Piccadilly Central High School - Home of The Pirates
Piccadilly Central High School opened its doors to students on the Port au Port Peninsula in September 1998. The establishment of Piccadilly Central High resulted from the amalgamation of students who formerly attended Bishop O'Reilly High School of Port au Port West, Notre Dame du Cap of Cape St. George, and Our Lady of Lourdes High School of Lourdes.
September 1999 saw continued renovations to the existing building (formerly St. Jean Vianney Elementary School), and the completed construction gave us a true High School image and identity.
SCHOOL HISTORY
While Piccadilly Central High School is a relatively new structure and thus a short history, only having been completed in 1998 it is nevertheless the result of a long and fascinating development of a unique, lively multicultural community on the Port au Port Peninsula on Newfoundland’s south-west coast.
As with almost every community in Newfoundland and Labrador early education was community-based and in most instances the responsibility of religious organizations. Public education in this area only dates from about 1880. This late starting date, when considered in relation to the long history of our province, is a direct result of the rights afforded French fishermen to the ‘French Shore' under the Treaties of Utrecht and Versailles. The French Shore included the Port au Port Peninsula. Exercising of these rights discouraged any form of settlement or community organization throughout the area.
Cape St. George
Cape St. George, located at the extreme southwest corner of the Peninsula , was predominantly a French-speaking community. Education here, as in most parts of Newfoundland, began with the one- room school with each community in the parish (Cape St. George, Degrau, Red Brook, Sheaves Cove and Marche's Point) having its own. By the middle of the 20th century high school attendance was required for all students so St. Michael's High School was created in Degrau to serve their needs. This institution remained in use until the early 1960s. In 1961 - 62, Rev. K. Ryan, P.P., began the construction of a new high school at Cape St. George and in 1962, Our Lady of the Cape High School was completed. The Presentation Order of Sisters then entered the parish to teach in the new facility. Soon after Our Lady of the Cape Elementary School was constructed and students were bused to these central schools from the outlying communities.
With the improvement of educational facilities in the area, and the move toward multiculturalism in Canada, Cape St. George sought to promote the retention of the French culture and language which had been brought the area by the residents’ ancestors. With this focus, French Immersion was introduced in the Primary School in 1974 and in the early 1980s French first-language schooling was provided. In recent years the French first-language students moved to Ecole St. Anne, Mainland, for their high school programs and in 1998, due to the declining enrollment, the senior students studying in English moved to the new central high school at Piccadilly.
Lourdes
Church and school have been inextricably linked in the growth of education in this community located in the western part of the peninsula. In 1894 the first school in the area was located at Black Duck Brook. This was soon followed by the construction of a church and parish hall in Lourdes under the guidance of Rev. P.A. Pineault P.P. (1912 - 1928). These buildings also served as schools until a three-room school was built a short time later. Lourdes thus became the center for educational instruction of children and adults in the area. Our Lady of Lourdes Parish was the first to request the presence of teaching sisters for their schools. This hope never materialized, however, but lay teachers faithfully practiced and nurtured the Catholic faith while providing rudimentary instruction. The 4 R' (reading, writing, arithmetic, and religion) comprised the core curriculum. In 1944 Lourdes became a center where students gathered to write the CHE (Public) Examination (Grade IX) which established Lourdes as the official site of the high school in the area. The school soon earned a province-wide reputation for academic excellence.
From 1940 to 1960, the school in Lourdes remained an all-grade school. However, by the 1950s one- and two-room schools were well established in the seven parish ‘missions' in the region In the early 1960s centralization of educational facilities took place to provide students access to an expanded curriculum. Students from the parish schools were bused to Lourdes. The broadening of the curriculum to meet the needs of a burgeoning student population necessitated the construction of a new school building. On the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, 1975, students and teachers moved from the parish hall school to the new high school. It provided space and equipment for the introduction of the reorganized high school program in the early 1980s. However, with declining enrolments in the late 1980s Our Lady of Lourdes like the other high schools on the Peninsula, was forced to close its doors to students of Grades nine through twelve in 1998.. After some renovations were made to the building Our Lady of Lourdes now houses the elementary and primary students of the Lourdes and Piccadilly areas.
