his annual holiday greetings.<br />
Students from the choir at<br />
St. Thomas participated in the <strong>Board</strong>wide<br />
productions of Annie and Music Man,<br />
sponsored by the <strong>Catholic</strong> Education<br />
Foundation of <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton.<br />
The strength of the school council<br />
and the many parent volunteers made
St. Thomas truly unique and led to a tightknit<br />
community school. Additionally, parent<br />
volunteers helped organize many school<br />
social events, including the Fall Craft Fair,<br />
Family Advent Mass, Pancake Supper,<br />
Community Barbecue and Plant Sale and<br />
a visit to St. Brigid’s Camp.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Awards<br />
Academic Achievement<br />
French Achievement<br />
Top Female/Male Athlete<br />
Humanitarian<br />
Christian Spirit<br />
Public Speaking<br />
Citizenship<br />
Environment<br />
Most Improved Student<br />
Monthly recognition for Christian<br />
values and outstanding school<br />
work<br />
St. Thomas students have also<br />
consistently performed well at <strong>Board</strong>-wide<br />
sports competitions including soccer,<br />
basketball, volleyball, handball, track and<br />
field and cross-country running.<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
EQAO results were consistently<br />
above the provincial average.<br />
Recipient of the Environmental<br />
<strong>School</strong> Award 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000,<br />
2001, and 2002, and the Quality Daily<br />
Physical Education CAPHERD Award in<br />
1995-2004.<br />
Over the years, St. Thomas has<br />
enjoyed partnerships with the following<br />
organizations:<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Police Service - VIP<br />
(Values, Influences and Peers),<br />
Safety Patrols<br />
Riverpark Seniors' Residence<br />
Crystal Bay <strong>School</strong><br />
Crossroads/McHugh<br />
Former Principal Jo-Ann Blake<br />
sums up the spirit of St. Thomas as...<br />
“A strong, caring <strong>Catholic</strong> community<br />
dedicated to its children’s education.”<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
278
St. Thomas More <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
officially only opened in September<br />
1994, but it takes its name from one<br />
of <strong>Catholic</strong>ism’s most heroic figures from five<br />
centuries ago. St. Thomas More (1478-1535),<br />
an English lawyer, writer and politician,<br />
was a leading humanist scholar who also<br />
occupied many public offices, including that<br />
of Lord Chancellor from 1529-1532. He is<br />
known for coining the word “Utopia,” a name<br />
that he gave to an ideal imaginary island<br />
nation whose political system was described<br />
in a book. He is chiefly remembered and<br />
honoured by the Church for his principled<br />
refusal to accept King Henry VIII’s claim<br />
to be the supreme head of the Church in<br />
England. This refusal ended his political<br />
career and led to his execution as a traitor.<br />
The <strong>Catholic</strong> Church acknowledged<br />
St. Thomas More by canonizing him in 1935<br />
and later declared him to be patron saint of<br />
statesmen, lawyers and politicians.<br />
St. Thomas More <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
in the Hunt Club Park area of <strong>Ottawa</strong> South<br />
not only carries on the name of St. Thomas<br />
More, but also shares his dedication to the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> faith, encouraging students to<br />
develop a way of living that embodies the<br />
life of Jesus Christ. The strength of the<br />
school comes from the <strong>Catholic</strong> faith,<br />
as the St. Thomas More <strong>School</strong> community<br />
integrates His teachings with the day-to-day<br />
curriculum and social fabric of school life.<br />
Liturgical celebrations, sacramental<br />
preparation, classroom involvement in<br />
charitable endeavours and a partnership<br />
with St. Bernard Parish all allow the<br />
students and staff of St. Thomas More<br />
<strong>School</strong> to demonstrate their <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
identity. No doubt, St. Thomas More would<br />
be proud of his namesake school and this<br />
commitment to the <strong>Catholic</strong> faith for which<br />
he gave his life.<br />
St. Thomas More <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>,<br />
in 2005-06, had an enrolment of<br />
approximately 450 students of diverse<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
ST. THOMAS<br />
MORE<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
1620 Blohm Drive<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> K1G 5N6<br />
613-739-7131<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/stm<br />
cultural backgrounds in its modern twostorey<br />
building. It offers a wide range of<br />
extracurricular activities for its students.<br />
<strong>School</strong> choirs, athletics, peacemaking, an<br />
environmental club and participation in<br />
<strong>Board</strong>-wide athletic competitions make for<br />
an active, vibrant school. Annually,<br />
thousands of dollars have been raised for<br />
the Heart and Stroke Foundation through<br />
the participation of students in the “Jump<br />
Rope for Heart” skipping event.<br />
In 1994, its inaugural year,<br />
St. Thomas More <strong>School</strong> initiated a student<br />
dress code which is still in effect. The school<br />
colours of blue, green and white are the<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
279<br />
foundation of this dress code. In 2002, the<br />
school was chosen as one of the pilot schools<br />
for the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong>’s dual-track French as a Second<br />
Language delivery model. This model was<br />
fully implemented across the jurisdiction<br />
of the <strong>Board</strong> in September 2004.<br />
St. Thomas More <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
celebrated its tenth anniversary in October<br />
2004, with a number of special anniversary<br />
activities.<br />
The school council has played<br />
a vital role in the development of the<br />
St. Thomas More community. Family fun<br />
day in June has become an annual<br />
community-building social event. Through<br />
the dedicated efforts of the school council,<br />
St. Thomas More has enjoyed a steady<br />
upgrade of playground and physical<br />
education equipment over the years. In<br />
2002, additional playground equipment was<br />
donated and in 2005, a gym divider was<br />
installed, allowing the scheduling of more<br />
indoor physical education classes. Other<br />
school council initiatives have included hot<br />
lunch programs and other fundraising<br />
activities.<br />
St. Thomas More <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
has four kindergarten classrooms, 16 regular<br />
classrooms, a fully-equipped computer lab,<br />
a library and a gymnasium.
