Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School (Brampton)

Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School (sometimes referred to as Dame or abbreviated to ND) is located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada and operates under the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB). The name Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady," shows the close ties the school has with the Virgin Mary and the teachings of the Catholic Church. Although not all its students share the same religion, each and every one of them live under the school's motto: "Justice, Love, Peace."

Religion

As a Catholic school, Notre Dame requires students to take several religion classes throughout their high school career. It also has its own chapel where students are welcome to pray or visit during their lunch periods and after school. The chapel and many other activities concerning the school's faith are overseen by Notre Dame's current chaplain, Genevieve Anderson. In 2012, she was awarded with the annual Brian J. Halferty Chaplaincy Award for Meritorious Service to School Chaplaincy in the Province of Ontario^[1]

Athletics

All the Notre Dame teams carry the "Knights" team name. While the school has proven itself in many sports, it is best known for its football team. In 2004, the ND Knight's football team was promoted to the Peel Region's Tier 1 football league and have since won four ROPSSAA championships (2003, 2006, 2007, 2011)^[2] As a testament to this reputation, many of Notre Dame's graduates have gone on to pursue a career in professional football leagues such as the CFL and NFL. A few of these players include New York Jets linebacker Jamaal Westerman, 2011 Edmonton Eskimos All-Star and CFL Most Outstanding Canadian Jerome Messam, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive lineman Fernand Kashama^[3]

Besides football, Notre Dame has over two dozen other sports teams including volleyball, basketball, rugby, soccor, and fast pitch just to name a few. A number of these other teams have proven themselves to be just as competitive as ND's football team. In the 2011-2012 school year alone, as well as a ROPSSAA title in senior boys' football, the Knights were also able to capture a repeat title in senior girls' volleyball, and a silver medal in senior girls' basketball^[4]

To commemorate its athletes, Notre Dame holds an annual Athletic Banquet where students and coaches are able to congratulate each other on their achievements throughout the year. Awards such as Junior and Senior Athletes of the Year and Coaches Awards are handed out to recognize those who contributed exceptionally to the Notre Dame athletic community.

International Baccaclaureate Program

Notre Dame distinguishes itself from other Catholic schools in Brampton by offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. The IB Program is an intensive pre-university program that polishes students into globally-minded and well-rounded individuals.

Students apply for the IB program as elementary students in grade 8, and enter high school as pre-IB students in grade 9. For two years, teachers will prepare students in pre-IB for the rigorous course work they will be taking in their last two years of high school. The actual IB curriculum begins in grade 11, when IB candidates will start the rigorous two-year program modelled after numerous education systems of countries all over the world.

IB students at Notre Dame have the opportunity to take subjects in higher level (HL) English, standard level (SL) French, HL Chemistry, HL History, SL Math, and SL Biology. In addition to these subjects, IB students must participate in the cumpulsory course Theory of Knowledge (TOK) where they will learn how to critically examine the world around them. Outside the classroom, students are required to fulfill 150 hours of Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) to show their commitment to the community and contribution to society.

Various Notre Dame IB classes have had the special opportunity to attend TEDxIB at York School in Toronto^[5] where they have been able to network with their counterparts from all over the world. For two consecutive years, Notre Dame has been represented on that stage: first by Adrienne Mallari in 2011^[6] and again by Ewalina Jeyanesan in 2012.^[7]

Community activism

Throughout the years, the students of Notre Dame have taken the initiative to give back to their community. One of their most well known contributions is its semi-annual food drive, which occurs once in the fall and again in the spring. For all the years it's been a part of Notre Dame tradition, the students and staff consistently donate at least 10,000 pounds of non-perishable food and other useful commodities which are then given to a local food bank. Homeroom classes make friendly competition with each other over who can collect the most food, and the winning class is often awarded with a pizza party for their efforts. One of the notable students who has contributed to this charity event is Stephanie Noronha, who in 2008 managed to collect about 1.2 tonnes of food.^[8] That year, Notre Dame as a whole collected about 16,308 pounds of food for the Ste. Louise Outreach Centre. The school has since escalated in their participation in this event, setting for itself a current record of over 42,000 pounds of food collected in one drive.^[9]

As well as its food drives, Notre Dame holds other events such as its Annual Alternative Trick-or-Treat where parents can be sure of their children's safety on Halloween by bringing them to the school for a night of fun and candy. Another charity event that took advantage of friendly competition was a Virtual Classroom Drive run in 2010 by students Aian Binlayo and Tanzima Khan.^[10] Within a span of five short days, the school as a whole was able to raise $2050 for ACCESS charity which was used to purchase school supplies for underprivileged children in Honduras and Tanzania. Notre Dame also sets an example for the community as an environmentally friendly school. In 2012, Notre Dame achieved a silver status certification from Ontario ecoSchool.^[11]

Notable alumni

• Jeff Adams, wheelchair track Canadian Paralympian
• Melissa Grelo, Canadian Television Personality cohost of The Social (Canadian TV series) and Your Morning on CTV
• Harpoon Missile, rap group
• Steven Bednarski, canadian historian and actor
• Andrew Bednarski, canadian actor
• Trey Anthony, executive producer and star of Da Kink In My Hair
• Dave Thomas (basketball), former National Basketball League of Canada basketball player
• D-Pryde, rapper/singer of Mars Music
• Tory Lanez, rapper/singer
• Steven Halko, NHL player
• Atiba Hutchinson, professional Canadian soccer player
• Fernand Kashama, CFL player
• Kalonji Kashama, CFL player
• Jerome Messam, CFL player
• Jamaal Westerman, NFL player
• Jabar Westerman, CFL player
• Shaquille Johnson, CFL player

See also

• List of high schools in Ontario

References

External links

• Official school website
• DPCDSB profile