Port Au Port
Formal government-funded education in Port au Port dates from 1880, with the opening of the first one-room school in Berry Head (Port au Port East). This was quickly followed by the erection of one-room Catholic schools at Bellman's Cove, Goose Pond, Campbell's Creek and Fox Island River. In addition, Anglican schools were located at the Gravels and Boswarlos.
The first educational institution not created by a religious denomination was the "Quarry School" erected at Aguathuna in 1923 by the Dominion Steel Company, owners of the limestone quarry nearby. Initially, admission was limited to the children of upper and middle managers and elite community members, but as the years passed and enrollments declined children of lower level employees were accepted. While the funds for the "Quarry School" came from the company it was run as a Catholic school. Catholic teachers were hired and the Roman Catholic catechism was taught. The teachers hired were considered more ‘qualified' than the teachers in the one- room schools of the area because the company offered a handsome bonus and made available office work for the teachers in their off hours, thus financial remuneration was significantly higher than that offered by the government. An interesting and significant fact was that the company hired only East Coast men to teach in its school, which was very different from the female-dominated staffs at the church-run schools.
In 1944, Rev. Father Greene was appointed parish priest in Port au Port. Within a year he had inspired a new two-room school in Berry Head and had enlarged and improved the one at Port au Port. By 1950 he was successful in having the Presentation Sisters establish their twentieth convent in Port au Port with a school. With their reputation for good teaching, order and discipline, the two schools quickly lured students from the surrounding schools, including the "Quarry School". So great was the influx of students into the Convent school that by 1954 the population had outgrown the building. Father Greene then made plans for the construction of a new school, Holy Cross, which opened in 1955. His plans included the introduction of school busing, the first in Newfoundland. With the introduction of centralized education on the Peninsula the small one-room schools vanished. The population of the new school was nearly three hundred. With the establishment of the new Maria Regina Parish in Berry Head, a new school, St. Thomas Aquinas, was quickly constructed followed by an expansion which became Maria Regina High School. The Presentation Sisters established a convent in 1958 and taught students from Kindergarten to Grade eleven. By 1958, Holy Cross School was unable to house the nearly four hundred students and consequently the former priest's residence was expanded to accommodate students in the new Father Joy Memorial High School.
By the early 1970s the school system at Port au Port, now under the auspices of the Cormack Trail School Board, a broad administrative body serving the Port au Port - Stephenville area. With declining enrollments and the need to offer a much broader high school program it came under immense pressure to seek change . In response to this pressure Bishop O'Reilly High School was opened in 1975 to serve those students who would have attended Maria Regina High School, Father Joy Memorial High School, and Our Lady of Fatima High School (Piccadilly). As student numbers continued to decline Holy Cross Elementary in Port au Port was closed and its students reassigned to St. Thomas Aquinas. Bishop O'Reilly High School was to follow when, in 1998, the students from the Port au Port Peninsula were reassigned to the new Piccadilly Central High and those from Port au Port East were reassigned to the new Stephenville High School.
Port Au Port Peninsula
The Cormack Trail School Board, commissioned a comprehensive study of education on the Peninsula under the direction of noted educator Dr. Bob Richards. His report contained several options, but the preferred option was a centralized high school for the area. To accomplish this Richards suggested that the elementary school, St. Jean Vianney at Piccadilly, near the geographic centre of the peninsula, be renovated to become the high school with Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of the Cape, and St. Thomas Aquinas as the feeder schools. This option was presented and accepted by the parents, the students and the community. Peninsula High opened in September 1998 and shortly thereafter selected a name which reflected its location and character - Piccadilly Central High School. Our school crest represents the three school communities that have come together around the flame of knowledge, the knowledge that conquers all. The three large triangles represent the school communities, while the three inner triangles represent the different pathways through which students seek knowledge.