Present Principal<br />
Valerie Wright (2006-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Glenda McDonell<br />
Margie Gourdier<br />
James O’Connor<br />
Past Vice-Principals<br />
Michael Keeler<br />
Liette Lacourcière<br />
Madeleine Soulière-Brown<br />
Lynne Charette<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Glenda McDonnell, Principal<br />
Bonnie Steele, Junior<br />
Kindergarten<br />
Christine McGee, Junior<br />
Kindergarten<br />
Kimberly MacDonald, Senior<br />
Kindergarten/Technology<br />
Joanne Chayer, Senior<br />
Kindergarten/Physical Education<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
Micheline Sum, Grade 1<br />
Linda Dennison, Grade 1<br />
Anne-Marie McGuinty, Grade 2<br />
Genevieve Comeau, Grade 2<br />
Louise Vincelli, Grade 3<br />
Andrea Green, Grade 2-3/<br />
Physical Education<br />
Liette Hotte, Grade 3<br />
Joanne McLean, Grades 4 and 4-5<br />
Lise St-Louis, Grades 4 and 4-5<br />
Madeleine Soulière-Brown,<br />
Grades 5-6/6 and Grade 6<br />
Mary Dunning, Grades 5-6 and 6<br />
Katherine MacDonald, Remedial<br />
Jean Burke, Resource<br />
Kimberly Giles, Teacher-Librarian<br />
Grace Zagorska, Junior Special<br />
Needs<br />
Kathy ----, Educational Assistant<br />
Larry Carroll, Educational<br />
Assistant<br />
Sharon Murphy, Secretary<br />
Marcel Lemire, Custodian<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
280<br />
<strong>School</strong> colours<br />
Blue, green and white<br />
Logo<br />
The school logo represents the<br />
school’s strong <strong>Catholic</strong> foundation and its<br />
emphasis on academics to help create wellrounded<br />
citizens for the future.<br />
The logo features the school<br />
motto “We are the Future,” the school name<br />
“St. Thomas More,” and a figure with a<br />
background of three crosses, meant to<br />
represent St. Thomas More and the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
community supporting him.<br />
Motto<br />
Mascot<br />
“We are the Future”<br />
“Rocky,” the big brown bear.
Thomas D’Arcy McGee <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> bears the name of the<br />
Confederation-era politician who<br />
fought for the right of <strong>Catholic</strong>s in Ontario<br />
to have a religious-based education system.<br />
Perhaps better known as a Father of<br />
Confederation and a Member of Parliament<br />
who was assassinated on Sparks Street in<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>, he may have made his greatest<br />
contribution to public life by his support<br />
of <strong>Catholic</strong> education in Ontario. It was<br />
in honour of this support that the school,<br />
originally slated for the French-speaking<br />
community, was named after him when it<br />
opened in September 1969.<br />
Located in the Beacon Hill North<br />
section of the former City of Gloucester,<br />
the school was built in conformity with the<br />
“open concept” educational philosophy<br />
prevalent at that time. Originally, it had a<br />
population of over 1,200 students, ranging<br />
from Senior Kindergarten to Grade 8,<br />
housed in a building featuring seven pods<br />
of four classrooms each as well as a number<br />
of portables. In the 1972-73 school year,<br />
the Beacon Hill South Senior Elementary<br />
<strong>School</strong>, later to become Lester B. Pearson<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>, was housed at Thomas<br />
D’Arcy McGee, using several classrooms and<br />
portables until construction of the new<br />
school was completed in January. With the<br />
opening of this new high school, the grades 6<br />
to 8 students attending Thomas D’Arcy<br />
McGee were directed to the new school.<br />
A year later, the grade 6 students were<br />
repatriated to Thomas D’Arcy McGee.<br />
In 1985, a unit for dependently<br />
handicapped students was established at<br />
the school.<br />
On May 1, 1994, the school<br />
celebrated its 25 th anniversary. The<br />
ceremonies included a Mass presided over by<br />
Monsignor Robert Huneault. Special guests<br />
at the anniversary ceremonies included: the<br />
first principal, William Roach; Anne<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
THOMAS D’ARCY<br />
MCGEE<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
635 LaVerendrye Drive<br />
Gloucester K1J 7C2<br />
613-749-2251<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/mcg<br />
Stankovic, Chairperson of the Carleton<br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>; Claudette<br />
Cain, Mayor of Gloucester; Gilles Morin,<br />
the area MPP; and Eugene Bellemare, the<br />
federal MP for the area.<br />
By 2005-06, the enrolment at<br />
Thomas Darcy McGee <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> had<br />
dropped from its heady initial student<br />
population of 1,300 students down to only<br />
193, encompassing Junior Kindergarten to<br />
Grade 6.<br />
The school provides many<br />
opportunities for prayer and for a<br />
demonstration of the <strong>Catholic</strong> faith.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
281<br />
Examples are school-wide and classroom<br />
liturgies, fundraising for charities, and<br />
community service.<br />
In the late 1990s, the school<br />
became known for its musical productions<br />
directed by teachers Janet Bentham and<br />
Peggy O’Meara. These included Godspell,<br />
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream<br />
Coat and Jesus Christ Superstar, which was<br />
presented in May 1999 in the auditorium<br />
at Gloucester High <strong>School</strong>.<br />
Present Principal<br />
Marcel Lafleur (2005- present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
William Roach (1969-75)<br />
Starr Kelly (1975-80)<br />
Robert Slack (1980-85)<br />
Robert Curry (1985-90)<br />
Richard McGrath (1990-91)<br />
Sam Coletti (1991-94)<br />
Thomas Duggan (1994-97)<br />
Paul Wubben (1997-98)<br />
Jane Hill (1998-2001)<br />
Francis Kenny (2001-05)<br />
First Teaching and Support Staff<br />
Nicole Chartrand, Senior<br />
Kindergarten<br />
Mary Whittenburg, Senior<br />
Kindergarten<br />
Sarah Boudreau, Grade 1<br />
Janet Laba, Grade 1<br />
Barbary Jette, Grade 1-2<br />
Linda McGue, Grade 1-2<br />
Norma Menard, Grade 2<br />
Caroline Renko, Grade 2<br />
Daniel Lahey, Grade 3<br />
Christine Maxwell, Grade 3<br />
Wilma Vullings, Grade 3<br />
Nancy Cochran, Grade 4<br />
Anne Kiefl, Grade 4<br />
Sue Lavigne, Grade 4<br />
Anne Marie Gauvreau, Grade 5<br />
Roderick Grant, Grade 5
Bernie Boudreau, Grade 6<br />
Rolland Lapointe, Grade 6<br />
Carolyn Bordeleau, Grade 7<br />
Donna Turcotte, Grade 7<br />
Theresa Dubien, Grade 8<br />
Robert Laplante, Grade 8 and<br />
Vice-Principal<br />
Claudette Racine, French Teacher<br />
Nancy Charbonneau, Librarian<br />
Ruth Cosstick, Secretary<br />
Jean-Marie Dagenais, Custodian<br />
Former Student<br />
Amanda Labelle, a local country<br />
and western singer who graduated in 1998<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
282
Uplands <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> opened<br />
as a <strong>Catholic</strong> elementary school<br />
under the jurisdiction of the<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> on<br />
November 22, 1989, introducing <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education to the Canadian Forces Base<br />
Uplands, adjacent to the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
International Airport. However, this was not<br />
the beginning of education at this site as the<br />
school building dates back to the mid-1950s<br />
when it began as a Department of National<br />
Defence primary school for kindergarten<br />
to grade 3 students. The junior school for<br />
Grades 4 to 8 was housed at an adjacent<br />
facility, which is now Elizabeth Park Public<br />
<strong>School</strong>. In the early 1990s, Canadian Forces<br />
Base Uplands was decommissioned as a<br />
fully functioning military base and was<br />
renamed the Canadian Forces Support Unit<br />
Uplands. Therefore, the school facilities<br />
became redundant and available to the local<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> and public school boards under<br />
lease arrangements.<br />
In the spring of 1989, just before<br />
the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
assumed educational responsibility for the<br />
children of <strong>Catholic</strong> military families,<br />
projected enrolment at the new Uplands<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was 84 students; however,<br />
when the school formally opened later that<br />
year, actual enrolment reached 120. The<br />
