Oakridge Secondary School
Encyclopedia
Oakridge Secondary School is one of the many government-operated High Schools (as opposed to Collegiate Institute
s) in London, Ontario
. Oakridge has over 1000 students and is located on Oxford Street in west London. Their nickname is the Oakridge Oaks and the school's colours are red
, blue
, and gold
. It is known for its academics, community involvement, arts programs, and sports teams, particularly the boys volleyball team, who have won OFSAA before. The school's football team has grown over the last several seasons under the leadership of Head Coach Mike Darling. The senior team played in TVRAA's "C" Division in 2007 and are now an "A" Division team by 2009 thanks to junior Head Coach Austin Scarpelli. Also in the fall of 2009, the junior team (only in its third season of existence) won the TVRAA City Championships. Oakridge's Senior boy's basketball team has also been very successful. The team attended 7 straight OFSAA championships in a row, with their streak finally coming to a drought in 2011. In 2009 the Junior boys Oakridge Cross Country won TVRAA. In the fall of 2009, the school put on a major dramatic arts production of Disney's High School Musical 2. The school repeatedly scores as one of the top secondary schools in London, and is currently ranked second (based on provincial tests and examinations).
Following the retirement of Christine Stewart, Grant McCumber became Principal of Oakridge in September 2009. He had previously served as Prinicipal at Sir George Ross Secondary School in east London. Oakridge celebrated its 50th anniversary in October 2009, holding a reunion for all past and present Oaks during the Thanksgiving long weekend.
Pride in achievement, however, was never limited just to scholastics. Athletics, the arts, and community involvement distinguish the school in competition, performance, and in strong community support. Its stability encouraged a large financial investment in modernizing and upgrading the physical plant in a major renovation during 1994-95. Few would recognize the old school today. Even fewer would recognize the school's original Latin
moto "Nostrum viret robur" (Our strength grows as the Oaks). Yet the undeniable strength of Oakridge has been the outstanding leadership demonstrated by students, staff, and administration over its first fifty years.
’s ratings and rankings of Ontario
schools assist parents when they choose a school and encourage educators and parents seeking to improve Ontario schools. Each Fraser Institute report card collects a variety of relevant, objective indicators of school performance into one, easily accessible public document so that anyone can analyze and compare the performance of individual Ontario schools. The following indicates Oakridge Secondary School's performance for the 2009-2010 academic year, indicating a rating of 8.1 out of 10 and ranking 41st out of 727 schools.
Student Parliament Website
Oakbotics Website
Collegiate institute
A collegiate institute is a term that can refer to a school either of secondary education or of higher education. It has a complex definition that varies regionally, and has been largely unused outside of Canada since the early 20th century.-Canada:...
s) in London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
. Oakridge has over 1000 students and is located on Oxford Street in west London. Their nickname is the Oakridge Oaks and the school's colours are red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
, blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
, and gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
. It is known for its academics, community involvement, arts programs, and sports teams, particularly the boys volleyball team, who have won OFSAA before. The school's football team has grown over the last several seasons under the leadership of Head Coach Mike Darling. The senior team played in TVRAA's "C" Division in 2007 and are now an "A" Division team by 2009 thanks to junior Head Coach Austin Scarpelli. Also in the fall of 2009, the junior team (only in its third season of existence) won the TVRAA City Championships. Oakridge's Senior boy's basketball team has also been very successful. The team attended 7 straight OFSAA championships in a row, with their streak finally coming to a drought in 2011. In 2009 the Junior boys Oakridge Cross Country won TVRAA. In the fall of 2009, the school put on a major dramatic arts production of Disney's High School Musical 2. The school repeatedly scores as one of the top secondary schools in London, and is currently ranked second (based on provincial tests and examinations).
Following the retirement of Christine Stewart, Grant McCumber became Principal of Oakridge in September 2009. He had previously served as Prinicipal at Sir George Ross Secondary School in east London. Oakridge celebrated its 50th anniversary in October 2009, holding a reunion for all past and present Oaks during the Thanksgiving long weekend.
History
Founded as a county school in 1959, Oakridge High School became Oakridge Secondary School when London annexed a large part of the surrounding countryside in 1960. The school became the first in London to adopt three colours: red, blue and gold. This became just one of many firsts in the years to come. For its first quarter century, the city's west end academic school naturally attracted some of London's brightest and best young people.Pride in achievement, however, was never limited just to scholastics. Athletics, the arts, and community involvement distinguish the school in competition, performance, and in strong community support. Its stability encouraged a large financial investment in modernizing and upgrading the physical plant in a major renovation during 1994-95. Few would recognize the old school today. Even fewer would recognize the school's original Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
moto "Nostrum viret robur" (Our strength grows as the Oaks). Yet the undeniable strength of Oakridge has been the outstanding leadership demonstrated by students, staff, and administration over its first fifty years.
Fraser Institute's report card
The Fraser InstituteFraser Institute
The Fraser Institute is a Canadian think tank. It has been described as politically conservative and right-wing libertarian and espouses free market principles...
