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Senator O'Connor College School
(Catholic Secondary School)

60 Rowena Drive, North York, Ontario M3A 3R2

Homework Website

Total enrolment 1,163
Principal Susan Baker
Tel: 416-393-5505 Fax: 416-393-5916
Superintendent Gerald Dagenais
Tel: 416-222-8282 ext. 2370
Parish Annunciation
3 Combermere Drive
North York, Ontario M3A 2W4
416-445-1760
Local Trustee Angela Kennedy
Tel: 416-512-3411; Fax: 416-512-3411
e-mail: angela.kennedy@tcdsb.org
CSAC Chair Tina McDowell
Voice Mailbox #88505
csac.senatoroconnor@tcdsb.org
French Immersion and Extended French Secondary Program


History & Tradition

Senator O’Connor College School was founded in 1963 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools and the Daughters of Wisdom.  Senator O’Connor was the first Catholic Secondary School in the Toronto Archdiocese intended for both boys and girls.  

The school is named in honour of the late Senator Frank O’Connor who donated the O’Connor family home which still stands in the middle of the campus. 

The school motto is “Audax et Fidelis”, which may be translated as “courageous and faithful”.  We have tried to live up to the intent of this motto by fidelity to the teachings and moral values of our Catholic faith.  

Our new building which opened September 2005 is now home to more than 1000 students.     

PLC (Professional Learning Community) 
 

O’Connor prides itself on being a professional learning community where teachers work collaboratively to share resources and strategies in order to enrich all aspects of learning in the classroom.

 

 

How We Meet the Diverse Needs of Our Students

Special Programs  

Advanced Placement Courses 

Advanced Placement (AP) courses are enhanced 12U courses.  In addition to the regular senior course, some units are expanded to include first year university material.  The course grants students one U credit, with the possibility of earning a University or College credit.  Upon successful completion of an AP exam, many universities and colleges across the country will grant a 1st year credit for the course.  Students  may use the AP course on scholarship applications since successful completion of these courses demonstrates initiative and a willingness to undertake a challenging course.

Extended/Immersion French 

The Extended/Immersion French program is a continuation of the elementary early or middle French immersion program. Students who have successfully completed a minimum of ten French courses, four in Extended/Immersion French and six in other subjects taught in French (géographie, histoire and religion) will receive an Extended/Immersion French Certificate upon graduation.  

Our students are encouraged to take advantage of outside activities, competitions and foreign exchanges.   A fun-filled trip to Quebec provides opportunity to practice their French Language skills. 

English as a Second Language 

Senator O’Connor offers four levels of ESL classes for students who have recently arrived in Canada.

ESL courses:
 

·        build on students’ previous education and language knowledge 

·        help students adjust to their new cultural environment.

·        teach basic orientation information related to students’ needs as newcomers to Canada 

English Language Learners (ELL) in mainstream classes: 

Accommodations are in place to help students succeed in these classes.   Accommodations for ELL students may be in the form of extra time to write quizzes, tests and exams, use of bilingual dictionaries, working with peer mentors, language-reduced assignments, etc. 

ELL students and computers:

Access to computers helps students with their academic and language skills.

  • Academy of Reading is an individualized reading program working on students’ phonetic skills and reading comprehension.
  • Tense Busters is an individualized grammar program.
  • Ready Internet access allows students to research in the ESL classroom.
  • Word processing programs allow students work on their writing skills.

For more information on how to register your child as an English Language Learner, visit www.tcdsb.org and click on Orientation Centre link.   

Programs for Special Education Students 

The Gifted/Enriched Program 

This program allows students to experience a variety of learning opportunities that enables students to expand and enrich their high school experience.  The program is designed for students who have been identified as Gifted by the Toronto Catholic District School Board or students who achieve excellent marks in school and would like an extra challenge.  Students who participate in the Gifted program have a multitude of opportunities, both in the school and outside.  

Enriched courses at O’Connor cover more material and are faster paced than Academic-level courses.  Students in the enriched program are prepared for AP Exams in Calculus, English Literature and Sciences.  Before the end of Grade 12,  students will complete  the Ontario Ministry requirements and can then concentrate on university level material. Only students who have done very well in Grade 9 courses are recommended for Enriched courses. 

The Resource Department 

At O’Connor, we believe in preparing students to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world.  Our students are encouraged to work to their full potential.  Through a nurturing and caring environment, the O’Connor Resource Department strives to create an atmosphere for success.   Since all identified students have a right to an integrated education, the teachers at O’Connor provide students with a program that meets their needs.    

Some of our students choose to take the Learning Strategies course (GLE) which is a credited course.  Students work on improving basic language, math, study and organizational skills to become effective independent learners. 

The DD/ME Program 

Senator O’Connor’s ME / DD class provides education and support for students who have multiple exceptionalities (ME) and developmental delays (DD).  The goal of the program is to provide students with appropriate learning experiences focusing on the development of life skills. 

