St. Thomas of Villanova College

St. Thomas of Villanova College is a middle school and high school in King City, Ontario, Canada. It was established at Mary Lake by lay educators Paul Paradiso and Grant Purdy in 1999 at Mary Lake Augustinian Monastery as a Catholic school together with the Order of Saint Augustine's friars of Toronto. The school campus is within the grounds of this Augustinian monastic foundation in King City. The school boasts facilities including a full-service Library and Resource Centre, computer labs, science labs, and an athletic centre that includes an Olympic sized court, in addition to three others, a weight room, indoor running track, and a great hall. Outdoor fields include two soccer fields and one football field and running track. The school also uses the 'House system', with houses such as St. Augustine, St. Nicholas, St. Rita, and St. Monica.

It has a curriculum for students in grades four to twelve.

Patron Saint

The college is named in honour of St. Thomas of Villanova, a sixteenth-century Spanish Augustinian. Thomas was born in the province of Ciudad Real in 1488, and was raised in Villanueva de los Infantes, a nearby town; hence his name, Thomas of Villanova. In the year 1544, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V appointed Thomas as Archbishop of Valencia. Thomas succeeded in the spiritual renewal of his diocese, and gained the title "Father of the Poor". He gave two-thirds of the income of his diocese to care for the poor in various ways. Each day up to 5 poor people came to his door to be fed and to receive money.^[1]

Other English speaking Augustinian Colleges named for this saint are Villanova College, located in Brisbane, Australia, and Villanova Preparatory School in California, United States. He is also the patron saint for Villanova University, a Catholic university located in Villanova, Pennsylvania.

Augustinian Order in Canada

The Order's 20th century establishment in Canada in North America was one result of both poverty and political trouble being experienced by German Augustinians. From 1925 and later during the Great Depression, German Augustinians began arriving in North America to teach. After 1936, with the political situation in Nazi Germany worsening, more German Augustinians departed for North America. By 1939 from there were 46 German priests, 1356 German religious brothers and 89 German candidates in North America. The order established the first of their Canadian houses at Tracadie, Nova Scotia in Canada in 1938. Among other Canadian foundations, the order also established this significant priory and school in Toronto. The order, by 2006 has since professed many native Canadians.

The Augustinians in Canada operate under name of the Province of St. Joseph. In addition to their presence in Ontario, the Canadian Augustinians also serve Sacred Heart Parish in Delta, British Columbia, in the Archdiocese of Vancouver. Though the Province of St. Joseph is recognized as its own independent Augustinian province within the Catholic Church, it is under the jurisdiction of the Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel. This province, also informally known as the "Midwest Augustinians," is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Augustinian Secondary Education Association

St. Thomas of Villanova College is part of the Augustinian tradition, and is part of the Augustinian Secondary Education Association. The Augustinian Secondary Education Association bounds together all of the English-speaking Augustinian secondary schools in North America. This organization provides a forum for Augustinian education at the high school and university levels. The association reports to the Federation of Augustinians of North America (FANA). St. Thomas of Villanova College is the latest addition to the schools under this association, and the first in Canada. The Augustinian High Schools in North America are:

• Malvern Preparatory School (Malvern, PA) founded 1842;
• St. Rita of Cascia High School (Chicago, IL) founded 1905;
• Providence Catholic High School (New Lenox, IL) founded 1918;
• St. Augustine High School (San Diego) - California; founded 1922;
• Villanova Preparatory School (Ojai, CA) founded 1924;
• Cascia Hall Preparatory School (Tulsa, OK) founded 1926;
• St. Augustine College Preparatory School (Richland, NJ) founded 1959;
• (St. Thomas of) Villanova College (King City, ON, Canada) founded 1999;
• Austin Catholic Academy (Detroit, MI) founded 2011.

The Augustinian Universities in North America are:

• Villanova University (Villanova, PA) founded 1842;
• Merrimack College (North Andover, MA) founded 1947.

Charity

Villanova works closely with numerous charities including Habitat For Humanity, the Scott Mission and the Good Shepherd Sisters. The school is also involved in various social outreach programs that minister to communities around the Greater Toronto Area. One of these programs, "Sandwich Patrol" was featured in the King Sentinel. Villanova also has an internal charitable organization named V.O.I.C.E (Villanova Outreach In Communities Everywhere), which organizes charitable fundraisers in the school community. Villanova has also hosted the "Muki Baum Bowl for Dreams"^[2] for 5 years (as of April 17, 2011), raising funds for the Muki Baum Foundation, a charitable organization that helps children and adults with dual disabilities in the Greater Toronto Area.

Athletics

Villanova is home to one of the top ranked single A senior girls' soccer teams in the province. Since 2007, the Knights have medalled six times (3 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze) at the single A OFSAA Girls' Soccer championship. Villanova has also been crowned CISAA champion five times in its history (2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014).

Villanova's first single A OFSAA gold came in 2007 when the Knights defeated the L'Essor Aigles by a score of 2-0.^[3][4] Members of this team included future Seneca Sting OCAA All-Stars Joanna Lunetta^[5] and Victoria Curci,^[6] York Lions star Peyton Lozzi^[7] and the University of Toronto Varsity Blues' hockey star Kelly O'Hanlon.^[8] In 2013, the Knights also won gold by a score of 2-0, defeating Heritage Christian School Hawks.^[9] In both tournaments, the team went undefeated only allowing one goal. The Knights' most recent OFSAA gold came in June 2014, when the girls finished the tournament 5-0-1, defeating the Glengarry Gaels 4-0 in the championship match.^[10]

The Knights' two OFSAA silver medals came in 2008 and 2012. They lost 1-0 to both Glengarry Gaels in 2008 and Smithville Christian School Storm in 2012.^[11][12] In 2011, the Knights captured the bronze beating Deslauriers 2-1.^[13]

Another great achievement occurred in 2008 when the Knights won the 25th Annual York University Girls Indoor High School Tournament, the largest indoor tournament in Canada.^[14] The Knights defeated 2 'AAA' and 5 'AAAA' schools, including Newmarket's Sacred Heart 1-0 in the final.

Edsby

Edsby is a website that is used by the students and teachers at Villanova. Students, teachers, staff and parents log into their accounts to keep up to date on school events and classes. Announcements are posted in the 'Newsriver', where all those with active accounts can see them. Some groups are member-only, such as specific athletics teams; all pages are moderated by teachers/staff. Teachers update the Edsby page of every class on a daily basis, posting presentations, worksheets, and other material covered during class. They also post homework, and upcoming test dates.

References

External links

• St. Thomas of Villanova College
• Midwest Augustinians - Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel