HomeMy WebLinkAbout686"Duotang bound book, 18 pages plus appendices, dated September, 1987,
compiled by Muriel Cafik, a history of Holy Redeemer School on Liverpool Road south in
PIckering.
"
"""By education, I mean not the mere acquisition of certain arts, or of certain branches of
knowledge, but that instruction and discipline which qualify and dispose the subjects of it
for their appropriate duties and employments of life, as Christians, as persons of business
and also as members of the Civil Community in which they live.""
E. Ryerson, 1846
"
"PREFACE
The writing of this history has been done as a labour of love of education and of history,
in the belief that nothing of the past should be lost, for it is the very foundation of what we
have become and are becoming, of all that we can ever be. As the school in which I first
practised the role of 'teacher', Holy Redeemer School has a claim to my affection.
I salute all those students and teachers who have laboured there and from whom I have
learned so much.
In the preparation of this work I owe large debts to many people. To Father Quesnelle
and Mr. Shane Coburn, two of the earliest trustees, who freely shared with me the many
boxes of records and their own personal memories, and to Mr. John Henry,
the first principal of Holy Redeemer School; to May Stewart, secretary of Holy
Redeemer School, for the huge task of typing this history. To these and to many others
whose books I mention and upon whose work I have so freely drawn, I give my thanks.
On this, the twenty-fifth anniversary of Holy Redeemer School, I offer this history in
dedication to the role of Catholic education in our society, past, present and future.
Muriel Cefik September, 1987
John Dewey
""Education is a social process ... . education is growth.... education is not a preparation
for life; education is life itself.""
"
"SCHOOL OF THE HOLY REDEEMER
1962-1987
Background
No history of an event can be told without reference to the past as all history is a story of
growth and change intertwined, each dependent upon the other. The history of the area in
which Holy Redeemer School would subsequently be built covers a period of three hundred
years and encompasses changes brought about by exploration, immigration, early settlers,
and two world wars....
Little more than three hundred years ago, Francois de Salignie and Claude Trouve,
Supician missionaries, established the very first school in this province.
The time was 1669-1970. Located at Frenchman's Bay in Pickering,
it is marked on the old French maps with the Indian name variously spelled as
Gandatsetiagon or Gandatschagon and was the home of a tribe of Iroquois Indians.
The naming of the inlet 'Frenchman's Bay' resulted from the arrival of the two French
missionaries who were the first white men to reside in the area.
This, however, did not mark the beginning of education in the Durham Region, as,
after a miserable winter, the two departed for home.
Early History
By 1776 when the first white settlers arrived, land which had been virtually stolen from the
Indians had been
Several different spellings were noted.
Other accounts name the tribes Senecas.
"
"'generously' awarded to those deemed worthy.- mostly absentee owners.
Major John Smith, father of the
surveyor-General and Commandant at Fort Niagara, held 6,400 acres in Pickering
Township, 5,000 of them in one block, extending for two and one half miles along the lake.
His son held an adjoining 1,200 acres, so that when Major Smith died in 1795,
his son held a block extending from the lake to beyond the third concession,
and broken only by the clergy reserves. (McKay, 1961)
In this way, by 1805, some 69% of the land
available in Pickering had been granted and of that total, 64% had consisted of 1,000
acres or more. Despite this, few of those granted lands were interested in farming them
or even settling on them, and as a consequence, the population of this area grew very
slowly.
After the arrival of Lieutenant Governor Simcoe in the province, the need to provide for
education was foreseen and in 1797 legislation was passed providing for acreage to
be set aside for District Grammar Schools. These schools were modelled after the
select schools of England for the children of the wealthy and intended mainly for boys,
although some girls were tolerated. In Pickering, however, even by 1805 the population
was only 96 persons, 21 men, 18 women and 51 children (Provincial Secretary's
Report R.G. 5, 826, Vol. 1, P.A.O.), so there remained little need for education in this
area until the early 1800's.
"
"Since education in the grammar schools was too expensive, these 51 children were
taught mainly by their parents, if at all. Because the task of clearing the land for farming
was hard work and required every available member of the family, boys as young as seven
or eight years of age were put to work on the land. As a result, very few could read or write.
By 1816 the Provincial Legislature had passed an act called the Common School Act.
The act provided that:
So soon as a competent number of the inhabitants...of any Town, Township, Village,
or Place...shall meet together for the purpose of making arrangements for...on or before the
first day of June in each and every year...and shall unite and build or provide a School
House, engage to furnish twenty scholars or more, and shall in part provide for the payment
of a teacher, it shall be made lawful... to appoint three fit and discreet persons,
Trustees to the said Common School, who shall have power and authority to examine into
the moral character and capacity of any person willing to become Teacher...
(Dixon, R.T. & Bethune N.L. 1971) The teacher, moreover, was to be a British subject.
This was the first effort to improve the quality of education for those unable to afford
Grammar Schools, but it was also the first measure to grant autonomy to a local
government. It provided for the division of all land by the Township into school sections,
usually three miles by two miles.
Through its appointed Board of Education, the government maintained control of the local
boards. It was
"
"the duty of these Boards to specify which books could be used, to rescind or alter local
rules and to remove any teacher who should prove unsatisfactory for any reason.
After 1824, the Board acquired the power to examine and license teachers as well.
Although by the Common School Act, the locality was required to pay a part of the
teacher's salary, in addition, the Act set aside six thousand pounds annually for the
support of the Common School and for the payment of a portion of the teachers' salaries.
Johnson, Leo. A. 1973
While this Act certainly provided for the building of schools it did not dispense with the
problem of securing even a modest education for the children. (As proper teachers were
not available and the children were needed at home, school could be kept open for only
three or four months during the winter season.) In 1821, when Pickering has 334 children
under sixteen, only one Common School, taught by Wm. Moore in Whitby
(six miles from Pickering) qualified for the annual government grant.