The Ontario Science Centre Science School Program 

The Ontario Science Centre Science School presents students with an opportunity to gain University Preparation science credits during an enrichment semester at The Ontario Science Centre. 

Each semester 28 students are selected to participate in the program. During their semester at the Science Centre, all Catholic students, who may come from any school within the province, are registered at Senator O'Connor. 

 Further information about this exciting program can be found at the following website: www.OntarioScienceCentre.ca (Look under school trips in the main menu). 

Success for All Program 

At Senator O'Connor, we are committed to ensuring that all our students meet with success.  The purpose of the “Success for All” committee is to develop strategies to assist our at-risk students.   Some of our initiatives include: credit support, independent learning, credit recovery, and  literacy packages. We have also developed a transitional model with our feeder elementary schools to assist students in their transition to secondary school.  . Our philosophy is that students who find academic success early and are involved in the school community will have a greater chance of succeeding.

Credit Recovery

 After an initial interview with their guidance counsellor, students may be enrolled in a credit recovery class where they are able to recover up to 2 credits.  Students are given the opportunity to complete key course expectations and obtain a previously failed credit without having to repeat the entire course.  Students work independently or with the assistance of a teacher, and are expected to complete all assigned work. Students use the PLATO program to complete course expectations.

Phast Paces  Reading Program 

Senator O’Connor is excited and proud to have been approved to offer the PHAST PACES reading program to our student body. The PHAST PACES reading program is a collaborative research initiative between Learning Disabilities Research Program, the Hospital for Sick Children and Toronto Catholic District School Board. 

The PHAST PACES reading program is a reading intervention program developed by the Learning Disabilities Research Program (LDRP) at The Hospital for Sick Children. This reading program has been developed specifically for high school students who possess poor word identification, decoding and/or reading comprehension skills.   The program explicitly teaches the students decoding and comprehension skills and strategies so they can become independent readers.  

The Arts 

Without a doubt the creative community at O’Connor has established itself as an energetic, active, group of artists.  Students of the Arts are encouraged to be painters, musicians, actors, illustrators, singers, writers, photographers, film makers, and sculptors.  O’Connor supports one of the richest arts programs available in TCDSB. This year we look forward to a full schedule of awesome performances from a production of “GREASE” to entertaining music concerts.  We are also providing an activity-packed trip to New York City.   The creativity of all of the arts students will be highlighted at the Arts Night called “The Nightmare Before Christmas”.  Arts courses are offered at all grade levels in Drama, Music and Visual Arts, and Vocal Music.  Options include Keyboard, Guitar, Design, Computer Art, and Photography.

Co-Curricular Program   

The key to a memorable high school experience for students entering secondary school is involvement.   At Senator O’Connor, we strongly encourage students to become active members of our  community through their involvement in our rich co-curricular program which includes the following:        

Activities 

Amnesty International

Junior Achievement Program

Animié Club

Knitting Club

Band – Jazz

OCS Blueprint (School Newspaper)

Band – Junior Concert

Photography Club

Band – Senior Concert

Reach For The Top

Band Aide

Robotics

Camp Olympia Leadership Team

Science Club

Catholic Student United Nations Assembly

Scrabble Club (Bilingual)

Chaplaincy Team

Sound Crew

Choir

Crimestoppers

Students Promoting Action Awareness on

  –  Impaired Driving (SPAAID)

Destination Imagination

Student Council

Drama Productions/School Play

Yearbook

Empowered Student Partnerships (ESP)

 


Athletics
 

Athletic Council

Rugby – Girls’ Varsity

Badminton

Rugby – Junior Boys’

Baseball – Junior Boys’

Rugby – Senior Boys’

Baseball – Varsity

Soccer – Girls’

Basketball – Junior Boys’

Soccer – Junior Boys’

Basketball – Junior Girls’

Soccer – Senior Boys’

Basketball – Senior Boys’

Softball – Girls’

Basketball – Senior Girls’

Swim Team

Cross Country Running

Table Tennis

Curling

Track and Field

Field Hockey – Girls Varsity’

Volleyball – Junior Boys’

Football – Junior Boys’

Volleyball – Junior Girls’

Football – Senior Boys’

Volleyball – Senior Boys’

Hockey

Volleyball – Senior Girls’


School News

PA Days 2009-2010

  • September 2, 3
  • February 12
  • June 28, 29, 30

Exam Dates 2009-2010

  • January 25, 26, 27, 28, 29
  • June 21, 22, 23, 24, 25

November 10
Open House for Grade 8 students
7:00 p.m.

The Senator O'Connor Senior Boys soccer team captured the bronze medal at the "AAA" OFSAA championships in Windsor.

 

NSBE Student Award Winner
Congratulations to O'Connor students who have been chosen as the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Jr. Chapter of the Year in the Toronto region.