Piccadilly Central High School opened its doors to students on the Port au Port Peninsula in September 1998. The establishment of Piccadilly Central High resulted from the amalgamation of students who formerly attended Bishop O'Reilly High School of Port au Port West, Notre Dame du Cap of Cape St. George, and Our Lady of Lourdes High School of Lourdes.
September 1999 saw continued renovations to the existing building (formerly St. Jean Vianney Elementary School), and the completed construction gave us a true High School image and identity.
SCHOOL HISTORY
While Piccadilly Central High School is a relatively new structure and thus a short history, only having been completed in 1998 it is nevertheless the result of a long and fascinating development of a unique, lively multicultural community on the Port au Port Peninsula on Newfoundland’s south-west coast.
As with almost every community in Newfoundland and Labrador early education was community-based and in most instances the responsibility of religious organizations. Public education in this area only dates from about 1880. This late starting date, when considered in relation to the long history of our province, is a direct result of the rights afforded French fishermen to the ‘French Shore' under the Treaties of Utrecht and Versailles. The French Shore included the Port au Port Peninsula. Exercising of these rights discouraged any form of settlement or community organization throughout the area.
Cape St. George
Cape St. George, located at the extreme southwest corner of the Peninsula , was predominantly a French-speaking community. Education here, as in most parts of Newfoundland, began with the one- room school with each community in the parish (Cape St. George, Degrau, Red Brook, Sheaves Cove and Marche's Point) having its own. By the middle of the 20th century high school attendance was required for all students so St. Michael's High School was created in Degrau to serve their needs. This institution remained in use until the early 1960s. In 1961 - 62, Rev. K. Ryan, P.P., began the construction of a new high school at Cape St. George and in 1962, Our Lady of the Cape High School was completed. The Presentation Order of Sisters then entered the parish to teach in the new facility. Soon after Our Lady of the Cape Elementary School was constructed and students were bused to these central schools from the outlying communities.
With the improvement of educational facilities in the area, and the move toward multiculturalism in Canada, Cape St. George sought to promote the retention of the French culture and language which had been brought the area by the residents’ ancestors. With this focus, French Immersion was introduced in the Primary School in 1974 and in the early 1980s French first-language schooling was provided. In recent years the French first-language students moved to Ecole St. Anne, Mainland, for their high school programs and in 1998, due to the declining enrollment, the senior students studying in English moved to the new central high school at Piccadilly.
Lourdes
Church and school have been inextricably linked in the growth of education in this community located in the western part of the peninsula. In 1894 the first school in the area was located at Black Duck Brook. This was soon followed by the construction of a church and parish hall in Lourdes under the guidance of Rev. P.A. Pineault P.P. (1912 - 1928). These buildings also served as schools until a three-room school was built a short time later. Lourdes thus became the center for educational instruction of children and adults in the area. Our Lady of Lourdes Parish was the first to request the presence of teaching sisters for their schools. This hope never materialized, however, but lay teachers faithfully practiced and nurtured the Catholic faith while providing rudimentary instruction. The 4 R' (reading, writing, arithmetic, and religion) comprised the core curriculum. In 1944 Lourdes became a center where students gathered to write the CHE (Public) Examination (Grade IX) which established Lourdes as the official site of the high school in the area. The school soon earned a province-wide reputation for academic excellence.
From 1940 to 1960, the school in Lourdes remained an all-grade school. However, by the 1950s one- and two-room schools were well established in the seven parish ‘missions' in the region In the early 1960s centralization of educational facilities took place to provide students access to an expanded curriculum. Students from the parish schools were bused to Lourdes. The broadening of the curriculum to meet the needs of a burgeoning student population necessitated the construction of a new school building. On the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, 1975, students and teachers moved from the parish hall school to the new high school. It provided space and equipment for the introduction of the reorganized high school program in the early 1980s. However, with declining enrolments in the late 1980s Our Lady of Lourdes like the other high schools on the Peninsula, was forced to close its doors to students of Grades nine through twelve in 1998.. After some renovations were made to the building Our Lady of Lourdes now houses the elementary and primary students of the Lourdes and Piccadilly areas.
