Merivale High School
Encyclopedia
Merivale High School is a secondary school
, located at the intersection of Merivale Road
and Viewmount Drive in Nepean, Ontario
, Canada
. The school is known for its gifted
student program, but also runs French Immersion
programs and extensive visual art, music
, and co-operative education programs.
Enrollment is around 1200. The school's team is the Merivale Marauders, and the school's colours are maroon and gold.
in the 1960s and 1970s. Construction and development slowed down in the 80s and 90s but in 2002 a new shopping complex was built across the street as well as a Harvey's
nearby, providing students many more places to go during lunch.
Due to its location on the increasingly commercially developed Merivale strip, and its reduced importance since the completion of John McCrae Secondary School
in Barrhaven
, efforts had been made by the province to close the school in the late 1990s as a means of saving money. These efforts proved unsuccessful due to a large amount of community and student body support for the school. In 2005, with the closure of Laurentian and J.S. Woodsworth High Schools, Merivale took in the remaining students as well as remaining school equipment and staff from both schools, maintaining a strong solid student population.
In early December 2005 an electrical fire destroyed the interiors of the main office, student services and guidance departments. The damage was estimated at CA$100,000 and a temporary wall had to be constructed to facilitate reconstruction. The new office opened in 2006.
The school is currently under review by parent groups and the school board over how the school will continue running in the future, such as how the school's grade system and programs will work (either making it into a combined 7-12 hybrid system like the new Longfields-Davidson Heights school, keeping it the same, or re-routing students to a different location altogether). Enrollment in today's demographics is expected to decrease until 2012.
national championship; in 2003, the school was named champion on the CBC
television series SmartAsk
. The school's music program is considered one of the best in the Ottawa area: the school's ensembles regularly win "gold" standings at regional MusicFest
competitions, and won 5 golds when they attended the 2000 national finals at York University
. The school also competed in the 2006 national MusicFest competition with 7 ensembles, all achieving a grade of silver or higher. Merivale also excels in dramatic arts. Their musical production of "Lucky Stiff
" was nominated thirteen times for the Ottawa-area Cappie
awards in 2005-2006, an awards ceremony for high school productions. It took home eight awards, the most of any school that year. In 1999, the student newspaper, The Vanguard, won First Place (for a credit course newspaper) in the Toronto Star High School Newspaper Awards, a first for the publication. The Vanguard had previously won multiple first place awards in a similar competition held by the Ottawa Citizen
.
In 2010, Merivale's musical production of "The Drowsy Chaperone" lead them to win 7 out of their 16 nominations at the Cappies.
As well, the school also holds a yearly Art Show in May/June, showcasing student artwork as well as technology and carpentry.
finals in 2005-2006. In the 2006-2007 season, a boy's singles badminton player, the senior girls' basketball team, the senior and junior girls' and senior boys' cross country team, the senior boys soccer
team qualified for OFSAA. The Merivale High School boys football team won the City Championship in 2005, competing in the Tier 2 division. Following a year in which the school was forced to suspend its football program, an influx of athletes from the recently closed J.S Woodsworth Secondary helped the program en route to a successful season in which the team went undefeated. In 2008, Merivale High School placed first overall in the NCSSAA Swim Meet in early December. The school holds an annual Athletic Banquet at the end of the year.
"Special" buses in the 600 series which convey the students to and from school from surrounding (and distant) communities such as Barrhaven.
688
675
687
642
677
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 at the intersection of Merivale Road
Merivale Road (Ottawa)
Merivale Road is an arterial road in the western part of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It starts at Island Park Drive just north of Highway 417 and continues south until it ends at Prince of Wales Drive in Rideau Glen...
and Viewmount Drive in Nepean, Ontario
Nepean, Ontario
- Recent quantity of snow :- History :Nepean Township, originally known as Township D, was established in 1792 and originally included what is now the central area of Ottawa west of the Rideau River. Jehiel Collins, from Vermont, is believed to have been the first person to settle in Nepean...
, 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 known for its gifted
Intellectual giftedness
Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average. It is different from a skill, in that skills are learned or acquired behaviors...
student program, but also runs French Immersion
French immersion
French immersion is a form of bilingual education in which a child who does not speak French as his or her first language receives instruction in school in French...
programs and extensive visual art, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, and co-operative education programs.
