Toronto District Christian High School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Toronto District Christian High School
native_name =

motto = Educating Teens for Service in the Light of God's Word.
established = 1960
type = Independent
category_label =
category =
affiliations = Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools, Christian Schools International
principal = Ren Siebenga
asst principal =
vice principal = Jennie Das, Matt Heinbuch, William Groot
enrollment = 450
grades = 9–12
address = 377 Woodbridge Ave.
city = Woodbridge
province = Ontario
country = Canada
colours = Green, black
athletics =
website = [http://www.tdchristian.ca www.tdchristian.ca]
nickname =TDCH, TDChristian

Toronto District Christian High School (TDCH) is an independent Christian secondary school located in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1960 and began classes in 1963. TDCH currently has an enrollment of about 450 students.

History

In the 1950s, after a relatively large wave of Dutch immigration to Ontario, several Christian elementary schools were founded in the Greater Toronto Area. [ [http://www.timothycs.com/about/ Timothy Christian School] in Etobicoke] [ [http://www.bramptonjkcs.org/info.htm John Knox Christian School] in Brampton] Eventually, many of the members of this community began to look ahead to Christian secondary schooling.

In 1960, the Toronto District Association for Christian Secondary Education was founded, and planning for a Christian high school began. In 1963 forty-nine grade nine and ten students began classes in Second Christian Reformed Church of Toronto. Eventually, a fundraising campaign raised $30,000, which was used to help buy a fifteen acre site in Woodbridge; a second campaign in 1964 generated $115,000 of the $150,000 needed for a building on the site. In 1965, the school building opened, with eight classrooms and a gym, and enrollment had risen to 130 students.

The school grew rapidly, beginning with expansions in 1970, 1974, and 1986, adding a library, staff room, auditorium, art room, and additional offices and classrooms. By 1991, the school was filled to its capacity of about 400 students.

In 1994, Ren Siebenga became principal, and the community came together to begin what would be called "Project 2000", a with a mission to expand and renew the school's facilities. From 1999 through 2003, the pre-1980s section of the building was renovated, and improvements were made to the school, including the addition of a performance centre, hallway computers, additional classrooms, a fitness centre, and additional parking lot space. Enrollment rose to the current capacity of roughly 450 students. [ [http://www.tdchristian.ca/about/history.php http://www.tdchristian.ca/about/history.php] ]

Academics

TDCH offers several diverse courses, including Social Justice Block, Video Block, French/History Block, and Environmental Block. [ [http://www.tdchristian.ca/academics/uniquePrograms.php http://www.tdchristian.ca/academics/uniquePrograms.php] ] TDCH also sends all students in grades nine and eleven on service trips to downtown Toronto every year, offering a unique chance to experience Toronto in a different light. [Higgs, Jennifer. "Service trip an 'eye-opening' experience". Accessed 4 November 2007. [http://www.oacs.org/Axiom/News/2007/October/October24.asp http://www.oacs.org/Axiom/News/2007/October/October24.asp] .] [Letter to the editor, The Toronto Star. Accessed 4 November 2007. [http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/210269 http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/210269] ]

In 2007, TDCH collaborated with Youth With A Mission and Hamilton District Christian High School to send seventeen students on a three-month co-op to Belize. [Power, Michael. "Trip hammered home realities of poverty". June 25, 2007. Accessed November 4, 2007. [http://www.yorkregion.com/article/32594 http://www.yorkregion.com/article/32594] ] A student who went on the trip commented that “it’s a whole new approach to school.” [Bolan, Sandra. "Trip shows local girl life in developing country". July 4, 2007. Accessed November 4, 2007. [http://www.yorkregion.com/article/34255 http://www.yorkregion.com/article/34255] .]

Also in 2007, a number of Grade 12 Physics students pioneered a new robotics program at TDCH. The winning submission from the school was entered into the second annual UOIT engineering robotics competition. During the second design workshop, TDCH was the only team to complete the oval circuit challenge. During the final sumobot competition, they advanced through the round-robin and 3 elimination rounds, placing second overall in the finals. [UOIT Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. "The Second Annual UOIT Engineering Robotics Competition". Accessed 4 September 2008. [http://faculty.uoit.ca/eklund/roboticscomp/ http://faculty.uoit.ca/eklund/roboticscomp/] ]

Athletics

TDCH's sports teams are called the Falcons, and the school colors are green and black. The school is known best for its skill in both men's and women's volleyball, but also has basketball, badminton, hockey, soccer, Ultimate Frisbee, and cross country teams.

Notable alumni

*Jim Veltman, the former captain (1999–2008) of the Toronto Rock lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League. [cite web |url=http://www.thestar.com/Life/article/190451 |title=He's a rock for pro lacrosse in Toronto |accessdate=2008-01-06 |author=Sam Laskaris |date=2007-03-07 |work= [http://www.thestar.com TheStar.com] |publisher= The Toronto Star]

References