Lord Dorchester Secondary School is a

Thames Valley District School Board The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB; known as English-language Public District School Board No. 11 prior to 1999) is a public school board in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It was created on January 1, 1998, by the amalgamation of the E ...

Secondary School located in the town of

Dorchester, Ontario Dorchester is a town in Ontario whose name first applied to the township and honours Sir Guy Carleton, Lord Dorchester (1724-1808). The name was changed from Dorchester Station on May 3, 1961. Dorchester is the residential and commercial core of t ...

, part of the municipality of

Thames Centre Thames Centre is a municipality in Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada, directly east of the City of London. It was formed on January 1, 2001, when the townships of West Nissouri and North Dorchester were amalgamated. It is part of the London censu ...

, in the county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, in

Ontario, Canada Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. Although small when compared to urban secondary schools, Lord Dorchester is larger than many rural-area schools. The student population hovers in the range of 500 students. Lord Dorchester is a strong academic school (based on provincial test scores), but also offers a range of non-academic courses such as shop classes to go along with core subjects in mathematics, sciences, and the arts. Lord Dorchester lacks sports teams which can draw students away from the school. The mascot of Lord Dorchester is the

Canadian beaver The North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') is one of two extant beaver species, along with the Eurasian beaver (''Castor fiber''). It is native to North America and introduced in South America (Patagonia) and Europe (primarily Finland ...

The school

Lord Dorchester Secondary School was constructed in 1961 and is named for

Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester (3 September 1724 – 10 November 1808), known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and administrator. He twice served as Governor of the Province of Quebec, from 1768 to 177 ...

. The current school grounds include a two-story school building with an attached cafeteria and a gymnasium, two auxiliary storage buildings, and a very large open field that accommodates school sports as well as community recreation. Throughout the years, the school has undergone a series of renovations and upgrades. In the early 1990s, a state-of-the-art music room was built as an addition to the school. Over the summer of 2007 asbestos was removed and windows and exterior doors were upgraded. In the Spring of 2015 the library/learning commons was upgraded for a more student-friendly research environment. Most classrooms in the school have newer desks, computers (laptops, tablets and Chromebooks) data projectors and Smart Boards. Only one wing of the school is air conditioned. The school is surrounded by residential areas centrally located in the town of Dorchester, where a large percentage of the staff and students reside. Other students are bused in from surrounding communities such as Putnam, and Thorndale.

Academics

LDSS is regarded as a strong community based school that repeatedly scores above average in London area, provincial and national tests in math and literacy. Despite declining enrollment, the school offers a full academic program at par with most larger schools. There are a full range of academic and applied courses at all grade levels. The school has locally developed courses and extensive access to on-line/e-learning. LDSS also has a High Skills Majors program in Physical Education. Lord Dorchester also offers extensive and diverse co-op programs for students. Some students do medical research in labs at local London hospitals, while others work at local businesses developing skills for successful employment. Each year, a few students take Advanced Placement Exams, which offer them a chance to earn university credits in high school. Other students take advantage of attending community college (e.g. Fanshawe College and Lambton College) one day per week, in a program where they can earn college credits. Students keen on taking open programs, particularly in the arts, can transfer to other schools such as H.B. Beal Secondary School.

Manufacturing and computer technology

The back of the school is home to an expansive technology wing with several large classrooms dedicated manufacturing and computer technology. On the main floor of the technology wing there are classrooms for automotive and engine repair, tool and die manufacturing, electronics, robotics and woodworking and cabinetry. On the upper floor there are computer labs which offer classes in accounting and business, programming and design, and keyboarding.

Sports and athletics

Lord Dorchester has a large number of extracurricular sports and athletic programs. The school competes in the 'A' class under the Thames Valley Regional Athletic Association (TVRAA), the Western Ontario Secondary Schools Athletic Association (WOSSAA), and provincially under the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA).WOSSA School Classification
/ref> Most teams are run by faculty staff. Boys' and girls' teams participate in

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, and

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

. The track and field team is a source of pride for the school due to recent successes at OFSAA (2nd Girls Team Overall in the 2014 Championships, 3rd 2016, 4 × 400 m Champions in 2014 and 2016) and WOSSAA (Girls Overall Champions in 2015 and 2016). In the earlier years, Lord Dorchester Secondary School had a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team, although it is now defunct. Attempts to bring football, rugby, and swimming back to LDSS will depend on LDSS having more students. The school's sports facilities include a gymnasium with a retractable partition, and a large outdoor green field with a non-regulation baseball diamond, a 400m oval gravel track, pole vault and long jump pits, a soccer field, as well as several miniature soccer pitches for young children in the community. The school's gymnasium can easily be configured into basketball, volleyball, and badminton courts. Some teams also use the local arena and arena gym for practices and games. A weight room was a recent addition to the school's sports facilities and students can obtain a membership for a small fee. Th
Run to the Fair
is a local 5k road race with the proceeds from the race go to support efforts like the fundraising for the weight room.

Music, drama, clubs and community involvement

In any given year, the school runs many clubs. These include the Yearbook, Robotics Team,

Reach For The Top ''Reach for the Top'' (also known simply as ''Reach'') is a Canadian academic quiz competition for high school students. In the past, it has also been a game show nationally broadcast on the CBC. Matches are currently aired online through Reach ...

, and the Safe Schools Committee. In recent years, clubs have developed that support natural disaster relief, the environment and diversity. In the past few years, Lord Dorchester has hosted and organized a "Relay for Life" campaign that has raised over $100,000 for cancer research. The organizing committee is primarily students who manage and fundraise for the community event that draws hundreds of participants. Prior to most holiday seasons, students and staff participate in many efforts to make the times better for local citizens in need. One event is the "Scrooge Campaign", which involves students and staff collecting food donations from Thames Centre residents before Christmas. Lord Dorchester has a strong music program that performs concerts for the community and for assessment. The choir and bands play at school events during the year and participate in Variety Is (a local TVDSB gala). Throughout the past decade, the Lord Dorchester Senior Concert Band has had extremely good success in the

Kiwanis Music Festival The Kiwanis Music Festival movement consists of regional music competitions. These festivals are named after the Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in In ...

. The ensemble has captured several division titles. The school has an active and energetic Drama Club. In the past few years, the club has performed two shows per year.

Notable alumni

Charlie Stephens Charles Stephens (born April 5, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward currently playing with the senior men's club, the Elora Rocks, who compete in the Western Ontario Super Hockey League (WOSHL). Playing career Stephens was ...

– Professional hockey *

Glen Weir Glen Weir (born July 23, 1951) was a star defensive lineman for the Montreal Alouettes/Montreal Concordes in the Canadian Football League. Weir was born in London, Ontario, and played his amateur football with the London Lords intermediate league ...

– CFL football * Elaine Goble – Canadian visual artist *

Evelyn Hart Evelyn Anne Hart (born April 4, 1956) is a Canadian ballerina and former principal dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Life and career Born in Toronto, Ontario, Hart studied dance at the Dorothy Carter School of Dance in London, Ontario, Cana ...

– Royal Winnipeg Ballet *

Boone Jenner Boone Robert Kenneth Jenner (born June 15, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Jenner was selected by Columbus in the second round, 37th overall, of the ...

– Columbus Blue Jackets * Chris Robinson – San Diego Padres, Canadian Olympic Team

References

{{TVDSB Secondary Educational institutions established in 1961 High schools in Middlesex County, Ontario 1961 establishments in Ontario