Governor Simcoe Secondary School
{{Short description|High school in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada}}
{{Infobox school
| name = Governor Simcoe Secondary School
| image = Governor Simcoe Secondary School.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = The school in 2024
| logo = Governor Simcoe Secondary School Logo.png
| address = 15 Glenview Ave
| city = St. Catharines
| province = Ontario
| postcode = L2N 2Z7
| country = Canada
| coordinates = {{Coord|43.20263|-79.23375|type:edu_region:CA-ON|display=inline,title}}
| schooltype = Secondary school
| motto = Our House
| founded = 1971
| schoolboard = District School Board of Niagara
| superintendent = Helen McGregor
| number = 216
| principal = Teri Thompson
| principal_label1 = Vice Principal
| principal1 = Leslie Brophy
| staff = 68
| teaching_staff = 48
| grades_label = Grades
| grades = 9-12
| enrollment = Approx. 859
| average_class_size = 30
| language = English
| hours_in_day = 6
| colours = Red and grey {{color box|red}}{{color box|Grey}}
| mascot = Redcoat
| team_name = Redcoats
| url = {{URL|http://govsimcoe.dsbn.org/}}
}}
Governor Simcoe Secondary School, named after John Graves Simcoe, is a public high school in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is a three-floored school with a theatre attachment. It opened in 1971. It was the first open concept high school in the Niagara Peninsula; the open concept has since been replaced with individual classrooms.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}
Theatre
In 1995, the Grantham Theatre was added to the east end of the school. While originally designed to seat 1000 people, due to budget constraints, it was only built to seat 500.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}
The school has had its own productions of musicals. In 2017, students performed Beauty and the Beast. 66 students were a part of the cast.{{cite web |last1=Cheevers |first1=Melinda |title=Governor Simcoe set to stage ‘Beauty and the Beast’ |url=https://www.niagarathisweek.com/things-to-do/governor-simcoe-set-to-stage-beauty-and-the-beast/article_86eb432e-e132-5b19-91b4-c9aded024546.html |website=Niagara This Week |access-date=17 November 2024}} In 2019, students performed Into the Woods.{{cite web |last1=Capellazzo |first1=Cameryn |title=Governor Simcoe's 'Into the Woods' Dazzles |url=https://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-niagara-falls-review/20190528/282033328674050 |website=Niagara Falls Review |access-date=17 November 2024}} The musical production for the year of 2025 is Freaky Friday and is set to be run in the middle of April with a date not confirmed.
Robotics
The school currently has a FIRST Robotics Competition robotics team, registered as Team 1114 - Simbotics. The team was initiated in 2003 along with that years robotics season game being launched, Stack Attack.{{cite web |title=Stack Attack |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stack_Attack |website=Wikipedia |publisher=Wikipedia |access-date=13 March 2025 |language=en |date=13 June 2024}} In 2012, the team won the [https://www.firstinspires.org/resource-library/frc/first-impact-award-resources FIRST Impact Award],{{Cite web |date=2015-10-15 |title=FIRST Impact Award Resources |url=https://www.firstinspires.org/resource-library/frc/first-impact-award-resources |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=FIRST |language=en}} formerly known as the FIRST Chairman's Award. The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqciMgjw-SY video] submitted awarded them a blue banner, a ten year auto-qualification term into the FIRST Championship, and induction into the [https://www.firsthalloffame.org/ FIRST Hall of Fame].{{Cite web |title=Hall of Fame |url=https://www.firsthalloffame.org/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=FIRST Hall of Fame |language=en-US}}
Some notable team events include 2017 when two students on the team were photographed with the prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau.{{cite web |last1=Craig |first1=Andrew |title=Science in Canada needs funding, not photo-ops |url=https://theconversation.com/science-in-canada-needs-funding-not-photo-ops-86596 |website=The Conversation |access-date=17 November 2024}} In 2022, they won the FIRST Robotics Ontario Provincial Championship and then moved on to compete in Houston, Texas.{{cite web |last1=Alwahaidi |first1=Keena |title=Local secondary students off to international robotics competition after provincial win |url=https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6422261 |website=CBC News |access-date=17 November 2024}}
Robot History
Throughout the years, since documented from 2011 on the [https://www.simbotics.org/robots Simbotics website], the team has continued to name their robots with the prefix of "Simbot". This notable prefix has lasted for over the past decade and is paired along with a majority of the robot names starting with the character "S".
Although most bind by this rule, there are a handful of robots on Simbotics that are named not following this rule to tribute to the passing of team members, are a notable figure in society at the time, or are more fitting for the robot name for the year.
== Athletics ==
In 2014, students from Governor Simcoe won 11 medals in provincial championships for the Special Olympics.{{cite web |title=Medal haul for Special Olympians |url=https://www.niagarathisweek.com/life/medal-haul-for-special-olympians/article_dde044f3-4d8b-5c7f-80ac-45b53c89a0dc.html |website=Niagara This Week |access-date=17 November 2024}}
The school has a football team with mixed grade students.{{cite web |last1=Puchalski |first1=Bernie |title=Building a culture |url=https://www.pelhamtoday.ca/local-sports/building-a-culture-6347542 |website=Pelham Today |access-date=17 November 2024}} In 2022 and 2023, the team made it to the regional semifinals.{{cite web |last1=Puchalski |first1=Bernie |title=Redcoats roll in Tier 2 opener |url=https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/redcoats-roll-in-tier-2-opener/ |website=BPSN |access-date=17 November 2024}}
Incidents
In 2019, an 18 year old student went missing.{{cite web |last1=Guevera |first1=Samuel |title=Niagara police search the shores of the Welland Canal for missing teen |url=https://www.cbc.ca/1.4964500 |website=CBC News |access-date=17 November 2024}} The school honoured him in their graduation ceremony for that year and gave the Ontario Secondary School Diploma to his family.{{cite web |last1=Knox |first1=Shelby |title=Missing St. Catharines teen Quintin Bingley honoured during graduation ceremony |url=https://www.610cktb.com/news/missing-st-catharines-teen-quintin-bingley-honoured-during-graduation-ceremony-1.3951916.html |website=610 cktb|access-date=17 November 2024}} He was later found dead. Foul play was not suspected.{{cite web |last1=Sawchuck |first1=Bill |title=Remains identified as missing St. Catharines teen |url=https://www.guelphmercury.com/news/remains-identified-as-missing-st-catharines-teen/article_18997602-304e-5194-bd52-849e974288dd.html? |website=Guelph Mercury Tribune |access-date=17 November 2024}}
In 2023, a teacher was charged with sexual assault of a student.{{cite web |last1=Hristova |first1=Bobby |title=St. Catharines high school teacher charged with sexual assault |url=https://www.cbc.ca/1.6809799 |website=CBC News |access-date=17 November 2024}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://govsimcoe.dsbn.org/ Official website]
- [https://www.simbotics.org/ Simbotics], the robotics team website
{{St. Catharines}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:High schools in the Regional Municipality of Niagara
Category:1971 establishments in Ontario
Category:Educational institutions established in 1971