""Without proper schools and teachers, the literacy of the inhabitants steadily declined until 1
820. Whereas the early minutes of the Township meetings are generally neatly written with
a fair attention to correct spelling, in later years there appeared a sharp deterioration in
both spelling and writing. For example, the Pickering minutes for 1815 note that
'our townd meting war omited in the year AD 1814 and our Town officors war Put in the
same manner."" (Higgins, W,H. 1887)
"
"The period from 1820 to 1840, was a time of enormous growth in Ontario county and the
population by 1840 was 5,013: by 1851 the population had increased to 7,996.
By this time 60.4% of ths acreage was cultivated. The year 1845 saw the building of
large grist mills, woollen mills and sawmills in the area. (Johnson Leo A. 1973)
In 1854 the Reciprocity Treaty introduced Free Trade in agriculture and forestry products
between Canada and the United States. This opening of borders and the shortages
brought about by the Crimean and American Civil Wars created a demand for locally
grown wheat and timber, causing prices to double and triple in some years.
The increased demand for locally grown wheat and the expansion of timber exports
provided jobs for labourers in both the woods and sawmills of the area.
(McKay, Wm. A. 1961)
At Frenchman's Bay, shipping became more and more important as the products of the
lumber mills , grist mills and farms became greater...Docks were built at the north end of
the bay...(later moved to the east side because of heavy silting in the north side),
and, in 1843 work was begun in opening the channel into Lake Ontario so that larger ships
might use it. A horse drawn elevator and scoop were used for this purpose but by 1845
the channel was opened and the docks built. (McKay Wm. A. 1961)
Not only did the rise of large scale business require
employees with a good education, but also the upsurge of lawlessness resulting from poor,
landless workers, demanded major
"
"changes in the school system. This fact had been echoed
by Egerton Ryerson, the second Superintendent of Education
for the province in 1846:
...a system of general education
amongst the people is the most effectual preventative or pauperism and its natural
companions, misery and crime.
To a young and growing country, and the retreat of so many poor from other countries,
this consideration is of the greatest importance... that pauperism and crime prevail in
proportion to the absence of education amongst the labouring classes.
(Hodgins, J. George 1846)
In a subsequent report issued in 1846 Ryerson argued further: ""...the result of the
investigation (in Massachusetts, in 1841) is the most astonishing superiority in productive
power on the part of the educated worker....processes performed not only more rapidly
but better."" (Hodgins, 1846)
As a consequence, the Education Act of 1841 made further provisions for the
establishment and maintenance of Common Schools throughout the province.
The Education Act of 1843 increased grants to 50,000 pounds annually
(divided among schools on a per pupil basis) with the local District Councils
responsible for raising an equivalent amount through local taxation.
Township Commissioners, elected at annual Township meetings were required to
administer the schools. Despite this increase in funding, parents of children
"
"attending the Common Schools were still expected to pay a significant portion of the cost
of their education by way of a ""rate bill"" or special school charge. This special school
charge brought such inequities that many children were kept home from school when
parents could not afford the fees. In Ryerson's report of 1853 he noted that some 2,184
school age children in Ontario County (26%) were not at school, (Hodgins, 1846)
Despite the fact that the first elementary schools in Canada were founded by priests and
missionaries of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic education was not wanted by the
government of the day and for thirty years, Rev. Egerton Ryerson, Chief Superintendent of
Education and a former Methodist minister, built and defended the public school system.
Of importance to Catholics, therefore, was the addition of a Separate School clause to the
Education Act of 1841, Section XI....
Whenever any number of the inhabitants of any Township or Parish professing a
religious faith different from that of the majority of the inhabitants of such Township or
Parish, shall dissent from the regulations...
giving Catholics the right to ""establish and maintain one or more Common Schools....
subject to the visitation, conditionary rules and obligations, in this Act:""...Roman Catholics
shall be entitled to have a school....with a
teacher of their own persuasion, upon application."" An
amendment to the Act of July 24, 1850 changed the required number of 10 residents of
families to 12. (Dixon, 1971)
"
"But something had to be done to ensure that schools were attended. Ryerson's answer,
in 1846 was to create ""free"" schools and to remove the responsibility for
curriculum from the hands of the local trustees while leaving them the responsibility of
paying much of the cost of the system. The Education Act of 1846 extended the terms of
local trustees to three years; all books must be selected from a list provided by the
Department of Education; powers of local Superintendents of Education were greatly
expanded to include the duty to examine candidates for teaching certificates and to grant
licenses (either permanent or temporary), and to make an annual report.
In 1850, Ryerson called for the establishment of local public schools supported by real
estate taxation. It was then that the very first school was to be built in the Pickering area,
the first dedication to education since the brief attempt by the French missionaries over
one hundred end eighty years previous. Located near Highway 2 (Kingston Road) and the
Brock Road, this school was built in 1850 but was replaced in 1852 by a new school,
Baseline Public School, just a few yards south of the railroad tracks at Baseline
(now Bayly) and Brock Road. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce now
stands on the site of the school which many residents of the Pickering area,
including this writer, are proud to present as their introduction to Education, for,
as indicated in the Public School Superintendent's Report of March, 1928,
""You have one of the finest schools in the county, (Hutchinson, R.A., 1928)
"
"Prosperity continued in the area until the 1860's when the wheat midge cut the yield.
By 1867, when Reciprocity was terminated, most of the land had been sold or leased.
Immigrants from the British Isles, Quakers from Ireland, Dutch Germans, and Americans
from Pennsylvania inhabited the land. By January, 1854, when Ontario was proclaimed a
county separate from York and Peel, the population of Pickering Township had grown to
about 7,000 people. (McKay, 1961)
The period from 1851-1871 brought many changes in the way of life in Ontario County.
Pioneer methods gave way to mechanized agriculture and industrialization.
In 1856 the Grand Trunk Railway between Kingston and Toronto was completed.
