Simcoe Composite School

Infobox Education in Canada
name = Simcoe Composite School


imagesize=
motto= Non sibi sed patriae
motto_translation=
streetaddress= 40 Wilson Avenue
city = Simcoe
province = Ontario
postalcode= N3Y 2E5
areacode= 519
phone= 426-4664
fax=
email=
website = http://www.simcoesabres.com/main.html
schoolnumber=
schoolboard= Grand Erie District School Board
affiliation=
superintendent=
trustee=
principal = Helene High
viceprincipal= Darren Duff
administrator=
schooltype=Public secondary
grades = 9–12
language= English
area=
mascot =
teamname= Sabres
colors = Blue and white
established = 1898
enrollment = 960
enrollment_as_of= 2007-2008

Simcoe Composite School is a high school in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. More than 900 students attend this rural secondary school and courses range from English, French, Spanish, and mathematics to computers, business, athletics, world history, civics, and even drama class. In 2003 the school suffered the loss of their gym in an act of arson. Several years and many fundraisers later, the "Sabredome" was officially opened again in 2006.

Bridge Special Needs Program

There is also a special education program called "Bridge" that teaches mentally challenged children how to adapt to adult life in the community. Every Wednesday afternoon, the special needs students take swimming lessons at the local recreation centre. Children in the "Bridge" program range from 14 to 21 years of age and can range from high functioning to severely handicapped. During the 1990s, there was a facilitated communication-oriented support group (WINGS) that met with the special needs kids from Walsh Public School on Friday afternoons. This group was short-lived and was disbanded by the year 2000.

After graduation, the student is usually assigned to the "Norfolk Association for Community Living" to begin their advanced life skill training, job placement, and possible independent living arrangements. A large majority of "Bridge" graduates live either with their parents or in a group home. The average occupation of a "Bridge" graduate is a disability pensioner, a paid employee of a sheltered workshop, or as a food preparer at the local "McDonald's". Since most companies that engage in "open" or "mainstream" employment refuse to hire "Bridge" program graduates, options are extremely limited within Norfolk County.

Prior to the establishment of the Bridge Special Needs program, mentally challenged students from elementary schools like Doan's Hollow Public School and the Simcoe Lions School were placed in basic classes that were in the regular program. However, they faced frustration with even the most simple tasks in what would now be called "vocational" classes. Most special needs students in the 1970s and 1980s faced suspensions from school and most of them eventually dropped out of the school system due to frustration. The Bridge program made things easier by facilitating the transition from elementary school to adulthood. However, the "Bridge" program achieves this goal through segregating the special needs children from the rest of the high school (unless his or her maturity suggests attending a certain number of integrated subjects).

Athletics and lifestyles at SCS

Simcoe Composite School students participate in the follow sports on a high school level:

* basketball
* football
* soccer
* Track and Field
* hockey
* Rugby
* swimming

Simcoe Composite School has a basketball, a soccer team, a hockey team, and a Rugby team that collectively use the school team name "Sabres". The school's swimming team uses the school team name "Sabercuda" which is said to be a cross between the conventional sabre and the barracuda.

Students from this school rarely eat from the in-school cafeteria. Instead, they take advantage of their proximity to the fast food restaurants on the Queensway, the downtown business area, and their homes to enjoy lunches either at home or inside fast food restaurants where meals are served quickly. In addition to the courses mentioned above, SCS has a wide variety of other courses available for the children.

Simcoe Composite School TV Show

On Thursday nights before Bingo Live on Cable 5, the school has its own local access cable show for the people in Simcoe to watch. The show features highlights on the school, its students, and general popular culture (fashions, new movies, trends). The communications class is responsible for the weekly programming. By using the song "Baba O'Riley" by The Who during its opening and closing credits, the show emphasizes the fact that the show is made for teenagers, by teenagers.

Carillon Tower

The high school is located next to the "Carillon Tower". This tower is considered to be one of only 9 functioning Carillon towers remaining in all of Canada. Erected at the end of World War I, this tower serves a reminder for local residents who have died in combat for Canada and the British Commonwealth. The Carillon bells in Simcoe can be heard within a 1-kilometre range and is considered to be an attraction for residents and tourists who walk in the nearby park.

Nearby attractions

There are also two parks near the high school. One can be accessed from a bridge and the other one can be accessed by crossing the main street, which outside of Simcoe, becomes Highway 24. These two parks also hold the Friendship Festival every August. To the south, there is a post office. To the north, there is a Wendy's and Subway, and other fast food restaurants. To the east, there is a neighbourhood, where teenagers usually walk to the high school and back.

External links

* [http://www.simcoesabres.com/main.html Simcoe Composite School]
* [http://www.gedsb.on.ca/page.php?catId=3&pgId=38&schoolId=82 Grand Erie District School Board]
* [http://www.theweathernetwork.com/schools/CAONPOI2156965 Weather Network]