Sacred Heart Catholic High School (Newmarket)

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Sacred Heart Catholic High School
Image:SacredHeartCrest1.jpg
Motto "A community called to share in the development of the whole person"
Established 1979
Type Catholic High School
Principal Sharon Pickett
Students 1469
Grades 9–12
Location Newmarket, Ontario Canada
Oversight York Catholic District School Board
Colors Maroon and Grey
Mascot Crusaders
Website Sacred Heart Catholic High School

Sacred Heart Catholic High School is a public catholic high school located at 1 Crusader Way in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. It is currently the only high school in Newmarket that falls under the jurisdiction of the York Catholic District School Board. Sacred Heart has a modest student population compared to other York Region Catholic high schools. There were 1469 full time registered students for the 2005/2006 year, 95 full time staff members, and 25 support staff.

Contents

[edit] History

In January 1969, the York Region Separate School Board came into existence with the combining of eleven small school boards. Shortly thereafter, the Board passed a motion to Catholic High Schools in Toronto. At their next meeting, trustees faced a parents' delegation protesting the decision. This delegation, in convincing the Board to reverse its stand, showed that support for the concept of Catholic education beyond elementary school was strong.

Thus, the Board carried on the tradition of Catholic education and continued to transport students to Catholic high schools in Metropolitan Toronto. In 1973, the Metro Separate School Board declared that these students could no longer be accommodated. Therefore in 1974, the York Separate School Board decided to establish St. Robert Catholic High School in Thornhill, Ontario. In doing so, the Board made a statement that a second junior high school would be built north of Toronto at a future date "if the extension of Catholic education is supported by the Catholic community of York Region".

St. Robert was a tremendous success and after four years was filled to capacity. The Board, therefore, opened the doors of Sacred Heart Junior High School in September 1979, providing 265 students with a Grades 7 to 9 program. Through the cooperative efforts of the Board and the Toronto Archdiocese High School Commission, Grade 11 was introduced in September 1981 and one grade was added each subsequent year.

Simultaneously, a building program was undertaken and beautiful new facilities were made available to students in September 1983. The student population continued to increase and a new addition to the building was opened in May 1987.

The Catholic School Council in conjunction with staff and students continue to seek improvements to the school. In 2002 two new additions were added which gave the school a new cafeteria, upgraded physical education equipment and facilities, an expanded library resource centre, a theatre/lecture hall, new administrative offices as well as guidance and special education additions.

Another major renovation took place in the summer of 2004. The entire second floor of the old wing received new Science Labs and Art Rooms.

[edit] Sports and athletics

Sacred Heart Cathloic High School's sports teams are known as the Crusaders. The school's mascot is Corky, a lovable knight dressed in armor, who is known for his playful and sometimes absurd attitude while attending Crusader home games.

Sacred Heart competes in a variety of different sports including:

The main entrance to Sacred Heart
The main entrance to Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart has found the most athletic success in the sport of basketball. Over the past seventeen years, the Crusaders (both boys' and girls' teams) have won a total of 10 York Region Athletic Association (YRAA) championships. Six of those championships have been won in the last five years.

[edit] School involvement

Sacred Heart has always been an active contributor to the local community. Every year, the school gets involved with many fundraising and charitable organizations. For instance, the school participates in the Terry Fox Run, semester food drives, and Sharelife, an organization which raises funds to support those going through some very difficult times. Sacred Heart also participates in the CN Tower stairclimbs for United Way and the World Wildlife Fund.

During the last five years, the Sacred Heart community, along with a number of other schools, have also been involved with the Hands of Hope project. The program was developed for the main reason of educating students concerning humanitarian and social justice issues and causes students to take action against them.

The charitable organization Hands Of Hope For the Children was formed upon the return of two teachers who had traveled on a bus, which acted as a mobile dentist clinic, through Guatemala in 1999. During this visit, they saw how much hope Sacred Heart could give to these communities. In 2000, four teachers and four students took three buses filled with donations from twelve schools in the Newmarket community to Guatemala. The donations included clothing, shoes, medical and dental supplies, tools, and athletic equipment. While in Guatemala, they distributed the items to organizations and villages within the country. Two of the buses are now being used as mobile medical clinics for rural villages. The third bus was given to a human rights organization for children's programs.

[edit] Student government

The student government at Sacred Heart is split up into five different councils which have authority over their specific jurisdictions. The most influential council is the Student Council. This council is led by the president (Ashley Tisdelle) and vice-president (Michael Cannon) who are elected by the student body. The Student Council is responsible for organizing dances, semi-formals, making the morning announcements, and overseeing most of the operations in the student government. The Arts Council is in charge of showcasing Sacred’s artistic talents. Over the years, the Arts Council has been able to put on many theatrical plays, musicals, and events such as the Guitar Wars, Battle of the Bands, and Poetry Night. The Athletic Council is in charge of continuing Scared Heart’s sporting traditions. Every year, this council helps to organize the Terry Fox Run which raises thousands of dollars for cancer research. The Spirit Council is responsible for bring cheer and school spirit to the student body with entertaining events, games, and the yearly pep rally. The Youth Awareness Council (Y.A.C.) is responsible for lending a hand to those who are in need by raising the community’s awareness of social justice issues. Y.A.C. has organized food drives, the Montreal massacre memorial, and Black History Month.

[edit] Famous alumni

[edit] External links

[edit] Sources

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