The Kingston Road, previously a military road surveyed in 1779 and a stage coach route,
was paved in 1921. (Johnson, 1973) Improved transportation changed social,
economic and moral systems. Education was now available and 'free'.
By the 1850's demands for Separate Schools were growing in the cities.
In 1854 records show that Toronto had seven Catholic Schools,
three taught by lay teachers, the remaining four by religious.
Although Catholic Schools were not entitled to share in the community taxes which they
were expected to pay, pressure continued from the Catholic hierarchy and legal
safeguards and rights continued to be made clearer. The Roman Catholic Separate
School Act of May 30
"
"1855 (an amendment to the previous act) and often known as the Tache Act in recognition
of the Hon. Sir E.P. Tache who presented this Bill in the Legislature decreed that:
2) Any number of persons - not less than five heads of families, being resident
Freeholders or householders...may convene a public meeting of persons desiring to
establish a separate school...
3) A majority of the persons present, not less than ten in number, being resident
Freeholders or householders and being Roman Catholics...may elect three persons to
act as trustees...
The extent of the district of each school division was a distance of three miles in any
direction from the school-house, (Dixon, 1971)
On May 5, 1863 an Act was passed to restore to Roman Catholics certain rights in
respect to Separate Schools. Other-wise known as the Scott Act, (Dixon, 1971) this is
enshrined in the BNA Act of 1867, (The BNA Act, which established our nation,
decreed that education was to continue as a Provincial responsibility).
Any changes since then have been minor clarifications in recordings of the Act until
June, 1987, when a landmark decision of the courts extended funding of Separate
Schools to Grade 13.
Although Catholic Schools flourished in urban areas, they were slow to appear in more
rural areas. This slow expansion of the Separate School system, whose roots went back
to the early missionaries, was not from lack of interest. At a time when the Public School
sector was expanding into Township school areas,
"
"with large centralized schools, Separate Schools were restricted to the three mile limit
with consequent one and two room schools.
In Pickering Township, the population began to drop after 1860 then rose slowly after the
turn of the century. Although the First World War, 1914-1918, had no great effect on the
population of the area, It was the Second World War, 1939-1945 which brought the big
wave of Immigrants into the township. Many were Canadians from the cities and towns in
Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. The Ajax shell filling plant employed thousands and
many remained when the war was over. Soon Ajax housed the overflow of veterans from
Toronto universities and many of these, too, made it their home. Finally, before becoming a
separate municipality, Ajax was used as a distributing centre for immigrants from Europe
and the British Isles. Some of these, too, remained.
For many years Frenchman's Bay had been an area of summer cottages, but as World
War Two stretched on these cottages became permanent residences; small bungalows
and modest two storey homes were built alongside. By the end of World War Two the east
side of Frenchman's Bay had been given the new name of Bay Ridges by developers.
From Bayly Street on the north to Lake Ontario on the south, building was complete,
and building of generally more expensive housing ""across the Bay"" had begun.
But It wasn't
"
"until twenty years later, in 1962, that the need was seen for the building of a school to
serve the Catholic
population on the east side of the Bay. One aftermath, if not result of World War II has
been the greatest upsurge in world literacy yet experienced. We shall not suggest that
war is a better teacher than teachers, but it remains a truism that social upheaval and
change precede, indeed necessitate, progress. Chas F. Kettering
School of The Holy Redeemer
By 1960, the properties of Dan Annan and James
Mitchell had been purchased by Consolidated Building. These were the last of the large
farms in the Frenchman's Bay area and the subsequent Bay Ridges subdivision brought a
sufficiently large Catholic population to require the building of a Catholic School.
The circle was now complete, for Holy Redeemer School was to be built in the near vicinity
of the first school begun in 1669 by French missionaries. Located on the East side of
Liverpool Road, only one half mile north of Lake Ontario, its boundaries stretch from the
lake on the south to the seventh concession on the north, from Sandy Beach Road on the
east through the centre of Frenchman's Bay on the west, joining with Fairport Road.
On April 2, 1962, a letter was sent to all parents of potential students
(to announce the opening of the School
"
"of the Holy Redeemer) from the three-man school board responsible for its inception,
Mr. Harold L. Burnie, Mr. Gerrard Belanger, Mr. Joseph R. Quigley.
Completion date was set for September 1st, and a contract had been awarded to
Mel-Ron Construction , Whitby, selected from nine bids at an estimated cost of $89,018.00
Five acres had been set aside, three for the school and two for a future church * * at a
cost of $4,000.00 per acre. On Sunday. April 15th, at 3:00 p.m., the official sod turning
ceremony took place.
Building of the school took place in stages. For the first year the school operated as a
four room school, but all grades from kindergarten to Grade eight were included.
The first principal appointed to Holy Redeemer School was Mr. John Henry, M.A.,
who has since become Superintendent of Education for the enlarged Durham Region
Roman Catholic Separate School Board. The first teachers were Miss R. Mihelick,
Kindergarten, Miss R. Lettner, Primary (Grades 1 and 2), Mr. J. Harris, Intermediate
(Grades 3,4,5) and Mr. Henry, Senior (Grades 6,7,8) as well as principal.
-actual coat is reported to be $110,000.00
-the use of this site for a future church appears to have been a 'developer's dream',
as the the clergy desired a more central location
-when the School Board was turned down by the Township Planning Board for permission
to purchase frontage on Liverpool Road, the school Board repurchased land from the
Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation for the amount of $13,750.00 for 1.25 acres of
land it $11,000,00 per acre (School Board minutes of April 1965). This was the land the
Guard had sold to the parish for a church at $4,000.
"
"Bus service for the first year was considered economically unsound as most children
were within walking distance of the school. Growth in the area became evident however,
as a little more than two years later, January 25, 1955, Board approval was given for the
hiring of a bus for the children on the west side of Frenchman's Bay.
