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Lisgar Collegiate Institute
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lisgar Collegiate Institute | |
 Nourish the Flame |
|
| Address | |
| 29 Lisgar Street Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 0B9, Canada |
|
| Information | |
| School board | Ottawa Carleton District School Board |
| Principal | Karen Gledhill |
| Vice principal | Anne McKillop-Ostrom Mark Goebel |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Language | English |
| Team name | Lords |
| Colours | Blue, White |
| Founded | 1843 |
| Enrollment | 1085 |
| Homepage | http://www.lisgar.ca/ |
Lisgar Collegiate Institute is an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board secondary school in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Lisgar is located in downtown Ottawa by the Rideau Canal. It is only a few blocks from Canada's Parliament Hill. The school serves the neighbourhoods of Sandy Hill, New Edinburgh, Centretown, Rockcliffe Park, Westboro, the Glebe, and has many students from other areas. The school is also known for its gifted student program. It is one of the country's best regarded public schools. It has been ranked number two for public schools in Ottawa (behind only Colonel By Secondary School) and 18th in the province by the Fraser Institute in 2007.[1]
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In 1843, a grammar school with 40 paying students was opened in the Centretown area of Ottawa in a house at the corner of Waller and Daly streets. In 1859, the school became one of the first in Ontario to admit girls. The school changed locations several times in the first few years, and was renamed first Bytown Grammar School and later Ottawa Grammar School. In 1871 the school was raised to a high school and in 1873 to a collegiate institute, becoming Ottawa Collegiate Institute.
The school found a permanent home in 1873 when a lot at what was then the southern edge of the city was purchased. The school board acquired the land on Biddy Street for $3,200 and paid a squatter $100 to give up any claims on the land. Biddy Street was renamed Lisgar street in 1880 after Lord Lisgar Canada's second Governor-General. A Gothic Revival style structure, designed by W.T. Thomas and W. Chesterton, was built at a cost of $26,000. Governor General Lord Dufferin laid the cornerstone and the school opened in 1874.
In 1892, the school became the first public secondary school in Ontario to hire a female teacher. Four new classrooms were added on the south side in 1892, but a fire in 1893 caused the school to be temporarily closed. In 1903, the east wing was built with eight new classrooms and a west wing with laboratories and an auditorium was added in 1908. A rifle range for the cadet corps was added in 1912, and a cafeteria in 1923. After the school was split in 1922 to form Glebe Collegiate Institute, OCI was renamed Ottawa Lisgar Street Collegiate Institute, which soon was shortened to Lisgar Collegiate Institute. Officially, the school was named OCI for several decades. Since the split, Glebe and Lisgar have been traditional rivals.
In 1951, a new gymnasium was built across the street with a connecting tunnel. This building was enlarged in 1962. The old gym was turned into what is now the cafeteria. The two buildings are now referred to as the North and South buildings.
In 1957, Lisgar was the first school in Ontario to introduce a special program for gifted students.
In the 1970s, a cash-strapped Ottawa Board of Education decided to close the school and sell its valuable downtown real estate. This action was blocked by community members and alumni.
In 1996, the third floor of the building was completely redone and the science labs were modernized. In March of 2003, parts of the first, second, and basement floors of the main building were damaged by a water leak. Some minor changes were made to the first floor in the reconstruction.
Students have frequently placed highly in mathematics competitions. For instance, they have frequently placed in the top ten amongst Canadian Mathematical Olympiad Winners.
Lisgar has been the "home" of the Ottawa-Carleton Educational Space Simulation since 1990. It is worth noting that the school is the only school in the area, and one of the few in Canada to run such a program. Lisgar was also one of the original members of the now-defunct International Student Space Simulation.
It is rumoured that two ghosts reside within Lisgar, which is why the top floor is closed off. One girl was killed in the 1940s by ice falling off the roof, while a janitor was also killed when he fell off of the roof in an unrelated incident. Now Lisgar is a part of the Haunted Walk in Ottawa. It should be noted that the top floor of the North Building was originally closed due to changes to the fire code that prevented its use, and is now unusable due to the ceilings of the fourth floor having been raised into it.