Enrollment is around 1200. The school's team is the Merivale Marauders, and the school's colours are maroon and gold.
Construction
The school was first built in 1964. According to aerial photos taken in these time periods and old yearbook photos, the school opened with the "A" Wing and "B" Wing (the main front building), "E" Wing and "T" wing constructed. The school then received an expansion of an added "D" Wing and "L" Wing by 1965. The buildings were completed by December and where to include the English, Geography, History, and commercial classes which were at the time held in the Gym, Cafeteria and basement. By 1968 all the current buildings were complete. In 1970 the Library, in between the two "D" and "E" wings, would be added on.1965 - Present
The school has witnessed many changes around its premises, such as the re-alignment of Viewmount Road (back then Borden Side Road) and the increase of commercial enterprises like Merivale MallMerivale Mall
The Merivale Mall is a medium-sized shopping centre located on Merivale Road in the south-west of Ottawa, Ontario owned by Darton Properties. During the 1970s and 1980s, Merivale Mall was anchored by the two story Woolco store at the south end, and by A&P at the north...
in the 1960s and 1970s. Construction and development slowed down in the 80s and 90s but in 2002 a new shopping complex was built across the street as well as a Harvey's
Harvey's
Harvey's is a fast food restaurant chain that operates in Canada, with locations concentrated in southern Ontario, southern Quebec, as well as the Maritimes, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Alberta. It serves hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, onion rings, and other traditional fast food fare. The...
nearby, providing students many more places to go during lunch.
Due to its location on the increasingly commercially developed Merivale strip, and its reduced importance since the completion of John McCrae Secondary School
John McCrae Secondary School
John McCrae Secondary School is a public secondary school in Nepean, Ontario, Canada.It supports grades 9-12. Built in 1999, it was the public high school in Barrhaven, replacing its predecessor, Confederation High School....
in Barrhaven
Barrhaven, Ontario
Barrhaven is a rapidly growing suburban neighbourhood in the southwest of the urban area of the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, about southwest of downtown Ottawa. Prior to amalgamation with Ottawa in 2001, Barrhaven was part of the City of Nepean. Its population as of the Canada 2006 Census was...
, efforts had been made by the province to close the school in the late 1990s as a means of saving money. These efforts proved unsuccessful due to a large amount of community and student body support for the school. In 2005, with the closure of Laurentian and J.S. Woodsworth High Schools, Merivale took in the remaining students as well as remaining school equipment and staff from both schools, maintaining a strong solid student population.
In early December 2005 an electrical fire destroyed the interiors of the main office, student services and guidance departments. The damage was estimated at CA$100,000 and a temporary wall had to be constructed to facilitate reconstruction. The new office opened in 2006.
The school is currently under review by parent groups and the school board over how the school will continue running in the future, such as how the school's grade system and programs will work (either making it into a combined 7-12 hybrid system like the new Longfields-Davidson Heights school, keeping it the same, or re-routing students to a different location altogether). Enrollment in today's demographics is expected to decrease until 2012.
Academics and arts
The school is among the top schools in Ontario for academics. In 2000, a team of Merivale students won the Reach for the TopReach for the Top
Reach for the Top is a Canadian game show in which teams of high school students participate in local, provincial and eventually national trivia tournaments...
national championship; in 2003, the school was named champion on the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
television series SmartAsk
SmartAsk
SmartAsk is a Canadian quiz show which ran for three seasons on CBC Television. The show was taped in front of a live audience, with the players sitting on a tiered set...
. The school's music program is considered one of the best in the Ottawa area: the school's ensembles regularly win "gold" standings at regional MusicFest
MusicFest Canada
MusicFest Canada is a competition festival, established as the Canadian Stage Band Festival in Toronto, in 1972, by Robert Richmond , Gary Wadsworth, and Paul Miner...
competitions, and won 5 golds when they attended the 2000 national finals at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
. The school also competed in the 2006 national MusicFest competition with 7 ensembles, all achieving a grade of silver or higher. Merivale also excels in dramatic arts. Their musical production of "Lucky Stiff
Lucky Stiff
Lucky Stiff is a musical farce. It was the first collaboration for the team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty . The show is based on the 1983 novel The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo by Michael Butterworth...
