History

Spreading Our Roots in the Community: School Openings 1855 to 2015

1855
St. Mary's Barrie

 1957
St. Bernard's, Orillia		 1990
Holy Family, Alliston 
1857
St. James, Colgan 		 1959
St. John's, Waubaushene
(Closed in 1999)
St. Monica's, Barrie

 1992
Prince of Peace, CFB Borden
(Merged with Our Lady of Grace)
1879
Guardian Angels, Orillia
(Closed in 2012)		 1960
St. Paul's, Alliston		 1993
St. Marguerite d"Youville, Barrie
St. Francis of Assisi, Innisfil
Saint Mary, Huntsville
1884
Foley, Brechin 		 1961
Our Lady of the Assumption, New Lowell
(Merged with Our Lady of Grace)
Our Lady of Grace, Angus
St. Charles, Bradford

 1994
Notre Dame, Orillia
1907
St. Mary's, Collingwood 

 1963
Our Lady of Lourdes, Elmvale 		 1995
St. Nicholas, Barrie
St. Dominic Secondary School, Bracebridge
1928
Sacred Heart, Midland 

 1965
Monsignor Lee, Orillia                         
 1996
St. Peter's Secondary School, Barrie
1930
Monsignor Castex, Midland

 1976
Monsignor Clair, Barrie 		 1998
The Good Shepherd, Barrie
Mother Teresa, Bradford
(re-named St. Teresa of Calcutta)
St. Antoine Daniel, Victoria Harbour
1946 
Our Lady of Mercy, Honey Harbour
(Closed in 2017)
St. Joseph's High School, Barrie

 1980
St. Ann's, Penetanguishene		 1999
St. Michael the Archangel, Barrie
Holy Cross, Innisfil
1947
St. Margaret's Continuation School, Midland
(Closed)

 1983
Father F.X O'Reilly, Tottenham		 2000
St. Catherine of Siena, Barrie
St. Bernadette, Barrie
Canadian Martyrs, Penetanguishene
St. Noel Chabanel, Wasaga Beach
1951
St. Mary's, Victoria Harbour
(Closed in 1999)
Marie of the Incarnation, Bradford

 1984
Holy Trinity High School, Bradford  
Jean Vanier High School, Collingwood
Patrick Fogarty Secondary School, Orillia
St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Tottenham

 2001
St. Joan of Arc High School, Barrie
Monsignor J.E. Ronan, Beeton
1952
St. Patrick's, Phelpston
(Closed in 2001 and merged with
Our Lady of Lourdes)

 1985
Pope John Paul II, Barrie		 2003
Sister Catherine Donnelly, Barrie
1956
St. John Vianney, Barrie
St. Theresa's High School, Midland

 1987
Monsignor Michael O'Leary, Bracebridge
St. Jean de Brebeuf, Bradford 

 2008
Saint Gabriel the Archangel, Barrie
  1988
St. Peter the Apostle, Parry Sound		 2015
St. Angela Merici, Bradford

 

A Bit About Our Past...

The current Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board came into being in January 1998 as a result of provincial legislation. Our new name, replacing The Simcoe County Roman Catholic Separate School Board created in 1969, did not alter the Board’s underlying commitment to quality Catholic education.

Since an amalgamation of 17 smaller boards into one in 1969, the Board has continued to expand its boundaries. Our borders were once again expanded in 1998, so that we now include the area from Highway 9 in the south to Huntsville in the north, and from Collingwood in the west to Brechin on the east side of Lake Simcoe. Even before the past amalgamations of smaller boards, Catholic education had a strong presence in this expansive community. A number of our schools opened in the 1800s. Since that time, there have been many others built to serve our vibrant Catholic community. 

The generosity of religious orders was instrumental in providing Catholic teaching in our early schools. The Grey Nuns of Pembroke, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peterborough and Toronto,Ursuline Sisters of Chatham, Les soeurs de la Sainte Croix, and Les frères du Sacre Coeur were pioneers in our early history, and donated their salaries back into the schools. They remain symbols of the tradition of Catholicity which we carry forward with us today.

Through the lobbying to extend government funding to high schools, which began in the late 1800s, Catholics in our county took a leadership role. The Township of Tiny launched a legal challenge now known as “Tiny vs The King” in 1925 in an attempt to gain funding under the terms of the British North American Act.This challenge went to the highest court of appeal in the British Empire. Although it was unsuccessful at that time, it was inspirational to those who continued the crusade until full funding was finally extended to Grades 11, 12 and 13 in 1984.

Back in September 1969, the student population of our Board was 5,883. Ten years later, in 1979, as enrollment in other Boards declined, the student population remained virtually unchanged. It wasn’t until the Board moved into the 1980's,that it began to experience rapid growth and expansion. By 1989, there had been a 52% growth in the school population in just a four year period. In the early 1990's, Simcoe County was recognized as one of the most rapidly growing jurisdictions in the province. Today, this growth is beginning to stabilize and our current student population is approximately 21,000.

Over the years, the Board managed to accommodate the population growth by building many new schools in the communities it served. Extending classes from the Junior Kindergarten level through to Grade 13 was a significant milestone in our development. The Board was a provincial leader in the evolution of governance for its French language schools. We also have a history of leadership in introducing new programs into the classroom such as Special Education, Catholic Family Life Education, and Reading Recovery.