St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School

St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School is a Catholic secondary school located in Hamilton, Ontario. It is a part of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board and is located on the west side of the Hamilton Mountain. It serves the south-west of Hamilton as well as parts of Glanbrook and Ancaster and is known for its sports teams.

St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School
Address
1045 Upper Paradise Road

Hamilton
,
Ontario
,
L9B 2N4

Canada
Coordinates43.21367°N 79.91924°W / 43.21367; -79.91924
Information
School typePublic, Separate secondary school
MottoLatin: Praestantia Scholastica, Praestantia Religiosa, Praestantia Athletica
(Scholastic excellence, religious excellence, athletic excellence)
Religious affiliation(s)Catholic
DenominationRoman Catholic
Established1972
OpenedSeptember 1972 (1972-09)[1]
School boardHamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board
SuperintendentCorrado Ciapanna
Area trusteeJohn Valvasori[2]
PrincipalDean DiFrancesco
Grades9-12
Enrollment2,250
LanguageEnglish
School colour(s)Black and Gold         
MascotTommy the Knight
Websitestm.hwcdsb.ca

St. Thomas More is the largest school in Hamilton, holding over 2,250 students. It graduates approximately 400 students each year with around 90% of them going pursuing post-secondary education. The school's 200 member staff are involved in numerous activities, sports and associations. The school's Latin motto is "Praestantia Scholastica, Praestantia Religiosa, Praestantia Athletica" which translates in English to "Scholastic excellence, religious excellence, athletic excellence."

Athletics

The school prides itself on its athletics as it has over 70 teams that have each won a championship at least once in the school's history. The biggest teams are the Football, Basketball, Hockey, Track and Field, and Soccer teams. STM also has many teams and clubs not found in most schools like Girls' Hockey and Slo-Pitch teams as well as field-hockey teams and 7's rugby [3]

Student council and activities

The St. Thomas More student council is an essential part of the school's community, electing students from every kind of social background, academic level and age. Student council elections at the school are often high-spirited events starting weeks before the vote, with the most activity occurring in the final week, including speeches, debates and general campaigning.

St. Thomas More has a host of unique and popular activities. The building is equipped with a television broadcast studio where the morning announcements are broadcast from. STM also puts on Christmas and Year-End videos often in conjunction with the student council and the various teams and clubs that have won championships and awards during[][ the year. STM also has Concert, Jazz and Guitar Bands as well as a choir that have won awards throughout Canada and the United States.

Because of the school's Catholic background, there are many different social-activism clubs that are not found in most other schools. STM has an organized "We Scare Hunger" (originallyHalloween for Hunger) campaign in which students go door to door collecting canned goods for the Hamilton Mountain "Neighbour to Neighbour" Centre. The program is currently in its 16th year. In 2010, the campaign raised a total of 68,852 pounds of food[4] and approximately $5,000 in monetary donations. A "Kickoff Concert" was also held to help get volunteers excited and raise additional money for Neighbour to Neighbour Centre. This food drive accounts for over 5% of Neighbour to Neighbour's annual donations and is their largest single donation each year. In 2011, the program's goal was 77,777 pounds of food.

The school also has a Christmas Miracle campaign where students in individual classes purchase gifts for the less-fortunate in Hamilton.

Uniforms

St. Thomas More's school colours are black and gold. The school takes pride in their school uniforms, giving strict rules and consequences for violations in school dress code.[5] There are some exceptional days (during an important game, celebration or holiday), where students can wear specially designed "spirit wear".[6] Designs ranging from clothes representing school clubs and teams to clothes featuring the school mascot (STM Knights).

Overhead view of main athletic field at STM.

Sports

Football

St. Thomas More has one of the most prominent and highly decorated football programs in Ontario and Canada. Having never won any championships before 1996, the Knights have since appeared in 12 junior and 13 senior varsity league championship games. The Senior Knights are consistently among the highest ranked football teams in Canada. They have also won all five of their most recent OFSAA Championship games(2015, 2016, 2017, 2018).[7]

In 2017 2018, and 2019 they were ranked the #1 high school football team in Canada.[8]

Girls' basketball

St. Thomas More is a long-standing, provincial power in girls' basketball at the senior varsity level. The program has won league titles in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1994, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2013 and 2014 as well as capturing 4 OFSAA "AAAA" gold medals in 2004, 2011, 2012, 2013. Their long-time, main league rival is St. Mary CSS, who is also considered to be an elite level program with multiple OFSAA titles.

Notable alumni

See also

References
  1. "St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School". stm.hwcdsb.ca. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  2. "Contact Us". stm.hwcdsb.ca. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  3. http://stm.hwcdsb.ca/participate/championshipsandmedals/
  4. http://twitpic.com/33uopl
  5. http://stm.hwcdsb.ca/school/uniforms/?fileID=15171
  6. http://stm.hwcdsb.ca/school/uniforms/?fileID=15171
  7. "Football - Past Champions old". docs.google.com. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  8. "CFC50 2018 High School RANKINGS (FINAL): STM claims top spot for 2nd year, B.C crowns their champion – CanadaFootballChat.com". Retrieved December 30, 2018.
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