As well, although permission to eat lunch at school had until that time been denied,
a motion was passed that ""permission.... will be given by the principal if he feels this is
warranted, such as in the case of both parents working or on cold or wet days. ""
On September 23, 1962, the School of The Holy
Redeemer was officially opened by Archbishop Philip F. Pocock the co-adjutor of Toronto.
In his reply to the Archbishop, Mr. J.K. Henry made the following remarks ...
""The School is situated in an area which has been known for several years as
Frenchman's Bay- Bay Ridges is a more recent development. The School of the Holy
Redeemer will provide a link between these two parts of the community - a link between the
old and the new, between traditional and modern.""
The next phase of building was a three room addition with the lowest tender at
$75,000.00 followed by a four room addition at $90,000.00 Phase four coats for the
building of seven more rooms and a gymnasium amounted to $240,000.00 including
paving, concrete walks and landscaping, with the
"
"actual building cost of approximately $216,600.00 or $14.00 per square foot.
At the opening of this new wing, March 1966, the gymnasium was dedicated in honour of
Mr. Harold Burnie, one of the first trustees. By this time, enrolment had risen to over five
hundred students and minutes of the May, 1966 meeting disclosed the need for an
additional three rooms. In September, Grade three students from School of the Holy
Redeemer had to be placed at the School of St. Francis de Sales in Pickering
(the First Catholic school in the area) until building was complete.
It was at this point that an amalgamation took place between School of the
Holy Redeemer, St. Mary's (a small school at the Rouge and the second Catholic
School in the area), and Cherrywood; a school board with students but no school.
This strange sounding phenomonon of a school board with no school came about in
1963 with a change in the Statutes of Ontario by an act to Amend The Separate School Act.
This change was to be important to Catholic education as it changed the three mile
limitation (originally from the school site) to a point designated by the prospective
Separate School supporters. In effect, a Separate School zone could now be established
without the necessity of even buying a piece of land. This was to pave the way for the
establishment of all future Catholic schools in this area.
"
"By September, 1966, when land was purchased for
another new school (Our Lady of the Bay Catholic School) at a cost of $70,000.00
($7,000.00 per acre) enrolment at School of the Holy Redeemer had soared to 678
students and by the following year to 770, with enrolment at St. Mary's an overcrowded 267. By December 31, 1968, School of the Holy Redeemer consisted of twenty-one classrooms, one library, one gymnasium and a chapel, yet classrooms were becoming very crowded.
It was therefore with some relief that Our Lady Of the Bay Catholic School would soon be
completed but before that would happen, more problems had to be faced. It would not be
completed on time and something had to he done about educating the students.
A time sharing plan was instituted with students attending shifts, but minutes of
September 4, 1968 revealed that 'some parents not too happy with the shift system'
and later, September 30, 1968, minutes disclosed other problems...""Because of the
large transfer of students to the Public School System within the township due to our shift
system,""
A second effect Our Lady of the Bay was to have
on Holy Redeemer was a decision of the Board on ""March 25, 1968. A vote was taken,
with the majority in favour of a Senior School (Grade 7 and 8). Though this was a popular
new concept at the time it left School of the Holy Redeemer and School of St. Francis de
Sales as K-6 schools. That the experiment was
"
"not long lasting was evident by the headline in the Oshawa Times of April
16, 1972; ""OLB School to be made elementary K-8"" with the subheading... ""two present Separate Schools in the Bay Ridges area, St. Francis de Sales and Holy Redeemer, will both be converted to include Grades 7 and 8 from their present K-6 level.""
On January 5, 1967, at the first meeting of the combined Boards of Holy
Redeemer, Cherrywood and St. Mary's a possibly prophetic statement was
given by Mr. E.J. Finan, the inspector of Separate Schools, later Director of
Education and in September, 1987, Chairman of the Board of Education.
Mr. Finan envisioned ""Pickering Village and possibly Ajax
School Boards joining with this Board (HRS) at some future date.""
Subsequently, on July 29, 1968, Mr. Finan advised that legislation had been
passed (Bill 168) which would cause each Separate School zone: now in
existance to form a new County Roman Catholic Separate School System.
Holy Redeemer School Board had become a part of the Durham Region
Catholic Separate School Board.
A part of the school history which needs to be remembered is its use as a
'tempory' church. From Christmas, 1965, the school gymnasium became a
place of worship each Sunday for the next seven and one half years.
In addition, lovely chapel/board room provided a setting
* OLB - Our Lady of the Bay
"
"for mass every morning of the week. The patience and cooperation of
the parishoners whose children were also students at Holy Redeemer School
is indicated in comments of Father Bud Quesnelle, pastor of Holy Redeemer
Church from June 1965 to June 1979.
For the very first mass in the gymnasium, the back of the stage was open.
Parishoners plugged this gap with Christmas trees. To go to Holy
communion at that time, it was necessary to walk through the teachers' room.
A microphone was vital to relay mass to parishoners seated around the
corner in the hall where I could not even see them. I wasn't promoting
Sunday labour but in fact all the kneelers were assembled by parishoners in
a four hour stint one Sunday afternoon. Holy Redeemer School was unique
at that time as one of the few, if not the only school to have a daily mass
for the seven and one half years prior to building the new church.
In September 1985, Holy Redeemer School entered a new phase in its
existance. With more Catholic Schools in the area and a declining enrolment,
space became available to share with the French speaking community.
Part of the original school of the Holy Redeemer then became L'Ecole
Catholique Notre Dame de la Jeunesse. Two years and four months later,
on December 14, 1987, Notre Dame de la Jeunesse moved to its new
school site on Ritchie Road in Ajax-
Built in the era of bell bottom trousers, hippies and mini skirts , when a
new generation was dancing to the tunes of the Beatles and the Rolling
Stores, and with its history dating back to the 1600's, the School of the Holy
1- June 22, 1988 telephone conversation
"
Redeemer continued to serve the community, no longer under the original
three-man Board or the subsequent Larger Board of "five Catholic freeholders
or householders," but under the mantle of a much larger and still growing
Board. Dedicated to the Catholic education begun in this very area over
three centuries ago, Holy Redeemer School is ever striving to achieve its
motto, "To The Stars, With The Help of God."
