History
The school was originally located in the city's downtown, where it was founded as the girls' school to complement the boys-only St. Jerome's High School next door. As the latter school had older infrastructure, it was closed and St. Mary's was made co-ed in 1990. In 2002, the school moved from the downtown to the southern suburbs, where there would be far less commuting time for most students. However, many transferring students were upset at the new soul-less building compared to the old St. Mary's.
The former school buildings have been given differing fates: one auxiliary building was demolished; the main St. Jerome's facility is being renovated to house Wilfrid Laurier University's Faculty of Social Work; and the main St. Mary's building now houses both the Catholic School Board offices, and the Kitchener Downtown Community Centre.
In the autumn of 2004, a new branch of the Kitchener Public Library opened within the new school building. The school's fall 2005 enrollment was 2,200 students. This population was still far higher than the anticipated capacity; 25 portable classrooms are currently installed on the grounds, and no student parking is available due to the need for faculty parking, however the newly constructed arena allows students use of its parking lot during school hours.
As of October, 2008 the schools population was 2,121. It is one of the largest in Ontario.
The new school building features a Triple Gym, an auditorium/theatre known as Alumni hall, as well as a large cafeteria. The school also houses tennis courts and 2 soccer/football fields. There were basketball courts at the school also basketball courts, and the Hallman Ballyards are adjacent to the property.
Many events have occurred at the new school since its opening in 2002. These events include a bomb scare in 2004 as well as in September 2010, a fire in the central stairwell in 2005, as well as a chemical scare in 2006. Also, in 2008, an E. coli scare emerged in the school's cafetorium, affecting several students.
On June, 2011 the school received its first silver Certification in the WCDSB from Ontario Eco-School.
Read more about this topic: St. Mary's High School (Kitchener)
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“... all big changes in human history have been arrived at slowly and through many compromises.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)
“While the Republic has already acquired a history world-wide, America is still unsettled and unexplored. Like the English in New Holland, we live only on the shores of a continent even yet, and hardly know where the rivers come from which float our navy.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Let us not underrate the value of a fact; it will one day flower in a truth. It is astonishing how few facts of importance are added in a century to the natural history of any animal. The natural history of man himself is still being gradually written.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)