Abbey Park High School
Encyclopedia
Abbey Park High School is a secondary school
located in the Toronto
suburb
of Oakville
in Ontario
, Canada
. The school is commonly known by its acronym "APHS" in the community. Abbey Park High School was opened at its present location in the wake of the closure of Queen Elizabeth Park High School, which was previously operating at its Bridge Road location, in Bronte
. Abbey Park has more resources available to their students than other schools in the region because it inherited Queen Elizabeth Park's resources when it was closed. This allowed for the initial opening budget to be spent on new equipment. Students have open access to a weight room, library, and track. Abbey Park High School is also situated beside the Glen Abbey Community Centre, which houses the Glen Abbey branch of the Oakville Public Library
.
Abbey Park has been recognized as a very charitable school taking part in many annual fundraisers including the Terry Fox Run
, Halloween for Hunger (H4H), and Pencils for Kids. The various educational departments within the school are Arts, Business, English, Math, Physical Education, Science, Social Science, Special Education and Technology. Abbey Park also has a Cluster Program for Academically Developed Students, and is beginning to offer Advanced Placement courses in 2011.
Every year, Abbey Park organizes a team to compete in the Canadian Improv Games
, a national tournament for high school improv. Abbey Park's teams have been consistently strong over the years, and won the silver medal at the 2009 National Tournament, and placing 15th nationally in 2008.
Scripted dramatic productions are also very popular at Abbey Park. Each November, Abbey Park puts on a dramatic production (known as Fall Production within the school). A group of less formal productions are organized in the spring for Abbey Park's Show of Hands Drama Festival, where any group of students may perform.
Abbey Park also started a Varsity Girls Rugby team in the 2009 season. A stunningly impressive first season led the girls to victories in tournaments and against rivals Blakelock High SChool and Loyola Catholic School. Many players continued on to lead the team to an impressive second year, reaching the Halton Finals. Many girls have since gone onto play for universities across Canada as well as Rugby Canada Junior teams.
.
consisting of leaders from each other council & club. The Executive Council meets semi-annually.
.
, and holds contests to promote awareness.
chapter for the school. Abbey Park competes at DECA Ontario's Hamilton Regional Competition in November, and a large percentage of competitors move on to the provincial competition in February in Toronto
.
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
located in the Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Oakville
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...
in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The school is commonly known by its acronym "APHS" in the community. Abbey Park High School was opened at its present location in the wake of the closure of Queen Elizabeth Park High School, which was previously operating at its Bridge Road location, in Bronte
Bronte, Ontario
Bronte is the community that makes up much of the west end of Oakville, in Ontario, Canada. Twelve Mile Creek flows through the middle of town and empties into Lake Ontario. Main roads include Bronte Road , Lakeshore Road West and Rebecca Street...
. Abbey Park has more resources available to their students than other schools in the region because it inherited Queen Elizabeth Park's resources when it was closed. This allowed for the initial opening budget to be spent on new equipment. Students have open access to a weight room, library, and track. Abbey Park High School is also situated beside the Glen Abbey Community Centre, which houses the Glen Abbey branch of the Oakville Public Library
Oakville Public Library
Oakville Public Library is the public library system for the Town of Oakville, Ontario, Canada.Through its 6 branches, its website and its various Book Nook and outreach locations, the Oakville Public Library provides a wide range of services for Oakville residents. In 2008 the Oakville Public...
.
Abbey Park has been recognized as a very charitable school taking part in many annual fundraisers including the Terry Fox Run
Terry Fox Run
The Terry Fox Run is an annual non-competitive charity event held in numerous regions around the world in commemoration of Canadian cancer activist Terry Fox, and his Marathon of Hope, and to raise money for cancer research....
, Halloween for Hunger (H4H), and Pencils for Kids. The various educational departments within the school are Arts, Business, English, Math, Physical Education, Science, Social Science, Special Education and Technology. Abbey Park also has a Cluster Program for Academically Developed Students, and is beginning to offer Advanced Placement courses in 2011.
