, motto_translation = Praised be Jesus Christ , religious_affiliation =

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, founded = , schoolboard =

Toronto Catholic District School Board The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 40 prior to 1999) is an English-language public-separate school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada, headquartered in North York. I ...

, superintendent = Ryan Peterson
, trustee = Nancy Crawford
, number = 531 / 751537 , principal = Andrea Magee , faculty = 44 , grades_label = Grades , grades = 9–12 , enrolment = 1,267 , enrolment_as_of = 2022-23 , colours = Navy, silver, white , mascot =

Panthers Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

, feeder_schools = Alvin Curling Public School

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Catholic School Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Catholic School (occasionally called Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati CS, BPGFCS, or simply as Frassati) is a Roman Catholic elementary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It serves the Morningside Heights neighbourhood ...

Cardinal Leger Catholic School
Chief Dan George Public School
Eastview Public School
Galloway Public School
Henry Hudson Senior Public School
Highland Creek Public School
Highcastle Public School
Jack Miner Senior Public School
John G Diefenbaker Public School
Joseph Brant Public School
Joseph Howe Senior Public School
Meadowvale Public School
Military Trail Public School
Morrish Public School
Sacred Heart Catholic School
St. Barbara Catholic School
St. Bede Catholic School
St. Brendan Catholic School
St. Dominic Savio Catholic School
St. Edmund Campion Catholic School
St. Florence Catholic School
St. Gabriel Lalemant Catholic School
St. Jean de Brebeuf Catholic School
St. Malachy Catholic School
St. Margaret's Public School
St. Martin de Porres Catholic School
St. Thomas More Catholic School
St. Urusla Catholic School
Tecumseh Senior Public School
West Hill Public School , team_name = Pope Panthers , newspaper = Off The Wall , free_label1 = Parish , free_text1 = St. Thomas More , free_label2 = Specialist High Skills Major , free_text2 = Arts and Culture
Business
Health and Wellness
Sports
, free_label3 = Program Focus , free_text3 = , url = St. John Paul II Catholic Secondary School (occasionally known as SJPII, St. John Paul II, SJPIICSS, JPII, or in short, Pope); known as Blessed Pope John Paul II Catholic Secondary School and Pope John Paul II Catholic Secondary School before the beatification of John Paul II is a publicly funded

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. It serves the West Hill and Seven Oaks neighbourhoods of

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

. It is administered by the

. The motto for Pope is ''

Laudetur Jesus Christus ''Laudetur Jesus Christus'' or ''Laudetur Iesus Christus'' () is a traditional Catholic salutation, which members of religious communities commonly use, especially those of specific ethnicities. The answer to this greeting is typically ''semper lau ...

'' which translates as "Praised be Jesus Christ".

History

Pontiff

John Paul II is considered by some authorities to have helped to end Communist rule in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. John Paul II worked to improve the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

, and the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

. He was criticised by progressives for upholding the Church's teachings against artificial

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

and the ordination of women, and by traditionalists for his support of the Church's

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

and its reforms. He visited 129 countries during his pontificate, beatified 1,340 people, and

canonised Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

483 saints, more than in all of the preceding five centuries. He named many cardinals, consecrated or co-consecrated many bishops, and ordained many priests. A stated goal of his papacy was to transform and reposition the Catholic Church, and "to place his Church at the heart of a new religious alliance that would bring together Jews, Muslims and Christians in a great eligiousarmada". Geller, Uri – ''

The Jewish Telegraph The ''Jewish Telegraph'' is a British Jewish newspaper. It was founded in December 1950 by Frank and Vivienne Harris, the parents of the current editor, Paul Harris. Founding Frank and Vivienne Harris founded the newspaper in their dining ro ...

'', 7 July 2000 On 19 December 2009, John Paul II was proclaimed

venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cat ...

by his successor Benedict XVI; he was

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

on 1 May 2011 and canonised, together with

John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

, on 27 April 2014,

Divine Mercy Sunday Divine Mercy Sunday (also known as the Feast of the Divine Mercy) is celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter, which concludes the Octave of Easter. The feast day is observed in the Roman Rite calendar, as well as some Anglo-Catholics of ...

Background

In September 1955, the first high school in the area

West Hill Collegiate Institute West Hill Collegiate Institute (also called West Hill CI, WHCI or West Hill) is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in eastern Scarborough in the neighbourhood of West Hill. It is under the jurisdiction of the Toronto Distri ...

opened to serve the growing communities of West Hill,

Guildwood Guildwood, also known as Guildwood Village, is a residential neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the eastern area of the city, in the district of Scarborough. It is bounded by the Scarborough Bluffs, south of Kingston ...

and Highland Creek years after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Over the years, several catholic separate schools in the Metropolitan Separate School Board (later became the

) were established: St. Martin De Porres and St. Ursula in 1964, St. Thomas More in 1968, St. Malachy in the 10-acre site in 1969, St. Edmund Campion in 1971, St. Bede in 1978, and Cardinal Leger in 1988. The adjacent Military Trail Public School was built in 1968. Realizing the overcrowding in Cardinal Newman to the south and

Francis Libermann Francis Mary Paul Libermann (french: link=no, François-Marie-Paul Libermann; born Jacob Libermann; 14 April 1802 – 2 February 1852) was a 19th-century French Jewish convert to Catholicism, member of the Spiritan Congregation. He is best known ...

