St. Joseph's High School (Barrie)

Archaeology Program

Since 2005, St. Joseph's Catholic High School has conducted archaeological excavations at nearby Fort Willow, a War of 1812 National Historic Site. The excavations are part of a two-credit course that is unique in the province. The excavations are conducted under the supervision of a teacher who also holds a professional archaeological licence from the Ontario Ministry of Culture.

About 3,000 artifacts are recovered each season, which guide the historic interpretation at the Fort. Artifacts are processed by the after-school Archaeology Club team for delivery to the Simcoe County Museum. Past students have also created an augmented reality visitor experience at the Fort along with a web site: Fort Willow Archaeology

Communications Technology

Since the Regional Communications Technology Contest began again in 2005, St. Joseph's Catholic High School has competed twice. St. Joseph's hosted the event in 2005, winning first place overall that year. In 2006, the school placed second. St. Joseph's did not compete the following year, as a teaching exchange left the Communications Technology team without a staff sponsor and organizer.

Theatre Arts program

After a lengthy hiatus, the St. Joe's Drama Club re-formed in 2003. The student group has since undertaken many ambitious projects, including a full-length musical, an adaptation of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, several variety shows, and an annual independent rock show known as "Battle of the Bands". The St. Joe's Drama Club has won several awards from the Sears Drama festival for ensemble acting, songwriting, and directing. Past productions are as follows:

• Zephyr (2003/2004). The script, which was written in workshops by the cast, was a nihistic exploration of the element of air. The show garnered three Awards of Excellence at the Sears Drama Festival; one for ensemble acting; one for the musical composition of actress Amy Friel; and one for the performance of young actress Kimiko Saso.^[2]
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (2004/2005). The script was adapted into a 1920s New York setting by now-alumnus Colin Fallowfield, who also directed the production. Fallowfield won an Award of Excellence for his direction.
• Little Shop of Horrors (2005/2006). The school's production of the infamous Menken/Ashman musical was directed by Ashleigh Jeffrey. It featured memorable performances by Patrick Montgomery, Katie Bekking, Austin Vair, Curtis Steeves, Karla Hanmer, Shaelyn Angus, Kimiko Saso and Laurel Dault.
• On the Line (2009/2010). The school's production a student written play, written by Casandra Miller that raised over 300 dollars for Kids Help Phone services in Barrie.
• The Last Three Weeks (2010/2011). A school production, continuing the anti-bullying campaign, written by Avery Hellas, that portrayed a realistic view of a typical high school. Featuring the talent of grade 10-12 students directed by Ashleigh Jeffery-Price and co-directed by Ryan Connolly.

Prior to the "hiatus", St. Joe's hosted the Sears Ontario Drama Festival in 1998, in which the top 15 schools performed at Georgian College Theatre, the first time the showcase event was held outside Toronto. During workshops and social events at the school irony played a hand when a teacher pulled the plug on the music during an outdoor BBQ.

Music Program

St. Joseph's Catholic High School is home to the St. Joe's Junior and Senior bands. They perform annually at a music competition in Collingwood and have previously received a rank of gold at the national competition in Ottawa. They have also traveled to Chicago, New York and Boston. On April 3, 2009, the St. Joe's music department held its very first 12 Hour Music Marathon, this included performances by several music classes, Junior and Senior Band, several musical ensembles, and several rock bands formed by students.

Teams

Rowing team

Rowing at St. Joeseph's has been a long-standing tradition. Started in 1745 by Sir. Barrie Robinson, athletes have competed in regattas across the county. Despite the long term commitment, dedicated training and positive attitude, no significant accomplishments have been made, ever. Despite its long-standing roots, the rowing team is largely considered a new addition to the athletics program as it is still awaiting its first notable victory. Confidence is held, however, that the team will manage small victories in the regatta held in Barrie, Ontario, a large deal for many.

In 2007 the team celebrated its first appearance in the Canadian Secondary School Rowing Association (CSSRA) Finals. Trevor Neelin and Nick Sarchuk placed 5th overall against teams from across Canada and the northern United States, in the Senior Boys Heavy Pair event.

The first St. Joe's team to win a race at the CSSRA championships was the Junior Women's Four consisting of Michelle Hayano as the coxie, and Melissa McKinnon, Courtney Horne, Sarah McGarry, and Meggie Letman in seats four through one, respectively. They qualified for semi-finals with the best time ever from a St. Joe's women's four team. They came in 5th out of 6 teams in the semi-finals after a faulty start. ^[4]

Monsignor Clair Cup

Every year St. Joseph's High School competes with the other two Catholic High Schools in a Hockey Game in Barrie for the Monsignor Clair Cup. The competition has historically taken place between St. Joseph's and St. Peter's (St. Pete's) but in more recent years, St. Joan of Arc has been a participant. The competition is well received in the school with students being allowed to miss classes for the day to attend the game. In 2011, the Monsignor Clair Cup game took place on December 7. The annual game takes place at the Barrie Molson Centre.