For a complete list of Lisgar's qualitities and test results and other information visit the OCDSB's school profile.
Lisgar's Music Department has been one of the strongest in the City of Ottawa for decades. They not only have a very well-regarded program for wind instruments, but they also offer a one of a kind program for string instruments, as well as theory courses at the Advanced Placement (University Year 1) level. They have won an award in almost every Ensemble, Band, Symphony, and Orchestra Category in the Kiwanis Music Festival. Lisgar's Senior Orchestra and Wind Ensemble regularly travel internationally to tour and perform. Recent destinations include Austria and Germany in 2007, Italy in 2005, Beijing in 2003, Austria in 2001, Holland in 1999, and England in 1997. The ensembles are headed by Mr. Richard Arrigo, Mr. Paul O'Connor, and Ms. Laura Mennill.
Lisgar's athletic teams, the Lords, have a long history of excelling in sports. Although Lisgar students focus more on academics, there are many who feel at home in the Lisgar Athletics Department. In the school's gymnasium are various banners in all the different sports (track and field, volleyball, badminton). In 2004, the Sr. Boys Volleyball team, coached by mathematics teacher, Mr. Tang, won City Finals, and continued to go to OFSSAA, where they won the Honourable Mention award for good Sportsmanship.
Lisgar has a wide variety of clubs available to students. The school's best-known clubs throughout the city are Amnesty International [AI] Lisgar's Environmental Action Force (LEAF), Ottawa-Carleton Educational Space Simulation (Space Sim), and Kiwanis Educating Youth (KEY). In 2006, the school's Reach for the Top team became the first Canadian team to participate in the NAQT High School National Championships, placing 25th.
For a complete list of clubs see the school's website.
- Adrienne Clarkson - Former Governor General of Canada
- James Naismith - Inventor of basketball
- Peter Jennings - TV news anchorman in the USA
- Lorne Greene - Star of TV's Bonanza
- Rich Little - Impressionist
- Eugene Forsey - Former Canadian Senator, constitutional expert
- Donald Jackson - World champion figure skater
- Ann Heggtveit - World and Olympic ski champion
- Kagher Neiber-Shieg - World War I German fighter ace
- Shelagh Rogers - Journalist, host of Sounds Like Canada
- Lorry Greenberg - Former Ottawa mayor
- Henry Botterell - World War I Canadian Fighter Pilot
- Laura Hannant - Child activist
- Dan Aykroyd - Comedian, actor, screenwriter, and musician
- Susan McMaster - Poet, performance poet
- Matthew Perry - Actor
- Michael Szabo - Environmental Journalist
- Mike Shaver - Software developer
- Max Valiquette - Youth culture and pop culture expert
- David McGuffin - CBC News Africa Correspondent
- Simon Pulsifer - "King" of Wikipedia
- Adam Logan - Former world Scrabble champion
- Lieutenant Alexis Helmer - Inspiration for the poem In Flanders Fields[2]
- Sergeant Edward James Gibson Holland VC - a member of the Royal Canadian Dragoons who won the Victoria Cross for valour during the Battle of Leliefontein on November 7, 1900, in the Second Boer War
- List of Ottawa, Ontario schools
- Ottawa-Carleton Educational Space Simulation
- List of designated heritage properties in Ottawa
- School Website
- OCDSB Website
- 2006-2007 OCDSB School Profile
- 2005-2006 OCDSB School Profile
- 2004-2005 OCDSB School Profile
- The Alumni Association's website
- More Information on Lisgar
- Lisgar's Sports Site
- The CEMC Waterloo Math Contest Website
- Lisgar Environmental Action Force
- Science Teachers at Lisgar
- Picture Peter Jennings in Lisgar
- Fraser Institute Report Card on Ontario’s Secondary Schools 2007 Edition