Norwell District Secondary School, formerly known as Palmerston High School, and often simply called Norwell or NDSS, is a mid-sized composite high school located in Palmerston, Ontario

Palmerston, Ontario

Palmerston is an unincorporated community located at the south end of the town of Minto in northern part of Wellington County in southern Ontario, Canada.- History :...

. The school serves an area of approximately 500 km², including the communities of Palmerston, Harriston

Harriston, Ontario

Harriston is a community in the town of Minto in Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. Although Harriston was formerly a village, it was amalgamated with Palmerston and Clifford to create Minto. The village has one public school , as well as shops and restaurants...

, Drayton

Drayton, Ontario

Drayton is a community in Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. It is a part of the township of Mapleton in North Wellington County. The village is on the corner of Wellington Road 8 and Wellington Road 11, geographically northwest of Fergus and southwest of Arthur.-Education:Drayton is in the Upper...

, Clifford

Clifford, Ontario

Clifford is a community in the Town of Minto in Wellington County, Ontario, Canada.The village of Clifford was founded around 1855 as Minto Village. After the opening of the post office in 1856, the settlement was renamed Clifford by the first postmaster Francis Brown after Clifford in West...

, Moorefield

Moorefield, Ontario

Moorefield is a community in Southern Ontario, located within the Wellington County township of Mapleton.The founder of Moorefield, Richard C. Moore, was the son of a Baptist missionary who came to Canada for the purpose of establishing a church and converts in North America. Richard, as well as...

, Rothsay, and for 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...

, students from more distant towns such as Mount Forest

Mount Forest, Ontario

Mount Forest is an unincorporated community located on the junction of the 6 and the 89 in the township of Wellington North, Ontario. The town's motto is "High, Happy, Healthy", which can be seen on the water tower when approaching the town from the south....

. Most students (over 90%) are bused in.

Departments

• Art
• Business
• English
• Family Studies
• Geography
• Guidance/Career Studies
• History
• Languages
• Library
• Math
• Music
• Physical Education
• Science (and CELP)
• Special Education/Alternative Education
• Technology

Athletics

Athletic teams, known as the Redmen, include badminton, basketball, cross country running, field hockey, ice hockey, rugby, soccer, track and field, and volleyball. The school hosts tournaments in ice hockey and volleyball, sports in which the school is competitive.

While the school's mascot

Mascot

The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...

 was once a Native American, with a logo identical to that used by the Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...

, the school opted to change their mascot (see Native American mascot controversy

Native American mascot controversy

The propriety of using Native American mascots and images in sports has been a topic of debate in the United States and Canada since the 1960s.Americans have had a history of drawing inspiration from native peoples and "playing Indian" that dates back at least to the 18th century...

), but to keep the "Redmen" name.

Extracurricular activities and clubs

Cut the Mic, formerly known as Infrasonic, is an annual event at Norwell, usually held in April. Bands and musicians within the school perform for the community.

Norwell has held the Relay For Life

Relay For Life

Relay For Life is the main volunteer-driven cancer fundraising event of the American Cancer Society. Originating in the United States, the Relay For Life event has spread to 21 countries. Relay events are held in local communities, campus universities, military bases, and in cyberspace...

 since 2004 to fundraise for the Canadian Cancer Society

Canadian Cancer Society

The Canadian Cancer Society is a national, community-based charitable organization of volunteers whose mission is to eradicate cancer and enhance the quality of life of those living with the disease....

. In the first five years of Relay For Life, the school has raised over $200,000 toward this cause.