Turner Fenton Secondary
School is Peel Region's largest high school, located in Brampton,
Ontario
. The principal is Robert Garton. It operates
under the
Peel District
School Board.
Feeder schools include Peel Alternative School North (formerly
IndEC North), Cherrytree Public School, Derry West Village Public
School, Fletcher's Creek Sr. Public School, Helen Wilson Public
School, Hickory Wood Public School, Parkway Public School, Sir
Wilfrid Laurier Public School, William G. Davis Bulldogs Sr. Public
School and Roberta Bondar Public School.
Programs
Turner Fenton is a diverse school, even by
Greater Toronto Area standards, due to
the varied array of programs it offers. At least eleven educational
programs are available:
- English as a Second Language, English Learning Development
- Extended French
- Chef Training Program, dubbed "Recipe for Success", a dedicated
hospitality/chef training program
- Store Front, an alternate work-based program
- Section 23, based out of the Cuthbert House (open Custody
program for young male offenders) and Invictus (closed custody
program for young female offenders, closed fall 2005)
- Grades 11 and 12 Regional Enhanced program (suspended in
2008)
The school also works with the William Osler Campus, a Peel Board
facility for those admitted to hospital for terms longer than 14
days. Turner offers a Learning Strategies Course, and Specific
Learning Disabilities services. A
Regional Enhanced Program program
ran at the school, until the end of the 2004-2005 school year. The
school also offers a number of different beneficial programs,
including an International Baccalaureate Program. Turner Fenton was
the largest high school in Ontario as of 2006.
Sports, Clubs, and Traditions
Turner
Fenton participates in Model UN events, in
2005 representing Cambodia
and Kenya
, and in 2006
representing The United States of America
. In previous years, the school represented
China
, France
, and
Somalia
. Turner Fenton consistently places high among
Ontario schools for fundraising for the Terry Fox Run, although its totals are often
eclipsed by one of its "feeder" schools, W.G.
Davis Senior Public School, which, in 2005, raised over $23,000 from a school
population of just over 550.
Due to its
proximity to the recently constructed Powerade Centre
, the OHL's
Brampton Battalion hockey team
members who have not yet completed high school are assigned to this
school during the hockey season, returning to their home schools
afterwards.
Athletic achievements
The Turner Fenton
cross
country team, has won twelve consecutive
ROPSSAA championships in the "overall team"
division. The badminton team has won a total of four medals in the
2005 season. The girls doubles team has won ROPSSAA gold in 2007
and in 2009 both the girls double and the girls single team won
silver and gold respectively, hence making OFSAA.
The boys Lacrosse team
won the 2006 ROPSSAA championships and went on to appear the OFSAA
finals in St.
Catharines, Ontario
. Also the boys Baseball Team won 2006
ROPSSAA TIER II Championships. During the Late 80's and early 90s,
the Trojan football teams placed well in the Peel Gridiron. The
school's archery team had also performed at high levels in both
ROPSSAA and OFSAA tournaments winning first place on multiple
occasions. The wrestling team also has several ROPSSAA and OFSAA
placings as well as team [overall] ROPSSAA wins. The team recently
won the 2009 ROPSAA team titles (boy girls and overall) as well as
the 2009 OFSAA Championships with the overall and boys title. The
team had 3 gold medals, 1 silver, 1 4th place, and 2 5th place
finishes.
Music
Turner Fenton hosts an annual event, Trojanfest, assembling local
aspiring bands in a one night performance for the school. Providing
an event for aspiring bands, and venue for those who wish to see
the acts, Trojanfest has become a Turner Fenton tradition. Other
traditional events include Bistro Shows (hosted by the IAC) and
Turner's Got Talent. The two events have spawned acts from numerous
students of the school. The Integrated Arts Council also hosts the
annual "Arts Banquet" which features performances from many of the
musical and dramatic acts from around the school. The events are
often held in the North Hall Auditorium or the South Hall
Cafeteria. Students are often enthusiastic about musical events
because it's a good way for them to get out of class.
Culturefest
CultureFest is an annual event held at
Turner
Fenton Secondary School
. The festival is entirely student-run and
comprises live performances, educational booths and workshops, as
well as a marketplace of international foods spread over two days
and one community night. The festival has existed under a number of
names over since its inception and was most recently stylized as
"CultureFest," with a distinctive capitalization of the second
component of the word.
Every year, CultureFest assumes a specific festival theme or focus.
