Chaminade College School (Catholic Secondary School)

490 Queen's Drive, North York, Ontario M6L 1M8

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History & Tradition

Chaminade College School was founded in 1964 by the Archdiocese of Toronto as a private boys' high school to serve the growing northwest region of the city. The school opened in September 1965 under the direction of the Society of Mary, the Marinists, and bears the name of the order's founded, Father William Joseph Chaminade.

The mandate of the school was to prepare young men for post-secondary education in a traditional Catholic secondary school environment. The school's motto “Fortes in fide” emphasizes the importance of the virtue of faith in the life of the Catholic school.

In 1967 Chaminade, along with 13 other Catholic high schools, entered into a partnership with the Board. The Board operated the first two years of secondary school and the Archdiocese ran the remainder. From September 1972 to June 1988 the school was administered by the Irish Christian Brothers. After completion of the system in 1984 the Brothers administered the school until June 1987 and withdrew in June 1988. Now the school is administered and operated by the Board.

Chaminade is proud of its academic tradition and service to the Catholic community of North York. The school has witnessed the growth of this great city as well as the transition from private to publicly supported Catholic secondary education.

How We Meet the Diverse Needs of Our Students

The ultimate aim which gives direction to Catholic secondary education is to provide those directions which make possible the maximum development of each young person as a being of unique worth and supernatural destiny. This involves the total development of the human person--religious, intellectual, cultural, emotional, social, physical and ethical.

At Chaminade we foster the concept of the community and the Christian family. We celebrate our multiculturalism, our common membership in the human family and speak of the brotherhood among our students and graduates. The theme of mutual respect and responsibility for the school and what happens within the building and on the grounds, is stated as the responsibility of all in our community.

This theme is repeated in our assemblies, our community liturgies, our program, our school handbook and in our philosophy of participation and ownership.

The co-curricular program from clubs to athletics is based on allowing our students the opportunity to participate and to establish ownership.

Students at Chaminade have to follow either art or music in year one and are allowed to add the second discipline in year two if they wish to do so. Students are encouraged to take music and art throughout high school and can follow both if they wish to do so.

Our school senior concert band is second to none in both numbers and quality, and last summer toured Europe. The Senior Art Show at the Columbus Centre each year is a community highlight.

From debating to yearbook and Reach for the Top teams, we offer a wide range of opportunities for participation in addition to the arts and athletics.

In athletics we offer teams in all areas of TDCAA athletics, from wrestling, soccer, hockey, football, rugby, track and field to volleyball, basketball, baseball etc. In addition to these there is a full intramural athletic program for year one classes. At Chaminade we feel that we run an athletic program that is second to none in the Toronto Catholic District School Board in terms of participation and inclusiveness.

In our programming for year one classes, we have matched our English classes with parallel classes in computer technology which emphasizes the necessary computer skills for the nineties and supports language development.

All boys in year two take a second compulsory course in computer programming. These two courses are complemented by our senior course and other courses taught in our school. With close to 200 instructional computers in action every period in the school, we feel that we are the envy of most schools.

Our emphasis on the new technology of the computer starts in year one in our computer technology course and it is integrated with the year one English program. The integration is promoted through all aspects of the school program, with our aim being to produce a truly computer literate graduate.

School News

Grade 8 Open House
November 9, 2010
7:00 p.m.

PA Days 2010-2011

• September 2, 2010 (Provincial Education Priorities)
• June 28, 29, 30 (System priorities and local goals articulated in school Learning Improvement Plans)

Exam Dates 2010-2011

• January 24, 25, 26, 27
• June 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27

Congratulations to students who were awarded for their outstanding performances in Math Contests

TCDSB Congratulates Student recipients of The Tom Leon Student Bursary
The Toronto Catholic Distrct School Board congratulates Marina Pavelic of Michael Power/St. Joseph, Letonya Smith of Father Henry Carr, Thomas Lee of St. Basil-the-Great College and Shan Fernando of Chaminade College School for receiving the esteemed Tom Leon Student Bursary.

Administered by The Angel Foundation for Learning, The Tom Leon Student Bursary honours the memory of Tom Leon who passed away in 2009. The bursary was created to recognize the efforts of TCDSB students who have demonstrated strong Catholic values in their schools and communities. It is awarded annually to two female and two male secondary school graduates. The bursary is designed to help defray the cost of post-secondary school education. The amount of each award is $5,000 per student.

Shan Fernando from Chaminade College has had a tremendous impact at his school and the community completing 1,042 community service hours.  Shan has helped prepare students for Communion and Confirmation at his St. Wilfrid parish, is a student ambassador for the Toronto Zoo, starred in Highschool Musical 2 Live at the Toronto Centre for the Arts and much more. Shan is also the Student Council President at Chaminade, a job that he greatly enjoys. Shan was accepted to the Media Studies program at the University of Guelph-Humber for the fall 2010.

Students at Chaminade College School received Certificates of Appreciation at the 2010 Awards Night ceremony at the Catholic Education Centre.
Michael Cini, Paa Koomson, Stephen Colle and Paul Profeta promoted environmental stewardship within their area schools by placing mason jars in the schools for 2 weeks in May to collect loose change. All proceeds went to trees planted at Downsview Park on Earth Day. The group was asked to present a workshop at the EcoSchools Conference. Their efforts saw the collection of $4,860, half of which went to Toronto and Region Conservation for the planting of trees and half went to the Ontario Lung Association to battle lung disease caused by air pollution.

Linens for Lent
This Lenten season, Chaminade undertook a new charitable initiative with the Good Shepherd Refuge Centre. Towels and single bed linens were collected and donated to the centre.

Award recognition
Nadia Pasquini and three of her students are being recognized for exemplary practice for their project called "Change for the Environment" where students collected spare change in various schools in the area. The change was used to purchase trees that were planted in Downsview Park on Earth Day.

Grant for Environment Club
Mr. Romano and the Environment Club were granted $1,000 for their project entitled "Our Places on the Ground". The money will be spent to place student seating in shaded aras. This is part of the overall plan to give Chaminade a platinum certification as an EcoSchool.