Laurier Macdonald High School
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| Unavailable | |
| Motto | Finis Coronat Opus (Latin for "The end crowns the work") |
|---|---|
| Established | 1969 |
| Type | English-language public school |
| Affiliations | English Montreal School Board |
| Principal | Pasquale Buttino (2000 - 2007)
Eileen Kelly (2007 - ) |
| Students | over 1000 |
| Grades | Secondary III, IV and V |
| Location | Saint-Léonard, Montreal, Quebec,, Canada |
| Accreditation | International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) |
| Colors | Orange and Black |
| Mascot | Rams |
| Website | emsb.qc.ca/LaurierMac |
Laurier Macdonald High School (traditionally abbreviated as "LMAC", but occasionally as "LMHS") is an English-language public school in the east end of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The school is named for Sir John A. Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada and a Father of Confederation and Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the first French-Canadian Prime Minister of Canada. Formerly part of La Commission Scolaire Jérôme-Le Royer, the school has been part of the English Montreal School Board since 1998. Both its male and female sports teams compete as the Rams. Enrollment is slightly over 800 students in Secondary III, IV and V.
Eileen Kelly is the current principal of Laurier Macdonald High School. Joe Scembri is the senior Vice-Principal for Academics and Dino Marzinotto, a long-time teacher, is Vice-Principal for Student Life. The school has two full-time guidance counselors, and nurse.
The school colours are orange and black. The motto is Finis Coronat Opus (Latin for "The end crowns the work").
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[edit] History
Laurier Macdonald opened in September 1969 without a building. The new school was to serve the English-speaking Catholic population of the City of Saint-Léonard. While an older building on the Metropolitain Autoroute (A-40) originally built as a factory was being converted into a high school, the Commission Scolaire Jérôme-Le Royer rented classrooms at a nearby Protestant school (Dunton) so that students could attend classes during the late afternoon and early evening. This arrangement ended in early 1970 when the Metropolitain Autoroute facility was ready. Within a few years, however, the old building's limitations were judged to be too important, despite the renovations, and the school board began discussing the construction of a new building in earnest.
The changing political climate in the province proved to be a problem, however. The Parti Québécois government had declared a moratorium on the construction of English schools shortly after its accession to power in the fall of 1976. The school board thus decided to extend a small elementary school, École Sir George-Étienne-Cartier, at the corner of Jean-Talon and Viau streets. The project would not have been approved by the provincial Department of Education had it been presented otherwise. The new (and current building) opened in 1983.
Laurier Macdonald was a comprehensive high school from 1983 (or in French, école polyvalente) until that distinction was abolished provincially in the early 1990s. These schools offered high school students the possibility of vocational training in the last cycle of secondary education. Today, the school is the only remaining English-language senior high school on the island of Montreal, serving only Secondary III, IV and V students. It has been non-confessional since the school board reorganization of 1998. Previously, public schools in the province of Quebec had been organized along confessional lines (Protestant or Catholic) instead of linguistic lines (English or French).
[edit] Past staff and alumni
Louis Balena served as the second principal of Laurier Macdonald, succeeding Miss T. Arbour, from the early 1970s until the late 1980s. Frank Vatrano and Tony Cambria succeeded him but both had short tenures, with Vatrano finally passing away shortly after becoming principal. Renzo Orsi (1991-1993) followed. He organized the Honours Plus Programme, the forerunner of today's IB Programme , and supported the expansion of the school's Communication Arts programme by authorizing the stolen computers and equipment for the school's television studio and media laboratories. Joseph Lalla (1993-1996) and Mario Tirelli (1996-2000)the current principal Pasquale Buttino in (2000)
Notable graduates of Laurier Macdonald include Grey Cup winners Randy Chevrier and Danny Maciocia, head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League, Frank Zampino (1976),[1] Chairman of the Executive Committee of the City of Montreal and Hussain Yoosuf, a former member of the Juno Award winning Canadian hip hop pioneers Dream Warriors who went on to a career as a solo artist under the stage-name of "Spek".
