Georges Vanier Secondary School (also named as Georges Vanier SS, GVSS, Georges Vanier or Vanier) and Woodbine Middle School (shortly called as Woodbine M.S., WMS and Woodbine) are two public schools consisting of a junior high school (Grades 6 to 8) and high school (Grades 9 to 12) located in North York district of Toronto, Ontario. Owned and Operated by the North York Board of Education (which is now merged into the Toronto District School Board), the school was named after Canada's first French-Canadian Governor General, Georges Vanier. Attached to the Vanier-Woodbine campus is the North-East Year Round Alternative Centre.
History
Opened in 1966, Georges Vanier was selected by the Canadian Education Association as one of 21 exemplary schools across Canada. The school offers specialized programs such as MSC2, Stem +, Program 2 Art, "One World Youth Arts Project" program, BSc@Van, and the "Focus on Information Technology (FIT)" program, in addition to offering an Advanced Placement program and a Centennial College Partnership program. The school also provides 3 Specialist High Skills Majors (SHSM) programs: Advance, ICT, and Aviation & Aerospace. These programs give students the opportunity to earn nationally recognized certifications.
Incidents
On the night of November 3rd, 2003 a fatal gang brawl left one individual dead after he succumbed to stab wounds. The individual was not a student at the school and later identified as a resident of Richmond Hill, Ontario who happened to be in the area at the time of the fight.
Notable alumni
Kirk McLean, the goaltender for the Vancouver Canucks that lead them to the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. Mark McKoy, Track & Field Olympian Benny Hinn, TV evangelist and faith healer. Geddy Lee, lead singer and bassist of the rock band Rush Christine Cattell, Actress, Former Miss Toronto Alex Lifeson, guitarist of the rock band Rush Catherine Swing, TV personality, actor, producer, director and former Miss Canada 1978 Ian Crichton, guitarist of the rock band Saga Mark Caporal, Drummer with Juno Nominated Toronto Band Eye Eye Andy Ryan, Guitarist with Juno Nominated Toronto Band Eye Eye Maurice LaMarche, two-time Emmy-winning voice actor for Futurama, also Emmy-nominated in 1998 for his voice acting work as "The Brain" in Pinky and the Brain. Howie Mandel, comedian and Deal Or No Deal host, attended for half a year, and Vanier is the unnamed high school he references as the one to which he called in contractors for an estimate for an unauthorized addition to the east wing. He was expelled for the prank. Garth Richardson, Grammy-nominated engineer, Juno-nominated and Juno-winning music producer Alannah Myles, recording artist and songwriter best known for the 1989 hit single, "Black Velvet" David Bendeth, award-winning music producer, writer, mixing engineer and recording artist Gord Stellick, Media personality and former manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club Norman Findlay, Toronto lawyer and corporate director Leighton Hope, Canadian sprinter and Olympian Brian Saunders, Canadian sprinter and Olympian Susan Tighe, civil engineer Bill Wood, Musician, vocalist with the Oh Nos, Eye Eye, Bill Wood and the Woodies Kim Lombard ACTRRA Rob Salem, entertainment critic, columnist and editor at the Toronto Star newspaper
References
External links
Georges Vanier Secondary School
Woodbine Junior High School
TDSB Profile (Vanier) TDSB Profile (Woodbine) TDSB Profile (NEYRAC)