Senator O'Connor College School

Senator O'Connor College School (also called SOCS, Senator O'Connor CS, Senator O'Connor, OCS, or simply Senator or O'Connor) is a Separate high school in the Parkwoods neighbourhood in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada serving grades 9 to 12 in the communities of Wexford, Maryvale, Don Mills, and Dorset Park.

Senator O'Connor College School
Address
60 Rowena Drive

North York, Toronto
,
Ontario
,
M3A 3R2

Canada
Coordinates43°45′02″N 79°19′02″W
Information
School typeCatholic, High school
MottoAudax et Fidelis
(Courageous and Faithful)
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
(Brothers of the Christian Schools and Daughters of Wisdom)
Founded1963
School boardToronto Catholic District School Board
SuperintendentJohn Shanahan
Area 6
Area trusteeAngela Kennedy
Ward 11
School number505 / 763772
PrincipalAnyta Kyriakou
Grades9-12
Enrollment1414 (2017-18)
LanguageEnglish
AreaNorth York, Ontario
Colour(s)Blue and Gold   
Team nameO'Connor Blues
Feeder schoolsSee below
ParishAnnunciation
Specialist High Skills MajorBusiness
Sports
Program FocusFrench Immersion
Advanced Placement
Extended French
Gifted
Websitewww.tcdsb.org/schools/senatoroconnor/Pages/default.aspx

The school was named after Senator Frank O'Connor, founder of the Laura Secord chocolate company. The school is part of the Toronto Catholic District School Board[1] and was originally founded as John J. Lynch High School in 1963, named after the first archbishop of Toronto from 1870 to 1888, John Joseph Lynch. It had 1,414 students as of March 2018,[2] and was ranked 266 of 738 secondary schools in the 2017-18 Fraser Institute School Report Card.[3]

History

The story
Main article: Frank Patrick O'Connor

Frank Patrick O'Connor was a Canadian politician, businessman, philanthropist. He was the founder of Laura Secord Chocolates and Fanny Farmer, and the namesake behind O'Connor Drive in Toronto. He is the son of Mary Eleanor McKeown and Patrick O'Connor, O'Connor quit school at the age of 14 and started working at Canadian General Electric in Peterborough. He married Mary Ellen Hayes and moved with her to Toronto in 1912. He opened the Laura Secord Candy Store on Yonge Street in 1913 as he expanded the store across Canada and into the United States where it was known as Fanny Farmer Candy Stores.[4]

As a Roman Catholic, he gave $500,000 in the 1930s to the Archdiocese of Toronto under the trusteeship of Cardinal James Charles McGuigan.[4] O'Connor was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1935 by Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. He represented the senatorial division of Scarborough Junction, Ontario until his death in 1939.[5] O'Connor survived his wife, who died in 1931, and died at this estate at age 54.[4]

The school history
The original Senator O'Connor campus building on 5 Avonwick Drive

Prior to the founding of Senator O'Connor College School, several high schools were established around that area after the openings of Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute in Scarborough (1954), Don Mills Collegiate Institute (1957) and nearby Victoria Park Collegiate Institute (1960). In the meantime, several catholic separate schools within the Metropolitan Separate School Board (MSSB, renamed later to the Toronto Catholic District School Board) were opened such as Precious Blood Separate School in 1953 and Annunciation Separate School in 1965.

Senator O'Connor College School was founded by the Brothers of the Christian Schools and the Daughters of Wisdom in 1963 as John J. Lynch High School, becoming the first co-educational Catholic school in the Toronto archdiocese. However, boys were taught by Christian Brothers and girls were taught on a different floor by nuns with the Daughters of Wisdom. In 1965, the second school building designed in an hexagon by Fisher Tedman Architects was erected, given the name Senator O’Connor College School with Brother Denis F.S.C. as its inaugurating principal. Starting in the 1967–68 school year, the "Senator O'Connor" name became the name for the whole school combining the Lynch and O'Connor buildings while the ninth and tenth grades were placed by the MSSB while grades 11–13 continued to be taught by their religious orders. The high school was built on land given to them by Senator Frank Patrick O'Connor, a Catholic philanthropist and founder of Laura Secord Chocolates, a Canadian chocolatier and ice cream company.

