St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School

St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School
Address
1045 Upper Paradise Road
Hamilton, Ontario, L9B 2N4, Canada
Information
Superintendent Jackie Bajus
Area trustee John Valvasori
Principal Mrs. S. Fortino-Bozzo
School type High school
Grades 9-12
Motto ""Praestantia Scholastica, Praestantia Religiosa, Praestantia Athletica"
Mascot Tommy the Knight
Colours Black & Gold
Homepage http://stm.hwcdsb.ca

St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School (referred to as STM by students and faculty) is one of 7 Catholic High Schools in Hamilton, Ontario under the jurisdiction of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board. The school is located on the west side of the Hamilton Mountain, serving the south-west of Hamilton as well as parts of Glanbrook and Ancaster (communities in the Greater Hamilton Area). The school's Latin motto is "Praestantia Scholastica, Praestantia Religiosa, Praestantia Athletica."

STM is the largest school in Hamilton, holding over 2250 students. St. Thomas More graduates approximately 400 students a year with around 80% of them going onto University and College. The school's 200 member staff are involved in the school's numerous activities, sports and associations.

Athletics

The school prides itself on its athletics as it has over 70 teams that have each won a championship at least once in the school's history. The biggest teams are the Football, Basketball, Hockey and Soccer teams. STM also has many teams and clubs not found in most schools like Girl's Hockey and Slo-Pitch teams as well as wrestling and field-hockey teams.

Student Council

STM's student council is an essential part of the school's community, electing students from every kind of social background, academic level and age. Student Council elections at STM are often high-spirited events starting weeks before the vote, with the most activity occurring in the final week, including speeches, debates and general campaigning.

Activities

St. Thomas More has a host of unique and popular activities. The building is equipped with a television broadcast studio where the morning announcements are broadcast from. STM also puts on Christmas and Year-End videos often in conjunction with the student council and the various teams and clubs that have won championships and awards during the year. STM also has Concert, Jazz and Guitar Bands as well as a choir that have won awards throughout Canada and the United States.

Because of the school's Catholic background, there are many different social-activism clubs that are not found in most other schools. STM has an organized "Halloween for Hunger" campaign in which students go door to door collecting canned goods for the Hamilton Mountain "Neighbour to Neighbour" Centre. The program is currently in its 12th year. In 2010, the campaign raised a total of 68,852 pounds of food[1] and approximately $5,000 in monetary donations. A "Kickoff Concert" was also held to help get volunteers excited and raise additional money for Neighbour to Neighbour Centre. This food drive accounts for over 5% of Neighbour to Neighbour's annual donations and is their largest single donation each year. In 2011, the program's goal was 77,777 pounds of food.

The school also has a Christmas Miracle campaign where students in individual classes purchase gifts for the less-fortunate in Hamilton.

Administration

Due to STM's large size, there are three Vice-Principals (Mr. Barone, Mr. John and Mr. Genovese) who have jurisdiction over certain students depending on last name (A-F, G-N and O-Z). The school has one principal, Mrs. Fortino-Bozzo.

Uniforms

St. Thomas More's school colors are black and gold. The school takes pride in their school uniforms, giving strict rules and consequences for violations in school dress code. There are some exceptional days (during an important game, celebration or holiday), where students can wear specially designed "spirit wear". Designs ranging from clothes representing school clubs and teams to clothes featuring the school mascot (STM Knights).

Football

In 2007, the Knights defeated the Bishop Ryan Celtics 42-6 bringing them to their second consecutive city championship. The Knights went on to meet the Bishop Ryan Celtics once again in the Golden Horseshoe Bowl and once again came out on top with a 14-7 win. This is the Knights second consecutive Golden Horseshoe Bowl championship. The Knights also finished the year with a perfect 12-0 record including a win over Cleveland Heights High School of Cleveland, Ohio. The Knights became the first team to repeat (2006-2007) as Golden Horseshoe Bowl champions, and were named All Canadian Gridirons 2007 Number One ranked Canadian high school football team. In 2008, the Knights defeated St. Jean de Brebeuf Highschool 21-0 to win their third consecutive city championship.

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://twitpic.com/33uopl

External links