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St. Matthew High School (Orleans, Ontario)
Encyclopedia
St. Matthew Catholic High School is located at 6550 Bilberry Drive in Orléans, Ontario
, Canada. The current principal is Christopher Mes. The school offers grades 7-12. The current school population rests at about 1400 students with about 120 staff members.
The school broke the Guinness world record for largest unbroken human chain, called the Bear Hug. The event was in support of Cancer research.
The school opened with about 300 students. In its first year of existence, it was affectionately known by its first principal, Joseph Ryan, as “the far eastern school.” It was built by the firm Kearney and Coles with Edward Cuhaci as the architect, on property on Bilberry Drive in Orléans, straddling two sides of Bilberry Creek. The school’s first yearbook was entitled, perhaps appropriately, EMANON which is “NO NAME” spelled backwards. It did have an official name, but since it was the wordy “Eastern Area Elementary Junior High School,” it was, in a sense, nameless. This all changed at the official opening on June 16, 1982, when it was formally named “St. Matthew Catholic High School.”
The school underwent two expansions over the years to accommodate an ever-growing student population, which peaked at close to 1,800 students. In 1985, the first phase of a two-part expansion took place, adding a number of classrooms. This was followed by a second extension in 1987 that included more classrooms, specialty areas such as an automotive shop, music room, drama room and art room and a second gymnasium/cafeteria. The construction of St. Peter Catholic High School in 1992 provided spaces for some students previously at St. Matthew, relieving some of the enrollment pressures at the school. Then, in 2009/2010, the school underwent yet another expansion, adding on yet another wing as to give the school the squeeze room to remove all but the bigger portables.
The school mascot is a tiger. All St. Matthew sports teams are called Tigers, symbolizing speed, ferociousness and the ability to dominate and win over other teams, no matter what.
Mayor, Bob Chiarelli
. The world’s largest bear hug involved 5,117 students hugging for ten seconds. This world record was tied in with the school’s fundraising for cancer, as students and staff, with the support of local businesses and residents, raised more than $108,000 in April of that year, surpassing the previous provincial record of $40,000 and setting a Canadian record for cancer fundraising by a high school.
(6,553). They also raised funds in support of cancer research for a second time. However, they were unsuccessful in breaking the record.
is planned to take place on May 7th, 2010 around the Rideau Canal
. The goal of the Bear Hug is
1. Raise over $500,000 for Cancer Patient Care and Research and
2. Set a new Guinness World Record.
This record was successfully broken in May of 2010, and the money raised.
http://bearhugottawa.com/
Their boys program has also been considered as one of the top programs in the city. They have continually won city championships at the junior and senior levels. 2009 was their most notable city championship win at the senior level, as they did it with a record stretching to over 50 wins and only 1 loss. The team also took home the gold medal in the province at OFSAA. This was St. Matts first ever OFSAA title. They defeated the Emery Eagles of Toronto in the finals, in front of a home crowd at Lisgar Collegiate. In 2010, The school's junior football team took home the championship title, the first time ever, since the program started.
Orléans, Ontario
Orleans , also written Orléans, is a suburban area within the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the eastern part of the city along the Ottawa River, about from downtown Ottawa. The Canada 2006 Census gave Orleans a population of 95,491. It became a ward of the City of Ottawa in 2001...
, Canada. The current principal is Christopher Mes. The school offers grades 7-12. The current school population rests at about 1400 students with about 120 staff members.
The school broke the Guinness world record for largest unbroken human chain, called the Bear Hug. The event was in support of Cancer research.
History
When St. Matthew Catholic High School opened in 1981, it was known as Eastern Area Junior High School, with Grades 6 and 7. Not until June 1982 was the school officially named St. Matthew.The school opened with about 300 students. In its first year of existence, it was affectionately known by its first principal, Joseph Ryan, as “the far eastern school.” It was built by the firm Kearney and Coles with Edward Cuhaci as the architect, on property on Bilberry Drive in Orléans, straddling two sides of Bilberry Creek. The school’s first yearbook was entitled, perhaps appropriately, EMANON which is “NO NAME” spelled backwards. It did have an official name, but since it was the wordy “Eastern Area Elementary Junior High School,” it was, in a sense, nameless. This all changed at the official opening on June 16, 1982, when it was formally named “St. Matthew Catholic High School.”
