St. Michael's College School is a private Roman Catholic school for boys in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. St. Michael’s is a day school with no student boarding. The college used to offer boarding but stopped in the early 1990's but will still billet students who would require boarding. There are around 1200 students throughout grade 7 to 12. Average class size is around 20 per class. There are currently more than 70 members of the academic staff, several of whom are alumni of the school themselves. It is the largest independent boys day school in Canada.
History
Founded in 1852 by the Basilian Fathers, who enjoy the little boys, it offers instruction in grades 7 to 12, and is the only private Roman Catholic school for boys of this age in Ontario. In 2002 St. Michael's celebrated its 150th anniversary. The school originally offered education from grades 9 to 13. With the elimination of grade 13 to bring Ontario in line with the rest of North America, SMCS quickly added the two younger grades to make up for the potential loss of enrolled students, as well as to help give them a stronger education than what they were likely to receive in the public school system during grades 7 and 8. In 1998, while under the direction of Mr. Vince Pagano (a long standing vice-principal), the 7 and 8 programs were adapted and begun with two classes of 20-25 students.
The School’s Motto is “Doce Me Bonitatem et Disciplinam et Scientiam”. Derived from Psalm 118, and translated as “Teach Me Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge”, it is also the motto of the school’s clerical administrators, the Basilian Fathers.
St. Michael’s was originally founded at Clover Hill, on the site of what is now the University of St. Michael's College (USMC) at the University of Toronto. However, with a growing student body, the school was moved to Bathurst and St. Clair at the edge of Forest Hill. It was also at this point that the official link to USMC was dissolved. However, there still remains a loose association to this day. The new building was designed by famed Canadian architect Ernest Cormier who is better remembered for projects like the Supreme Court of Canada building in Ottawa and the main building of the University of Montreal, the design of which was obviously an inspiration for St. Michael’s. In 1995 a capital expansion programme was undertaken to expand the school to accommodate the continuously growing student body. This updated the school’s athletic and classroom facilities and would also accommodate the addition of grades 7 and 8.
Athletics
Volleyball, golf, cross country, track and field, baseball, soccer, basketball, swimming, skiing, tennis, mountain biking, lacrosse and archery are sports provided under St. Michael’s. Each year, most, if not all these sports teams have enough members to ensure each respective sport continues.
Along with the above sports, St. Michael’s is known for its athletic ability in football, hockey, and cross country. The Junior and Senior Kerry Blues, the football teams, are among the best in Ontario. They have each won more than three Toronto Metro Bowls. Combining all athletes, it has one of the largest memberships of any team at the school. The St. Michael's Blue Harrier Cross Country Team is arguably the most dominant in North America, winning 25 consecutive TDCAA team titles, and having over 19 Ontario Championship Teams. Coach Paul Barry was inducted into a local sports hall of fame for his work in starting and continuing the streak to date.
St. Michael’s is perhaps best known as a producer of hockey players, even through the period from 1961 to 1996 when it did not participate in major junior hockey. Over 150 St. Michael's players have played in the National Hockey League, including the following members of the Hockey Hall of Fame: Bobby Bauer, Gerry Cheevers, Red Kelly, Tim Horton, Dave Keon, Ted Lindsay, Frank Mahovlich, Reg Noble, Joe Primeau. The school's top team, the St. Michael's Majors, has won the Memorial Cup four times. The school also operates a team in the second level of junior hockey, Junior A.
In addition to numerous professional hockey players, former All-American, TV basketball analyst and coach of Canada’s national basketball team Leo Rautins, attended St. Michael’s. Rautins was also the first Canadian to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft. Furthermore, NFL players, Glen Young, O.J. Santiago and Michael Labinjo, who have all played in the Super Bowl, attended and played football for St. Michael’s.
Academics
St. Michael's also pursues certain academic standards, preparing its students for university. Between 40%-50% of the students are on the honour roll. More than 80% of the students have a 75% average or above. "According to Administration", over 98% of graduating students go to university and 75% go to their first choice university and reputedly do well.
