General Amherst High School

General Amherst High School
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Address
130 Sandwich Street Amherstburg, Ontario, N9V 1Z8 Canada
Coordinates	42°06′24″N 83°06′40″W / 42.106744°N 83.11103°W / 42.106744; -83.11103
Information
Founded	1922
School board	Greater Essex County District School Board
Superintendent	Sharon Pyke
Principal	Hazel Keefner
Grades	9 to 12
Language	English
Area	Amherstburg and southwestern Essex County
Colour(s)	Black and Gold
Mascot	Jeffery the Bulldog
Team name	Bulldogs
Website	publicboard.ca/schools/GAHS/

General Amherst High is the local high school in the southwestern Ontario community of Amherstburg. The school is known for its significant contributions to volunteer work, raising funds for cancer research, student leadership, athletic powerhouses, bright students and gifted academia.

Reputation

Bulldogs goalie during 2014-15 season.

General Amherst High School is the home of the Bulldogs, which became the school's official mascot in 1994 (they were previously known as the Generals). GAHS has been recognized for a number of causes, including (but not limited to): the Canadian record of per capita student contributions in donations to the Canadian Cancer Society, championships in football, hockey, basketball, track & field, wrestling, tennis, cross country and volleyball; the recipient of several Essex County "Student Prime Minister of the Year" awards (2004, 2005, & 2009) and high rankings in the University of Waterloo Fermat Mathematics competition. General Amherst High School is considered to be one of the more reputable all-around secondary schools in the Windsor/Essex County region; in a 2007 survey of Ontario schools based on academic and all-around performance, General Amherst ranked 29th out of 664.

History

General Amherst High School (circa 1922) Amherstburg, Ontario

The school is named after Jeffery Amherst, who was commander of the British armed forces in North America during the Seven Years' War. The school's construction began in 1921, and completed in 1922. Previously, students in the Amherstburg area who wanted to continue their education past elementary school had to go to the town of Essex, where they were required to pay room and board during the school term.

The following have been Principals of General Amherst High School since 1922, the year it opened:

• 1922 to 1926 - Mr. Norman Davies
• 1926 to 1960 - Mr. Walter K. Sidey
• 1960 to 1962 - Mr. A. A. Martin
• 1962 to 1969 - Mr. Reg Cozens
• 1969 to 1987 - Mr. Jack Wilson
• 1987 to 1989 - Mr. Cliff Pattison
• 1989 to 1991 - Mr. Rod Paulin
• 1991 to 1996 - Mr. Reg Simpson
• 1996 to 1998 - Mr. John Corbett
• 1998 to 2002 - Mr. Tom Halliwill
• 2002 to 2009 - Mr. Patrick Catton
• 2009 to 2012 - Mrs. Mary Edwards
• 2012 to present - Ms. Keefner

Athletics

Bulldogs player during 2014-15 season.

Since its inception, General Amherst has had a reputation as a powerhouse for its athletics program. Most notably, the Sr. Girls Basketball team has broken numerous Ontario records, including the capture of 9 consecutive OFSAA medals (as of 2012) led by longtime coach Dom Silvaggio. The Lady Gens captured their 10th straight WECSSAA title on November 9, 2012 followed by their 9th straight SWOSSAA title on November 20, 2012. The team was defeated by St. Catharines St. Francis in the 2012 OFSAA championship game, missing out on back-to-back gold medals by 2 points.

The Senior Boys Football team captured two straight OFSAA West Bowl Championships in 2 years (2006 & 2007), while the school also took home OFSAA gold medals in Girls Volleyball (2005 & 2009) and Men's Hockey (2003). In the spring of 2009, the Girls Softball team captured the Provincial Championship for the first time in school history.

The school offers a wide variety of sports teams that compete against other GECDSB high schools within the WECSSAA classification. The competitive teams at Amherst include:

• Basketball
• Volleyball
• Football
• Baseball/Softball
• Hockey
• Soccer
• Badminton
• Curling
• Cross Country
• Track and Field
• Wrestling
• Gymnastics
• Golf
• Tennis
• Swimming

Student Council

General Amherst has long been known throughout Ontario for its strong leadership and Student Council activities. The structure upon which the student parliament and its constitution are organized has been used as a model for other area secondary schools in the region for over two decades. The following is a table of the student council's Prime Ministers and Deputy Prime Ministers since the 1993-1994 school year:

(*) denotes recipient of GECDSB Prime Minister of the Year award

(**) denotes recipient of GECDSB Deputy Prime Minister of the Year award

See also

• List of high schools in Ontario

External links

1. General Amherst High School
2. http://www.amherstburg.ca - Corporation of the Town of Amherstburg.
3. http://www.ofsaa.on.ca - Ontario Federation of School Athletics Association.