Southwood Secondary School

Southwood Secondary School

Nihil Sine Labore
Nothing Without Work
Address
30 Southwood Drive
Cambridge, Ontario, N1S 4K3, Canada
Public transit access 55 - St. Andrews
62 - Woodside
Information
School board Waterloo Region District School Board
Superintendent Linda Fabi
Area trustee Andrea Mitchell
Colin Harrington
Cindy Watson
Principal Hugh Lambert
Vice principal Ms.Ramer / Mr.Hume
School type High School
Grades 9-12
Language English
Area West Galt and Ayr
Mascot Sabre
Team name Southwood Sabres
Colours Red, Green and White             
Founded 1962
Enrollment ~1000 (September 2006)
Feeder schools Cedar Creek P.S.
St. Andrew's P.S.
Tait Street P.S.
St. Brigid C.S

Southwood Secondary School is a high school in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, for students in West Galt and North Dumfries.

History

Southwood was founded in 1962. Although it has one of the lower student enrollments in the region, that does not seem to affect performance. It has proven itself over the years with its numerous Ontario scholars and high success rates from the literacy test: 6% above the board average and 8% above the provincial average.[1] Southwood's unique role as a high school is explained here in a report from the Region of Waterloo to the school board:[2]

Southwood Secondary School’s culture is unique due to its student population being made up of students residing in an urban environment and a significant number of students from a rural environment. It is the only secondary school located in the west side of Galt-Cambridge to serve that community as well as the adjacent Township of North Dumfries.

It became the subject of controversy in 2003 when it was perceived that this was an undersized school and should be closed, as funding was needed to build the Huron Heights Secondary School elsewhere in the Region. After lengthy protests, differing proposals, and the November 2003 municipal election, the trustees voted to reverse the decision of the previous board and keep Southwood open.[3]

Programs

Southwood is renowned for the calibre of its music and mathematics programs, well respected by universities and residents of the area. Prior to the 2005/2006 school year, Southwood also hosted the area's French Immersion program, which has since moved to GCI. Beginning in the 2006-2007 school year, Southwood will host the region's PAL program.

Southwood's Athletics is also respected, having won several championships at the WCSSAA and CWOSSA levels in the last few years, notably in Volleyball,[4] Basketball,[5] Swimming [6] and Cross Country.[7] These teams have also participated at OFSAA. In 2007, the Sr. Boys Basketball Team won the AAA OFSAA championship.[8][9] In 2013 and 2014 the Southwood Football team won a senior "B" division championship despite being a varsity team.

In 2007, a group of students from Southwood were among a group of over 3500 students from across Canada who travelled to Vimy Ridge to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the battle and restoration of the memorial.[10]

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. Southwood Literacy Test Results
  2. http://www.kitchener.ca/pdf/school_closings_mayor.pdf Municipal report to school board April 2003
  3. Trustees reverse closure of Southwood
  4. CWOSSA Volleyball Results
  5. CWOSSA Basketball Results
  6. "2012 CWOSSA Championships". Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  7. CWOSSA Cross Country Results
  8. OFSAA Basketball Results, 2007 Season
  9. Grossman, David. High school results, March 24, Toronto Star, March 25th, 2007
  10. Bean, Bill. "Students learn from fallen Vimy soldiers", Kitchener Record, March 23rd, 2007
  11. "Player Bio: Yvonne Tousek". UCLA. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  12. "UCLA Fall Letters-of-Intent List: Bruins sign top performers in all sports". UCLA. Fall 1999. Retrieved 2007.
  13. 13.0 13.1 "2006 Secondary School Hall of Fame Induction". Waterloo Region District School Board. 2006-05-29. Retrieved 2007.
  14. Mcdonald, Norm (2007-03-10). "Fast teen is quick with the tongue, too". Toronto Star.
  15. "Southwood Secondary School Alumni Directory". Southwood Secondary School. 2006. Retrieved 2007.
  16. "Running of the bulls". The Palo Alto Daily News. 2006. Retrieved 2007.

External links

Coordinates: 43°20′57″N 80°20′13″W / 43.34904°N 80.33705°W