Valley Heights Secondary School
Encyclopedia
Valley Heights Secondary School (VHSS) (in French
, "L'École Secondaire Valley Heights") is a two-story rural high school
located near Langton
, Ontario
, Canada
.
s, rivers and marshy areas. Valley Heights also has a large cross country running course. The school has hosted the Norfolk County High School cross country meet on numerous occasions. The school nearly closed in 1998, but remained open due to the efforts of the staff, students and alumni. Since then, there have been no serious efforts to close the school.
In 2000 there were approximately 700 students. However, a Roman Catholic school based out of Simcoe
opened in 2001, which offered students newer equipment and more course choices (even though it was the closest to Simcoe Composite School). This, with the elimination of grade thirteen in Ontario, resulted in a decrease in student population down to 500. As a consequence of the lower enrollment, many courses are no longer offered.
championships several years in a row in the 1990s. During the late 1980s and the early 1990s, the Bears won numerous titles over their rivals, the Simcoe Sabres
. Valley Heights sports teams include: Canadian football, hockey
, volleyball
(junior and senior), basketball
(junior and senior), cheerleading
, tug-of-war, cross country
, track and field
, rowing
, soccer (association football) and wrestling
. Each sport is offered for both genders except football (boys only) and cheerleading (girls only, although boys are encouraged to join). Alongside Canadian football, Valley Heights has excelled at women's volleyball, men's tug-of-war (eight consecutive titles in the 1990s), cross country, and rowing.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, "L'École Secondaire Valley Heights") is a two-story rural high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
located near Langton
Norfolk County, Ontario
Norfolk County is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the north shore of Lake Erie in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Bloomsburg is a small town located in Norfolk County and is the hometown of David Slater. The county seat and largest community is Simcoe...
, 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...
.
General information
Opened in 1971, Valley Heights sits on a property that spans 100 acres (404,686 m²) and includes fields, Carolinian forestCarolinian forest
The Carolinian forest is a life zone in eastern North America characterized primarily by a predominance of deciduous, or broad-leaf trees. The term "Carolinian forest" is used primarily in Canada...
s, rivers and marshy areas. Valley Heights also has a large cross country running course. The school has hosted the Norfolk County High School cross country meet on numerous occasions. The school nearly closed in 1998, but remained open due to the efforts of the staff, students and alumni. Since then, there have been no serious efforts to close the school.
In 2000 there were approximately 700 students. However, a Roman Catholic school based out of Simcoe
Holy Trinity Catholic High School (Simcoe)
Holy Trinity Catholic High School, colloquially known as "HT", is one of the newest Roman Catholic high schools in Ontario.The high school is located in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. Wearing school uniforms during school hours is mandatory, and courses deal in a theological manner...
opened in 2001, which offered students newer equipment and more course choices (even though it was the closest to Simcoe Composite School). This, with the elimination of grade thirteen in Ontario, resulted in a decrease in student population down to 500. As a consequence of the lower enrollment, many courses are no longer offered.
Athletics and clubs
The school team is called the "Bears" or "Voyageurs," the school colors are purple and white and the school logo is the Voyageur Bear. The Valley Heights Bears won numerous footballCanadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
championships several years in a row in the 1990s. During the late 1980s and the early 1990s, the Bears won numerous titles over their rivals, the Simcoe Sabres
Simcoe Composite School
Simcoe Composite School is a high school in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada.More than 900 students attend this rural secondary school and courses range from English, French, Spanish, and mathematics to computers, business, athletics, World History, civics, and even drama class. In 2003, the school suffered...
. Valley Heights sports teams include: Canadian football, hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
(junior and senior), basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
(junior and senior), cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
, tug-of-war, cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
, soccer (association football) and wrestling
Scholastic wrestling
Scholastic wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially Collegiate wrestling with some slight modifications. It is currently...
. Each sport is offered for both genders except football (boys only) and cheerleading (girls only, although boys are encouraged to join). Alongside Canadian football, Valley Heights has excelled at women's volleyball, men's tug-of-war (eight consecutive titles in the 1990s), cross country, and rowing.