Trinity College School (TCS) is a coeducational, independent boarding/day school located in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada. TCS was founded on May 1, 1865, more than 2 years prior to Canadian Confederation. It includes a Senior School for grades 9 to 12 and a Junior School for grades 5 to 8.
Among its notable alumni (Old Boys) are The Honourable Mr. Justice Ian Binnie, William Bridges, Edgar Bronfman, Sr., Ian Brown, Lew Cirne, Reginald Fessenden, Dylan Mohan Gray, Roy Heenan, Peter Jennings, Archibald Lampman, Archibald Cameron Macdonell, Yann Martel, Mark McKinney, David Macfarlane, Sir William Osler, Peter Raymont, Godfrey D. Rhodes, Casimir Cartwright van Straubenzee and Charles Taylor. Conrad Black lasted less than a year when he attended Trinity College School before being expelled for insubordinate behaviour.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
Houses
The Senior School runs on a house system, all ten named after former headmasters and other notable members of the school community. Although TCS is co-educational, both boarding and day houses are single sex.
There are six boarding houses: Bickle, Bethune, Brent, Burns, Ketchum, Scott; and four day houses: Hodgetts, Rigby, Orchard and Wright.
Trinity College School Video
History
Trinity College School was first founded in the town of Weston, Ontario. The Rev'd William Arthur Johnson (founder) officially opened the school in his home on May 1, 1865. The school was located in the rectory above the Old Mill (Weston) on east bank of the Humber River north of Lawrence Avenue (then called Dufferin Street). At the time there were only 9 students and teaching staff. More and more people became interested in the school set up by Johnson, so its expansion was inevitable. At first, the school was moved to a building at the north-west corner of Rosemount Avenue and King Street in Weston, Ontario. Since a bigger structure was needed, sites at Guelph, Ontario; Whitby, Ontario; Niagara, Ontario; and Thorold, Ontario were all considered.
However, prominent citizens in Port Hope, Ontario were very much interested in hosting the school in their town. They offered to pay the rent for the School's premises for 3 years, a deal which was accepted. In September 1868 Trinity College School opened in Port Hope. The following 30 years were good ones for the School. During that time, under the direction of Headmaster Charles Bethune, Trinity College School grew from the motley collection of wooden sheds and buildings which existed initially at the site of Port Hope into a prosperous, thriving academic community.
Unfortunately, on a wintry night in 1895 an explosion of a coal oil lamp in one of the master's rooms started a fire which destroyed almost the entire School. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the School was rebuilt in only eight months.
James Augustus Ellis (architect) designed the TCS hockey rink (1911) on Ward Street.
A second fire occurred in 1928. Again, virtually all of the School was destroyed. Rebuilding the School was not an easy task this time. Although TCS had received promises of funds to help with the rebuilding from the Old Boy community, on the heels of the fire came the Great Depression and many Old Boys had to renege on their promises.
Newly appointed Headmaster Philip Ketchum found himself in charge of a school on the brink of bankruptcy and he had spent the first few years of his tenure "cap in hand" trying to raise the funds to pay off a very onerous mortgage. Through the generosity of a handful of Old Boys, the debt was finally retired.
Since that time, Trinity College School has yet to experience any similar hardships. The last 50 years of the School history read like a chronicle of successes and expansion. The School's physical plant has tripled in size, the student body has doubled and, under the leadership of Headmaster Rodger Wright, the first female student was admitted to TCS in the fall of 1991 to great success.
TCS continues to be on the leading edge of education in Canada, particularly in the use and promotion of computers in the curriculum. During the summer of 1997, the entire campus was cabled in order to make the School's computer network, and the Internet, universally accessible.
In 2002, the creation of a new arts facility, featuring music and dance studios, MIDI labs, classroom space, and a theatre, put a renewed focus on the arts at TCS. In 2003-2004, the science department opened two new facilities, the electron microscopy suite and the Anne Currie Observatory, which houses a high-powered telescope.
In September 2004, TCS welcomed its 11th headmaster, Stuart K.C. Grainger. Among the achievements under his leadership are the launch of the School's first official strategic plan in 2007, including a new mission statement ("Developing habits of the heart and mind for a life of purpose and service"); the opening of the Dick and Jane LeVan Theatre, a premier performance space; and the construction of a visual arts wing for the 2011-2012 academic year.