The latest incarnation was the "Five Continents, One Vision." theme
for the 2007 festival, which took place on April 22, 2008 and April
23, 2008. Last year, CultureFest was profiled by several prominent
media agencies, including the
CBC, the Brampton
Guardian, and Rogers Cable.A videorecording of CultureFest 2007 is
available
here.
Legal Complaints
In January 2009, a parent complained that her child was not being
educated to the provincial standard and was not being challenged to
the best of her abilities. The student, who was placed in the
school's applied program, felt that she deserved to be in the
academic program of the school. However, she was denied acceptance
after repeated failure. The parent filed a case, however the matter
was lost.
Conferences
Each year, students and staff collaborate to plan leadership and
skills development conferences. Noted conferences include the
annual START (Students: The Active Risk Takers) and SOAR
(Suddenly/Student Opportunities are Reachable) leadership
conferences for high school and middle school students
respectively. Additionally, the school hosts the International
Baccalaureate Mentorship Conference (IBMC), intended to introduce
new Grade 9 Middle Years Programme students to the high school
atmosphere. TFSS students are also noted for high involvement in
the
Peel Student
Presidents' Council, whether students are on the council itself
or take part in their yearly conference.
Turner Fenton Robotics Team
Turner Fenton's active robotics team has participated in Canada and
US
FIRST competitions.
- 2001 - 17th place
- 2002 - 1st place, winner of the last SPAR Aerospace Award.
- 2003 - 13th place out of 26 teams, disqualified due to rule
violation
- 2004 - 4th place out of 75 teams at US First Robotics,
eliminated in the quarter finals
- 2009 - 2nd place in Ontario and winner of Most Innovative
Design in the US FIRST Tech Challenge. Lost out on first place by
not powering on the robot in the final.
History
Turner Fenton Secondary School is composed of two buildings, dubbed
North Hall and South Hall. Until 1992, the two buildings were each
schools in their own right, the North being J. A. Turner SS, and
the South being W. J. Fenton SS. W. J. Fenton was the first of the
two to open in 1972, built by
Val Mitchell Construction.
C.A. Smith
built J. A. Turner Secondary in 1974. Both buildings were designed
by architect
Don E.
Skinner Thughliphe.
The rooms of the "new" North Hall are numbered 100s and 200s on the
first floor and second floor, respectively; the South Hall rooms
are numbered 300s on the first floor and 400s on the second floor.
The portables are 500s. Each faculty department generally has its
own section of the school. English, Math, Science, Business/Tech,
the Library and Main Administration are in the North building.
History, Moderns (French and other language studies), Geography,
Arts (Dramatic, Visual, Digital, Culinary and Cosmetic). Some
exceptions do apply however: Music classes are located in the North
Hall although part of an integrated Arts department. Similarly,
Biology classes are in the South Building. Administrative offices
are split between the two buildings, with certain Vice Principals
and Guidance Counsellors located specifically in the South hall.
The school also has two cafeterias, the North Hall cafeteria being
the larger of the two. The South Hall cafeteria is less popular,
but provides a different atmosphere for students. Additionally, as
the South Hall was equipped to serve Culinary arts teaching, the
cafeteria in the South Hall allows students to make/serve
food.
Following the merger of the schools in 1992, the school was
referred to officially on its main outdoor signage as 'Turner
Fenton Secondary School,' however had also adopted a secondary
brand name 'Turner Fenton Campus' used on school letterhead. In the
early-2000s, the school board forced Turner Fenton to standardise
its name, because the school had not filed the proper forms upon
its creation in 1992.
Some other changes were also made to the already large school. On
September 2007, construction workers had fenced off an area between
north hall and south hall to extend the school. Construction was
coming to an end by the end of the 2007-2008 school year and on
September 2, the new section was opened to all staff and students.
The school now has new lab rooms and English classrooms. As well,
math teachers were upgraded to a newer and much larger office to
accommodate all the teachers. The newer division also came with two
new staircases and a beautiful large window from one of the
staircases that looks onto the parking lot. In addition, trees and
plants were also added to the parking lot and the side of the
school to make it more appealing. This makes the school larger than
before and almost impossible to see all your friends on your walk
to class.
Radio Station
J.A. Turner Secondary School (present-day North Hall) previously
housed a radio station in the projection room near the cafeteria.
The room contained various alternative rock demo CDs and tapes,
some of which were marked with the call letters
CFNY-FM, which refer to Toronto's Edge 102 radio
station.
In the 1980s the radio station was called RAT, Radio Active Turner.
The play list was primarily alternative, sharing many songs with
CFNY. There are frequent concerns within the faculty over the
lyrics.
References
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