boundaries for this new <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
included the military base, known as<br />
Elizabeth Park, Windsor Park and a section<br />
of the Bridlepath South community that was<br />
severed from the St. Bernard <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
area. Uplands <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> also became<br />
the school for the new community of Riverside<br />
South until the opening of St. Jerome <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> in that community in September 2004.<br />
Uplands <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> falls<br />
under the auspices of the military bishop,<br />
currently Bishop D. Theriault, and has<br />
always been served by military chaplains.<br />
Therefore, Uplands <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> is the<br />
only school in the jurisdiction of the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
UPLANDS<br />
CATHOLIC SCHOOL<br />
17 De Niverville Drive<br />
Gloucester K1V 7N9<br />
613-523-5807<br />
www.occdsb.on.ca/upl<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, which does<br />
not fall under the governance of the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Archdiocese and, as a result, has retained<br />
practices common to other military bases<br />
across Canada.<br />
For example, students attending<br />
Uplands <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> receive the sacrament<br />
of Confirmation in Grade 6 while those in all<br />
other <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
schools are confirmed in Grade 2.<br />
The Uplands <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
community shares a multi-denominational<br />
chapel, Our Lady of the Airways, with other<br />
religious groups on the former base.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
283<br />
Because of the residential growth<br />
in the new Riverside South community in<br />
recent years, enrolment at Uplands <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> reached nearly 300 students in 2003-<br />
04. With the opening of St. Jerome <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> in Riverside South, enrolment at<br />
Uplands <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> is now about the<br />
same as when it opened.<br />
<strong>School</strong> boundary adjustments, an<br />
increase in military personnel stationed at<br />
the Uplands site and some new residential<br />
construction in the adjacent area are signs<br />
that the school should retain a viable<br />
enrolment base well into the future.<br />
One mainstay at Uplands <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> is Margaret Tobin, the school’s office<br />
administrator. She is the only current staff<br />
member who has been at the school since it<br />
opened as a <strong>Catholic</strong> school.<br />
Uplands <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> was one<br />
of eight <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Board</strong> schools that, in the 2005-06 school<br />
year, raised about $6,000 in total for the<br />
“OK Clean Water Project.” This project<br />
(OK stands for <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Kumbo, a town in<br />
Cameroon in Africa) is an initiative of the<br />
Congregation of Notre Dame, an<br />
international religious community of Sisters<br />
and associates with a strong presence<br />
throughout Canada and a longstanding<br />
dedication to education. The “OK Clean<br />
Water Project” supports the purchase of<br />
water pipes, which are laid from a clean<br />
water source into their communities by<br />
villagers in Cameroon.<br />
The school has two kindergarten<br />
classrooms, four primary classrooms, three<br />
junior classrooms, a resource room, a<br />
computer lab, a library, a conference room<br />
and a gymnasium. Students also enjoy a<br />
large playground at the rear of the school.<br />
The building also houses the privately run<br />
Elizabeth Park Child Care Centre.
Present Principal<br />
Andrea Green (2005-present)<br />
Past Principals<br />
Grace Kenny-Castonguay<br />
(1989-93)<br />
Marilyn Gorman (1993-97)<br />
Faye Powell (1997-2001)<br />
Pasquale Ferraro (2001-05)<br />
SCHOOL HISTORIES<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
284
Areading of this compilation of the<br />
histories of the existing <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools in the City of <strong>Ottawa</strong>,<br />
along with the record of <strong>Catholic</strong> education<br />
in Ontario and of institutionalized <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education in the area, provides an historic<br />
vantage point for witnessing the struggles<br />
made in the past by both lay and religious<br />
educators to establish and sustain <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools.<br />
FAITH DEVELOPMENT<br />
Indeed, any reading of this<br />
publication reveals an evolution that has<br />
occurred over the years, not in the<br />
fundamental reason for having <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools, but certainly in its form and<br />
presence. As Father Carl J. Matthews, a<br />
noted writer on <strong>Catholic</strong> schools in Canada,<br />
wrote in his article on <strong>Catholic</strong> schools in<br />
Ontario included in the booklet <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> Systems Across Canada, published<br />
by the Canadian <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> Trustees’<br />
Association in 1990, “The struggles of our<br />
forefathers to establish a <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
system may have been different in some<br />
ways from our struggles today, but the goals<br />
have not changed…”<br />
This very publication demonstrates<br />
these changed struggles over the years. In<br />
the beginning, it was parents themselves<br />
who largely saw to it that <strong>Catholic</strong> schools<br />
existed. This was in the early years of the<br />
19 th century here in <strong>Ottawa</strong> and Carleton<br />
when education was very much a local<br />
concern, whether in the rural concessions<br />
of March Township, Upper Huntley,<br />
Fallowfield, West Osgoode and Metcalfe, or<br />
the bustling area of Lower Town in Bytown<br />
and then the new <strong>Ottawa</strong>. Education was<br />
important to these early settlers, and for<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> settlers, it was a <strong>Catholic</strong> education<br />
they were familiar with in their home<br />
countries, such as Ireland, that was<br />
paramount. Right from the very beginning,<br />
because of the faith that early settlers of the<br />
area brought with them, there was the drive<br />
for <strong>Catholic</strong> schools.<br />
FAITH DEVELOPMENT<br />
IN<br />
OTTAWA<br />
SCHOOLS<br />
As settlement in the area<br />
flourished, education became more<br />
formalized, especially in the more developed<br />
areas such as <strong>Ottawa</strong>, the new capital of<br />
the new country. Religious orders, of both<br />
Sisters and Brothers, became involved in<br />
the delivery of <strong>Catholic</strong> education, supported<br />
and encouraged as the years progressed by a<br />
growing number of priests. A “parish school”<br />
became part of the <strong>Catholic</strong> infrastructure of<br />
a neighbourhood. This is evident in schools<br />
such as St. Mary and St. Brigid, which were<br />
launched at the instigation of the parish<br />
priest and supported and encouraged by the<br />
Archdiocese. For several generations, this is<br />
how <strong>Catholic</strong> education was delivered and<br />
grew in the <strong>Ottawa</strong> area. It was very much<br />
the purview of the clergy and religious,<br />
aided and abetted by a supportive and loyal<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> populace.<br />
As early as 1856, organizations<br />
such as the <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> and other smaller<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> school sections in fairly isolated<br />
locales in the rural area of Carleton emerged<br />
to support <strong>Catholic</strong> education; but the<br />
influence of the religious and clergy was<br />
undeniable. In fact, it is difficult to see how<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools could have continued in<br />
light of their chronic underfunding and other<br />
ongoing struggles had it not been for the<br />
dedication and support of the religious and<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
