Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute | |
Address | |
155 Paisley St. Guelph, Ontario, Canada |
|
Information | |
School board | Upper Grand District School Board |
Religious affiliation | Public School |
Principal | Judy Sorbara |
Vice principal | Scot Bishop, Heather Pedjasie |
School type | Public |
Grades | 9-12+ |
Language | English |
Motto | Hic Patet Inganis Campus (“Here lies open the field for the quest of knowledge) |
Team name | Green Gaels |
Founded | 1854 |
Enrollment | 1326 (October 2006) |
Homepage | http://homer.ugdsb.on.ca/gcvi/main.shtml |
The Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute (GCVI, Guelph C.V.I., GC) is a high school in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. .” The school is the third oldest continuously operating high school in the province of Ontario, Canada.
Contents |
[edit] Brief History
The Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute (GCVI) was founded in the early eighteen hundreds by John Galt (founder of Guelph, Ontario) and originally housed in a small four window building known as the Priory. The school moved in 1854 to its current site on Paisley Road due to the construction of the Grand Trunk Railway.
The original building on the new site was torn down after a few decades and a new school constructed. Eventually a wooden gymnasium was added in 1886, and the school remained the same until 1906, when a large new wing was added to the left of the bell tower.
By this time the school was developing a reputation second to none in the province. Finally, by the nineteen twenty’s there were serious problems with overcrowding. In 1923 a new building opened (constructed at a cost of $400,000) that included modern plumbing, a massive skylight covering the large, two story, open auditorium area. It was called the most modern and upscale school building in Ontario.
The older buildings were connected to the school and used periodically before they were torn down in 1962 to facilitate several more additions including a modern gym, business and science wing, and tech wings.
Over the years tens of thousands of students have passed through the halls of GCVI, and many have left a memorable and distinct mark on the history of Canada.
Accomplished alumni include: Col. John McCrae (Author of “In Flanders Fields.”), Hugh C. Guthrie (Canadian federal opposition leader, leader of the Conservative Party), Ed Joliffe (one of three GCVI Rhodes Scholars and founder of the Ontario CCF, and opposition leader in the Ontario House), George Alexander Drew (Mayor of Guelph, Premier of Ontario, Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons, Leader of the Conservative Party, Ambassador to the UK, founding chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission, World War I hero).
[edit] General Information
[edit] Famous Alumni
(The following are currently listed on the school's "Wall of Fame":
- Carey Skinner
- Scott Anderson
- James Jerome Hill
- Arthur William Cutten
- Dr. David Ouchterlony
- William Ernest Hamilton
- Alfred Dryden Hales
- Terry Doyle
- Carol Anne Wood
- Beth Goobie
- Andrew P. MacDonald
- Donna Strickland
- The Honorable Hugh Guthrie, K.C.,M.P.
- Christina E. Hill, M.D., F.R.C.S.(C)
- Brigadier-General Kenneth Torrance
- Jean Little
- Joey Slinger
- Edward Johnson
- Margaret Craig
- George Sleeman
- Effie Smith
- John McCrae
- John Kenneth Macalister
- Dominic V.P. Cardillo
- Hon. George Alexander Drew
- P.G. Reid
- Mme. Lois McMillan
- Deborah Whale
- Hon Mr. Justice James M. Farley
- Theodore Jewell
- John Roe Hanna
- Bishop Matthew Francis Ustrzycki
- Fredrick Mills
- Casey Bauman-Wike
- Luke Kirby
[edit] Influence on Canadian history
- Future Prime Minister John Diefenbaker married a GCVI teacher, and made two prominent visits to the school including a stop as opposition leader in 1957, just weeks before being sworn in as Prime Minister, and one as Prime Minister in 1963 just before losing the next election to Liberal Leader Lester B. Pearson
- John Diefenbaker’s first visit launched the 17-year political career of Alfred Dryden Hales, alumnus of G.C.V.I. Hales chaired the Public Accounts Committee for 6 years, and was beloved by his constituents.
- Less than 24 hours before Diefenbaker’s first visit Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent stopped at the school. Diefenbaker drew a much larger and much more enthusiastic crowd (a sure sign of what was to come in the election).
- John Diefenbaker had replaced George Alexander Drew (a former GCVI Student) as leader of the Conservative Party less than a year before becoming Prime Minister in 1957.
- During the Ontario provincial elections of 1943 and 1948, both the Premier George Alexander Drew and Opposition Leader Ed Joliffe were former GCVI Students, so regardless of who won the election the Premier of Ontario would have been a GCVI alumnus.
- George Alexander Drew was the second GCVI student to hold the position of Federal Leader of the Opposition, following Hugh Guthrie, who held the post for little under a year in the early half of the 1900’s.
[edit] School Website
[1] - Main Page