to the north due to the growing population of Roman Catholics in the West Hill area, the Metropolitan Separate School Board began establishing a high school within the boundaries of St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church. On September 6, 1983, the MSSB established Pope John Paul II Catholic Secondary School with the first 135 students in twelve temporary, portable classrooms next to the closed St. Bede. Paul M. Howard served as its inaugural principal for the first four years. The student population doubled in 1984, as did the number of portable classrooms over the years. By 1985, Pope began construction of the current physical structure accommodating 1,074 pupils with the first 12 classrooms. Until its completion in September 1988, the building now consists of the gymnasia, library, cafeteria, tech shops, and additional classrooms. Although Pope's current building was opened and blessed in early 1989, 23 portables were placed due to the growing student population. The board approved the renaming of the school to Blessed Pope John Paul II Catholic Secondary School on June 16, 2011, following John Paul II's beatification the previous month. In June 2014 the board renamed the school to St. John Paul II Catholic Secondary School after John Paul II's canonization.

Overview

Campus

TO2015 Pan Am Roller Speed Skating venue

St. John Paul II sits on a 14-acre land once held by the former St. Bede. The facilities consist of a baseball diamond-like structure building with 41 classrooms, seven science laboratories, three gymnasia, a large library, a student services area, a drama room, two music rooms, a drafting room, two tech shops, and two art rooms as well as a 400m eight-lane track and athletic field regularly found in public secular collegiate schools. To meet the demand for overcrowding, there are 13 portable classrooms in place. As of 2022–23 school year, there are 1267 students attending SJPII. During the

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music * Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak al ...

, St. John Paul II received a newly paved track and hosted the

roller speed skating Inline speed skating is the roller sport of racing on inline skates. The sport may also be called ''inline racing'' by participants. Although it primarily evolved from racing on traditional roller skates, the sport is similar enough to ice spee ...

competition.

Programs

SJPII, a publicly funded separate high school, provides a religious studies program in each year. The school was accredited by the

International Baccalaureate Organization The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

in 2002 with its first class of IB Diploma students graduated in 2005. The school also provides gifted, cooperative education, and extended French programs, as well as English and French Writing Clinics, a peer helper program (P.A.S.S) and a Math Help Centre.

Student life

Various councils run the majority of SJPII's inter and extracurricular activities. These councils are the Executive Student Council (ESC), Safe Schools Council (SSC), DECA, Art Committee and the Environmental Council. Following in their lead of student engagement are a multitude of clubs including the Health Action Team who runs the Breakfast Club. There is also a school newspaper by the name of "Off the Wall", that is published four times a year. Ninety percent of SJPII graduates go on to post-secondary education. About 1 in 20 graduates does so with a scholarship.

Administration

, the current principal is Andrea Magee, who previously was the principal of

Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School (abbreviated Mary Ward C.S.S., MWCSS, MW, Mary Ward, or simply Ward) is a Catholic secondary school in Toronto Ontario, Canada. It is administered by the Toronto Catholic District School Board, formerly the Me ...

. The former principal of SJPII is Michael Wetzel, who previously attended the school from 1987 to 1992 and served as vice-principal from 2009 to 2011. Wetzel taught at

for several years. From 2006 to 2013 Paul McAlpine was the principal and Louise Brighton the vice principal.

Notable students

Stephanie Beard Stephanie Lyn Beard (born August 27, 1981), better known by her stage name Sugar Lyn Beard, is a Canadian actress and radio personality. Her radio host persona uses the name "Suga BayBee", and as co-host of YTV's '' The Zone'' from 2001–2007, ...

, actress and voice actress * Kareem Blake, hip-hop artist performing as

Choclair Kareem Blake (born March 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Choclair, is a Canadian rapper. He was one of the most successful Canadian rappers in Canada in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Choclair has been nominated for six Juno Awards, winn ...

* Jordan Hamilton, Professional soccer player, currently playing for

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary national soccer league compe ...

team

Forge FC Forge FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Hamilton, Ontario, that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of Canadian soccer. The club plays its home matches at Tim Hortons Field. Forge FC joined the CPL in 2019 as ...

Priscilla Lopes-Schliep Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (born 26 August 1982) is a Canadian retired hurdler in track and field athletic competition. She was born in Scarborough, Ontario, and currently lives in Whitby. Personal Born in Scarborough, Ontario, Lopes-Schliep's h ...

, Olympic medalist *

Hazel Mae Hazel Mae Barker (born April 7, 1970), known professionally as Hazel Mae, is a Filipino-Canadian sportscaster. She was the former lead anchor for the New England Sports Network's SportsDesk news program and most recently the anchor on MLB Networ ...

Cagulada, Sportsnet personality *

Andrew Ornoch Andrzej Mateusz Ornoch (born August 21, 1985) is a former professional footballer. Born in Poland, he represented Canada at international level. Early life Ornoch was born in Poland, but moved to Toronto, Canada at age three with his parents. He ...

, former professional soccer player *

Adrian Serioux Adrian Serioux (born May 12, 1979) is a Canadian retired professional soccer player who played as a defender. Club career After playing college soccer for the University of New Haven, Serioux started his pro career with the Toronto Lynx in the ...