| John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute | |
| Semper Procedere Always Progressing |
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| Address | |
| 21 Meyer Drive Guelph, Ontario, Canada |
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| Information | |
| School board | Upper Grand District School Board |
| Principal | Mr. Tom Dagg |
| Vice principal | J. Vaughn, P. Richard, & J. Weddig |
| Staff | 120 |
| School type | Public |
| Grades | 9-12+ |
| Language | English, French |
| Area | North-east Guelph |
| Mascot | The Royal |
| Team name | Royals |
| Colours | Blue and Double Blue |
| Founded | 1956 |
| Enrolment | 2063 (October 2010) |
| Homepage | http://www.ugdsb.on.ca/jfr/ |
John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute is a Grades 9-12 public secondary school in Guelph, Ontario, Canada and is part of the Upper Grand District School Board.
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Guelph's largest high school was originally named John F. Ross Vocational School in honour of John Francis Ross, a highly respected Guelph educator and principal. The school opened its doors in 1956 to 460 students with 25 teachers and Lorne Fox as its principal, under its new name John F. Ross Collegiate and Vocational Institute. It celebrated its 50th anniversary with a reunion in May 2006. Detailed history found here: [1].
John F. Ross has always been a school with tremendous athletic ability, mostly due to its large population. The school has always had a fierce athletic rivalry with Centennial C.V.I., and these two schools are the two schools in Guelph who compete against each other in virtually every sport for the District 10 championship. John F. Ross is mostly noted for its overall athleticism, but in 2006, the women's rugby team competed at OFSAA and clinched a 3rd place victory. Also in 2006 and 2008, the boys' baseball team were eliminated in the semi-finals in a hard fought battle that needed extra innings against the baseball powerhouse St. Mike's Double Blues Boys college, and a tough loss to the eventual 2008 OFSAA champions Notre Dame Irish, respectively. In 2007, the boys' hockey team won the OFSAA Championship in Whitby, Ontario. This was the most recent team OFSAA championship to date. In the fall of 2009 the Royals upset the Guelph Collegiate Gaels in District 10 football action to win the city championship 13-7, their 7th title in 11 years. Most recently, the Ross football team went 6 - 0 in the regular season of 2010 before being upset by the Centennial Spartans at home in the D10 Semi-Finals.
John F. Ross is also well known for its excellent and diverse academic programs. Currently it is the only high school in the Upper Grand District School Board that offers French Immersion and English as a Second Language programs (grades 9 - 12). In addition, Ross offers a variety of programs in technology, drama, music, art, science, social sciences and co-op. It also has highly respected teachers and administrators. Students also have many different opportunities to learn outside of the classroom each year. For example, the Music and Geography departments offer an extended field trip to a major city (i.e. New York City, Chicago, Washington DC and Boston) each Spring. Annual March Break trips are also offered for interested students. Recent trips offered include: China 2011, Eastern Europe 2011, Kenya and Greece & Turkey in March 2012.
Today the school has one of the largest populations of students in the Upper Grand District School Board, with an estimated 2000 students. This is due to being recognized for its academic excellence, its athletic programs, and its co-curricular clubs. The school also services nearby towns like Rockwood. Recently, Rick Mercer, the famed Canadian comedian, visited the school and featured it on his TV show for winning the Spread the Net challenge.
Each spring, up to four families of mallard ducks fly to the school, where they have a safe environment to raise their young. Eventually, the school's Environment Club relocates the ducks and ducklings to nearby wildlife preserves. The school does not only look after the animal’s surrounding the school but has over the years donated tens of thousands of dollars to charity. During the 2008-2009 school years the school took part in the Spread the Net challenge promoted by Rick Mercer. By the end of the competition the school had raised more than 55 000 dollars to help fight malaria. On a smaller scale, the school runs an event called F.R.O.S.T.Y (friendly royals offering stuff till yuletide) every year at Christmas for two weeks in which classes set up events such as bake sales or a chance to slime a teacher. All of the money gathered is then distributed to nonprofit organizations. Of course there is also the famous weekly "Save the Future" collection that brings in a few hundred dollars every week towards a variety of good causes.
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