Lord Dorchester Secondary School

Lord Dorchester Secondary School (LDSS)
Address
61 Queen Street Dorchester , Ontario , Canada
Information
School type	Secondary
Founded	1961
School board	Thames Valley District School Board
Principal	Christine Vitsentzatos
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	500-600
Language	English
Colour(s)	Red and Black and Gold
Mascot	Beaver
Team name	Beavers
Website	Website

Lord Dorchester Secondary School is a Thames Valley District School Board Secondary School located in the township of Dorchester, Ontario, in the municipality of Thames Centre, in the county of Middlesex, in Ontario, Canada.

Although small when compared to urban secondary schools, Lord Dorchester is larger than many rural-area schools. The student population hovers in the range of 500 to 600 students. Lord Dorchester is a strong academic school (based on provincial test scores), but also offers a range of non-academic courses such as shop classes to go along with core subjects in mathematics, sciences, and the arts. The mascot of Lord Dorchester is the Canadian Beaver. It is the only high school in North America with a beaver for a mascot.

The School

Lord Dorchester Secondary School was constructed in 1961. The current school grounds include a two-story school building with an attached cafeteria and a gymnasium, two auxiliary storage buildings, and a very large open field that accommodates school sports as well as community recreation.

The school offers base programs at par with most schools, as well as some other open programs. However, students keen on taking open programs, particularly in the arts, have had to transfer to other schools, such as H. B. Beal Secondary School.

Throughout the years, the school has undergone a series of renovations and upgrades. In the early 1990s, a state-of-the-art music room was built as an addition to the school. Over the summer of 2007 asbestos was removed and windows and exterior doors were upgraded. In 2010, new carpet was installed in the library.

For the most part, classrooms in the school are rather outdated. Many of the school's computers were acquired secondhand from other schools, and only a small wing has air conditioning. However, in recent years the school has purchased new desks, computers, and Smart Boards (A responsibility of the administration of the school). Also, every classroom is now equipped with its own data projector.

The school is surrounded by residential areas centrally located in the town of Dorchester, where a large percentage of the staff and students reside. Other students are bused in from surrounding communities such as Belmont, Putnam, and Thorndale.

Every few years the school puts on a musical. Most recent musicals were Footloose in 2006 and Little Shop of Horrors in 2010.

Sports and Athletics

Lord Dorchester has a relatively small number of extracurricular sports and athletic programs. The school competes in the 'AA' class under the Thames Valley Regional Athletic Association (TVRAA), the Western Ontario Secondary Schools Athletic Association (WOSSAA), and provincially under the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA). All teams are run by faculty staff. Boy's and girl's teams participate in hockey, basketball, volleyball, soccer, golf, tennis, archery, badminton, wrestling, curling, track and field, and cross country running. The track and field team is a source of pride for the school due to recent successes at WOSSA by the team.

In the earlier years, Lord Dorchester Secondary School had a football team, although it is now defunct. Recent attempts to bring rugby and swimming teams to the school were short lived. The girl's field hockey team was recently cancelled.

A girl's cheerleading squad was recently added to the athletics program.

The school's sports facilities include a gymnasium with a retractable partition, and a large outdoor green field with a non-regulation baseball diamond, a 400m oval gravel track, pole vault and distance-jumping pits, a large soccer pitch, as well as several miniature soccer pitches for young children in the community. The school's gymnasium can easily be configured into basketball, volleyball, and badminton courts.

A weight room was a recent addition to the school's sports facilities and students can obtain a membership for a small fee. The Run to the Fair is a local 5k road race with the proceeds from the race go to support efforts like the fundraising for the weight room.

Manufacturing and Computer Technology

The back of the school is home to an expansive technology wing with several large classrooms dedicated manufacturing and computer technology. On the main floor of the technology wing there are classrooms for automotive and engine repair, tool and die manufacturing, electronics, and woodworking and cabinetry. On the upper floor there are several computer labs which offer classes in accounting and business, programming and design, and keyboarding. The upper floor of the technology wing is the only part of the school with air conditioning.

Clubs and Ensembles

In any given year, the school runs many clubs. These include Reach For The Top, and the Safe Schools Committee. In recent years, more clubs have been added, such as the Eco Club and the Guitar Club. In 2009, students founded the Global Issues Club, which is now one of the most popular clubs in the school. Its purpose is to raise school awareness about global issues. For instance, following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the club hosted the Haiti Hootenanny - a charitable event that raised a lot of money for Haiti relief.

Throughout the past decade, the Lord Dorchester Senior Concert Band has had extremely good success in the Kiwanis Music Festival. The ensemble has captured several division titles, most recently in 2010.

See also

• List of high schools in Ontario