Port Au Port
Formal government-funded education in Port au Port dates from 1880, with the opening of the first one-room school in Berry Head (Port au Port East). This was quickly followed by the erection of one-room Catholic schools at Bellman's Cove, Goose Pond, Campbell's Creek and Fox Island River. In addition, Anglican schools were located at the Gravels and Boswarlos.
The first educational institution not created by a religious denomination was the "Quarry School" erected at Aguathuna in 1923 by the Dominion Steel Company, owners of the limestone quarry nearby. Initially, admission was limited to the children of upper and middle managers and elite community members, but as the years passed and enrollments declined children of lower level employees were accepted. While the funds for the "Quarry School" came from the company it was run as a Catholic school. Catholic teachers were hired and the Roman Catholic catechism was taught. The teachers hired were considered more ‘qualified' than the teachers in the one- room schools of the area because the company offered a handsome bonus and made available office work for the teachers in their off hours, thus financial remuneration was significantly higher than that offered by the government. An interesting and significant fact was that the company hired only East Coast men to teach in its school, which was very different from the female-dominated staffs at the church-run schools.
In 1944, Rev. Father Greene was appointed parish priest in Port au Port. Within a year he had inspired a new two-room school in Berry Head and had enlarged and improved the one at Port au Port. By 1950 he was successful in having the Presentation Sisters establish their twentieth convent in Port au Port with a school. With their reputation for good teaching, order and discipline, the two schools quickly lured students from the surrounding schools, including the "Quarry School". So great was the influx of students into the Convent school that by 1954 the population had outgrown the building. Father Greene then made plans for the construction of a new school, Holy Cross, which opened in 1955. His plans included the introduction of school busing, the first in Newfoundland. With the introduction of centralized education on the Peninsula the small one-room schools vanished. The population of the new school was nearly three hundred. With the establishment of the new Maria Regina Parish in Berry Head, a new school, St. Thomas Aquinas, was quickly constructed followed by an expansion which became Maria Regina High School. The Presentation Sisters established a convent in 1958 and taught students from Kindergarten to Grade eleven. By 1958, Holy Cross School was unable to house the nearly four hundred students and consequently the former priest's residence was expanded to accommodate students in the new Father Joy Memorial High School.
By the early 1970s the school system at Port au Port, now under the auspices of the Cormack Trail School Board, a broad administrative body serving the Port au Port - Stephenville area. With declining enrollments and the need to offer a much broader high school program it came under immense pressure to seek change . In response to this pressure Bishop O'Reilly High School was opened in 1975 to serve those students who would have attended Maria Regina High School, Father Joy Memorial High School, and Our Lady of Fatima High School (Piccadilly). As student numbers continued to decline Holy Cross Elementary in Port au Port was closed and its students reassigned to St. Thomas Aquinas. Bishop O'Reilly High School was to follow when, in 1998, the students from the Port au Port Peninsula were reassigned to the new Piccadilly Central High and those from Port au Port East were reassigned to the new Stephenville High School.
Port Au Port Peninsula
The Cormack Trail School Board, commissioned a comprehensive study of education on the Peninsula under the direction of noted educator Dr. Bob Richards. His report contained several options, but the preferred option was a centralized high school for the area. To accomplish this Richards suggested that the elementary school, St. Jean Vianney at Piccadilly, near the geographic centre of the peninsula, be renovated to become the high school with Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of the Cape, and St. Thomas Aquinas as the feeder schools. This option was presented and accepted by the parents, the students and the community. Peninsula High opened in September 1998 and shortly thereafter selected a name which reflected its location and character - Piccadilly Central High School. Our school crest represents the three school communities that have come together around the flame of knowledge, the knowledge that conquers all. The three large triangles represent the school communities, while the three inner triangles represent the different pathways through which students seek knowledge.