Facilities
St. Michael's is home to an array of student accessible facilities. These facilities include: a professional-grade weight room with attached physical therapy facilities, a newly constructed $1.5 million dollar gymnasium, four Apple facilities (one MIDI lab, one media-arts lab complete with 17" monitor 1GB RAM dual-processor Apple G5s, one computer science lab and one general arts lab with iMac G3 computers), another larger PC lab with approximately 30-35 newly purchased Dell desktops, an gigabit transfer network and in-class plugin capability (no wireless yet); including a fully operational IT Department , a newly acquired astroturf field with winterized dome, a hockey arena (used by the St. Michael's Majors and formely a practice facility for the Toronto Maple Leafs) and last but not least recently built science labs with experimental chambers etc.
Extracurricular
St. Michael’s has arts and music programs that are not as comprehensive as other arts schools. The administration has not agrreed to build a new auditorium. However, these areas of extra-curricular activity have experienced much success due to the dedication of the teachers who volunteer their time. Onstage, the school has had an active drama programme despite the lack of permanent space or properly established drama department: in recent years larger productions such as Oklahoma, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Judgement at Nuremberg, Oliver Twist, etc. have been performed. The school usually hosts two to three productions a year.
St. Michael’s offers a large variety of clubs. Students enjoy anything from cultural clubs (Asian, Black, French, Italian), community oriented clubs (leadership programs, peer tutoring, Society for Justice, St. Lucia Mission Trip, Green Council, Drug and Alcohol Awareness), clubs for certain skills (chess, debate, sailing, stock market, writer’s club), school publication (the Tower Yearbook, Blue Herald Newspaper) or clubs just for fun (Briscola, chess, improv).
The Blue Herald, the St. Michael's student newspaper, is an important aspect of the community and usually publishes 3-4 issues per year. All articles, photos, and layouts are completely student developed, and then moderated by teacher administrators. As of 2005, new Editor-in-Chief Matthew Lombardi (grade 12) has overseen many innovations to the Blue Herald, including the creation of a permanent logo for the long-standing newspaper. The Blue Herald's effectiveness in mobilizing the community was illustrated in 2003, when an article by Lombardi questioned the mysterious absence of the national anthem during morning announcements. The school has since begun playing "O Canada" each morning.
St. Michael’s also has a strong Duke of Edinburgh Award program, which about one-fifth of the school’s population are members of. Although not all receive the actual award, there is still a number of students who finish the prestigious youth award. Possibly one of the most successful activities at the school is competitive Reach for the Top. In 2004, the team placed second in the province and third nationally. This run included seven TV appearances.
The school has an active student government, which is only a partially elected body. The discrepancy lies in the fact that only representatives are directly elected by students, while the President is chosen through an internal election. It organizes school dances or organizes fundraising initiatives for the less fortunate communities. As of 2005 Robert New (grade 12) is the current student body President.
St. Michael's also caters to technically minded students. In 2003 St. Michael's launched its first robotics club (formely RoboBlue Warriors #1049) to compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition (the largest high-school level robotics competition in North America - www.usfirst.org). The team has grown to over 30 students who are dedicated to science and technological innovation.
Chants
The following are chants of the students, used especially in football games, up at camp, at spirit rallies or at random times during the year within the school.
"Hoikity Choik"
Hoikity Choik On C
SMC!
Hoikity Choik, Hoikity Choik
Chamma Chamma Chee
Rickety Rackety Rickety Rackety S-M-C
Cha He, Cha Ho, Cha Ha-Ha-Ha
St. Mike's, St. Mike's, Ra Ra Ra
EEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
"Bubbaloo"
Leader: BUBBALOO
Crowd: Bubbaloo!
Leader: BUBBALOO
Crowd: Bubbaloo!
Leader: Loo loo loo loo!
Crowd: Loo loo loo loo!
Leader: Ah ringa singa kunga!
Crowd: Ah ringa singa kunga!
Leader: Kumala kumala kumala vista!
Crowd: Kumala kumala kumala vista!
Leader: Oh no, no one can beat us!
Crowd: Oh no, no one can beat us!
Leader: Fight!
Crowd: Fight!
All: Heyyyyyy!
"Oh When St Mike's Goes Marching In"
Oh when St. Mike's (pause to commence banging tables) goes marching in...
Oh when St. Mike’s goes marching in
Oh, how I want to be in that number--
NUMBER ONE!
Oh when St. Mike's goes marching in!!!
Fight Fight Fight!!!