Colonel By Secondary School
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Colonel By Secondary School is a high school in the Beacon Hill neighbourhood of
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Canada. It is a non-semestered school, and was the only English public school in Ottawa that offers the
International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...
(IB) diploma programme until Merivale High School began its IB programme in September 2019. Colonel By has a reptuation locally and provincially as an academically rigorous school. In the 2018–19 school year, it was ranked the sixth best secondary school in Ontario by the
Fraser Institute The Fraser Institute is a Canadian Conservatism in Canada, conservative public policy think tank registered as a Charitable organization, charity. It is headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. It has ...
.


History

Colonel By Secondary School was unveiled on March 10, 1972. The school was designed by Craig and Kohler architects with P.E. Brule Co. Ltd. contractors. The school was erected by the Carleton Board of Education. The school is dedicated to Lieutenant-Colonel John By. J.L. McDonald served as the first principal of Colonel By Secondary School. Colonel By Secondary School was named for Lieutenant Colonel
John By Lieutenant-Colonel John By (7 August 1779 – 1 February 1836) was an English military engineer. He is best known for having supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal and for having founded Bytown in the process. It developed and was desi ...
, the Royal Engineers officer who supervised the building of Ottawa's
Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal is a 202-kilometre long canal that links the Ottawa River at Ottawa with the Cataraqui River and Lake Ontario at Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Its 46 Lock (water navigation), locks raise boats from the Ottawa River 83 metres (272 ...
and 1826–1832 and founded Bytown. A historical plaque located on the grounds of Colonel By Secondary School states, "Colonel John By (1779–1836) was born and educated in England and first came to Canada in 1802. As a member of the Royal Engineers, he worked on the first small locks on the St. Lawrence River as well as the fortifications of Quebec. He returned to England in 1811 and fought in the peninsular War, but came back to Canada in 1826 to spend five summers heading the construction of the Rideau Canal, the 200 km long waterway which now connects Ottawa and Kingston. This formidable task included the building of about 50 dams and 47 locks, without the aid of modern equipment. But the amazing feat was never recognized in Colonel By's own lifetime, and he died three years after its completion, never imagining that many thousands of Canadians would greatly admire and value his achievement in the centuries to come. Colonel By's attributes of courage, determination, and diligence, inspire us to emulate him, in the hopes that we too may somehow serve our country in a way which will benefit future generations."


Academics


International Baccalaureate Programme

Colonel By Secondary School offers the
IB Diploma Programme The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry int ...
, a pre-university course of studies offered to students over a two-year period from grade 11 to 12. Preparation for the challenge of the IB Diploma is begun in grade 9 and grade 10 through the enrichment and acceleration of various courses. All successful recipients of the IB Diploma also receive their Ontario Secondary School Diploma.


Cougar Vision

Cougar Vision is a high school digital television station that provides coverage of school activities founded in 1999. It is Canada's first all‐digital high school television station, commercial‐free educational programming through "Cable in the Classroom".


Mathematics

Colonel By has had a history of strong math students who have performed well on national math contests administered by the
University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...
, as well as other local and national mathematics contests. For instance, in the 2009 Grade 9 Pascal's Math Contest, Colonel By came first in the city and fifth in Canada. However, its prominence in Olympiad mathematics has been more limited, with few outstanding results on the Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge that have warranted invitation to the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad. This changed in the 2008–2009 school year with the arrival of freshman James Rickards. Despite his youth, he received an invitation to write the 2009 Canadian Mathematical Olympiad and scored in the 3rd division. His arrival coincided with the school registering for its first writing of the
American Mathematics Competitions The American Mathematics Competitions (AMCs) are the first of a series of competitions in secondary school mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that ...
(a lobbying effort by the senior students at the time that was finally granted). Over half the students who wrote the AMC qualified for the
American Invitational Mathematics Examination The American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) is a selective 15-question, 3-hour test given since 1983 to those who rank in the top 5% on the AMC 12 high school mathematics examination (formerly known as the AHSME), and starting in 201 ...
. James Rickards was the sole participant who went on to receive an invitation to write the
United States of America Mathematical Olympiad The United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) is a highly selective high school mathematics competition held annually in the United States. Since its debut in 1972, it has served as the final round of the American Mathematics Compe ...
. In the 2009–2010 school year, James Rickards continued to represent Colonel By on the national scale as a sophomore. He placed 2nd in the 2010 Canadian Mathematical Olympiad, outperforming returning members of the 2009 Canadian
International Mathematical Olympiad The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a mathematical olympiad for pre-university students, and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. It is widely regarded as the most prestigious mathematical competition in the wor ...
team. Surprisingly, the
Canadian Mathematical Society The Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS; French: ''Société mathématique du Canada'') is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to advancing mathematical research, outreach, scholarship and education in Canada. The Society se ...
did not invite James Rickards to the 2010 Canadian IMO team, making him the first student in over a decade to have placed 2nd on the CMO, but not to have been announced a member of the IMO team. Nonetheless, in 2012, James Rickards was announced as a member of the Canadian IMO team, making him the first Colonel By student in history to have received said honour.


