Thousand Islands Secondary School

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Thousand Islands Secondary School
Address
2510 Parkedale Ave.
Brockville, Ontario, K6V 3H1, Canada
Information
School board Upper Canada District School Board
Principal Arlie Kirkland
Vice principal G. Pillips, N. FitzPatrick, L. Bradshaw
School type Public high school
Grades 9 to 12
Language English
Area Brockville
Mascot Pirate
Team name Pirates
Colours Purple and white
Enrollment 1,100 approx.
Homepage www.homeofthepirates.ca

Thousand Islands Secondary School (TISS) is a public high school in the city of Brockville, Ontario and the largest high school managed by the Upper Canada District School Board. Perhaps most famous for the success of their athletic program and the exploits of Canadian Olympian Basketball Player/WNBA all-star/TISS alumni Stacey Dales, the school has been a part of the Brockville community for over 40 years.

TISS has an enrollment of approximately 1100 students and offers a wide range of programs. The school offers a full complement of academic, technical and arts courses in addition to skill/ trades programs. The school also has many other unique programs such as Advanced Placement, Integrated Math and Science, and the International Studies Program which allows students each year to travel to locations such as Nicaragua, Germany, and Italy.

Contents

[edit] Teachers

The school has over 70 teachers, some of whom have won prestigious awards and accolades. Notable staff include international novelist Mr. Brent Leo Robbillard of the English Department, internationally educated Dr. Micheal McCarthy of the Math Department, Governor-General Award winning history teacher Mr.Gary Simons, and prized artist Mr. David Sheridan. The school is also part of a unique partnership with Queen's University as an associate school and trains dozens of teacher candidates every year.

The school also has several clubs that operate annually, a band, cheerleading squad, a school store, fully operational cafeteria, amphitheatre, 3 gyms, and new 8-lane Mondo track and field complex.

[edit] Athletics program

The athletics program' at TISS is the arguably the best in Eastern Ontario (along with Kingston's Regiopolis Notre-Dame, and Brockville Collegiate Institute) and one of the best in the province. The school has captured an incredible 110 EOSSAA championships and over a dozen OFSAA championship banners, 7 in the last 3 years alone. Several past TISS Pirates have represented Canada in track and field, basketball, football, and cross country.

[edit] Track and field/cross country

The track and field/cross country program at the school is one of the most known facets of Brockville and is known across Canada. The team has won 11 OFSAA team titles since 2002, captured over 50 individual OFSAA medals, and sent over 15 of their athletes to NCAA schools on full athletic scholarships.

This school is home to Matt Leeder, who has won Individual OFSAA XC 3 of 4 times (the only loss being his first year senior, where he came 5th). As a team, he was part of the 2005 silver medal team, and the 2006 gold medal team. In track, he captured 4 OFSAA championships in the 1500 and the 3000, and was runner-up 4 times. He was also the 2nd leg in the winning 4x400m team at OFSAA in 2006. Matt now attends Florida State University on NCAA scholarship.

[edit] Girls basketball

The girls basketball program has captured three OFSAA championships, and has won the EOSSAA title 7 of the past 12 years. Stacey Dales (WNBA, Canadian Women's Olympic Basketball Team), Kendra Walker-Roche (Fresno State, NCAA), and Stuart Peters (St. Lawrence College, CIS) are just 3 of the many post-secondary players who developed their skills at TISS. Stuart's progress at the college level can be tracked at College Hoops DirectoryThe football and soccer programs have also achieved great success with several alumni suting up for professional teams (Burke Dales of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Calgary Stampeders and Troy Cunningham of the B.C. Lions) and has created a reputation throughout Ontario and Canada as one of the best high school sports programs.

The school has just finished construction of a $1,500,000 track and field/athletic complex thanks to the Friends of TISS Committee which took 3 years to raise the needed funds. It is now one of the top facilities of it's kind in the country. Many prominent Brockville families contributed a large part to the project, demonstrating the unique community that Brockville is.