The school underwent two expansions over the years to accommodate an ever-growing student population, which peaked at close to 1,800 students. In 1985, the first phase of a two-part expansion took place, adding a number of classrooms. This was followed by a second extension in 1987 that included more classrooms, specialty areas such as an automotive shop, music room, drama room and art room and a second gymnasium/cafeteria. The construction of St. Peter Catholic High School in 1992 provided spaces for some students previously at St. Matthew, relieving some of the enrollment pressures at the school. Then, in 2009/2010, the school underwent yet another expansion, adding on yet another wing as to give the school the squeeze room to remove all but the bigger portables.
Identity
The school logo is a cross inside an oval, with four symbols, one in each quadrant formed by the cross. The four symbols are a quill representing writing, a book representing reading, a flame representing the spirit of sport and folded hands representing prayer. The name “St. Matthew” is on a banner at the bottom of the logo.The school mascot is a tiger. All St. Matthew sports teams are called Tigers, symbolizing speed, ferociousness and the ability to dominate and win over other teams, no matter what.
Bear Hug 1
This event was documented in the 2005 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. On April 23, 2004, St. Matthew Catholic High School made it into the Guinness Book of World Records with the world's largest bear hug, an endeavour led by school Principal André Potvin, and an achievement which resulted in June 9, 2004 being officially declared “St. Matthew High School Day” by OttawaOttawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
Mayor, Bob Chiarelli
Bob Chiarelli
Robert "Bob" Chiarelli is a Canadian politician. He served in the Ontario Legislative Assembly from 1987 to 1997, and was subsequently re-elected to the legislature in 2010 after serving as regional chair and mayor of Ottawa from 1997 to 2006...
. The world’s largest bear hug involved 5,117 students hugging for ten seconds. This world record was tied in with the school’s fundraising for cancer, as students and staff, with the support of local businesses and residents, raised more than $108,000 in April of that year, surpassing the previous provincial record of $40,000 and setting a Canadian record for cancer fundraising by a high school.
Bear Hug 2
Under the leadership of St. Matthew High School, planned to be home to the largest bear hug on April 25, 2008. The plan was to break the Guinness Book of World Records for a second time. They attempted to have several thousand students hugging for over 20 seconds to break the current record held by the citizens of New MexicoNew Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
(6,553). They also raised funds in support of cancer research for a second time. However, they were unsuccessful in breaking the record.
Bear Hug 3
Again, under the leadership of St Matthew High School, and with the support of over 16,000 students from the Ottawa region another Bear HugBear Hug
"Bear Hug" is the debut single by London-based musical duo The 2 Bears. It was released on 15 June 2011 as a Digital download in the United Kingdom. The song peaked to number 187 on the UK Singles Chart...
is planned to take place on May 7th, 2010 around the Rideau Canal
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
. The goal of the Bear Hug is
1. Raise over $500,000 for Cancer Patient Care and Research and
2. Set a new Guinness World Record.
This record was successfully broken in May of 2010, and the money raised.
http://bearhugottawa.com/
Notable alumni
- Scott AdamsScott AdamsScott Raymond Adams is the American creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, business, and general speculation....
- Major League Basedball (Red Suss) - Devin Atherton - Independent hip-hop artist
- Jean-Nicolas CarriereJean-Nicolas CarrièreJean-Nicolas Carrière is a Canadian football linebacker in the Canadian Football League who is currently a free agent...
- Professional football player with the CFL (Toronto Argonauts) - Jordan David - Bassist and songwriter of indie group The Love MachineThe Love MachineThe Love Machine is a 1969 novel written by Jacqueline Susann. Her first book following her hugely successful Valley of the Dolls, it was published by Simon and Schuster in June 1969. While it ultimately was not as successful as Dolls, it was an enormous best-seller and, like its predecessor, it is...
- Erik GalasErik GalasErik Galas is a professional Canadian football slotback who is currently playing in Germany. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Montreal Alouettes in 2009. He played CIS football for the McGill Redmen. Galas is the all time leader for catches in a CIS career...