Senator O'Connor's House and Garage, and another building, belonging to the Christian Brothers, still exist on campus, and the Christian Brothers still lived there as a Provincial Office up until 2002.

In the 1970s, the Christian Brothers were an active part of school life, teaching classes, holding positions in the school administration and assisting with cafeteria monitoring. The administration of the school was turned over to lay teachers in 1973.

The school used to be split up into three main structures: the main O'Connor building, the JJ Lynch building, and a later addition of a complex of portables under one roof called the "Taj" or the "Taj Mahal". There was also another area with over a half dozen portables. There used to be an indoor swimming pool connected to the house, but it was torn down sometime in the late 1980s or early 90s. The Christian Brothers' house was located in the center of the campus, and so students would pass right in front of it or around it on all sides daily.

The Christian Brothers' house has been marked as a historic site by the City of Toronto and is protected as such.

In 1984, when the Province of Ontario decided that Catholic secondary schools were to be fully funded, the school became publicly funded by 1987, and Senator O'Connor ceased being a private school. The school is fully operated by the MSSB. The last of the Christian Brothers staff to teach at O'Connor retired at the end of June 1990.

Originally the main high school was built to hold 732 students and by the 1990s the student population almost doubled that figure. Additions to the school such as the "Taj" were made over the course of the school's history. By 1995, talks of building a new school on the property began. That project was protested by local residents until its approval sometime in the early 2000s. In 2002, the Toronto Catholic District School Board acquired the O'Connor House from the Christian Brothers. The old Lynch, O'Connor and Taj Mahal buildings were demolished and a large new modern two-storey 1020-pupil high school which opened in September 2005 is now in place.

The former address of the school was 5 Avonwick Gate. The current address of the new Senator O'Connor College School is 60 Rowena Drive. The address change occurred because the entrance to the school was moved to the opposite end of the property that opens onto Rowena Drive. The new building, designed by Kearns Mancini Architects Inc., was partially built where the Lynch building previously stood as well as on the old athletic field.

Senator O'Connor celebrated its 50th anniversary on June 1, 2013, with a mass and the opening ceremonies, including a special presentation to Brother Domenic Viggiani, president of De La Salle College, who accepted plaques on behalf of the school's founding Christian Brothers, some of whom also attended the event.[6] The events included an alumni basketball game, arts presentations, live music, decade rooms, the sale of past yearbooks, food and refreshments in the afternoon and an alumni show, after party in the evening. The guests took a sneak peek of the restoration of the historic O’Connor House, which was severely damaged in a fire a year prior.[7]

Timeline
  • 1963 - John J. Lynch High School opened its doors on 5 Avonwick Gate by the Brothers of the Christian Schools and the Daughters of Wisdom
  • 1965 - The school was renamed from John J. Lynch to Senator O'Connor.
  • 1966 - The boys and girls of O'Connor were taught in the same classrooms.
  • 1967 - Grades 9 and 10 placed by the Metropolitan Separate School Board.
  • 1973 - Lay teachers take over the school's operations.
  • 1984 - Full funding for Catholic high schools announced by the Ontario Government for grades 11–13.
  • 1987 - Senator O'Connor became a fully publicly funded high school.
  • 1990 - One of the last of religious staff retired from O'Connor.
  • 2000 - The Christian Brothers depart the O'Connor House.
  • 2002 - The Senator O'Connor alumni association opens[8]
  • 2005 - New school facility for O'Connor opened at 60 Rowena Drive.
  • 2007 - The Specialist High Skills Major program, Business begins.
  • 2013 - Senator O'Connor celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Overview

Advanced Placement

The Advanced Placement program continues a tradition of achievement, by providing students with the opportunity for academic enrichment. At Senator O’Connor, a select cohort of students studies at the AP (Enriched) level in Core Courses from the 9th through 12th grades. Students enter this program through an application process undertaken in Grade 8. Students in AP courses study topics in greater depth, enhancing their intellectual development. A flexible program, it can be tailored to meet the specific needs of each individual; students have the opportunity to participate in specific AP subjects in their fields of interest. Students are exposed to university level content and expectations, allowing them to feel more comfortable and have more confidence once they reach the academic setting of university. Writing AP College Board exams at the end of Grade 12 can lead to the acquisition of equivalent credits in participating universities in Canada, the United States and overseas.