285<br />
clergy. They were the glue that held the<br />
system together and made it work.<br />
Slowly before the Second World<br />
War, and more rapidly afterwards, school<br />
boards came to play a more important role<br />
in the delivery of <strong>Catholic</strong> education in the<br />
area. A growing post-war population meant<br />
more and more schools opened, with those<br />
such as Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady<br />
of Mount Carmel springing up to meet the<br />
demand. Religious and clergy were still<br />
involved with Immaculata High <strong>School</strong><br />
and St. Patrick’s College High <strong>School</strong>,<br />
established as bastions of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education, fed by a network of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
schools, many of which still had involvement<br />
by members of religious orders. St. George<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>, for instance, benefited from<br />
having a Sister serving as a principal for<br />
virtually the entire first half-century of its<br />
existence.<br />
The suburban boom of the 1950s,<br />
60s and 70s, combined with a provincial<br />
direction to larger school boards, saw<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools develop throughout the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> and Carleton areas. More and more,<br />
the involvement of the religious and clergy<br />
diminished in an increasingly secular world,<br />
with lay teachers dedicated to the goals of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education becoming, to a larger<br />
degree, the leaders of the system.<br />
The larger boards, ultimately the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> and<br />
the Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>,<br />
were administrations that ran a more formal<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education system. The challenge<br />
for this more secular system, which was<br />
successfully met, was to maintain the basic<br />
reason for having <strong>Catholic</strong> schools, namely,<br />
to provide the framework for the delivery<br />
of an education that is based on <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
philosophy. This presented, as it still does,<br />
significant challenges because, quite simply,<br />
the visual reminders of the distinctive<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> nature of the schools are not so
obvious as previously. No longer are there<br />
religious and clergy universally present in<br />
the schools as daily reminders of the faith<br />
mission of <strong>Catholic</strong> schools. Since the<br />
formation of the larger school boards in<br />
1969, <strong>Catholic</strong> education has been<br />
increasingly in the hands of lay educators.<br />
In the early years of the larger<br />
school boards, the exterior challenges and<br />
interior struggles were still sufficient to<br />
ensure support from the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
community. With insufficient funding from<br />
provincial grants, <strong>Catholic</strong> communities,<br />
particularly in growth areas, had to rally<br />
to get new <strong>Catholic</strong> neighbourhood schools.<br />
This resulted in a strong partnership<br />
between <strong>Catholic</strong> parents, supporters and<br />
their school boards. They were fighting<br />
together to maintain their <strong>Catholic</strong> schools.<br />
In some respects, the extension of<br />
full funding to <strong>Catholic</strong> schools announced in<br />
1984 brought with it not only more financial<br />
resources for <strong>Catholic</strong> schools but also a new<br />
challenge. No longer did <strong>Catholic</strong>s have a<br />
rallying point on which to focus their actions<br />
and show their support for <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education. The common goal of fighting for a<br />
complete <strong>Catholic</strong> school system was no more.<br />
Egerton Ryerson, the Chief<br />
Superintendent of <strong>School</strong>s for Ontario for a<br />
large part of the 19 th century, believed that<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools could be allowed because in<br />
his view they would die of their own accord.<br />
He was wrong: they flourished! So, in some<br />
way, this extension of full funding for<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools had the danger inherent in<br />
it that <strong>Catholic</strong>s would view the battle as<br />
having been won, that there was no longer<br />
any reason to struggle for <strong>Catholic</strong> schools<br />
and that their place was assured in Ontario<br />
society. In other words, Egerton Ryerson’s<br />
view might come true at long last.<br />
It is not coincidental, then, that<br />
the Institute for <strong>Catholic</strong> Education was<br />
FAITH DEVELOPMENT<br />
established in 1986 to ensure that the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> characteristics of <strong>Catholic</strong> schools<br />
would continue and flourish even more.<br />
Michael Power, in his book A Promise<br />
Fulfilled: Highlights in the Political History<br />
of <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong>s in Ontario,<br />
summarized the creation of the Institute for<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education as follows: “<strong>Catholic</strong><br />
trustees and their educational partners were<br />
acutely aware that they could no longer rely<br />
on priests and religious to assure the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>ity of their schools. They also<br />
recognized the corrosive effects of the<br />
increasingly aggressive forces of<br />
secularization coupled with a declining level<br />
in religious practice and a loss of credibility<br />
in Church teaching among the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
population.” This, then, was the challenge of<br />
the final years of the 20 th century. It remains<br />
the challenge facing <strong>Catholic</strong> education<br />
today, particularly in light of the 1998<br />
provincial government decision to further<br />
amalgamate school boards, while also<br />
eliminating any financial inequalities by<br />
instituting an equal funding formula for<br />
schools based on a per-student allocation.<br />
Whereas under the old funding<br />
arrangements the <strong>Catholic</strong> populace still had<br />
to agitate and lobby for provincial funding,<br />
particularly capital dollars for new schools,<br />
the new funding model of 1998 eliminated<br />
even this role for the <strong>Catholic</strong> ratepayer and<br />
parent. This has meant that the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education system in <strong>Ottawa</strong> and Carleton<br />
has come full circle, as it were, over the past<br />
century and a half. It has evolved from a<br />
system where local parents launched their<br />
own <strong>Catholic</strong> schools to one where a<br />
bureaucracy of <strong>Catholic</strong> educators deliver<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education to the children among the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> populace. The system has evolved<br />
through periods where parish priests and<br />
religious steered the ship of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education, through an era where <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school boards assumed more control, to a<br />
time where <strong>Catholic</strong> educators relied on the<br />
support and political involvement of their<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
286<br />
ratepayers to make advances to the point<br />
that the <strong>Catholic</strong> education system would<br />
reach parity with the public. Now that<br />
parity has been reached, the current<br />
challenge is to ensure that <strong>Catholic</strong> schools<br />
continue to serve the needs of the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
community and continue to foster that<br />
philosophy of <strong>Catholic</strong> education, which<br />
has remained consistent over the years.<br />
This philosophy is captured in the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>’s<br />
Believing, Discovering, Achieving document<br />
where, in reference to faith, it proclaims that<br />
“our <strong>Catholic</strong> schools have a fundamental<br />
right to support and enhance the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
faith throughout the entire school<br />