’s ratings and rankings of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
schools assist parents when they choose a school and encourage educators and parents seeking to improve Ontario schools. Each Fraser Institute report card collects a variety of relevant, objective indicators of school performance into one, easily accessible public document so that anyone can analyze and compare the performance of individual Ontario schools. The following indicates Oakridge Secondary School's performance for the 2009-2010 academic year, indicating a rating of 8.1 out of 10 and ranking 41st out of 727 schools.
| OSSLT count | 272 |
|---|---|
| ESL (%) | 4.0 |
| Special Needs (%) | 9.9 |
| Parents' Average Income ($) | 98,100 |
| Performance Measure | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. level Gr 9 Math (Academic) | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.0 | — |
| Avg. level Gr 9 Math (Applied) | 2.7 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2.6 | — |
| OSSLT passed (%)-FTE | 94.0 | 94.0 | 93.1 | 92.9 | 93.1 | Up |
| OSSLT passed (%)-PE | 75.0 | 73.9 | 63.6 | 64.7 | 82.8 | — |
| Tests below standard (%) | 14.0 | 17.4 | 16.5 | 16.7 | 11.4 | — |
| Gender gap (level)-Math | E | E | M 0.1 | M 0.1 | M 0.1 | — |
| Gender gap OSSLT | M 0.2 | M 1.7 | F 2.1 | F 1.8 | F 5.1 | Down |
| Gr 9 tests not written (%) | 0.8 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.8 | — |
| Overall rating out of 10 | 8.7 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 7.6 | 8.1 | — |
Co-instructional activities/clubs
- AV Light/Sound
- Cancer Campaign
- Chess Club
- Christian Fellowship
- Cloud 9
- Computer Programming Club
- Debating Club
- The Dining Club
- Equestrian Club
- Gay/Straight Alliance
- Grad Committee
- Healthy School Committee
- Intramural Sports
- Martial Arts Club
- Math Contests
- Model UN
- Multicultural Committee
- Music Council
- Muslim Student Association
- Multicultural and Race Relations Club
- Oak Mentoring Program
- Oak Radio
- Oakbotics
- Photography
- Reach for the Top
- Risk Club
- Safe School Committee
- Student Athletic Association
- Student Exchange
- Science Olympics
- United Way
- World Affairs Club
- Writers' Workshop
- Yearbook
- Film Club
Arts activities/clubs
- Drama
- Dance Company
- Dance Show
- Art at Lunch Bunch
- Art Club
- Set Painting and Design
Music-related activities/clubs
- Coffee House
- Concert Band
- Concert Choir
- Intermediate Band
- Music Council
- School Show
- Jazz Band
Athletics
- Badminton (boys and girls)
- Basketball (boys and girls)
- Curling (boys and girls)
- Cross Country Running (boys and girls)
- Football (one team for all grade levels)
- Golf (boys and girls)
- Hockey (boys and girls)
- Rowing Club(boys and girls)
- Rugby
- Soccer (boys and girls)
- Swimming (boys and girls)
- Tennis (boys and girls)
- Track and Field (boys and girls)
- Volleyball (boys and girls)
2010-2011 Student Parliament
- Prime Minister - Emily Soti
- Deputy Prime Minister - Lyndsay Fearnall
- External Affairs - Josh Jadischke
- Internal Affairs - Jesse Sills
- Secretary - Ariana Simpson
- Treasurer - Eric Shin
- Communications - Matt Sterner and Nic Vincent
- Diversity - Joy Couttenier
- Red, Blue & Gold Reps - Nicole and Jessica Charuk
- Rm 130 Reps - Qyzra Walji and Hamsata Ali
- Grade 12 Rep - Evgeni Panfilenko
- Grade 11 Rep - Natalie Stern
- Grade 10 Rep - David Aideyan
- Grade 9 Rep - Klevis Mazreku
2011-2012 Student Parliament
- Prime Minister - Josh Jadischke
- Deputy Prime Minister - Natalie Stern
- Minister of Student Affairs- Bryar Pace
- Minster of Internal Affairs - Aleeshya Broome
- Minster of External Affairs - Matt Forbes
- Minister of Finance - Steve Kim
- Ministers of Communications - Scott Vodon, Colin Penny, and Mike Maddigan
- Minister of Records - Daysen Christensen
- Red, Blue, & Gold Reps - Katie Brown and Katie Dailey
- Rm 132 Reps - Rhianne Marie DeMelo and Christopher Fitzpatric
- Victory Lap Rep - Evgeni Panfilenko
- Grade 12 Rep - Dakota Neaves
- Grade 11 Rep - Vacant
- Grade 10 Rep - Ibrahim Ouda
- Grade 9 Reps - Bryce Reid and Yousef Ouda
Notable alumni
- Rick GibsonRick GibsonRick Gibson is a Canadian sculptor and artist. He was born in Montreal, Quebec and he studied Psychology at the University of Victoria. Between 1973 and 1974 he drew weekly comics for the student newspaper. After completing his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974 he moved to Vancouver, Canada. He...
- Jenny JonesJenny Jones (presenter)Jenny Jones is a former Canadian American stand-up comedian and talk show host. She hosted The Jenny Jones Show from 1991 to 2003.-Life and career:...
- Tom McCamusTom McCamusTom McCamus is an award-winning Canadian film and theatre actor who is most widely known for his work on the science-fiction television show Mutant X....
- Megan ParkMegan ParkMegan Marie Park is a Canadian actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in Charlie Bartlett and the television series The Secret Life of the American Teenager as Grace Bowman.-Life and career:...
- Nathan Piche
- Matt Piche
- Chris Potter (actor)Chris Potter (actor)Christopher Jay "Chris" Potter is a Canadian actor, musician and pitchman. He is primarily known for his roles on soap operas and prime-time television. Potter is known for his roles as Peter Caine, on the popular 1990s crime drama, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Dr...
- Rod Wilson
- Robin Bone
- Allan StrattonAllan StrattonAllan Stratton is a Canadian playwright and novelist.Born in Stratford, Ontario, Stratton began his professional arts career began while he was still in high school, when James Reaney published his play The Rusting Heart in the literary magazine Alphabet. It was broadcast on CBC Radio in 1970. The...
External links
Official School WebsiteStudent Parliament Website
Oakbotics Website