Computer Science

Colonel By has produced students who have performed well on the national CCC, administered by the University of Waterloo. Notably, Zeyu Chen achieved a perfect 75/75 on the CCC Senior and was invited to the CCO in 2021, where he achieved a Silver medal. Zeyu Chen is also known for his performance on Advent of Code (AoC), in which he solidified places 43rd (2020) and 37th (2021) out of over 200 000 participants.


Music and arts


Music

Colonel By is also home to the "C-Flats", Colonel By's award-winning vocal jazz ensemble. The ensemble won the gold award as well as 1st place standing in the vocal jazz category of the New York City Heritage Festival in 2014, and were invited to perform at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
. The C-Flats were also given the opportunity to perform at the National Day of Honour on
Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose ...
in May 2014. Colonel By also has many award-winning jazz and concert bands that have performed and won awards at a variety of music festivals including the National Capital Region MusicFest and MusicFest Canada.


Theatre

Many students from Colonel By Secondary School participate in Canada's Capital Cappies, a theatrical club that involves putting together a play that is to be evaluated by several judges from across
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
. In 2012, Colonel By won the Cappies awards for Top Critic Team, Top Female Critic, Top Male Critic, and Featured Actor in a Play. In 2019, the school's production of
Chicago (musical) ''Chicago'' is a 1975 American musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. Set in Chicago in the Jazz Age, the musical is based on a Chicago (play), 1926 play of the same title by Maurine Dallas Watkins ...
won Cappie awards for Female Lead Actor in a Musical, Best Song, and Best Orchestra. In 2023, the Cappies team (Zoe Whitlock, Safya Khan, Calia Hare, Amelia Alam, Ishita Goswami and Samuel Khosla) was nominated for Best School. Safya Khan, Samuel Khosla, Zoe Whitlock and Amelia Alam were all also nominated for best Junior Critic.


Athletics

Colonel By competed at OFSAA for a few ski and snowboarding events in the 2006/2007 season. In addition, the Colonel By Badminton team has done well in Junior and Senior events.The Colonel By Nordic Ski team has also done well in the past finishing 4th last year in Junior Combined and now looking for the NCSSAA championships for the Senior Boys. The Varsity Girl's Waterpolo team is the two year running NCSSAA champions in 2007 and 2008 and placed second in 2006. The Colonel By rugby teams are known throughout the city, with the Varsity Girls' Team winning the NCSSAA championship in the 2011 season and placing among the top teams in previous years. Soccer for Colonel By proved tone successful once again in 2015, as both the senior and junior girls teams were seen winning the championship in their tiers, tier 1 and tier 2, respectively.