"APPENDIX
1962-1987
1. Spiritual Directors
2. Trustees
3. Principals 1962-87
4. Vice-Principals
5. Teachers
6. Secretaries
7. Custodians
8. Excerpts from Board Minutes
9. Historical Documents
"
"Spiritual Directors
Rev. A. McMahon - Sept./62 - June/65
Rev. C. Van Item (assistant) - June/65
Rev. B. Quesnelle - June/65 - June/79
Rev. J. Culnan - June/79
TRUSTEES
Harold L. Burnie
Gerard J. Belanger
Joseph R. Quigley
D. McCell (Treasurer)
H. Burnie
M. Walther
Mr. H. Burnie
Mr. Strong
Mr. M.W.H. Walther
Mr. McCaul
Mr. S. Coburn
Mr. J. Blakely (Chairman)
Mr. S. Doburn (Sec't-Treasurer)
Mr. D. Meek
Mr. Wm. Comery
Father A.G. Quesnelle
Mr. John Darcy
First Board
November 1964
January 12, 1965
First Combined Board January 5, 1957
Amalgamation July 29, 1968
Shane Cobum (Appointed Chairman
of Interim Committee)
PRINCIPALS
Mr. John Henry M.A. 1962-1967
Mr. Bernard Chelmers 1967-1974
Mr. F. Corrigan 1974-1977
Sister M. Bondi 1977-1979
Mr. Wilfred Clavette 1979-1984
Mr. John Quinn 1984-1988
"
"Vice-Principals
Mr. Bernard Chalmers 1965-1967
Mr. William Sorensen 1967-1971
Mr. Frank Corrigan 1971-1973
Mr. Bradley Finucan 1973-1978
Mr. Al Morris 1978-1980
Mr. Tim O'Connell 1980-1982
Mr. John Brown 1982-1983
Mr. Rino Agostinis 1983-1985
Mr. Paul Pulla 1985-1987
Teachers
Rose Marie Lettner 1962-1965
Rose Marie Mihelick 1962-1967.
John A. Harris) 1962-1963 1964- May'65
Helen Murray 1968 - 1972
E.B. Wood Jan.'63-June' 63
Jill C. Liberty Sept.'63-March '64 1964-1966
James A. Chadwick 1963-1966
M. Lucille LePage 1963-1964
Donald Mullin Jan. '64-June '64
Muriel Bickerton Apr.'64-Dec. •65
Patricia Rice. Apr.'64-June 1968-1969 '66
Yvonne Debergh 1964-1965
Linda Hill 1964-1965
James Johnston 1964-1969
Terrence Martindale 1964-1968
Irene Sepp 1964-1967
Patricia Alzner 1965-1967
Helen Dingwall (nee Angiers) 1965-1982
Mary-Jo Maloney 1965-1967
Jean McGinn 1965-1967
Earla Walcott 1965-1987
Richard Walker 1965-1974
Jacqueline Johnston Jan.'66- 1974
(nee McNamara)
"
"Teachers
Maria Reynolds 1977 - 1981
Marilyn Lapa
1977 - 1979
Helen Lee 1979 - 1982
Catherine Lindsey 1979 - 1981
Helen Livett 1979 - 1981
Joan Taylor 1979 - 1981
Mary Simpson 1980 - 1981
Carol Mahoney Sept 8/81 - Sept. 18/81
Jim Kettrick 1981 - 1982
Mary Kreisz Sept. 8/81 - Sept. 18/81
Gerard Giddings 1981 - Dec. '82
Lydia Mazzeo 1981 - 1982
Gilda Ferone 1981 - 1986 (nee DiRocco)
Walter Klowak
1981
Sharon Pledger 1982 - 1987
Sandra Cooper
1982 - 1983
Rosemary Brand (child care worker) 1982-1985
Maria Chronopysky Jan '83
(nee Dacko)
Pat Mitchell Jan '83 - 1985
Lynda Simpson 1983 - 1984
Jo Anne Bentley
1983 - 1984
Felicia Marcello 1983
Vicky Rolfe 1983 - 1984
Mary McLoughlin 1983 - 1986
(nee Aubin)
Diane Frechette 1983
Elizabeth Jarrell 1983 - 1984
Susan Larson
1984
Diane Best 1984
Patricia Walton 1984
Yvonne Minard
1985
(nee Owen)
Lynn Ruetz 1985
Gwen Traynor
1985 - 1986
"
"Column 1:
Inge Fellnermayr
Theresa Fraser
Susan Garrard
Maria Jaworski
William Bush
Margaret Webster
(nee MacDonald)
Bernadette McGriskin
Jean Flood
(nee McLafferty)
William Sorensen
Ruth Stewart
Mary Stott
Louise Thompson
Terence Donegan
Dora Haisell
Margaret Lee
Winifred Cardona
Terrance Crowley
Eleanor Horrigan
Colleen Hunt
Lorayne Cahill (nee Legris)
Margaret Pearce (nee McDonald)
Mavis Naughton
Joseph O'Brien
Margaret Quinlan
Maxine Wetner
A.Guiette
Maureen Schuil
Eileen Gorman
Carol Oeppen
Column 2:
1966-1967
1966-1969
1966-1967 Jan.'68-1970
1966-1975
1965-1969
1966-1967 Jan.'68-1973 1974
1966-1968
1966-1969
1966-1971
1966-1969
1966-1972
1966-Dec.'66
Jan.'67-June 1969 1972-1986
Jan.'67-June 1968
Jan.'67-June 1967
1967-1968 1969-Mar. '72 Nov.'72-Dec.'72
1973-1974
1967-1969
1967-1969
1967-1968
1967-1968
1970-1971
1967-1969
1967-1970 1971-1973 1976-1997
1967-1969
1967-1968
1967-Dec.'67
1967-Dec.'67
1968-1974
1968-1970
1968-1969
"
"column 1:
Barbara Keshwar
Margaret Follon
Thomas Calnan
Dorothy Livingston
Matilda Gillis
Mary Sherbowich
Michael Froggatt
Richard Arbour
Joan Meade
John Arbour
Muriel Cafik