- Professional football player with the CFL (Montreal Alouettes) & GFL (Mönchengladbach Mavericks) - Jeff Hurter - Owner of Canadian independent record label Finish What You Started Records
- Will Leung Drummer of punk rock band Germ Attak
- Connor Muldoon - Bassist and songwriter of pop-rock group Benefit of a Doubt
- David Sarazin - Program director and radio host at CKCU-FM Radio 93.1
- Senja Sargeant - Singer and songwriter with Warner/Kindling recording artists Ladies Of The CanyonLadies of the Canyon (band)Ladies of the Canyon is a Canadian country music group from Montreal, Quebec composed of Senja Sargeant, Maia Davies, Jasmine Bleile and Anna Ruddick. Their first single, "Follow Me Down," debuted in the top 50 of the BDS Canadian Country Singles Chart in May 2010...
. - Norman WongNorman Wong-Biography:Born and raised in Honolulu he is a graduate of the University of Chicago. His stories have appeared in Men's Style, Kenyon Review, the Asian Pacific American Journal, and the Threepenny Review...
- TV producer of Amazing Race: China Rush (ICS, CCTV News), Shanghai RushShanghai RushShanghai Rush is a Chinese reality television program broadcast by International Channel Shanghai as part of the TV scheduling leading up to the 2010 Shanghai Expo and designed to showcase the city. The series borrowed heavily from the themes of the American reality show The Amazing Race and was...
(ICS) and Asia Uncut (Star World).
Sports
The St. Matthew Tigers have been competitive within the city and province in many sports. Their most notable sport would have to be basketball, as they are considered to be one of the best basketball schools in capital region. They have had an extremely powerful girl's program over the years, appearing in 11 consecutive city finals in the 11 years, and winning 9 of them. This record in unsurpassed by any other school in Ottawa. They also have had a powerful senior girls program, where they have consistently placed in the top four in the city. They have appeared at OFSAA numerous times, and took the silver medal at OFSAA in 2001.Their boys program has also been considered as one of the top programs in the city. They have continually won city championships at the junior and senior levels. 2009 was their most notable city championship win at the senior level, as they did it with a record stretching to over 50 wins and only 1 loss. The team also took home the gold medal in the province at OFSAA. This was St. Matts first ever OFSAA title. They defeated the Emery Eagles of Toronto in the finals, in front of a home crowd at Lisgar Collegiate. In 2010, The school's junior football team took home the championship title, the first time ever, since the program started.
Notable graduates from St. Matts basketball programs
- Mark Neumann: a small forward who made the game clinching free throw in the 2005 city championship game. Went on to play for the Algonquin College Thunder.
- Sheldon Stewart: received scholarship to Lehigh University in the US, but returned and played for the Carleton Ravens, winning a national championship.
- Moriah Trowell: played on the Canadian junior national team, and received a scholarship to St. John's University in New York. She later returned, and played at Ottawa U. She was on the 2001 OFSAA silver medalist team.
- Kristine Moyle: played with Moriah Trowell at Ottawa U, helping them get to the CIS national championships. She was also on the 2001 OFSAA silver medalists.
- Tyson Hinz: a power forward who was on the 2009 OFSAA gold medal winning senior boys team, now plays at Carleton University.
- Scott Ring: a point guard, who helped lead St. Matts to the OFSAA gold medal, also plays at Carleton with teammate Tyson Hinz. He was also on Team Ontario in 2008.
- Garnet Blais: was on the OFSAA championship team. Now plays at Algonquin.
- Gavin Resch. Played Point Guard on the 2008 OFFSA championship team. Now plays at Carleton University. Brother of Jessica Resch.
- Jessica Resch: a star for the Tigers all the way up, appeared at OFSAA in her junior year. She now plays at Carleton. Sister of Gavin Resch.
- Elizabeth Roach: played with Jessica Resch, and now plays at Carleton.
- Erik Galas: played on various city champion teams during his career at St. Matthew. He played football at McGill, becoming the all time receiving leader in CIS history. Was drafted into the CFL.