The DSBN Academy, less formally known as The academy is a public

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

and

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

(grades 6–12) in

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

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 located on Louth Street and is part of the

District School Board of Niagara The District School Board of Niagara (DSBN, known as English-language Public District School Board No. 22 prior to 1999) is a school board in the public school system of Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Niagara. Its head office ...

. The DSBN Academy accepts students from anywhere in the Niagara Region. The school's program is designed to provide additional academic support for students from low-income backgrounds to better prepare them for post-secondary education.

History

The site on which the DSBN Academy is built was originally part of a 100-acre land grant that was conveyed to John Gould by Letters Patent from the Crown in 1806. He sold off parcels of this land during the succeeding years, and by the time of

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

, it had been fragmented into the hands of fifty-four different owners. Among the names of early settlers of this area are found, as recorded by the Registrar of Deeds, those of: Merritt, Woodruff, Rykert, Macdonald, Mettleberger, Bullivant, Adams and Brown. In 1963, the Board of Education for the City of St. Catharines took steps towards building a local school in the area originally designated as West Park. Approximately fifteen acres would be purchased in an area bound by Louth Street, Rykert Street and Powerview Avenue. By arrangement with the City of St. Catharines, through the Parks and Recreation Commission, it was agreed that this area should be developed as a school-recreation-park complex. The Board of Education purchased approximately seven acres, from a private owner. The city made available to the Board about seven acres of the unopened Homeland Plan subdivision, and jointly the Board and the city acquired another acre from the rear of the lots on Louth Street, For the building project the firm of Macbeth, Williams, Woodruff and Hadaway was chosen as architects and the general contract was awarded to Newman Brothers Company Limited. Construction began on October 14, 1967. The total cost of the school was $3,250,943.00 of which $1,985,943.00 was received as federal-provincial grants. At the school is a track and field centre operated by the Niagara Olympic Club.

Recent

The DSBN Academy was founded in 2010 and opened its doors in September 2011, offering classes in grades six and seven."DSBN Academy honours 1st graduates"
by Melinda Cheevers ''Niagara This Week '', Jun 29, 2017- St. Catharines The original building it occupied was the former Empire High School in

Welland, Ontario Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Ontario, N ...

but, in 2013, relocated to the previous

West Park Secondary School West Park Secondary School (WPSS, West Park), originally known as West Park Vocational School is a Toronto District School Board public high school facility that operated as a regular school from 1968 to 1988 by the Toronto Board of Education f ...

in St. Catharines where it has occupied ever since. That year the school had approximately 200 students. The Academy enrolment of 2018-2019

In 2015 the academy received a $30,000 grant to purchase new instruments for the school's music program. In 2017 the first class of 45 Grade 12 students graduated from the school. The academy annually receives a grant from RBC of $25,000 to go towards scholarships, technology, and academics. In 2019, the DSBN Academy raised over $1400 for the humanitarian organization Water for South Sudan. The organization's founder and protagonist of the semi-biographical novel

A Long Walk to Water ''A Long Walk to Water'' (sometimes shortened to ALWTW) is a short novel written by Linda Sue Park and published in 2010. It blends the true story of Water for South Sudan#Salva Dut, Salva Dut whose story is based in 1985, a part of the Dinka p ...

, Salva Dut, visited the school personally to congratulate the students. Several teachers from the DSBN Academy protested Ontarian Minister of Education

Stephen Lecce Stephen Francis Lecce (; born November 26, 1986) is a Canadian politician and Ontario's current Minister of Energy and Mines. Lecce served as the Ontario Minister of Education from 2019 to 2024. A member of the Progressive Conservative (PC) ...

for his budget cuts to

public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

in 2019. As of 2020, the DSBN Academy has accumulated over $75,000 in bursaries for its graduates through the Denim, Diamonds & Diplomas fundraising event. The academy

Jazz Band A jazz band (jazz ensemble or jazz combo) is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands vary in the quantity of its members and the style of jazz that they play but it is common to find a jazz band made up of a rhythm section and a ho ...

traditionally performs at the event each year. On October 20, 2022, Njacko Backo went to the academy for a massive presentation in front of many people, about

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

and instruments that he plays.

COVID-19 pandemic

The DSBN Academy, like all public schools in Ontario, was drastically affected by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

during the 2019–2020 school year. In March 2020, the school was asked to close by the Ontario Ministry of Health. As a result, the graduation ceremony for the class of 2020 had to be postponed until the next academic year.

School life

The creed is spoken each morning of the school day after the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

. All students wear navy blue or white uniform shirts with grey pants or an optional skirt for secondary students and khaki pants for middle school. The DSBN Academy takes students in from anywhere in the

Niagara Peninsula The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the ...

emphasising achievement for all socio-economic classes. It therefore has a diverse enrolment of students from every background. Extracurricular programs and activities include seasonal sports,

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 ...

Trivia Team, science club, art club, fitness, Student Innovators, homework club, fishing club, ball hockey, school band, Gay-Straight Alliance,

Magic the Gathering ''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a collectible card game, Tabletop game, tabletop, and digital collectible card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast, ''Magic'' was t ...

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

, choir, and book club.

Principals

References

External links

Official site
{{St. Catharines High schools in the Regional Municipality of Niagara 2011 establishments in Canada Educational institutions established in 2011 Buildings and structures in St. Catharines Middle schools in Ontario Education in St. Catharines