Exemplary Practice Award Winner
Senator O’Connor College School (North York)--“The Smarties Reading Club:  A Collaborative Project
”--The Smarties Reading Club Collaborative Project matches Senator O’Connor students with grade 3 students from Annunciation Catholic School.  Tutors and students are matched one-on-one.  “Students and tutors read and discuss books together, write stories, play word games, complete homework-anything that will help the younger students improve their reading, writing and thinking skills”, said Sandra Huehn of Frontier College.  While one of the goals of the project is to provide EQAO support to grade 3 students, it also serves to engage its high school tutors, who come from a wide range of academic achievement in a “meaningful service opportunity which focuses on the strengths and gifts they can offer to younger students”. 

Toronto Police and Senator O’Connor Students in Friendly Competition
The Toronto Police Community Response Unit Basketball team continues its season against a team from Senator O’Connor College School in early March. O’Connor is the only team to have emerged victorious from the challenge in the past. The CRU team is committed to working hard and effecting change among youth in the Toronto area by establishing partnerships and maintaining positive relationships in an effort to reduce crime in schools and communities. Universal Music Canada’s “Joshua Wizdome” Barclay was there to add a distinct flavour to the event.

Former student recognized for helping to eliminate racism
Congratulations to Femi Doyle-Marshall, a 19-year-old who attended Senator O'Connor, for being a driving force behind school activities and community projects. At O'Connor, he was a leader of the African Heritage Committee and coordinated the Involve Youth Art Expo, Anti-Oppression through Expression". In his senior year year, he was instrumental in coordinating activities for Black History Month. Femi is one of the recipients of the Lincoln M Alexander Awards.

Outward Bound  -  Leadership in Action
Just imagine….hiking 10 km each day through the rustling colourful leaves on the trails in Algonquin Park, while carrying a 30 lb backpack….arriving at a campsite just before dark and then having to gather firewood to keep warm and cook dinner over an open flame…and finally being able to curl up in a cozy sleeping bag in your tent under the starry blue skies.  ….Well…some of Senator O’Connor’s lucky, outstanding student leaders and one teacher did just that! This was Senator O’Connor’s first course challenge with Outward Bound Canada. In October, ten  grade 10 and 11 students were accompanied by one of one of their teachers, Mrs. Cusimano-Graham, for a 5-day trip in Algonquin Park. The hiking and camping challenge began at the Western Uplands Trail and continued each day to a new campsite which was nestled amidst the red and yellow crispy fall leaves with views of crystal blue lakes and rivers. Every step of the journey was a new adventure for the students. From carrying packs, sleeping in tents, to cooking on an open fire, the trek was nothing short of challenging and many valuable lessons were learned. At the end of their journey the students were simply beaming with excitement from what they had achieved. They had established a new-found pride in their hidden abilities and outstanding accomplishments! The trip was tremendously successful, with significant impacts in the realm experiential learning and student success. The challenges of the journey, coupled with the unsavory climate brought these folks out of their comfort zone.  Adventurous student leaders who completed the challenge are:  Sean Macklin, Kevin Mohan, Shekayla Dorma, Elham Eldardiry, Stanley Stephens, Carylle Darang, Loreanne Larbi, Edgar Garcia, Mario Acosta and Chanel Grellmore.

Toronto Catholic secondary school students honoured at Father Patrick Fogarty Awards Dinner
Students from across the Toronto Catholic District School Board were among the honourees at the 25th annual Father Patrick Fogarty Awards dinner on October 25th. They will be among the recipients of the Catholic Student Award, which recognizes young people who best exemplify the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectation. Congratulations to
Juan-Pablo Lara from Senator O'Connor, who is one of this year's winners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

School Learning Plan -- 2008-2009




EQAO Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics:

Academic Year

Academic

Applied

2007 - 2008

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Complete Results

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Student Questionnaire

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Student Questionnaire

2006 - 2007

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pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Student Questionnaire

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Student Questionnaire

2005 - 2006

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Complete Results

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Student Questionnaire

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Student Questionnaire

2004 - 2005

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Complete Results

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Student Questionnaire

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Student Questionnaire

2003 - 2004

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Complete Results

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Student Questionnaire

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Student Questionnaire

2002 - 2003
Graphical Summary
Method 1      Method 2
Graphical Summary
Method 1      Method 2

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Complete Results

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Student Questionnaire

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Student Questionnaire

2001 - 2002

Description
Graphical Summary
Method 1      Method 2
Graphical Summary
Method 1      Method 2

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Complete Results

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Student Questionnaire

pdfLogo.gif (130 bytes)Student Questionnaire

2000 - 2001
Graphical Summary
Method 1      Method 2
Graphical Summary
Method 1      Method 2

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Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT):

The OSSLT shows the extent to which Ontario students are meeting the minimum literacy standard expected by the end of Grade 9. The test assesses the reading and writing skills as they apply to all subjects as out-lined in the Ontario Curriculum. Students must pass the OSSLT as one of the 32 requirements for an Ontario Secondary School Diploma.

YearGrade 10
2007 - 2008

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2006 - 2007

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2005 - 2006

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2004 - 2005

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2003 - 2004
October

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2002 - 2003
October

Description
Graphical Summary
Method 1      Method 2

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2001 - 2002
February
Graphical Summary
Method 1      Method 2

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