Drama
The dramatic arts program at Abbey Park attracts many students to participate in its clubs and productions.Every year, Abbey Park organizes a team to compete in the Canadian Improv Games
Canadian Improv Games
The Canadian Improv Games is an education based format of improvisational theatre for Canadian high schools. To participate in the games, high school students form teams of up to 8 players and are required to pay a registration fee. The teams compete in regional tournaments, organized and...
, a national tournament for high school improv. Abbey Park's teams have been consistently strong over the years, and won the silver medal at the 2009 National Tournament, and placing 15th nationally in 2008.
Scripted dramatic productions are also very popular at Abbey Park. Each November, Abbey Park puts on a dramatic production (known as Fall Production within the school). A group of less formal productions are organized in the spring for Abbey Park's Show of Hands Drama Festival, where any group of students may perform.
Music
Abbey Park has many different bands that perform at various shows throughout the year:- Junior Music Band, consisting of grade 9Ninth gradeNinth grade is the ninth post-kindergarten year of school education in some school systems. The students are 13 to 15 years of age, depending on when their birthday occurs. Depending on the school district, ninth grade is usually the first year of high school....
students, - Senior Music Band, consisting of students from grades 10Tenth gradeIn majority of the world,Tenth grade is the tenth year of school post-kindergarten. The variants of "10th grade" in various nations is described below.-Australia:...
, 11Eleventh gradeEleventh Grade is the eleventh, and for some countries final, grade of secondary schools. Students are typically 16 or 17 years of age, depending on the country and the students' birthdays.-Brazil:...
and 12Twelfth gradeTwelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...
, - JazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
Band, consisting of students who have successfully completed an audition early in the school year, and - SkaSkaSka |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
Band, a small student-organized band.
Visual
Abbey Park has an Arts Club that any student is welcome to join. The club meets on a weekly basis throughout the year and focusses on creating visual art pieces for portfolios of students intending to apply to a post-secondary program where a portfolio of artwork is necessary.Rugby
"Abbey Park's rugby program was founded in 2005 (the school's inaugural year) by accolaed coach and former Canadian Legends player Tyler Leggatt. In this year the schools only team, the Bantam Grade 9 team achieved great success, earning their first birth in the provincial championships by beating the perennial favorites and future rivals, Oakville Trafalgar High School. The next step in Abbey Parks success came with the qualifying and eventual finals birth in the Barbarian Cup Bantam championship by the 2007 Bantam Eagles. Losing in the final to Uxbridge. No provincial championship birth was earned until 2009 when the Bantam team went on to win both the Red Hot Bantam Invitational and the Barbarian cup in dramatic fashion. In this same year the senior team went on to their first Halton Finals birth in only their 3rd year of fielding a senior team lead by designated Irish import Shaz Cole (Ulster) and co captain Craig Leveridge. The same Bantam team, now Juniors would go on to post a finals birth in the 2010 Junior OFSAA finals where they were eventually defeated after a stellar year lead by Canada Rugby prospects Djustice, Chris Woodhead and Sawyer Heron. In the same the Abbey Park seniors rugby team for the first(and only) time elected a grade 11 captain in starting fly half Matthew Jones. This senior team would go on to post a second straight finals against OT, the only team to do so since Blakelock High School. 2011 saw the senior Abbey Park team rise to the occasion, qualifying for their first OFSAA Senior rugby championship, after a 3rd straight Halton Final defeat to OT, however as the event was held in Oakville, Abbey Park received the extra birth for the championship. Abbey Park went on to put forth one of the greatest runs at a provincial Championship by ANY Abbey Park team since the 2005 Abbey Park Senior Boys soccer who made it to the AAA/AAAA finals only to loose in dramatic fashion. The Eagles went on to win their round robin games, setting up an elimination quarter final game against second seeded Streetsville High School. The game was a bruising affair with many lead changes and questionable calls on both sides of the book, with the final score being decided via penalty kicks where Dan Mathie and Jamie Leveridge took the spot and went 3-3 