James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic High School (JCM, James Cardinal McGuigan, or shortly McGuigan) is a

secondary 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., b ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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 named after

James Charles McGuigan James Charles McGuigan (November 26, 1894 – April 8, 1974) was a Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the longest-serving Archbishop of Toronto, serving for almost 37 years from 1934 to 1971. He became the first English-speaking ...

, a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and the

Archbishop of Toronto The archbishop of Toronto is the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, responsible for looking after its spiritual and administrative needs. As the archdiocese is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province that encompasse ...

from 1934 to 1971. The school was founded by the order of the Franciscan Fathers, who recognized the need for a Catholic School in the Keele-Finch Community. It serves the

Downsview Downsview is a neighbourhood in the north end of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the district of North York. The area takes its name from the Downs View farm established around 1842 near the present-day intersection of Keele Street and Wils ...

neighbourhood of

North York North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...

History

The school was opened in September 1982 by the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

s and the Metropolitan Separate School Board with the building constructed in 1984. The school expanded in 1988, when the MSSB acquired six acres west of the school from the

North York Board of Education The North York Board of Education (NYBE, commonly known as School District 13), officially the Board of Education for the City of North York is the former public school board for the former city of North York in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 1998, ...

in exchange of the long-term lease of Lewis S. Beattie Secondary School to house students from École Charbonnel. Since the closure of nearby

Regina Pacis Catholic Secondary School Regina Pacis Catholic Secondary School (Regina Pacis CSS, RPCSS, Regina Pacis High, or Pacis in short) is a former Catholic secondary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1980 to 2002, it was operated by the Toronto Catholic District School ...

in 2002, McGuigan's enrolment grew and its facilities were expanded with the new western wing completed by 2008.

Background

''Academics'' James Cardinal McGuigan C.S.S. offers both an Applied (College) and Academic (University) bound courses, to which students can choose from. It also has an "Essentials" option as an alternative. The School offers a "High School Transition Program", where Grade 8 students follow and study based on a secondary school timetable for the month of July. This enables the students to get accustomed with secondary school rules, be able to engage with other students, and prepare them for the upcoming school year. This program is mainly run by leadership and council students who are closely selected based on academic and inter-personal skills. Upon beginning the first year, Grade 9 students go at an overnight three day excursion at the

YMCA Camp Wanakita YMCA Wanakita is a camp located on Koshlong Lake near Dysart et al, Ontario, Haliburton in central Ontario, Canada. It is run by the YMCA of Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Burlington, Ontario, Burlington and Brantford, Ontario, Brantford and attract ...

, to experience outdoor activities and encourage student interactions. ''S.H.S.M. (Specialist High Skills Major)'' The school offers a Transportation Technology course, where students take part in practical work and study theories in relation to automotive systems. Starting at Grade 11, students can select the Transportation Tech. S.H.S.M. program, which extends into Grade 12. The program has a co-op component where students are sent to auto companies, or car dealerships. The second and third S.H.S.M. programs that are offered include the Arts and Culture and Health and Wellness Programs. Upon completion, S.H.S.M. students will earn a red seal certification in their O.S.S.D. and become qualified for the workplace. Furthermore, the acquired practical experience and gained knowledge will give S.H.S.M. students an advantage in

Post-Secondary Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

education. ''S.T.E.A.M. (Enriched Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math)'' Recently, a specialty program called S.T.E.A.M. has been introduced in the school system and is similar to the MST (Enriched Math, Science, Technology) program offered by other schools. The specialty program has two components, the first is the S.T.E.A.M. S.H.S.M. program, which focuses on the existing S.H.S.M. courses already offered, but introducing it to first and second year students. Once a specialty course is selected, the students are offered dual-credit opportunities, introduction to OYAP programs, and guaranteed co-op placements. The second component of the S.T.E.A.M. program is the Academic Enriched route, in which students take mandatory honours math and science courses, and an elective in Computer Engineering, Robotics, and Transportation or Hospitality. In either routes, students must take an entry test and go through an interview process to be considered. Successful candidates are granted a placement in the program and S.T.E.A.M. students must maintain a 75% overall average to stay in the program. ''A.C.E. (Advanced Credit Experience)'' James Cardinal McGuigan C.S.S. is one of several schools in the city to have a partnership with nearby York University, making it the only school in the Catholic board to offer the A.C.E (Advanced Credit Experience) Program. Select Grade 12 students are able to take a post-secondary course from the choices offered without any enrolment fees. Completion of a post-secondary course will guarantee a course credit equivalent towards the student's university transcript, a consideration when applying to York University, a bursary from $1000-$5000, and a summer job placement. Furthermore, because of the partnership, the university is able to offer various scholarships to graduating students, one of them being the Honderich Bursary of $32,000 to either one or two students, and a Chancellor Bennett Entrance Award of $20,000. The school also offers a multitude of scholarship and bursary awards from different institutions to select students who meet the extensive and competitive qualifications. ''Curriculum'' James Cardinal McGuigan C.S.S. operates on a semester based schedule, with a maximum of 8 courses per school year, 4 per semester. Since the school is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

school, it follows a mandatory religious curriculum, where all students take compulsory Religion classes. In addition, there is a mandatory Religion Retreat school trip students go to every year as it counts as a percentage towards their average. The Grade 9 religion course is an open course focusing on the life of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. The Grade 10 religion course focuses more in depth of the Bible, looking into the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

. The Grade 11 religion course revolves around World Religions. Students study eastern religions such as

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

, and

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

, and Western Religions such as

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, and

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. The Grade 12 religion course offers a University/College option which focuses on the philosophical nature of

moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. ...

and

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

, combing it with the Roman Catholic perspective of life. *

List of high 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 include ...

Campus

The McGuigan campus is a combination of the recently constructed West Wing building and the original East Wing building. The difference between the two can be seen by the contrasting design and architecture. Due to the growing student population and the need for better facilities, the new extension was built to modernize and revitalize the school. When the extension was finished, the new extension was able to add eight additional classrooms, additional multi-purpose rooms, a larger and more spacious administrative office, and a large, high ceiling cafeteria which can be converted to an equipped auditorium for events, and an outdoor yard for activities. Recently, the gym underwent an extensive renovation which added a new digital score board, addition of a fitness room, and among other upgrades. In 2023, the school started phase one of its athletics expansion with the addition of a state of the art outdoor basketball court, complete with NBA size court, 6 glass backboards, stands, fence, digital scoreboard and outdoor stadium style lighting. The original building houses most of the school's 30+ classrooms, and the automotive shop, which is open to the school community. It also houses the St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi Chapel, which retains numerous historical stained glasses.

Athletics

James Cardinal McGuigan offers a multitude of Male and Female sport teams to join from, in addition, there are sports clubs that are offered for after-school recreational purposes. Sports * Tackle Football (Varsity) * Flag Football (Junior and Senior) * Prep Basketball (Junior and Senior) * Basketball (Junior and Senior) * Soccer (Junior and Senior) * Volleyball (Junior and Senior) * Ultimate Frisbee (Varsity) * Baseball (Varsity) * Tennis (Junior and Senior) * Badminton (Junior and Senior) * Golf (Junior and Senior) * Arm Wrestling (Varsity) * Swimming (Junior and Senior) * Cheerleading (Junior and Senior) * Cross Country (Novice, Junior and Senior) * Track and Field (Novice, Junior and Senior) * Sprints * Middle Distance * Long Distance * High Jump * Long Jump * Triple Jump * Shot put * Discus Throw * Javelin Throw * Relays

References

External links