Track and field

Colonel By is known for its recent surge of notable athletes in track and field. Four of Colonel By's athletes who competed in the 2007
OFSAA The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) is an organization of student-athletes, teacher-coaches, student-coaches, teachers, principals, and sport administrators in Ontario, Canada. OFSAA is the second largest high school ath ...
Track and Field Championships in
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
won medals (two gold, one silver and one bronze). Putting this into perspective, excluding this year, there has only been three athletes from eastern Ottawa from the past three years that have won medals in
OFSAA The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) is an organization of student-athletes, teacher-coaches, student-coaches, teachers, principals, and sport administrators in Ontario, Canada. OFSAA is the second largest high school ath ...
. One Colonel By's gold medalists in 2007, 15-year-old Oluwasegun Makinde, set a new junior provincial record in the men's
200m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...
running a personal best of 21.74 seconds, demolishing the old record of 22.75. He attended the
IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics The IAAF U18 Championships in Athletics (until 2015 known as IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics) was a global athletics event comprising track and field events for competitors who were 17 or younger (youth = Under-18). The event was org ...
in the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
that summer. Footage of the record-breaking 200m finals can be see
here
In his final year, Oluwasegun set the senior provincial record in the men's
200m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...
running a personal best of 20.99 seconds. Footage of the record-breaking 200m finals can be see
here
He opted to not take a
victory lap A victory lap (also lap of honor) is a term used in motorsports to describe an extra lap of the race track after the conclusion of a race. This lap, driven at reduced speed, allows the winning driver to celebrate their victory and gives the ...
and went off to studies in university. Since then, he has had continued success, including the opportunity to run in the same relay race against
Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt (; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, ...
. The track and field team has continued to progress and in 2010, it sent an Ottawa school board best 19 athletes and 5 relay teams to
OFSAA The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) is an organization of student-athletes, teacher-coaches, student-coaches, teachers, principals, and sport administrators in Ontario, Canada. OFSAA is the second largest high school ath ...
.


Swimming

In 2008, Nathan Lam an
Brian Chen
tied for first place in the junior boys' 100-metre freestyle with a time of 58.48 seconds at the National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association swimming championships. In 2011, Nathan Lam, Kashtin Patterson, Cody Lombardo and Brian Chen placed eighth in the senior boys' 4x50-metre freestyle relay at the Ontario Federal of School Athletic Association short-course swimming championships in Toronto.


Clubs and fundraising

The Colonel By Open Eyes club hosts the Community Pancake Breakfast, an annual fundraising event in the community.


Reach for the Top and Quizbowl

The Colonel By
Reach for the Top ''Reach for the Top'' (also known simply as ''Reach'') is a Canadian trivia based academic quiz competition for high school students. In the past, it has also been a game show nationally broadcast on the CBC. Matches are currently aired online ...
team won provincials in 2001, and has attended Reach for the Top and
Quiz Bowl Quiz bowl (quizbowl, scholars' bowl, scholastic bowl, academic bowl, academic team, academic challenge, etc.) is a family of quiz-based competitions that test players on Outline of academic disciplines, a wide variety of academic subjects. Stand ...
events consistently. The Reach for the Top team at Colonel By participated in provincials in 2014, coming in the top ten. Colonel By's Quiz Bowl team has also consistently achieved success, winning the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 Quiz Bowl Provincial Championships. The team also tied for 21st at the 2015 High School National Championship Tournament.


Notable alumni

*
Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...
, musician * Lil Paid, musician * Fedor Andreev, figure skater * Ryan Bell, basketball player * Patrick Biggs, alpine skier * Svitlana Demchenko, chess player *
Ajay Fry Ajay Fry (born Ajay Jack Fry, 17 June 1983) is a Canadian comedian, television personality and producer who grew up in Ottawa, Ontario, best known as host on the official Orphan Black after show ''After the Black'' on BBC America, and the Canad ...
, television personality *
Tom Green Michael Thomas Green (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian and American comedian, show host, actor, filmmaker, podcaster, and rapper. After pursuing stand-up comedy and music as a young adult, Green created and hosted '' The Tom Green Show'', whi ...
, Comedian, actor, television personality * Jack Kaluski, Influencer, Athlete * Amber MacArthur, television personality. * Anne-Marie MacDonald, author, television host * Vanessa Morgan, actress * John Morris, curler * Deborah Raji, computer scientist, activist * Joel A. Sutherland, author * Isabelle Weidemann, speed skater * Ryder Whittaker Hawkins, immunologist (2011) * Qiyu Zhou, chess player, Internet personality


See also

*
Education in Ontario Education in Ontario comprises public and private primary schools, secondary schools and post-secondary institutions. Publicly funded elementary and secondary schools are administered by the Ontario Ministry of Education, while colleges and u ...
*
List of secondary schools in Ontario The following is a list of secondary schools in Ontario. Secondary education policy in the Canadian province of Ontario is governed by the Ministry of Education. Secondary education in Ontario includes Grades 9 to 12. The following list includes ...


References


External links


Colonel By's School Website
*
Colonel By's IB Program WebsiteOttawa-Carleton District School Board
{{Authority control International Baccalaureate schools in Ontario High schools in Ottawa Educational institutions established in 1972 1972 establishments in Ontario