Stratford Central Secondary School

Infobox_University
name = Stratford Central Secondary School


motto = Per Spera Ad Astra
established = 1844
type = Public Highschool
calendar= Semester
principal = Jackie Campbell
vice-principal = Martin Ritsma
city = Stratford
state = Ontario
country = Canada
campus = Downtown
colours = Red and Green color box|#FF0000 color box|#00FF00
mascot = Gunther the Ram
website= [http://www.amdsb.ca/StratfordCentralSS/index.html] |

Stratford Central Secondary School is a Public High School in Stratford, Ontario. It is one of three main high schools in Stratford. Central is known primarily for its arts and music program, along with a variety of skilled sports teams. The new principal, Jackie Campbell, replaced former principal Laurie Langstaff at the start of the 2007 school year.

Extra-Curricular Clubs

Stratford Central has a wide selection of Extra Curricular clubs to join.

Central Athletics Association

Central Athletic Association (C.A.A.) consists of Central's student athletes from grades 9 - 12. The student-run hierarchy includes executive and general members. Executive positions include Co-Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Fund Raisers and Spirit Committees. Main activities are fund raising and operating school sports teams at Central. Members volunteer their time and effort to score keeping, organize tournaments, help officiate, and all other activities required to facilitate Central's team sport programs. Major fund raisers include the annual Halloween dance and the Student-Teacher hockey game.

Environmental Club

The Environmental Club is a group of students at Central dedicated to by thinking globally and acting locally. The Environmental Club is run by the Librarian Kerry McManus, who also runs [http://www.carestratford.org/ C.A.R.E] Stratford,another grassroots environmental group.

Interact Club

Interact Club is affiliated with the Stratford Rotary Club and therefore are involved in a variety of service projects to help the school and the community. Fundraising projects include the Christmas Shoebox Campaign, the toonie week fundraiser, Amnesty International, soup kitchen, food drives, in-school mentoring, assisting at Rotary events, and sponsoring a child through World Vision.

Theatre Central

Theatre Central represents all drama and non-drama students who participate in extracurricular drama activities. These activities can include acting, directing, technical and various production responsibilities. Theatre Central annually produces a fall show, a Sears Drama Festival competition piece, and a spring school show. Past activities have also included a murder mystery, cabaret nights and of course, the TC Gala at the end of the year. A majority of the productions are student written and directed. The fall show especially is a great opportunity for a variety of pieces and talent to be showcased. This years musical will be written by Britta Johnson.

Music Program

The Music program at S.C.S.S is probably the schools most prominent feature, it has many different bands, all of which have won numerous awards at competitions.

ymphonic Band

Symphonic Band is the senior-level band at Stratford Central Secondary School.The Symphonic Band plays at various school functions such as Commencement, assemblies and concerts, as well as in the Stratford community and at music festivals. In the past, the Symphonic Band has toured Scotland, England, New York, Washington, Chicago, Boston and Montreal. In May 2005, the band members travelled to Scotland and England, and gave performances at Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle and the Tower of London. The ensemble's repertoire includes some of the major works composed for band, in addition to marches, folk songs, show tunes and pop music.

Jazz Band

The S.C.S.S Jazz Band was formed in 1990. Over the years, members of the Jazz Band have performed and competed in New York, Washington, Montreal, Chicago and at various community events in Stratford. The group recently played at the Alzheimer Society's Soup's On at the Coliseum, and at the Winterfest Big Band Swing Dance at the Victorian Inn. The Jazz Band specializes in the repertoire of the big band swing classics, as well as modern pop tunes, jazz and rock. Students study the 12-bar blues pattern, and are encouraged to improvise and to play solos.

Concert Band