Patricia Cargill
Jane MacBride
Cecilia McCaughey
Barry McCoombe
Mary-Olive Madden
Darlene LeBorgne (nee O'Neill)
Joan Morton (nee Bennett)
Diane Jackson
Annne Theriault
Margaret Mason (nee Simms)
Neil Robeschuetten
Lawrence McAvoy
Helen Ijaz
Jacqueline Johnson (nee Perpete)
Linda Dionne
Joseph Gallant
Jeanne Hache
Bernadette Taylor
column 2:
1968-1969
1968-1969
1968-1969
1968-1969 1970-1971
1968-1970
1967-1969 1984-1985
1968-1969 1977-1985
Jan.'69-Jane 1969
1968-Jan.'69
1969-1971
1969-1971 Mar.'77 - 1983
1969-1977
1969-1975
1969-1972
1969-1970 1971-1972 1974-1976
1969-1970
1969-1973
1969-1983
1970-1975
1970-1972
1970-1971
1970-1981
1971-1977
1971-1976
1971-1972
Mar. '71-1987
1972-1974
1972-1979
1972-Dec.'72
1972-1975
"
"Column 1:
Catherine Bojkovsky
Rachel Adamson
Eileen Egerer
Liviana Sabetti
Sandra McBride
Darlene Rouse
Maureen Geen (nee Cassidy)
Mia Corey
Marie Sheehan
Kay Keefe
Brenda O'Donoghue.
Henry Ramjass
Nan Shaughnessy
Doris Groleau
Valerie Stapleton
Mildred Young
Doreth Polacek
Gabrielle Vandersteen (nee Boland)
Florinda Kotisa (nee De Azavedo)
Sean Finan
John Novak
Patrick Johnson
Helen Smethurst
Patricia Gostlin
Mary Zamarski.
John Knox
Patricia Maloney
Mary Jo Hurst (nee Marks)
Column 2:
Jan.'73-Nov.'73 1975-Nov.'75
1973-Jan.'84
1973-1976
Jan.'74-Dec.'75
1974-Dec. '74
1974-1976
1974-1976
1974-1976
1974-1988
1975-Jan.'76 1976-1981
1975-1982 1983-1985
1975-Dec.'75
Jan.'76-June '76
Jan.'76-June '76
Jan.'76-1977
Mar.'76-1981 1976 - 1983
1976-1982
1976-1984
1976-1980
1976-1983
Dec.'76-1977
Jan.'77-1979
Jan.'77-1977
-1981
1977-1984
"
"Teachers
Robert Tucker 1985-1986
Brian Thompson 1985-1986
Kathleen Currie 1986
Daniela Foldsea 1986-1987
Vanessa Wilson 1986
Michelle Crampsie 1987
Carol David 1987
Francisca Gazley 1987
Paul Orlando 1987
Yvonne Paquette 1987
Karen Power 1987
Gillian Gillen 1987
Secretaries
Mrs. Plitz Feb.'65-Dec'65
Mrs . Hewitt Dec.'65-1975
Mrs . D. Carter 1975-1984
Mrs. M. Vickers Nov.'82-1984
Mrs . Wheeler Donawa 1984-May '87
Mrs . May Stewart May'87
Custodians
Mr. George Donkers
Mr. A. Van Boxtel 12 Years
Mr. W. Montgomery 1965
Rod King June'85
Bruno Salvador Sept.'86-Sept.19/87
"
"Excerpts From Board Minutes
Bulletin #3 from Department of Education to Boards in 1964-1965 regarding pregnency
leave: ""A teacher should leave when pregnancy becomes apparent (usually at the
end of the fifth month of pregnancy).""
Feb. 22/65: -""A full-time secretery (Mrs. Plitz) hired for the school, also took over the
writing of cheques and handling of books for the Board at a salary of $3,300.00""
(A note of relief is expressed
in the handwritten notes of Shane Coburn, a trustee first elected in December 1964, who,
as secretary treasurer,spent many evenings involved in paper work for the board for an
honorarium of $30.00 per month). Mrs. Plitz was to serve as school secretary for three
years and upon retirement was replaced by Mrs. Hewitt on December 1, 1965.
Feb. 22/65: - A school motto was offered for consideration by the Board,
""Ad Astra Auxilio Dei"" suggested by Mr. Walther (To the Stars by The Help of God).
Motto accepted May 31, 1965
June 1/65: -Enrollment was 393 students; of these 18-20 were French speaking families.
Other Ethnic groups included Italian, German, Austrian, Indian, Maltese, British Guianan,
Russian, Spanish, Dutch, Hungarian, Polish, Jamacian, North American Indian - a total of
15 nationalities.
"
"Feb.28/65 - A primary special education class is established.
Nov./66 - Discussed obtaining a school crossing guard.
Dec. 19/66- Junior Special Education class (14) to be sent to St. Francis due to lack of
space at Holy Redeemer.
Jan. 1/67 - Union with Rosebank (SS.#3) and Cherrywood (SS.#7) - change from three
man board to five man board. Cost per pupil at each school - $1.53 per day.
Sept. 25/67 - Library now open for lending of books. Shelves urgently needed.
June 19/68 - More shelving is required as there is no room for the new library books that
have been purchased.