community by proclaiming the Gospel of<br />
Jesus Christ.”<br />
The <strong>Catholic</strong> Graduate<br />
Expectations, as developed by the Institute<br />
for <strong>Catholic</strong> Education in consultation with<br />
representatives of the <strong>Catholic</strong> community<br />
across Ontario, lay out the expectations of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> graduates not only in terms of<br />
knowledge and skills but also in terms of<br />
values, attitudes and action.<br />
With regard to faith, a <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school graduate is expected to be a<br />
discerning believer formed in the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
faith community who celebrates the signs<br />
and sacred mystery of God’s presence<br />
through word, sacrament, prayer,<br />
forgiveness, reflection and moral living. It<br />
is this development of the <strong>Catholic</strong> faith in<br />
students that remains at the core of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education today, just as much a concern and<br />
focus as it was 150 years ago when one<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> parent got together with neighbours<br />
to create a <strong>Catholic</strong> school so that children<br />
could flourish in a <strong>Catholic</strong> environment.<br />
The booklet Build Bethlehem<br />
Everywhere, a statement on <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education published by the Canadian<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> Trustees’ Association, puts it
this way: “When we go out to bring the<br />
Gospel to the world of our students, we ask<br />
ourselves a serious question. What is the<br />
essence of what we wish to transmit to the<br />
next generation? The answer is actually<br />
quite simple: Christian faith. Faith is the<br />
deep concern of our <strong>Catholic</strong> educational<br />
communities today.” This means that<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools today, besides ensuring that<br />
the academic, social and physical needs of<br />
their students are met in accordance with<br />
provincial government standards, have a<br />
unique and distinctive mission related to the<br />
broader mission of the <strong>Catholic</strong> Church.<br />
The mission of the <strong>Catholic</strong> school today,<br />
as it has been in the past, is to evangelize<br />
youth so that they will become not only welldeveloped<br />
persons and good citizens, but<br />
also faithful disciples of Christ and<br />
witnesses to the Faith.<br />
In the early days of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education in <strong>Ottawa</strong> and Carleton, the<br />
mission of <strong>Catholic</strong> schools was undeniably<br />
and obviously faith development. The<br />
presence of religion in the schools was a<br />
constant visual reminder of this mission.<br />
As society has become more secularized,<br />
the challenge has arisen of fulfilling the<br />
special mission of <strong>Catholic</strong> schools in faith<br />
development. The <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> of today acknowledges and<br />
recognizes this special mission. Its mission<br />
statement decrees, front and centre, that<br />
“in partnership with home, parish and<br />
community, the <strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> ensures that the teachings and<br />
values of Jesus Christ are integrated in all<br />
aspects of school life.”<br />
This is accomplished through a<br />
variety of approaches and initiatives. There<br />
exists in all <strong>Catholic</strong> schools, of course,<br />
visual reminders and evidence of the special<br />
mission of <strong>Catholic</strong> schools. There are the<br />
symbols of <strong>Catholic</strong>ity such as crucifixes<br />
and prayer corners in the classrooms.<br />
Sacramental preparation remains a major<br />
FAITH DEVELOPMENT<br />
focus in <strong>Catholic</strong> elementary schools. Parish<br />
priests regularly visit most <strong>Catholic</strong> schools.<br />
But the <strong>Catholic</strong> education system of today<br />
does more than this. It tries to ensure that<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>ity and faith formation are<br />
addressed across all subjects and disciplines<br />
so that students come to realize that all<br />
learning speaks to the integration of faith<br />
and life.<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools provide students<br />
with the opportunity to engage in the formal<br />
study of religion through the delivery of<br />
comprehensive religion and family life<br />
programs across all grades. But the formal<br />
study of religion is only part of the mission<br />
of <strong>Catholic</strong> schools today. As the Ontario<br />
Conference of <strong>Catholic</strong> Bishops stated in the<br />
1989 pastoral letter on <strong>Catholic</strong> education<br />
in Ontario, entitled This Moment of Promise,<br />
“Religious education should not be reduced<br />
to one course in our schools. Rather, our<br />
whole educational process should become a<br />
religious activity. Faith should infuse every<br />
subject and aspect of our curriculum.”<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools today ensure that student<br />
formation is grounded on a foundation of<br />
faith, and that curriculum is aligned with<br />
Gospel values. In <strong>Catholic</strong> schools, there is<br />
a continuous striving to put religion into<br />
practice. Students must examine all learning<br />
in the light of the teachings of the Gospels<br />
and the <strong>Catholic</strong> Church.<br />
Larry Trafford, writing in Notes on<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education in Ontario, published by<br />
the Council of Ontario Separate <strong>School</strong>s,<br />
puts it this way: “<strong>Catholic</strong> education and its<br />
educational philosophy can be summarized<br />
as follows: its purpose is to direct the learner<br />
to the person of Jesus Christ as the centre<br />
from which relationships with God, self,<br />
others and society unfold; it provides<br />
learning that is holistic and links moral and<br />
spiritual development to the life experiences<br />
of the learner. And finally, it promotes a way<br />
of life rooted in the Christian call to<br />
discipleship and service.”<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
287<br />
A major focus in achieving this<br />
special mission of <strong>Catholic</strong> schools is<br />
curriculum development. The Institute for<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education and, more locally, the<br />
Eastern Ontario <strong>Catholic</strong> Curriculum<br />
Cooperative, in essence customize the<br />
provincially mandated curriculum so that<br />
it fits with the mission of <strong>Catholic</strong> schools<br />
to be constantly animated by the Gospel,<br />
always reflecting the tenets of the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
faith. The Eastern Ontario <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Curriculum Cooperative, for instance,<br />
provides <strong>Catholic</strong> schools in Eastern Ontario<br />
with well-developed <strong>Catholic</strong> curriculum<br />
documents and support materials which<br />
meet Ontario Ministry of Education<br />
requirements, while reflecting the beliefs<br />
and values of the <strong>Catholic</strong> faith community.<br />
Indeed, developing curriculum support for<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools has been likened to using<br />
yeast in the baking of bread. When baking<br />
a loaf of bread, a relatively small amount of<br />
yeast must be added and worked into the<br />
dough in order to have maximum effect. The<br />
yeast is not added after the bread has<br />
already been baked. Similarly, with <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education, Gospel values act like yeast,<br />
added during the formative period of a<br />
student’s life through the curriculum so that<br />
when the student emerges from the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
school system, he or she is a person fully<br />
imbued with and believing in the principles<br />
of the <strong>Catholic</strong> faith, and as a person ready<br />
and willing to move forward in life espousing<br />
these beliefs. There has been an integration<br />
of faith and life.<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> schools in <strong>Ottawa</strong> have<br />
pursued other initiatives to ensure their<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> mission. Students in high school<br />