Extended/Immersion French

The Extended/Immersion French program is a continuation of the elementary early or middle French Immersion program. Students who have successfully completed a minimum of ten French courses, four in Extended/Immersion French and six in other subjects taught in French (géographie, histoire and religion) will receive an Extended/Immersion French Certificate upon graduation.

O'Connor students are encouraged to take advantage of outside activities, competitions and foreign exchanges. A trip to Quebec provides opportunity to practice their French Language skills.

Arts

Though not officially deemed as an Arts high school, O’Connor offers electives in the arts including Drama, Theatre Production, Visual Arts, Applied Design, Vocal and Instrumental Music, Guitar, Piano, Film, Photography, and Yearbook. The Arts department offers extra-curricular opportunities for students through various stage shows, art shows, plays, and music shows, and arts-based clubs. Some clubs include Anime Club, Mural Club, Synergy Dance Crew (competitive), Synergy Dance Club, Yearbook Club, Art Council, Music Council, Drama Council, Jazz Band, Concert Band, Choir, and Stage Crew. O’Connor is equipped with an auditorium that has approximately 230 seats, with up-to-date sound and lighting capabilities.

Administration

Principals
PrincipalPrevious SchoolDate startedDate finishedNotes
Brother Denis 1963 1973 Founding Principal of JJ Lynch, boys section.
Mother Cyril 1963 1965 Founding Principal of JJ Lynch, girls section.
Brother George Edwards 1963 1965 Founding Principal of Senator O'Connor
Tom King 1973 1982 Transferred to St. John Henry Newman in 1982.
Patrick Gravelle 1982 1989
John Dean 1989 1991
Stan Kutz 1992 1997
John Dean 1997 2000 Second stint
Carmine Settino St. Joan of Arc 2001 2005 Currently Principal at Chaminade
Susan Baker 2005 2013 Spent most of years as English and phys ed teacher. Became principal of the newly built school in 2005, retired after 8 long years.[6] Also named one of Canada's Outstanding Principals by The Learning Partnership.[9]
Michael O'Keefe
(acting)		 2009 2010 Served principal for a month
Paul McAlpine Francis Libermann
St. John Paul II		 2013 2015
Tracey Parish Francis Libermann
St. Patrick
A.P.P.L.E.		 2015 2019
Anyta Kyriakou Neil McNeil 2019 present Formerly served as vice principal at this school from 2016 to 2019.

Vice Principals

Feeder schools
  • School of the Annunciation
  • Buchanan Public School
  • Clairea Public School
  • Don Mills Middle School
  • Donview Middle Health & Wellness Academy
  • Dorset Park Public School
  • General Brock Public School
  • General Crerar Public School
  • George Peck Public School
  • Holy Spirit Catholic School
  • Ionview Public School
  • J.B. Tyrell Senior Public School
  • John Buchan Senior Public School
  • Maryvale Public School
  • Milne Valley Middle School
  • Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School
  • Our Lady of Wisdom Catholic School
  • Precious Blood Catholic School
  • St. Catherine Catholic School
  • St. Issac Jogues Catholic School
  • St. Kevin Catholic School
  • St. Lawrence Catholic School
  • St. Maria Goretti Catholic School
  • Terraview-Willowfield Public School
  • Wexford Public School

Notable alumni

See also

References
  1. "Senator O'Connor College School (763772)". School profile. Education Quality and Accountability Office. 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
  2. "Senator O'Connor College School (763772)". Secondary school profile. Ontario Ministry of Education. 2011-04-01. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
  3. "Report Card for Senator O'Connor College School". School Report Cards. Fraser Institute. 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  4. "Francis Patrick O'Connor - A Legacy of Generosity". Heritage Toronto. Archived from the original on May 30, 2009.
  5. "Parliament of Canada biography".
  6. Queen, Lisa: Senator O’Connor ready to celebrate golden anniversary - InsideToronto.com, May 29, 2013, Retrieved August 9, 2013
  7. Fire at historic O’Connor House in east end - CityNews.ca, May 9, 2012, Retrieved August 9, 2013
  8. "Senator O'Connor Alumni Association". Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
  9. TCDSB Principal to be recognized by The Learning Partnership Archived 2013-11-13 at the Wayback Machine | Senator O'Connor - TCDSB.org
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