Present
The academic school year at TCS is divided into three distinct terms (Fall, Winter and Spring), and different extracurricular programmes are offered for each. Extracurricular activities at the school include athletics, arts and music, and community service. A recreational sports programme is also available, allowing students the opportunity to participate in a non-competitive sports environment.
TCS places a balanced emphasis on academics, service learning, athletics and the arts. The school offers a wide range of courses geared towards preparation for all realms of post-secondary education. Advanced Placement courses allow Grade 11 and 12 students to study first year university course material, and perhaps earn a university credit after taking a standardized examination in May.
Nicknames, mottos and traditions
The TCS athletics teams have been known since the 1980s as the Bears.
The school motto is Beati Mundo Corde, Latin for "Blessed are the Pure in Heart." TCS is known as "the school on the hill" due to its location. The school sports colours are black and maroon but the school's uniform and coat of arms incorporate the school's corporate colour of blue.
Every year starts off with the annual "New Students Fun and Games" in which the old students mix and mingle with the new students in a variety of activities across campus culminating in the favourite "Mud Pit" in which the Headmaster, faculty, and students take part in by diving into a mud pit to declare their entrance into the new school year.
In November of each year, the school holds one of its oldest traditions known as the Oxford Cup. This is a five kilometre race that utilises the school's cross country trail. Many alumni, as well as parents come to the school to participate in this event. The Oxford Cup is one of the oldest races in North America, second only to the Boston Marathon.
Athletics
TCS participates in 19 competitive interschool sports, including volleyball, basketball, hockey, rugby, harriers, track & field, swimming, baseball/softball, cricket, field hockey, football, golf, Nordic skiing, rowing and racquet sports (badminton, tennis and squash). Teams compete in the CISAA league and senior teams vie to participate at the OFSAA provincial championships.
The school mascot is Trina the Polar Bear and teams compete under the name "Bears." The school fields Bigside (senior), Middleside (senior second team), Littleside (junior) teams as well as Under-14 and Under-12 teams. TCS has two gymnasia, an indoor swimming pool, ergonomic rowing room, indoor ice rink, three squash courts and an exercise/weight room facility in addition to many outdoor sports fields, a tennis centre and a 5 kilometre cross-country running trail.
Arts
TCS has academic art programmes including music (vocal and instrumental), drama and visual arts. The school also has extracurricular programmes in music (vocal and instrumental), drama, improv, visual arts, literary arts and dance. All students participate in the intraschool House Debates programme, and TCS is a member of the Fulford Debate League.
Arts facilities at include LeVan Hall, completed in 2002, which includes music rooms and studios, MIDI composing labs, the R. Samuel McLaughlin Gallery for art, a drama and dance studio and a state-of-the-art performance theatre which was upgraded in 2009. In 2011 the school opened a new visual arts wing including two studios, classrooms and offices.
Community Service
TCS has an extensive leadership and community service, or service learning, programme that runs throughout all grades. Organizations that TCS students support through fundraising or spirit days include Fare Share Food Banks, World Vision, Coats for Kids, CIBC Run for the Cure, Terry Fox Run, Halloween for Hunger, Ally Week, and We Day. TCS students also take part in leadership training with Free the Children's Me to We staff.
Each December TCS holds a Week Without Walls community service programme where all Senior School students and faculty go to various sites in Northumberland County, Quinte Region, Peterborough and Toronto to perform volunteer work. The sites include schools, seniors' residences, animal shelters, environmental agencies, cultural groups and charitable organizations such as food banks and shelters.
Headmasters of TCS
Bibliography
- Trinity College School (Port Hope., Ont.). Old Boys' Association (1948). Trinity College School Old Boys at war, 1899-1902, 1914-1918, 1939-1945. Port Hope.
- Trinity College School (Port Hope., Ont.). Old Boys' Association (1947). Trinity College School Record October 1946- August 1947. Port Hope.
- Trinity College School (Port Hope, Ont.). Humble, A.H. (1965). The School on the Hill: Trinity College School, 1865-1965. Port Hope. CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
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