Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School (Oakville)

:For other schools of the same name, see Holy Trinity Catholic High School or Holy Trinity High School.

Infobox Education in Canada
name= Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School


streetaddress= 2420 Sixth Line
city= Oakville
province= Ontario
postalcode= L6H 3N8
areacode= 905
phone= 257-3534
fax= 257 6262
email=
url= http://www.holytrinityoakville.ca/
schoolnumber=
schoolboard= Halton Catholic District School Board
superintendent= Fiammetta Mazzetti
trustee=
affiliation= Roman Catholic
principal= Colin McGillicuddy
viceprincipal= Vince Aresta
Gino Montanari
administrator=
schooltype= Separate Secondary School
grades= 9 to 12
language= English and second language classes in French
area= Halton
mascot=
teamname= TITANS
colours= Gold, Black and White
founded= 2002
enrollment= 1652
enrollment_as_of= September 2006

Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School is a Separate school located in North Oakville in the River Oaks area within Oakville, Ontario. There are currently 1652 students attending - grades 9 through 12 in the 2007-2008 school year. Holy Trinity is a member of the Halton Catholic District School Board.

History

Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary construction was completed in the summer of 2002 and the school opened to new students in September 2002. The school initially had only Grade 9, Grade 10 and Grade 11 students. First year enrollment was just slightly above 800 students.

Holy Trinity's first year open, 2002, was considered by many of those who attended to be a truly great year in the history of the school. This was not only because it was the opening year of the school but also because of the lower student population size of the school. The initial school year had approximately 800 students, while the 2007-2008 school year has seen that initial enrollment double in size.

The school is a twin build of Christ The King Catholic Secondary School in Georgetown, Ontario. The blueprints of this school are a mirror image of Holy Trinity's. Both schools were opened in September 2002.

The 2006-2007 school year had in excess of 1600 students (1626) enrolled in the school. The first, complete student enrollment and graduation cycle (those students who attended grades 9 through 12) was completed with the commencement in June 2006. The 2007-2008 year had 1652 students enrolled.

The official capacity of the original school was set by the Ontario Ministry of Education as a build design for 1200 students. The enrollment for the 2006-2007 school year was officially listed as 1626 students. The large enrollment has brought much concern to parents and the community. Many believe the overpopulation and fast growth of the school is unacceptable and that the board should work to decrease the number of students attending. It has been suggested that the school should reduce the number of feeder schools attending, with the possibility of sending the students from Holy Family to St. Thomas Aquinas (located in Old Oakville) instead.

Portable or Relocatable Classrooms

There are currently an additional seventeen (17) portable classrooms situated on site. These individual classrooms are placed outside of the original school building to accommodate the excess student enrollment over the building capacity of 1200 students as set by the Ontario Ministry of Education. Student enrollment in the 2007-2008 school year was a 36% enrollment above the permanent build facility level approved by the Ministry when the school was completed in 2002. History in Ontario has shown that many of these relocatable/portable classrooms will in fact be on site at the school for 15 to more years.

No provision is made by the Ministry for important and needed specialty classrooms for these additional students enrolled beyond the official building capacity. Academic areas areas needing additional academic specialized facilities for the additional four hundred students in excess of the official 1200 capacity, are in the areas of science labs, computer labs and technical education classrooms.

In the winter of 2007 a number of the portables caught on fire and had to be replaced. The cause of the fire remains unknown.

chool Administration and Programming

The founding principal of Holy Trinity was Mr. Don Grant [2002 - 2007] . In the year 2007, he was replaced by Dr. McGillicuddy upon the retirement of Principal Grant. The 2007-2008 vice-Principals consist of Mr. Vince Aresta and Mr.Gino Montanari.

The school offers academic programs for university bound students, applied programs for college bound students, and essential programs for the learning challenged. It is also a leader in co-operative education, apprenticeship and workplace programs.

One of the issues expressed by the community is for the possible addition of the International Baccalaureate program. With school population 33% larger than capacity, the inclusion of the IB program [http://www.ibo.org/] is not being considered.

Extra-curricular Activities

Holy Trinity does offer many extracurricular activities. However, they are mainly oriented around team and individual sports:

Boys ~ Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey, Volleyball, Soccer, Swimming, Rugby, Baseball, Cross Country, Track and Field

Girls ~ Basketball, Ice Hockey, Volleyball, Soccer, Swimming, Field Hockey, Rugby, Tennis, Cross Country, Track and Field, Fastball.

The school offers a selection of open participation extracurricular activities. Musical options include a Concert Band, Jazz Band, and a school Choir under the direction of Mr. Kevin Harkin and Mrs. Sheila Mascarin. Extracurricular groups, clubs, and teams include an Environment Club, Debate Team, Chess Team, Ski Team, and a Computer Sciences club.

The school also has a very successful Student Council. Holy Trinity's Student Council consists of two representatives from each grade and 2 co-presidents. Council runs many school events such as dances, spirit days and assembly's. Grade's 10-12 can run for council at the end of the school year, while grade nine's run in September.

Varsity Athletics

"Soccer"

The Senior boys soccer team captured the Halton Region championships in 2006 and competed at the OFSSAA Provincial championship(2006). In 2005 the Junior varsity captured the Halton Region title. They are heavily favored to win once again, and make the trip to OFSSAA.

Basketball

The Senior Boys won their first ever Halton AAAA Basketball Championship in the 2006 - 2007 season by beating the Assumption Crusaders. This team is likely the beginning of a new athletic era. Both the Senior and Junior varsity teams will be contending against Halton's top team for the Halton AAAA Championship in the 2007- 2008 season.

The Junior Girls won their first ever Halton AAAA Basketball Championship in the 2006 - 2007 season. It was the crowning achievement in an undefeated season.

Feeder schools

Elementary schools whose graduates are expected to come to Holy Trinity include St. Johns, Our Lady of Peace, St. Marguerite d'Youville, Holy Family, St. Michael and St. Andrew. Students of Holy Family were originally not scheduled to attend Holy Trinity. However, concerned parents and students from the school challenged the Board until they were added to the list of schools to attend.

Holy Trinity holds multiple "feeder school" athletic tournaments throughout the year in sports including volleyball, basketball, and track and field. The school also holds tournaments for their fellow Halton Region high schools as well as hosting a number of regional tournaments and classic events in a variety of sports. In addition, the arts programs make trips to the elementary schools each year or host shows at Holy Trinity to inform future students of the opportunities the arts programs hold.

External links

* [http://holytrinityoakville.ca Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School]
* [http://www.haltonrc.edu.on.ca Halton Catholic District School Board]