must take one religion course each year, as<br />
must students in grades seven and eight. All<br />
applicants for permanent teaching positions<br />
with the <strong>Board</strong> require a current letter from<br />
their pastor. Every new teacher with the<br />
<strong>Board</strong> agrees to complete the Religious<br />
Education, Part One course. The new<br />
Teacher Performance Appraisal document
situates this process in a <strong>Catholic</strong> context.<br />
There are statements prepared by the<br />
Institute for <strong>Catholic</strong> Education that appear<br />
in reminder boxes preceding each of the<br />
standards or competencies being assessed<br />
in the teacher performance appraisal<br />
process. Every high school within the<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> has<br />
a chapel, and a chaplain who coordinates<br />
and fosters the liturgical life of the school,<br />
provides pastoral counseling and support,<br />
initiates social justice projects and carries<br />
out other functions in cooperation with the<br />
<strong>Board</strong>’s religious education and family life<br />
coordinator.<br />
In addition, there is a <strong>Board</strong><br />
chaplain, Father Peter Sanders, who sits in<br />
on all <strong>Board</strong> of Trustees meetings to provide<br />
an ecclesiastical perspective on issues when<br />
necessary, to lead the trustees in opening<br />
prayer and in regular liturgies, to provide<br />
advice from a religious perspective and to<br />
serve as a religious resource in matters such<br />
as the naming of new schools. The <strong>Ottawa</strong>-<br />
Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> has carried<br />
on this tradition of a <strong>Board</strong> chaplain from<br />
the previous <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
FAITH DEVELOPMENT<br />
This is how the <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
system has evolved over the years,<br />
delivering its core message perhaps through<br />
different means, but still remaining true to<br />
its mission of educating children not just in<br />
the knowledge of the world, but also in the<br />
integration of faith and life, so that <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
students know and live the fullness of<br />
Christian life as found in the Gospel values.<br />
The Ontario Conference of <strong>Catholic</strong> Bishops,<br />
in the 1993 pastoral letter on education<br />
entitled Fulfilling the Promise: The<br />
Challenge of Leadership, states: “The heart<br />
and soul of <strong>Catholic</strong> education is Jesus<br />
Christ, and our school system finds its very<br />
reason for existence in its communication of<br />
the Christian message. The goal of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
education is nothing less than a truly<br />
holistic formation of persons who will be<br />
living witnesses to the faith.”<br />
An historical perspective is<br />
essential to understanding the status of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education today. That is why this<br />
document has been prepared, to outline<br />
where <strong>Catholic</strong> education in <strong>Ottawa</strong> and<br />
Carleton has been over the past 150 years<br />
and where it is today. This may help in<br />
defining where it goes in the future.<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
288<br />
Michael Power, in his book A<br />
Promise Fulfilled: Highlights in the Political<br />
History of <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong>s in<br />
Ontario, puts history in perspective when he<br />
writes the following: “Prosperity has a way<br />
of evaporating the past and convincing<br />
people that the future will be much like the<br />
present. Nothing is more self-defeating than<br />
to forget one’s collective history, and nothing<br />
is more dangerous than to be complacent<br />
about the future. On the other hand, no<br />
institution can wed itself so completely to<br />
the past that it is unable to envision for<br />
itself a viable future, one that is true to its<br />
mandate and yet able to adapt to changing<br />
circumstances.”
ALL SAINTS FAMILY OF SCHOOLS<br />
All Saints <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> .........69<br />
Georges Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>..........95<br />
St. Isidore <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>................205<br />
St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> (Corkery)241<br />
St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> (Fitzroy).243<br />
HOLY TRINITY FAMILY OF SCHOOLS<br />
Holy Trinity <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>....115<br />
Holy Redeemer <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>........109<br />
St. Anne <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>...................169<br />
St. James <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.................207<br />
St. Martin de Porres <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.229<br />
IMMACULATA FAMILY OF SCHOOLS<br />
Immaculata High <strong>School</strong>...................119<br />
Jean Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Intermediate <strong>School</strong> ......................125<br />
Assumption <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ...............73<br />
Corpus Christi <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..........85<br />
Our Lady of Mount Carmel<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..............................145<br />
St. Brigid <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> .................179<br />
St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> (<strong>Ottawa</strong>) .245<br />
LESTER B. PEARSON FAMILY<br />
OF SCHOOLS<br />
Lester B. Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
High <strong>School</strong>....................................129<br />
Brother André <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ...........79<br />
Good Shepherd <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>..........97<br />
John Paul II <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ............127<br />
Thomas D’Arcy McGee<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..............................281<br />
MOTHER TERESA FAMILY<br />
OF SCHOOLS<br />
Mother Teresa <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>..137<br />
Monsignor Paul Baxter<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..............................135<br />
St. Andrew <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>...............167<br />
St. Luke <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> (Nepean)...219<br />
NOTRE DAME FAMILY OF SCHOOLS<br />
Notre Dame <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> ...139<br />
Dr. F.J. McDonald <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.....91<br />
Our Lady of Fatima <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>..141<br />
INDEX OF SCHOOLS BY FAMILIES<br />
INDEX OF SCHOOLS<br />
BY<br />
FAMILIES<br />
OF<br />
SCHOOLS<br />
(<strong>School</strong>s are aligned for administrative purposes<br />
by Families of <strong>School</strong>s. A Family of <strong>School</strong>s<br />
consists of a high school and its feeder<br />
elementary schools).<br />
St. Anthony <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> .............171<br />
St. Daniel <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ................187<br />
St. Elizabeth <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ...........191<br />
St. George <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>................199<br />
St. Mary <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> (<strong>Ottawa</strong>)...235<br />
SACRED HEART FAMILY OF SCHOOLS<br />
Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>..161<br />
Guardian Angels <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> .....101<br />
Holy Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ...............111<br />
St. Philip <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> .................269<br />
ST. JOSEPH FAMILY OF SCHOOLS<br />
St. Joseph <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>.......213<br />
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..............................193<br />
St. Emily <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> .................195<br />
St. Patrick <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ...............251<br />
ST. MARK FAMILY OF SCHOOLS<br />
