St. Peter Catholic High School

St. Peter Catholic High School is a Catholic high school located in the Ottawa, Canada suburb of Orleans.   The current principal is Deborah Kealey.   The school includes grades 7–12 and also a preschool/daycare service.  It currently enrolls around 1900 students, and has 420 staff members.  The average class size is 24 and the school has approximately 300 students in every grade. 

Academic program

St. Peter Catholic High School's academic programs include religious and family life education courses taught at all grade levels, English, health and physical education, the arts, history, geography, mathematics, science, business, and technology.  It also has a French-as-second-language program offering core and immersion.  Science programs include Biology, Physics, Phrenology, Chemistry and Environmental Studies.  Arts offered throughout the grades 9–12 include dramatic arts, visual arts (including photography), music (including instrumental and guitar) and sacred dance.  St. Peter is also suited for special needs and cooperative education.  Courses are offered at the Open, Applied, Polish, and some Academic levels. 

Sports

Grades 7-12 are all offered over 69 sports:
 Grade 7-8 boys'/girls' basketball, soccer, cross-country, volleyball, badminton, Quidditch, hockey
 Junior: boys' football, girls' basketball, field hockey, St. Peter Rugby
 Senior: boys' football, soccer, volleyball, senior rugby
 Girls' basketball, varsity girls' ice hockey
 Track and field, badminton, boys' ice hockey, golf, alpine skiing, rugby union and ultimate frisbee
 Girls'/boys' junior/intermediate Quidditch team

In 2005–2006, the Knights won city championships in junior boys' football, senior boys' football, senior girls' basketball, junior boys' soccer, senior boys' rugby and golf.  Many of these teams repeated as champions in 2006–2007, which is well over ten years ago.   Notable football alumni include:

Eli Ankou – NFL football, D-line (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Matt Cook - CIS football, D-line (Acadia)
Sean DeCloux – NCAA football, place kicker and punter (Maine Black Bears)
Jaylen King - CIS football, running back (Acadia)
Nick Lecour - CIS football, middle linebacker (uOttawa)
Jacob Molinski - CIS football, tight end (McMaster)
Tyrone Pierre - CIS football, wide receiver (Laval)
Cody Ceci - NHL defenceman (Ottawa Senators)
Alan Quine - NHL forward (Calgary Flames)
Lauren Hughes - NCAA soccer (Rice University)
Alexander Lawrie - CIS Football, Quarterback (Acadia)
Zakariya Karim - CIS Football, Receiver (StFX) 

St Peter's main sports rival is St. Matthew High School, which has an excellent recruiting program. 

School layout 
St. Peter is a large three-story school.  The school has two gymnasiums (one also used as a cafeteria and a gymnasium) and a chapel.  A large, three-story extension was built onto the school in late 2004.  On the grounds, there are 13 portable classrooms for school use. 

Annual events
St Pete's puts on two different plays every year, one by the grade 7 and 8 students and the other by the high school students.  The high school's performance is often a musical.  The high school musical is led by drama/music teacher Bernie Leger, who in 2012 won the Diamond Jubilee award for excellence and dedication in teaching.  Past plays include Grease (2008), Beauty and the Beast (2009), Little Shop of Horrors (2010), Phantom of the Opera (2011), West Side Story (2012), Footloose (2013), Shrek: The Musical (2014), and Tarzan: The Stage Musical (2015).  Tarzan was Leger's 20th play at the school.  The plays always include several dance numbers with careful choreography, and have strong chorus singers.  Some sets are made and painted by the school's art students Performances are held during the last weekend of February, usually from Wednesday to Saturday. 

St. Peter's show choir (Treble Threat) also used to perform annually at the local "choir fest," a gathering of numerous Christian choirs to sing and celebrate the Christmas season.  The St Pete's choir is cherished for its dedication and youthfulness, and is often given a standing ovation.  The choir also has many other annual events, formerly including the Show Choir Canada Competition held at the Sony Center in Toronto.  In 2012, St Pete's performed and won a national bronze medal, only losing to choirs from two of the audition-based performing art schools located in Toronto. 

For four years, up to 2017, in June, the St. Peter's Grade 12 graduating class had their commencement at the Ottawa Convention Centre (Shaw Centre).  Since then, the ceremonies have been held at the EY Centre, a purpose built convention centre. 

Notable alumni 

Eli Ankou – NFL player
Charron (rapper)
Cody Ceci – NHL hockey player
Keshia Chanté – singer
Kira Isabella – singer
Jonathan Matsumoto – NHL hockey player
Anthony Stewart – NHL hockey player

See also
List of high schools in Ontario
Ottawa Carleton Catholic School Board

References

150 years of Catholic Education in Ottawa-Carleton 1856-2006, Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board, 2006

External links
 OCCSB site
 St. Peter High's official website

Category:Catholic secondary schools in Ontario
Category:High schools in Ottawa
Category:Educational institutions established in 1992
Category:1992 establishments in Ontario
Category:Middle schools in Ottawa