while Streetsville missed narrowly by hitting the post. Arguably the closest game in OFSAA and ABBEy park rugby history. In the semi finals Abbey Park would go on to loose to the eventual champions Uxbridge in a game where AP battled back after a 15 point deficit at half time to bring the difference within one score. By losing Abbey Park set up probably the most important game of their history facing their bitter rivals OT who faced a significantly easier but equally tumultuous route to the 3rd place game. The game was highlighted by a standout performance by OT scrum half Mike Turnbull, in spite of numerous on field fits thrown out of frustration. OT would go on to win the game and continue the traditional rivalry expected to last many years into the future." -Andrew Harvey, Associated pressAbbey Park also started a Varsity Girls Rugby team in the 2009 season. A stunningly impressive first season led the girls to victories in tournaments and against rivals Blakelock High SChool and Loyola Catholic School. Many players continued on to lead the team to an impressive second year, reaching the Halton Finals. Many girls have since gone onto play for universities across Canada as well as Rugby Canada Junior teams.
Basketball
Boys and Girls Eagles Basketball teams compete in the Halton Secondary School Athletic Association (HSSAA). The Midget Boys basketball team won the Halton Region Championship in the school's first season in 2005.Arts Council
Abbey Park's Arts Council plans many art-related events, makes posters for these events, and recycles any posters which may be of future use.Environmental Council
Abbey Park's Environmental Council is committed to improving the quality of the environment in and around the school, namely through recyclingRecycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
.
Executive Council
Abbey Park's Executive Council is a meta-councilMeta
Meta- , is a prefix used in English to indicate a concept which is an abstraction from another concept, used to complete or add to the latter....
consisting of leaders from each other council & club. The Executive Council meets semi-annually.
Quill
The Quill is Abbey Park's school newspaper. Any student can join, and can be a writer, editor, photographer and or layout editor. The newspaper is published semi-annually at the end of each semesterAcademic term
An academic term is a division of an academic year, the time during which a school, college or university holds classes. These divisions may be called terms...
.
Social Change
Social change is a group open to all students dedicated to prospective change in the world. This groups works to promote social awareness and equality, and address various concerning issues.Young Women In Leadership
Young Women in Leadership is a group for young women in the school that discusses the aspects of feminismFeminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, and holds contests to promote awareness.
DECA
The business department at Abbey Park runs a DECADECA (organization)
DECA, also known as Collegiate DECA on the college level) is an international association of students and teachers of marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and service . DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing,...
chapter for the school. Abbey Park competes at DECA Ontario's Hamilton Regional Competition in November, and a large percentage of competitors move on to the provincial competition in February in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.
Notable alumni
- Steve MasonSteve Mason (ice hockey)Steve Mason is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League . He was selected 69th overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Blue Jackets. Playing major junior in the Ontario Hockey League , he spent three seasons...
- NHLNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
rookie of the year 2008-09 - Mark LundMark LundMark Ashton Lund is a writer, publisher, and television analyst who covers figure skating. He is also a film producer.He is the author of Frozen Assets , and was formerly the publisher of International Figure Skating Magazine from its inception in 1993 until 2004, when his company, Ashton...
- Recognized contemporary artist - Stuart PercyStuart PercyStuart Percy is a Canadian ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors in the Ontario Hockey League...
National Hockey LeagueNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
Toronto Maple LeafsToronto Maple LeafsThe Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
First round Draft pick 2011 (25th overall) - Matthew Dingwall (Ping-Pong) World Series of Ping Pong International Champion 2012.
- Brendan Weiler (Kontinental Hockey League)(Avangard Omsk) 1st Overall pick 2011 draft.
- Sabina Brandonisio (Yoooooungggg Daveeeeee)