St. Mark <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> .........227<br />
St. Bernard <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>..............177<br />
St. Catherine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>...........181<br />
St. Leonard <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>..............215<br />
St. Mary <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> (Gloucester) 233<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
289<br />
ST. MATTHEW FAMILY OF SCHOOLS<br />
St. Matthew <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> ...239<br />
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ................................77<br />
Chapel Hill <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>................81<br />
Convent Glen <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ............83<br />
Divine Infant <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.............89<br />
ST. PATRICK’S FAMILY OF SCHOOLS<br />
St. Patrick’s <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>....253<br />
St. Patrick’s <strong>Catholic</strong> Intermediate<br />
<strong>School</strong> .............................................259<br />
Holy Cross <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>...............105<br />
Holy Family <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ............107<br />
McMaster <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ................133<br />
Prince of Peace <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>........157<br />
St. Luke <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> (<strong>Ottawa</strong>) ...221<br />
St. Marguerite d’Youville<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..............................223<br />
St. Thomas More <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ....279<br />
ST. PAUL FAMILY OF SCHOOLS<br />
St. Paul <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> ..........261<br />
Bayshore <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>....................75<br />
Our Lady of Peace <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..147<br />
Our Lady of Victory <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..151<br />
St. John the Apostle <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>..211<br />
St. Thomas <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..............277<br />
ST. PETER FAMILY OF SCHOOLS<br />
St. Peter <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> .........265<br />
Our Lady of Wisdom <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>..153<br />
St. Clare <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..................185<br />
St. Francis of Assisi <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..197<br />
St. Theresa <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..............275<br />
ST. PIUS X FAMILY OF SCHOOLS<br />
St. Pius X <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> .......271<br />
Frank Ryan <strong>Catholic</strong> Senior<br />
Elementary <strong>School</strong> ..........................93<br />
Pope John XXIII <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> .....155<br />
St. Augustine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>...........175<br />
St. Gregory <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..............203<br />
St. Jerome <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ...............209<br />
St. Monica <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ...............249<br />
St. Rita <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ....................273<br />
Uplands <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ...................283
ZONE ONE –<br />
TRUSTEE JOHN CURRY<br />
(West Carleton/ Goulbourn/ Rideau/ Osgoode)<br />
Guardian Angels <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>......101<br />
Holy Spirit <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>................111<br />
Sacred Heart <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> ..161<br />
St. Catherine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ...........181<br />
St. Leonard <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..............215<br />
St. Mark <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>..........227<br />
St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
(Corkery).........................................241<br />
St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
(Fitzroy) ..........................................243<br />
St. Philip <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..................269<br />
ZONE TWO –<br />
TRUSTEE ARTHUR J.M. LAMARCHE<br />
(Kanata)<br />
All Saints <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>..........69<br />
Georges Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..........95<br />
Holy Redeemer <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ........109<br />
Holy Trinity <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> ....115<br />
St. Anne <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ...................169<br />
St. Isidore <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.................205<br />
St. James <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> .................207<br />
St. Martin de Porres <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>...229<br />
ZONE THREE –<br />
TRUSTEE DES CURLEY<br />
(Orléans/Cumberland)<br />
Convent Glen <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.............83<br />
Divine Infant <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> .............89<br />
Our Lady of Wisdom <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>...153<br />
St. Clare <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ...................185<br />
St. Francis of Assisi <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>...197<br />
St. Matthew <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>....239<br />
St. Peter <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>..........265<br />
St. Theresa <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>...............275<br />
ZONE FOUR –<br />
TRUSTEE JUNE FLYNN-TURNER<br />
(Bell-South Nepean)<br />
Monsignor Paul Baxter <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>..............................................135<br />
Mother Teresa <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>..137<br />
Our Lady of Peace <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ...147<br />
INDEX OF SCHOOLS BY ZONE<br />
INDEX<br />
OF<br />
SCHOOLS<br />
BY<br />
ZONE<br />
(Trustees are elected by zones, each one<br />
representing a certain geographical area of the<br />
City of <strong>Ottawa</strong>. Municipal elections are held<br />
every three years).<br />
St. Andrew <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ...............167<br />
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>..............................................193<br />
St. Emily <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..................195<br />
St. Joseph <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> .......213<br />
St. Luke <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> (Nepean) ...219<br />
St. Monica <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ................249<br />
St. Patrick <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>................251<br />
ZONE FIVE –<br />
TRUSTEE JACQUELINE LEGENDRE-<br />
MCGUINTY<br />
(Beacon Hill-Cyrville/Innes)<br />
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>................................................77<br />
Brother André <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>............79<br />
Chapel Hill <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.................81<br />
Good Shepherd <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..........97<br />
John Paul II <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>.............127<br />
Lester B. Pearson <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
High <strong>School</strong>.....................................129<br />
Thomas D’Arcy McGee <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>..............................................281<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
291<br />
ZONE SIX –<br />
TRUSTEE GORDON BUTLER<br />
(Knoxdale-Merivale/Baseline)<br />
Frank Ryan <strong>Catholic</strong> Senior<br />
Elementary <strong>School</strong> ...........................93<br />
Our Lady of Victory <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>...151<br />
Pope John XXIII <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>......155<br />