Jan. 1/69 - Amalgamation of all small 5-man Boards into combined R.C.S.S. Zone
(Bill 168)
"
"APPENDIX
Excerpts from
The Tache Act, 1855
The Scott Act, 1863
"
"Historical Document Twenty-Five
Excerpts from the Tache Act, Legislature of Canada West and Canada East,
May 30, 1855.
II. Any number of persons not less than five heads of families, being freeholders; or
householders resident within any school section of any township or within any ward of any
city or town, and being Roman Catholics, may convene a pub-lic meeting of persons
desiring to establish a separate school for Roman Catholics in such school section or ward
for the election of trustees for the management thereof.
III. A majority of the persons present, not less than ten in number, being freeholders or
householders, and being Roman Catholics, at any such meeting may elect three persons
resident within such section to act as trustees for the management of such separate school
and any person, being a British subject, may be elected as such trustee whether he be a
freeholder or householder, or not.
VI. If a separate school or separate schools shall have been established in more than
one ward of any city or town, the trustees of such separate schools may, if they think fit,
form an union of such separate schools...
VIII. All trustees elected and forming a body corporate under this act shall have the same
power to impose, levy and collect school rates or subscriptions upon and from persons
sending children, to, or subscribing towards the support of separate schools,
and all other powers in respect of separate schools, as the trustees of common schools
have and possess under the provisions of the acts hereinbefore cited in respect of
common schools. ...
XII. Every person paying rates, whether as proprietor or tenant, who, on or before the
first day of February of any year, shall have given notice to the clerk of the municipality in
which any separate school is situated, that he is a Roman Catholic and a supporter of
such separate school, shall be exempted from the payment of all rates imposed within
such ward or school section for the support of common schools and of common school
libraries for the year there next following, and every clerk of a municipality, upon receiving
any such notice, shall deliver a certificate to the person giving the same,
to the effect-that such notice has been given, and shew-
ing the date of such notice; Provided always, that nothing herein contained shall exempt
any such person from paying any rate for the support of common schools or common
school libraries, or for the erection of a schoolhouse or school -houses, which shall have
been imposed before such separate school was established.
XIII. Every separate school established under this Act shall be entitled to a share in the
fund annually granted by the Legislature of this Province for the support of common
schools, according to the average number of pupils attending such school during the
twelve next preceding months which may have elapsed from the establishment of a new
separate school as compared with the whole average number of pupils attending school
in the same city, town, village or township; Provided always, that no separate school shall
be entitled to a share in any such fund unless the average number of pupils so attending
the same be fifteen or more, (periods of epidemic or contagious diseases excepted):
Provided also, that nothing herein contained shall entitle any such separate school
within any city, town, village, or township, to any part or portion of school money as
arising or accruing from local assessment for common school purposes within any such
city, town, village or township, or the county or union of counties within which such town,
village or township is situate: Provided also, that if any separate school shall not have
been in operation for a whole year at the time of the apportionment, it shall not receive
the sum to which it would have been entitled for a whole year, but only an amount
proportional to the time during which it has been kept open.
"
"Historical Document Thirty-Three
(continued)
Trustees may copy Assessment Roll of Municipality
VIII. The Clerk or other officer of a Municipality within or adjoining which a Separate
School is established, having possession of the Assessor's ¦ or Collector's roll of the
said Municipality, shall allow any one of the said Trustees or their authorized collector to
make a copy of such roll in sofar as it relates to the persons supporting the Separate
School under their charge.
(e) There is no provision in the present Roman Catholic Separate School Act (of 1855),
by which the Trustee or their collector can have access to the assessor's or collector's roll,
as is provided by law, in regard to the Trustees of a Common School and their
collector. This section supplies the omission.
Teachers' Certificates of Qualification
XIII. The Teachers of Separate Schools under
this Act shall be subject to the same examinations, and receive their Certificates of
qualification in the same manner as Common School Teachers generally; provided that
persons qualified by law as Teachers, cither in Upper or Lower Canada,
shall be considered qualified Teachers for the purposes of this Act.
Supporters of Separate Schools exempted from Common School Rates _
XIV. Every person paying rates, whether as proprietor or tenant, who, by himself or
his agent, on or before the first day of March, of the present year, has given to the
Clerk of the Municipality, notice in writing that he is a Roman Catholic, and a supporter
of a Separate School situated in the said Municipality, or in a
Municipality contiguous thereto, shall be exempted from the payment of all rates imposed
for the support of Common Schools, and of Common School Libraries,
or for the purchase of land or erection of buildings for Common School purposes
within the City, Town, Incorporated Village, or section in which he resides,
for the then current year, and every subsequent year thereafter, while he continues a
supporter of a Separate School. - And such notice shall not be required to be renewed
annually;"" and it-shall be the duty of the Trustees of every Separate School to transmit to
the Clerk of the Municipality or Clerks . of the Municipalities (as the case may be) on or
before the first day of June in each year, a correct list of the names and residences of all
persons supporting the Separate Schools under their management and every rate-payer
whose name
shall not appear on such list shall be rated for the support of Common Schools.
(k) This section is a substitute for the twenty-ninth section of the present Separate School
Act (of 1855). It substitutes the first day of March for the first day of February - which can
cause inconvenience or disadvantage to nobody, as municipal rates for school
purposes are never levied until long alter March. The proprietor or tenant, by himself
or his agent, gives notice; and it has already been legally decided that a notice by the
agent of a proprietor or tenant is valid, according to the present Separate School Act
(of 1855), as a notice by himself in person, and is so accepted and acted upon.
