Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School (Burlington)

For other schools of the same name, see Notre Dame High School (disambiguation).

Notre Dame Secondary School
Address
2333 Headon Forest Drive Burlington , Ontario , L7M 3X6
Information
School type	Separate High School
Founded	1989
School board	Halton Catholic District School Board
Superintendent	Fiammetta Mazzetti
Administrator	Carmen Coombes
Principal	Michael Iannetta
Grades	9 to 12
Enrollment	1,200 (2009)
Language	English, French Immersion
Colour(s)	Blue, Green and Gold
Mascot	Leprechaun
Team name	Fighting Irish
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Website	http://schools.hcdsb.org/ntdm/

Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School is a coeducational Catholic high school in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1989 by the Halton Catholic District School Board and currently enrolls students from the ninth to twelfth grades. Notre Dame's emblem is a small dueling leprechaun and, accordingly, the school's slogan is "Fightin' Irish".

In its first year, Notre Dame began by only enrolling ninth and tenth grade classes. Today it schools the Ontario standard of grades 9 through 12. With grade 13 recently being removed as a requirement for graduation in Ontario, many grade twelve graduates return for an optional extra year.

School population

The school enrolled slightly over 1,300 as a large amount has been placed at Corpus Christi. As of 2009, there are 7 portables to contain the minor overflow of classes and students. It receives most new students from local elementary schools including St. Gabriel, St. Timothy, St. Mark, Canadian Martyrs.

Notre Dame, like all publicly funded Catholic schools in Ontario, also accepts non-Catholics into the school; however, they are expected to take part in the religious activities and mandatory religious classes.

The Catholic school's parishes are St. Paul the Apostle and St. Gabriel. It belongs to the Diocese of Hamilton, under Bishop Anthony Tonnos.

Athletic History

Notre Dame won seven GHAC (Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference) championship titles in the 2004-2005 school year, and won 15 Halton Region championships. Over the past several years, a few teams have placed in the top three at OFSAA (Ontario Provincial Championships), including the Senior Girls' field hockey Team, Varsity Girls' ice hockey , Open Girls Swim Team and the Senior Girls' soccer Team. In the season of 2006, the Senior Girls soccer Team won 1st place against Loyola Catholic Secondary School. In the 2007 fall season, the Midget Boys cross country team placed second in OFSAA and subsequently placed first the following year - the first gold medal for a boys GHAC cross country team at OFSAA. The boys varsity baseball team won Prentice Cup (baseball) in 2008, to secure the second OFSAA gold at Notre Dame boys history.

There is an annual athletic banquet held near the beginning of June which honors the MVPs and best athletes of the year from every sport and grade. Approximately 400-500 students attend the event, which is well known throughout the school for its comical videos put together by several of the physical education teachers.

Kilt Krew

Notre Dame has a group of male senior students referred to as "The Kilt Krew". They are a group that attends many sporting events that Notre Dame is involved in, to encourage students to cheer on the team. They are led by a student dubbed "Speedo Man" who can often be seen running across the field in a green speedo at half-time or pre-game. A new "Speedo Man" is generally selected every year by the previous years Speedo Man. The most recent Speedo Man, in the graduating class of 2010, is John Jeffery.

Athletics and School Clubs

• Jazz band
• Concert band
• Drama Club
• Social Justice Group
• Environmental Club
• Robotics and Programming Club
• School Reach
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cross Country
• Field Hockey
• Hockey
• Football
• Golf
• Lacrosse
• Soccer
• Softball
• Rugby
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Track and Field
• Volleyball
• Ultimate Frisbee
• Prefects
• Student Council
• Athletic Council

Academics

Notre Dame has a wide array of courses in many different areas of interest. Students with a 79.5 percent overall average or above are recognized by being placed on the school's Honour Roll. Students with the highest average in a course and students who have the highest overall averages of each grade are also recognized.

Staff

There are currently over 100 full-time teachers employed at Notre Dame. There is one principal (Michael Iannetta), and two vice principals. There are several day-time and night-time janitors. The Head Secretary is Carmen Coombes.

Past administration

• Kosta Kais, Principal, 1989
• Peter Visser, Principal, 1990-1997
• Art Kelly, Principal, 1997
• Paul Thompson, Principal, 1998-2005
• Stanley Gajewski, Principal, 2006-2008
• Thomas Dunn, Principal, 2008-2010

Notable Alumni

• Brendan J Sullivan, Kansas State University Baseball
• Andrew Agro, Wilfrid Laurier Football Canadian Interuniversity Sport National Champion
• Byron hickey, Wilfrid Laurier Football Canadian Interuniversity Sport National Champion

News Articles

• March Break Hampering School Fire Investigation

External links

• Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School Website
• Halton Catholic District School Board Website