St. Daniel <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> .................187<br />
St. Gregory <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>...............203<br />
St. John the Apostle <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>...211<br />
St. Paul <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> ...........261<br />
St. Pius X <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong>........271<br />
St. Rita <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> .....................273<br />
ZONE SEVEN –<br />
TRUSTEE BETTY-ANN KEALEY<br />
(Kitchissippi/Bay)<br />
Bayshore <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ....................75<br />
Dr. F.J. McDonald <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>......91<br />
Notre Dame <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> ....139<br />
Our Lady of Fatima <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>..141<br />
St. George <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ................199<br />
St. Mary <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> (<strong>Ottawa</strong>) ...235<br />
St. Thomas <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>...............277<br />
ZONE EIGHT –<br />
TRUSTEE MARK D. MULLAN<br />
(Alta Vista/Gloucester-Southgate)<br />
McMaster <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> .................133<br />
Prince of Peace <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ........157<br />
St. Bernard <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..............177<br />
St. Jerome <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>................209<br />
St. Luke <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> (<strong>Ottawa</strong>)....221<br />
St. Marguerite d’Youville <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>..............................................223<br />
St. Mary <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> (Gloucester) ..233<br />
St. Patrick’s <strong>Catholic</strong> High <strong>School</strong> ....253<br />
St. Patrick’s <strong>Catholic</strong> Intermediate<br />
<strong>School</strong>..............................................259<br />
St. Thomas More <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> .....279<br />
Uplands <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>....................283<br />
ZONE NINE –<br />
TRUSTEE KATHY ABLETT, R.N.<br />
(River/Capital)<br />
Corpus Christi <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ...........85<br />
Holy Cross <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>................105
Holy Family <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> .............107<br />
Immaculata High <strong>School</strong> ...................119<br />
St. Augustine <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ...........175<br />
St. Elizabeth <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ............191<br />
ZONE TEN –<br />
TRUSTEE THÉRÈSE MALONEY<br />
COUSINEAU<br />
(Rideau-Vanier/Rideau-Rockcliffe/Somerset)<br />
Assumption <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>................73<br />
Jean Vanier <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Intermediate <strong>School</strong>.......................125<br />
Our Lady of Mount Carmel<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>...............................145<br />
St. Anthony <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> ..............171<br />
St. Brigid <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong>..................179<br />
St. Michael <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
(<strong>Ottawa</strong>)..........................................245<br />
INDEX OF SCHOOLS BY ZONE<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
292
BURNS, Bernard et al (1972). March Past.<br />
Kanata, Ontario.<br />
Canadian <strong>Catholic</strong> Trustees’ Association<br />
(2002). Build Bethlehem Everywhere:<br />
A Statement on <strong>Catholic</strong> Education.<br />
Fourth printing, November 2005.<br />
Carleton Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
System and <strong>School</strong> Profiles 1997-1998.<br />
Council of Ontario Separate <strong>School</strong>s (1994).<br />
Notes on <strong>Catholic</strong> Education in Ontario.<br />
CUMMING, Ross ed (1971). Illustrated<br />
Historical Atlas of the County of<br />
Carleton.H. Belden & Co. Toronto 1879.<br />
Reprinted by Richardson, Bond &<br />
Wright Ltd., Port Elgin, Ontario.<br />
DALEY, Michael. 125 th Anniversary<br />
Commemorative Booklet 1854-1979.<br />
A Historical Sketch of St. John the<br />
Evangelist Parish of Osgoode and the<br />
Mission of St. Brigid’s to Commemorate<br />
the Founding of the Parish.<br />
HOPE, Doris Grierson (1998). Torbolton<br />
Township. Its Earliest History.<br />
Historical Society of Torbolton<br />
Township.<br />
HURTUBISE, Pierre et al (1998). Planted<br />
by Flowing Water. The Diocese of<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong> 1847-1997. Novalis, <strong>Ottawa</strong>.<br />
INGRAM, Rev. J. Arnold (1957). Our Lady<br />
of Fatima Parish 1947-1957. Booklet<br />
published on the occasion of the<br />
opening of the new church. Leclerc<br />
Printers Ltd., Hull, QC.<br />
BIBLIOGRAPHY<br />
BIBLIOGRAPHY<br />
MATTHEWS, Carl, S.J. ed (1990). <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
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Canadian <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> Trustees’<br />
Association, Willowdale, Ontario.<br />
OGILVIE, Garfield (1992). Once Upon a<br />
Country Lane. A Tribute to the Gaelic<br />
Spirit of Old West Huntley. The House<br />
of Avilie, Nepean, Ontario.<br />
Ontario <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> Trustees’<br />
Association (2006). <strong>Catholic</strong> Trustees;<br />
Advocates, Guardians & Stewards of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education. Toronto, Ontario.<br />
Ontario Conference of <strong>Catholic</strong> Bishops. This<br />
Moment of Promise. A Pastoral Letter<br />
on <strong>Catholic</strong> Education in Ontario. 1989.<br />
Ontario Conference of <strong>Catholic</strong> Bishops.<br />
Fulfilling The Promise: The Challenge<br />
of Leadership. A Pastoral Letter on<br />
Education to the <strong>Catholic</strong> Education<br />
Community. 1993.<br />
OsgoodeTownship Historical Society and<br />
Museum, Vernon, Ontario (1977).<br />
Glimpses of Osgoode Township<br />
150 Years. Winchester Press Limited.<br />
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
System and <strong>School</strong> Profiles 2003-2004.<br />
Parishes of St. John the Evangelist and<br />
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Evangelist, Osgoode – Enniskerry and<br />
St. Brigid, Manotick. A commemorative<br />
booklet to honour the past, celebrate<br />
OTTAWA-CARLETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD<br />
293<br />
the present, and embrace the future on<br />
the occasion of the 150 th anniversary of<br />
the founding of the parishes of St. John<br />
the Evangelist and St. Brigid.<br />
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of Life in Saint Joseph Province 1902-<br />
1982. Congregation of Sisters of Holy<br />
Cross, Canada.<br />
POWER, Michael (2002). A Promise<br />
Fulfilled. Highlights in the Political<br />
History of <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong>s in<br />
Ontario. Ontario <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
Trustees’ Association.<br />
READ, Marilyn et al (1991). St. Patrick’s<br />
Parish – Fallowfield. 125 th Anniversary,<br />
1866-1991. St. Patrick’s Parish,<br />
Fallowfield, Nepean, Ontario<br />
ROWAN, Jim and Joe Rowan (1990).<br />
150 Years St. Catherine’s. An historical<br />
sketch.<br />
SYLVESTRE, Paul- François (1986).<br />
130 Years of Dedication to Excellence.<br />
The <strong>Ottawa</strong> Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong> 1856-1986. Public<br />
Relations Department of the <strong>Ottawa</strong><br />
Roman <strong>Catholic</strong> Separate <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong>.<br />
WALKER, Harry and Olive Walker (1968).<br />
Carleton Saga. Carleton County<br />
Council, <strong>Ottawa</strong>, Ontario.
<strong>Ottawa</strong>-Carleton <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Board</strong><br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education Centre<br />
570 West Hunt Club Road<br />
Nepean, Ontario K2G 3R4<br />
Tel: 613-224-4455<br />
Fax: 613-224-5063<br />
Website: www.occdsb.on.ca