St. David Catholic Secondary School

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St. David Catholic Secondary School
Address
4 High Street Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3X5, Canada
Information
School board	Waterloo Catholic District School Board
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic
Principal	Paul Lacalamita
Vice principal	Dave Launslager, Simone Beaucage
School type	Public (Separate Board)
Grades	9-12
Language	English
Mascot	Cedric
Team name	Celtics (/selt(iks)/)
Colours	Green, Blue & White
Founded	1965
Homepage	http://stdavid.wcdsb.edu.on.ca/

St. David Catholic Secondary School, established in 1965, is a Roman Catholic high school instructing students from grades 9 to 12. St. David CSS is located in Waterloo, Ontario and is a member of the Waterloo Catholic District School Board. Its building is the oldest secondary school building in the board. Historically it was an a junior high school, instructing students from grades 7 to 10. St. David received full funding from the Ontario Ministry of Education in 1985, when the school changed its educational focus to students in grades 9 to OAC. Since the OAC year of secondary school was phased out of Ontario schools in the 2002-2003 school year, St. David CSS now teaches grades 9 through to 12.[1]

Contents 1 Staff and administration 2 Renovations 3 Uniform policy (2001 - 2002) 4 Semi-formal dance (2005) 5 Alumni 6 See also 7 References 8 Links and references

[edit] Staff and administration

St. David currently has two vice-principals and one principal:

• Principal: Paul Lacalamita
• Vice-principals: Dave Launslager, Simone Beaucage

The school also has approximately 78 full-time teaching staff.

[edit] Renovations

As of the end of 2006, the school's renovations were completed. This is the second set of building improvements and additions since initial construction; the first set expanded the available athletic facilities and added several classrooms to the second floor. This work allows for future expansion with respect to science-related education, complementing AP biology classes added to the course calendar in September 2005. In addition to the expansion of the science facilities, hospitality courses were also added for students.

[edit] Uniform policy (2001 - 2002)

As with the other secondary schools in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, St. David requires all students to wear a uniform every day, except for the occasional dress-down day (known to staff and students as "Civies Day"). During the 2001 - 2002 school year, this policy required all students to have golf and dress shirts tucked into their pants at all times, on the basis that untucked shirts did not convey the proper sense of respect for the school. [2]

During the last two weeks of June 2002, the administration of St. David made a public announcement that any student in violation of the uniform rules would be suspended for one day. In Ontario, any disciplinary action of this type is listed on an Ontario student record, which may adversely affect a student's chances of acceptance to post-secondary education. Ontario student records also are investigated by teachers when reviewing students enrolled for classes, and by staff at other schools in the event a student applies for a transfer.

No prior violations of the rules were taken into account with this policy. Suspension, as a punishment, is typically given for much more serious academic and criminal offences. However, the provincial Safe Schools Act allows discretionary one-day suspensions for minor infractions of school policies and procedures. These suspensions cannot be formally challenged, as the Safe Schools Act does not allow for appeals of one day suspensions. [3] Nevertheless, the consequence would add to a student's record, causing any subsequent offenses within five years to be judged more harshly. [4]

The "tucked-in shirt" rule, though, was short-lived as at the beginning of the 2002 - 2003 school year, the policy was revised to eliminate the requirement of golf shirts being tucked in.

[edit] Semi-formal dance (2005)

In February 2005, St. David administration sponsored a semi-formal dance, which was planned and organized by the Student Activities Council. The semi-formal was held at Federation Hall at the University of Waterloo. In the weeks leading up to the event, several announcements were made during school hours over the PA system, reminding students of the school's zero tolerance policy with respect to possession of recreational drugs and alcoholic beverages. Under the Ontario Safe Schools Act, a student must be suspended for being in possession of drugs or alcohol. Students must also be expelled from school for trafficking illegal drugs, or giving alcohol to a minor.

Despite the presence of security personnel at the entrance, three members of the school administration, and a police liaison officer inside the building, more than a dozen students under the influence of alcohol were able to gain entry to the event. Only when one student became unconscious and had to be carried out of the event, did administrators begin to remove several unruly and intoxicated students.

As a result of these events, the school administration announced that there would be no semi-formal for the 2005-2006 school year. This announcement was greeted with great displeasure by the student community, many of whom felt that it was the fault of administration for permitting students under the influence to enter the event. The decision was rescinded in 2006, with the semi-formal scheduled for February with heavy restrictions placed on attendance. These restrictions were later lifted as ticket sales were significantly reduced from the previous year. Another unofficial semi-formal was held at the Golf's Steakhouse in Kitchener, which may have contributed to lower ticket sales.

[edit] Alumni

• Luca Congi, kicker/punter for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Congi was a member of St. David's senior football team in 2000 and 2001, in which years the team won the Waterloo County high school senior football championships, the first senior football championships in the school's history.
• John Sullivan, safety for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

[edit] See also

• List of Waterloo Region, Ontario schools

[edit] References

Prose contains specific citations in source text which may be viewed in edit mode.

• Brown, Josh (July 29, 2006). "He's kicking into high gear". The Record, Kitchener, Ontario: A1, A6

[edit] Links and references

• St. David Catholic Secondary School official site
• St. David school tour
• Waterloo Catholic District School Board