St. Mother Teresa Catholic Academy (SMTCA, St. Mother Teresa, SMT, Mother Teresa, or Teresa for short); also known as by its former names Blessed Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School before 2016 and Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School in its inception is a Catholic secondary school in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

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, Canada. It serves the Malvern neighbourhood of

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History

The founder of Missionaries of Charity

Mother Teresa of Calcutta founded the a Roman Catholic

religious congregation A religious congregation is a type of religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – in that members take simple vows, whereas members of religi ...

Missionaries of Charity The Missionaries of Charity ( la, Congregatio Missionariarum a Caritate) is a Catholic centralized religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women established in 1950 by Mother Teresa, now known in the Catholic Church as ...

, which in 2012 consisted of over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries. Members of the order must adhere to the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, and the fourth vow, to give "Wholehearted and Free service to the poorest of the poor". The Missionaries of Charity at the time of her death had 610 missions in 123 countries including hospices and homes for people with

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/ AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis; soup kitchens; children's and family counselling programmes; orphanages; and schools. For over 45 years, she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, while guiding the Missionaries of Charity's expansion, first throughout India and then in other countries. Her

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

following her death gave her the title "Blessed Teresa of Calcutta". She was the recipient of numerous honours including the 1979

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

. She refused the conventional ceremonial banquet given to laureates, and asked that the $192,000 funds be given to the poor in India. Her awards include the first Pope John XXIII Peace Prize, the Philippines-based Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Pacem in Terris Award, an honorary Companion of the Order of Australia, the Order of Merit from both the United Kingdom and the United States, Albania's Golden Honour of the Nation, honorary degrees, the Balzan Prize, and the Albert Schweitzer International Prize among many others. In late 2003, she was

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

, the third step toward possible

sainthood In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...

. A second

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

credited to Mother Teresa is required before she can be recognised as a saint by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

.Blessed Mother Teresa
. (2007). ''

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''. Retrieved 30 May 2007.

Foundings

After the construction of several subdivisions in the Malvern area in the 1970s, Lester B. Pearson Collegiate Institute, the high school in that area, was opened in 1978. In its conception, on September 3, 1985, a new school in the

area of

was to be named '' Mary Ward''. Then trustee Harold Adams advocated for the new school to be named ''Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School''. Another school was built later, and that received the name

Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School (abbreviated Mary Ward C.S.S., MWCSS, MW, Mary Ward, or simply Ward) is a Catholic secondary school in Toronto Ontario, Canada. It is administered by the Toronto Catholic District School Board, formerly the Me ...

. The ideals of the school's patroness and namesake,

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was ...

, became the inspiration for the school's motto. The school led by George Iantorno the founding principal; consisted of Andy Fedak, its vice principal; secretary Sue Niven-Smith, ten staff (5 male, 5 female), and approximately 150 grade 9 students. The first four years was also known as the “Tin Can” experience because the school resided in relocatables and a port-o-pac located on Invergordon Avenue, close to the then newly opened St. Elizabeth Seton Elementary School and the new expansionist era, which began with year five in 1989-90. A school filled with 650 students left the port-o-pac rooms and soon moved into the new structure of 984 pupils and doubled its enrolment. Mother Teresa's new facility was officially opened and blessed on April 29, 1990. As a result of the beatification, the board changed the school's name to ''Blessed Mother Teresa'' in 2003. Her subsequent canonization and enrollment increase attempt led the board to rebrand the school as ''St. Mother Teresa Catholic Academy'' in October 2016.

Location and community

54 Ethnic minorities are represented in its student population, reflecting the diverse Malvern community that the school serves. SMT stands at the corner of Sewells Road and McLevin Road, off Neilson Road between Sheppard Avenue East and Finch Avenue East. It is beside the Malvern Community and Recreational Centre, which also houses the Malvern Branch of the

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Overview

The facility has unique features such as the large, very attractive, naturally well-lit atrium centerpiece and has the mini quad.

Academics

Courses taught at the school follow the Ontario Curriculum for Grades 9 through 12.

Athletics

St. Mother Teresa has received a brand new track and sports equipment courtesy of

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. This track had brought the community together. The first event celebrated in 2007 was the

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. It was a great success and we were able to raise a grand total of $3000 to help find a cure for cancer. Called the Titans, there are list of sports that are offered at St. Mother Teresa: * Junior Boys Basketball * Girls Basketball * Senior Boys Basketball - 2nd place at the AAAA OFSAA championship in 2005, and 1st at the AAAA OFSAA championship in 2006 * Junior Girls Volleyball * Senior Girls Volleyball * Junior Boys Volleyball * Senior Boys Volleyball * Girls Softball * Boys Softball * Junior Boys Soccer * Senior Boys Soccer * Girls Field Hockey * Badminton * Boys Rugby * Cricket * Table Tennis * Track and Field * Cross Country * Cheerleading * Junior Boys Football * Senior Boys Football

Regional Arts Program

Started in September 2012, St. Mother Teresa introduced a ''Regional Arts Program'' for

. This special program draws students from Malvern, Morningside Heights, Highland Creek, Rouge, and Millken with artistic talents. The program consists of

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile art ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

, dance,

vocal music Vocal music is a type of singing performed by one or more singers, either with instrumental accompaniment, or without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella), in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but d ...

instrumental music An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

. To gain acceptance, students must complete a supplementary application. RAP students enjoy enrichment activities beyond the traditional curriculum and will find themselves challenged artistically. Upon completion of 4 years of study in the RAP, students are prepared to pursue studies in fine arts at the university or college level. They will have opportunities to create and build a well-rounded portfolio of performance arts or visual arts. RAP students at SMT also graduate with a Certificate in Arts Education.

References

External links

St. Mother Teresa Catholic AcademyTCDSB Portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mother Teresa Catholic Academic Toronto Catholic District School Board Educational institutions established in 1985 High schools in Toronto Education in Scarborough, Toronto Catholic secondary schools in Ontario 1985 establishments in Ontario Memorials to Mother Teresa