Newmarket High School

Newmarket High School is an Ontario secondary school located at 505 Pickering Crescent, off Mulock Drive in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. It is one of four high schools in Newmarket under the jurisdiction of the York Region District School Board and currently educates approximately 1214 students from Grades 9 to 12. The phoenix and the Viking are the school's symbols and the school's colours are purple and gold.^[3]

History

The school was originally founded in 1843 as a "grammar school", located on Raglan Street in Newmarket. As an institution, Newmarket High School is the third oldest high school in Ontario (oldest being Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute c. 1792 and Jarvis Collegiate Institute c. 1807) and oldest in York Region). This original school, which could accommodate 46 students, was built at a cost of $75.

However, by the 1870s, Newmarket's growth had rendered the original school inadequate to the task of educating the town's youth. So, in 1876, at a cost of $6,000, a new building was constructed at the corner of Pearson and Prospect Streets in Newmarket, where the school was located for most of its history.

On March 16, 1893, a temperamental wood-burning furnace put an end to this building and its additions when it set off a fire that burnt the school to the ground.

In 1894, a new building was built on the same site, incorporating the innovation of electricity. This building stood until March 31, 1928, when yet another fire, this one of mysterious origin, once again utterly reduced the school to ashes. The fires led to the adoption of the orange Phoenix bird as the school's official symbol.

The same year, yet another new school was built on the Pearson Street site, this one hailed as “one of the most modernized educational institutions in the Dominion of Canada.” This building stood for decades and underwent many additions and renovations over the years, most notably a major addition consisting of a classroom block and an additional gymnasium in the late 1950s, and a new school library in the 1960s.

Despite the additions, however, the 1960s saw an increasingly intolerable situation developing at Newmarket District High School, as it was then known. The school was overcrowded to the extent that not only did students have to share lockers, but the school day was also run in two shifts to accommodate everyone. The situation was addressed in 1962, when Huron Heights Secondary School was opened, providing Newmarket with a second high school.

By the 1990s, however, it had become clear that the existing building could no longer cope with local population growth and its facilities were becoming increasingly outdated. Plans were made to move the school to yet another site. This move (to the school's current location) was completed in October 1996, with the previous building briefly housing Newmarket Public School before being torn down in 2000.

A significant portion of NHS's graduating classes goes on to pursue post-secondary education at universities across Canada (mostly in Ontario). The most popular destinations include McMaster University, Wilfrid Laurier University, Carleton University, University of Western Ontario, and Brock University, University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, and Queen's University.

The "fourth incarnation" as it appeared in June 1981

Current academic programs offered at Newmarket High School include a gifted/enriched program, Advanced Placement courses, and most recently, a French immersion program.

Sports and athletics

Newmarket High School sports teams are known as the NHS Raiders (logo is a ferocious looking Viking pillager whose current incarnation is very similar to that of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League).

The Raiders field teams in:

• Canadian Football
• Girls' Flag Football
• Varsity Field Hockey
• Boys'/Girls' Volleyball
• Track and field
• Curling
• Swimming
• Badminton
• Ultimate
• Coed Cheerleading (currently not available)
• Boys'/Girls' Basketball
• Golf
• Hockey
• Boys' Baseball
• Girls' Slow-Pitch Softball

Notable student groups

The Current Incarnation of the School

Newmarket High School boasts one of the finest arts and music programs in York Region as well as an excellent athletic program and an active and prominent student council. The school has long served as the home of the Newmarket-area gifted/enrichment program. York Region's French immersion program moved to Newmarket High from Aurora High School and Keswick High School in September 2007.

Social Justice, a YRDSB initiative to raise awareness of AIDS in Africa began in 2004. The Social Justice Committee began a fundraiser in which $1 400 was donated to the foundation by selling jewellery made by African children. In spring 2005, the committee did a penny drive, which raised another $500. Other clubs such as Youth Alive, a Christian group that has been involved in programs spearheaded in large part thanks to the efforts of Mr. Pichora and Mr. Finkle, and has recently been student-led, encourage student participation in volunteer efforts and other causes. Fundraising drives for Hurricane Katrina victims and the Kids Help Phone are two examples of some of Youth Alive's contributions. However, youth alive has recently been focusing on more faith related topics where a leader of the group offered to answer questions about God, Faith and the like via anonymous text messaging or by coming to the group which meets Mondays after school. The groups primary goals as of 2011, have been to a) discuss and encourage the conduct of a Christian high school student, and b) to inform the school about what Jesus has done, and why it matters to them.

The atrium of the current N.H.S. Student groups often make banners that are attached to the railings of either hallways, as shown in the image.

The Newmarket High School instrumental and jazz bands have been a key fixture of the Arts and Music program at the school for many years, and have competed in numerous regional and provincial competitions with a great deal of success. The band received Gold level ratings at the annual Canada's Wonderland spring Music Alive Festival in 2003 and 2004, and a Silver rating in 2005. NHS Music Night, held twice a year – normally in December during first semester and April or May in second semester – has also become a popular department tradition and received critical acclaim from local publications such as The Era Banner and York Region This Month.

Famous alumni

• Munro Chambers, actor from "The Latest Buzz" and "Degrassi: The Next Generation"
• B.J. Crombeen, a professional ice hockey winger currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League
• Brian Elliott, goaltender for the Calgary Flames of the NHL^[4]
• Hugo Lopez, Defensive Back for the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL
• Robin Mackin pitcher for Canada National Softball team,^[5] won silver at 2007 Pan American Games^[6]
• Jamie Macoun, two-time Stanley Cup Winner with The Calgary Flames and The Detroit Red Wings, also played with The Toronto Maple Leafs
• Steven Lee Olsen, country music artist
• Pete Orr, Canadian Olympic baseball player and Philadelphia Phillies second-baseman
• The Salads, punk rock band
• Lindsay Seemann, Canadian Olympic Swimmer
• Belinda Stronach, Canadian politician, business magnate, and former MP for the riding of Newmarket-Aurora
• Tokyo Police Club, indie rock band

See also

• List of high schools in Ontario
• York Region District School Board
• Newmarket, Ontario

Sources

• Newmarket High School's History

External links

• Newmarket High School