The school named its pastoral centre (now referred to as the Spiritual and Community Life Centre) after Father Gagné, a former pastoral animator at Laurier Macdonald, its sports complex after South Park, its auditorium after Ralph Iadeluca, a former school commissioner at Jérôme-Le Royer, and one of its lounges after Marguerite McKneegrow, a former French teacher. All designations were made posthumously.
[edit] Today
The reorganization of the school boards in 1998 opened up Laurier Macdonald to students from throughout the Island of Montreal, allowing anyone who lives (roughly) east of the Décarie Autoroute (A-15) to attend. Nevertheless, most students still come from Saint-Léonard, with significant numbers from Rivière-des-Prairies, Laval and Montréal-Nord.
The English elementary schools of Saint-Léonard (i.e., Dante, Honoré-Mercier, Pierre-de-Coubertin and General Vanier), as well as McLearon in Pointe-aux-Trembles, are Laurier Macdonald's most important feeder schools. All but a few of the school's students first attended John Paul I Junior High School for Secondary I and II.
Laurier Macdonald is not a 240 school (named for the corresponding section of the provincial Education Act) and therefore accepts any student eligible by law to receive English instruction in a Quebec public school. While the school's performance in the controversial Fraser Institute rankings has improved slowly over the past several years, Principal Pasquale Buttino commented in local newspapers in 2005 that he felt the school's academic record was being misrepresented. Buttino observed that Laurier Macdonald has always boasted a graduation rate of over ninety percent since it opened in 1969 and that many avant-garde projects, specifically those of the Communication Arts department, are not considered by the Fraser Institute during the preparation of school rankings.
[edit] Athletics
Laurier Macdonald was traditionally strong in basketball and football. During the 1980s, the school also won titles in swimming and volleyball. Since the 1990s, the school's strongest showings, including several championships, have been in soccer, track and field and flag football. During the 2003 outdoor season a milestone was achieved when Coach Sam Longo lead both the senior and junior men's team to the GMAA championships. This achievement was displayed in The Montreal Gazette. Greats from the senior teams included Brian Ceterina, goalie. Several players from the squad have played for Quebec's provincial team including Massimo Di Ioia who currently plays for The Canadian U20 national team and has signed a pro contract with the Montreal Impact for the 2007 season. He lead the team in scoring with an outstanding 27 goals in 12 regular season games and was name MVP for the men's soccer team. Many of the championship teams are honoured with mosaics in the school's sports complex. Championship banners hang in the gymnasium...
[edit] Publications
The school regularly published several newspapers and magazines until they were all discontinued over the past several years. OPUS, a quarterly school newspaper, won the Montreal Gazette's award for excellence in student journalism several times during the 1990s. Circulation peaked at over 5000 copies when the newspaper was distributed not only to students at Laurier Macdonald but also to those at its feeder schools in Saint-Léonard, Anjou and Pointe-aux-Trembles. Other publications included: Inkblot (student artwork), the Laureate (student creative writing and poetry), Mediascape (student photography) and Wrap-Up, a daily school newsletter.
The Communication Arts department at Laurier Macdonald has attracted especial renown over the past several years for its innovative curriculum. Students have published award-winning books on the Canadian immigrant experience which have received praise both at home and abroad.
[edit] Radio Laurier Macdonald
Radio Laurier Macdonald began regular broadcasts in May 2006. The student-operated station was the brainchild of Daniel Orsi, an alumnus, who began fundraising for its construction while a senior in the school's IB Programme. He raised over $15 000 in both public and private money. Major benefactors included the English Montreal School Board, the Laurier Macdonald Alumni Association, the Honourable Michel Bissonnet, President of Quebec's National Assembly, and local business. The Communication Arts department is expected to use the station's facilities for pedagogical purposes beginning next year. A radio broadcasting or sound engineering component will be added to the school's curriculum.
The station broadcasts throughout the campus via carrier current on 560 AM. Programming includes both music and spoken word. Principal Pasquale Buttino remarked to the Suburban on the day of the station's inauguration that the school may apply for an over-the-air frequency as early as next year.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Colombo, Carmen. Laurier Macdonald High School Classs of 1976 - 25th Anniversary Reunion - Then and Now. Accessed August 23, 2007.