" was nominated thirteen times for the Ottawa-area Cappie
Critics and Awards Program for High School Students
The Cappies ' is an international program for recognizing, celebrating, and providing learning experiences for high school theater and journalism students and teenage playwrights....
awards in 2005-2006, an awards ceremony for high school productions. It took home eight awards, the most of any school that year. In 1999, the student newspaper, The Vanguard, won First Place (for a credit course newspaper) in the Toronto Star High School Newspaper Awards, a first for the publication. The Vanguard had previously won multiple first place awards in a similar competition held by the Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Citizen
The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...
.
In 2010, Merivale's musical production of "The Drowsy Chaperone" lead them to win 7 out of their 16 nominations at the Cappies.
As well, the school also holds a yearly Art Show in May/June, showcasing student artwork as well as technology and carpentry.
Athletics
The school has over thirty teams and sports uniforms. Six sports teams qualified for the OFSAAOntario Federation of School Athletic Associations
The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations is an organization of student-athletes, teacher-coaches, student-coaches, teachers, principals, and sport administrators in Ontario, Canada...
finals in 2005-2006. In the 2006-2007 season, a boy's singles badminton player, the senior girls' basketball team, the senior and junior girls' and senior boys' cross country team, the senior boys soccer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
team qualified for OFSAA. The Merivale High School boys football team won the City Championship in 2005, competing in the Tier 2 division. Following a year in which the school was forced to suspend its football program, an influx of athletes from the recently closed J.S Woodsworth Secondary helped the program en route to a successful season in which the team went undefeated. In 2008, Merivale High School placed first overall in the NCSSAA Swim Meet in early December. The school holds an annual Athletic Banquet at the end of the year.
Routes
The school is served by several OC TranspoOC Transpo
OC Transpo is the urban transit service of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. An integrated hub-and-spoke system of services is available consisting of: regular buses travelling on fixed routes in mixed traffic, typical of most urban transit systems; a bus rapid transit system — a high...
"Special" buses in the 600 series which convey the students to and from school from surrounding (and distant) communities such as Barrhaven.
688
675
687
642
677
Notable alumni
- Moe LemayMoe LemayMaurice Lemay is a retired professional ice hockey player who played 317 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins and Winnipeg Jets...
- former NHL hockey player - David CharbonneauDavid CharbonneauDavid Charbonneau is a Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University. His research focuses on the development of novel techniques for the detection and characterization of planets orbiting nearby, Sun-like stars...
- astronomer - Kathleen EdwardsKathleen EdwardsKathleen Edwards is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. Her 2003 debut album, Failer, contained the singles "Six O'Clock News" and "Hockey Skates".- Personal life :...
- musician/songwriter - Steven MacLeanSteven MacLean (astronaut)Steven Glenwood MacLean is a Canadian astronaut. He is the current President of the Canadian Space Agency, appointed on September 1, 2008....
- astronaut (STS-115STS-115Note:The P3/P4 Truss segment and batteries were so heavy that the crew count was reduced from seven to six.-Crew notes:...
, STS-52STS-52-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.5°*Period: 90.6 min-Mission highlights:...
) - Chris Day - CJOHCJOH-TVCJOH-DT is a television station serving Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and the surrounding region. Owned by Bell Media, it is part of the CTV Television Network....
News Anchor - Vikas KohliVikas KohliVikas Kohli is an Indian musician and producer best known for founding Fatlabs.-Fatlabs:Fatlabs is home recording studio in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, founded in 2003. Kohli is best known for his ability to work with multiple genres. Vikas has produced punk, jazz, hip-hop, soul, country, pop,...
- producer and founder of FatlabsFatlabsFatLabs, is a Canadian home recording studio in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 2003 by Vikas Kohli. The studio is known for its ability to work with an assortment of genres.- Mission Istaanbul :... - Larry O'BrienLarry O'Brien (Canadian politician)Lawrence Robert O'Brien , was the 58th mayor of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is also a current director of Calian Technologies Ltd. and its former CEO and chairman....
- Mayor of Ottawa (2006-2010)