Bishop Allen Academy
Encyclopedia
Bishop Allen Academy is a high school
located in the The Queensway – Humber Bay neighbourhood of Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. It is managed by the Toronto Catholic District School Board
.
Many immigrant families had arrived in Toronto during the post war years including many Eastern Europeans, especially Byzantine Catholic Ukrainians, who made Etobicoke their home and whose descendants form a large part of the student body at Bishop Allen. The school is one of few in Toronto that has continued to grow during a period of falling student numbers as many families have moved to Toronto's suburbs.
The school is named after Bishop Francis Allen, an auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Toronto and former pastor of local Etobicoke Parish Our Lady of Sorrows
which serves Bishop Allen Academy. Bishop Allen was instrumental, together with fellow Auxiliary Bishop Morocco and Archbishop Pocock, in the Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto's 1960s campaign to establish and enlarge Catholic Secondary Schools in the Archdiocese.
Originally using a blue and grey colouring scheme to match the outside of the building and as a contrast to the red and black of local high school Father John Redmond, the school has recently moved to a red and black colouring scheme. The former Canadian style student council led by a 'Premier' with 'Ministers' was also changed to an American style council with a 'President'.
Today the school educates 1,520 students with over 100 teachers. Recently, the school has taken moves to becoming a more academic-focused school, including adding several advanced placement (AP) classes. It also supports a French Immersion and Extended French program, as well as a gifted program called SAGE.
Junior boys volleyball team won the TDCAA championships.
Bishop Allen formed their first ever girls field hockey team. They made it into the playoffs and lost in double overtime.
The first ever junior girls flag football won the TDCAA championships and the first ever junior boys flag football team were defeated in the TDCAA finals.
The varsity girls hockey team won the TDCAA 'Division B' Finals winning this title two years in a row. The junior boys hockey team were defeated in the TDCAA finals.
The girls snowboard team won the TDCAA Championships at Mt. St. Louis and qualified for OFSAA.
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 in the The Queensway – Humber Bay neighbourhood of 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...
, 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...
. It is managed by the Toronto Catholic District School Board
Toronto Catholic District School Board
The Toronto Catholic District School Board is the publicly-funded Catholic school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada, headquartered in North York. It is one of the two English boards of education in the City of Toronto, serving the former municipalities of Scarborough, North York, York, East York,...
.
History
Originally the site of local developer Frederick Davidson's 'Brookwood' estate, the estate house was demolished to be redeveloped in 1961 as the Kingsmill Vocational Collegiate (named after the Old 'King's' Mill). In 1989 Kingsmill Collegiate was one of several to be declared surplus by the Etobicoke Public School Board because of low enrollment and was transferred to the Metropolitan Separate School Board (now the Toronto Catholic District School Board) which reopened the school as Bishop Allen Academy during a period of reorganisation of the Catholic school boards after the extension of full funding to Catholic secondary schools. The area had previously been served by Etobicoke's first Catholic secondary schools in Our Lady of Sorrows Parish; Michael Power school for boys and St. Joseph's, Islington for girls which, having combined, moved from the area in the 1990s.Many immigrant families had arrived in Toronto during the post war years including many Eastern Europeans, especially Byzantine Catholic Ukrainians, who made Etobicoke their home and whose descendants form a large part of the student body at Bishop Allen. The school is one of few in Toronto that has continued to grow during a period of falling student numbers as many families have moved to Toronto's suburbs.
The school is named after Bishop Francis Allen, an auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Toronto and former pastor of local Etobicoke Parish Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church, Kingsway
Our Lady of Sorrows is a Roman Catholic church in Toronto's western district of Etobicoke, in the exclusive the Kingsway neighbourhood. The parish includes the central section of Etobicoke where two much earlier catholic missions once served as the first Roman Catholic places of worship in...
which serves Bishop Allen Academy. Bishop Allen was instrumental, together with fellow Auxiliary Bishop Morocco and Archbishop Pocock, in the Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto's 1960s campaign to establish and enlarge Catholic Secondary Schools in the Archdiocese.
Originally using a blue and grey colouring scheme to match the outside of the building and as a contrast to the red and black of local high school Father John Redmond, the school has recently moved to a red and black colouring scheme. The former Canadian style student council led by a 'Premier' with 'Ministers' was also changed to an American style council with a 'President'.
Today the school educates 1,520 students with over 100 teachers. Recently, the school has taken moves to becoming a more academic-focused school, including adding several advanced placement (AP) classes. It also supports a French Immersion and Extended French program, as well as a gifted program called SAGE.
Athletics
2010Junior boys volleyball team won the TDCAA championships.
Bishop Allen formed their first ever girls field hockey team. They made it into the playoffs and lost in double overtime.
The first ever junior girls flag football won the TDCAA championships and the first ever junior boys flag football team were defeated in the TDCAA finals.
The varsity girls hockey team won the TDCAA 'Division B' Finals winning this title two years in a row. The junior boys hockey team were defeated in the TDCAA finals.
The girls snowboard team won the TDCAA Championships at Mt. St. Louis and qualified for OFSAA.
Notable alumni
- Anna CyzonAnna CyzonAnna Cyzon , is a Polish Canadian independent recording artist, actress and former Canadian MTV/etalk personality.-Career:...
, television personality - Justin RutledgeJustin RutledgeJustin Rutledge is a Toronto-based alt-country singer-songwriter signed to Six Shooter Records.Rutledge's musical style is often compared to that of American alt-country singer Ryan Adams. His influences, both of the literary and music world, include Leonard Cohen, Hank Williams, Richard Brautigan...
, singer - Jason Agnew, host of show The Conventioneers
- Denys Drozdyuk, Winner of So You Think You Can Dance Canada
- Nikki BenzNikki BenzNikki Benz is the stage name of a Canadian pornographic actress and Penthouse Pet who was selected as the 2011 Pet of the Year. Benz resides in Los Angeles, California, USA....
, Adult Entertainer
Model United Nations
Bishop Allen hosts an annual one day Model United Nations for Toronto-area students called BAMUN. It was started in 2007.Feeder schools
- Joseph Cardinal Slipyj Elementary School
- St. Mark's Catholic Elementary School
- St. Pius X Catholic Elementary School
- Our Lady of Sorrows Elementary School
- All Saints Catholic Elementary School
- St. Demetrius Elementary School (Byzantine Rite)
- Holy Angels Catholic Elementary School
- St. Vincent De Paul (French Program)