It is unjust, therefore, to omit expressing what is already held to be the law,
merely to afford an opportunity and pretext for vexing and annoying individuals in
certain localities. Another provision in this section is, that the notice shall not be
repeated by the individual annually, but shall be repeated, with his address,
by the trustees, as his agent. This is the practice which has already been pursued in
some municipalities. In Lower Canada, the supporter of the dissentient or Separate
School never repeats or renews his first notice as a supporter of such School;
and why should the Roman Catholic be required to do that in Upper Canada which the
Protestants are not required to do in Lower Canada, unless to
inconvenience and annoy him as much as pos- _
sible? This section requires each Roman Catholic, proprietor or tenant,
to give notice to the Clerk of the Municipality when he desires to become a supporter
of a Separate School; and the eighteenth requires him to give notice to the same clerk
when he desires to cease being a supporter of such School; and in the interval,
the Trustees are required annually to give to same clerk (for the information of the
municipal council in levying School rates) the name and residence of each supporter
of a Separate School; and they are subject to a severe penalty in case they make an
incorrect return.
Exception as to Rates already imposed
XV. Nothing in the last three preceding sections contained, shall exempt any person
from paying any rate for the support of Common Schools or
- Common School Libraries, or for the erection of a School House or School Houses,
imposed before the establishment of such Separate School.
Persons may withdraw their support from Separate Schools
XVI. Any Roman Catholic who may desire to
"
"Historical Document Thirty-Three
(continued)
Trustees may copy Assessment Roll of Municipality
VIII. The Clerk or other officer of a Municipality within or adjoining which a
Separate School is established, having possession of the Assessor's ¦ or Collector's roll
of the said Municipality, shall allow any one of the said Trustees or their authorized
collector to make a copy of such roll in sofar as it relates to the persons supporting the
Separate School under their charge.
(e) There is no provision in the present Roman Catholic Separate School Act (of 1855),
by which the Trustee or their collector can have access to the assessor's or collector's roll,
as is provided by law, in regard to the Trustees of a Common School and their collector.
This section supplies the omission.
Teachers' Certificates of Qualification
XIII. The Teachers of Separate Schools under
this Act shall be subject to the same examinations, and receive their Certificates of
qualification in the same manner as Common School Teachers generally; provided that
persons qualified by law as Teachers, cither in Upper or Lower Canada, shall be
considered qualified Teachers for the purposes of this Act.
Supporters of Separate Schools exempted from Common School Rates _
XIV. Every person paying rates, whether as proprietor or tenant, who, by himself or his
agent, on or before the first day of March, of the present year, has given to the Clerk of
the Municipality, notice in writing that he is a Roman Catholic, and a supporter of a
Separate School situated in the said Municipality, or in a
Municipality contiguous thereto, shall be exempted from the payment of all rates
imposed for the support of Common Schools, and of Common School Libraries, or for
the purchase of land or erection of buildings for Common School purposes within the City,
Town, Incorporated Village, or section in which he resides, for the then current year,
and every subsequent year thereafter, while he continues a supporter of a Separate
School. - And such notice shall not be required to be renewed annually;"" and it-shall be
the duty of the Trustees of every Separate School to transmit to the Clerk of the
Municipality or Clerks . of the Municipalities (as the case may be) on or before the first
day of June in each year, a correct list of the names and residences of all persons
supporting the Separate Schools under their management and every rate-payer whose
name shall not appear on such list shall be rated for the support of Common Schools.
(k) This section is a substitute for the twenty-ninth section of the present Separate School
Act (of 1855). It substitutes the first day of March for the first day of February -
which can cause inconvenience or disadvantage to nobody, as municipal rates for
school purposes are never levied until long alter March. The proprietor or tenant,
by himself or his agent, gives notice; and it has already been legally decided that a
notice by the agent of a proprietor or tenant is valid, according to the present Separate
School Act (of 1855), as a notice by himself in person, and is so accepted and acted
upon. It is unjust, therefore, to omit expressing what is already held to be the law,
merely to afford an opportunity and pretext for vexing and annoying individuals in certain
localities. Another provision in this section is, that the notice shall not be repeated by
the individual annually, but shall be repeated, with his address, by the trustees, as his
agent. This is the practice which has already been pursued in some municipalities.
In Lower Canada, the supporter of the dissentient or Separate School never repeats or
renews his first notice as a supporter of such School; and why should the Roman
Catholic be required to do that in Upper Canada which the Protestants are not required
to do in Lower Canada, unless to inconvenience and annoy him as much as pos- _
sible? This section requires each Roman Catholic, proprietor or tenant, to give notice
to the Clerk of the Municipality when he desires to become a supporter of a Separate
School; and the eighteenth requires him to give notice to the same clerk when he
desires to cease being a supporter of such School; and in the interval, the Trustees are
required annually to give to same clerk (for the information of the municipal council in
levying School rates) the name and residence of each supporter of a Separate School;
and they are subject to a severe penalty in case they make an incorrect return.
Exception as to Rates already imposed
XV. Nothing in the last three preceding sections contained, shall exempt any person
from paying any rate for the support of Common Schools or
- Common School Libraries, or for the erection of a School House or School Houses,
imposed before the establishment of such Separate School.
Persons may withdraw their support from Separate Schools
XVI. Any Roman Catholic who may desire to
"
"BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Dixon, Dr. Robert and N.L. Bethune, Right or Privelege? 1800-1867
O.E.C.T.A.,1971
2. Dixon, Dr. Robert and N.L. Bethune, Survival? 1867-1949
O.E.C.T.A. , 1974
3. Farewell , J.E. ,
County of Ontario, Short Notes as to Early Settlement and Progress, Whitby Gazette
Chronicle Press, 1907
4 . Higgins, W.H.
The Life and Times of Joseph Gould Toronto , 1887
5. Hodgins , J.G. . , Papers Illustrative of the State of
Popular Education in Upper Canada, 1853, V
6. Hodgins, J. George,
Report of Public Elementary Instruction for Upper Canada, 1846, III
7. Hutchinson, R.A.,
Annual Report of Superintendent of Education 1928, Ontario Archives
8 . Johnson, Leo A.
History of the County of Ontario, 1615-1875 published by the Corporation of the County of
Ontario, Whitby, 1973
9. McKay, Wm. A.
The Pickering Story, published by Township of Pickering Historical Society, 1961
"