Father Michael Goetz Secondary School

Father Michael Goetz Secondary School (sometimes referred to as Goetz or abbreviated as FMG) is a Catholic school located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Founded by Ed King, it was established in 1987 (in its original location on Hollymount Drive) and in 1990 moved to the south of the city centre. The school was named after King's friend, Father Michael Goetz.^[2]

Students

The school has one of the highest populations of English-as-a-second-language students in the school district.^[3]

Academics

Students go through four years of schooling and the school offers a range of subjects at different levels of difficulty.^[3]

The curriculum includes 13 areas of study for the 2007-08 school year in the arts, business, languages, science and technology.^[4] The school offers 'technological education' in subjects including photography and animation, construction and transportation technology, personal services and hospitality, computer and information science, computer engineering and technological design.^[3]

Spiritual development

Before the start of school each day, morning prayer is conducted in the school chapel. Masses are held on special days at the Christ the King Church and in the school cafeteria or gym. The special days are the opening of the school year, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Easter and the closing of the school year. Opportunities are also given to the students for public prayer, reconciliation, retreats and alms giving.^[3]

2007 Censorship row

In January 2007 a row broke out when the award-winning novel Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson was pulled from library shelves and classrooms, despite being used in the Grade 11 curriculum, after one parent objected that it contained sexually explicit text. The context in question contains a few explicit passages, including a married couple's first sexual encounter, as well as sexual relations between two youths. According to the Mississauga News, "a representative of Random House in Canada said the company hadn't heard any complaints about the book this side of the border. In the U.S., though, it has been the subject of controversy and bans, not just for the sexual content but also for its violence and exploration of racial issues." The book was restored in February following a review by a committee of trustees and curriculum experts. Many critics of the board's move argued that the content pales compared to media images to which high school students are exposed to on a daily basis.^[5]

Athletics

The school is a member of the Region of Peel Secondary School Athletic Association.^[6]

The girls basketball team was recognized as "high school team of the year" in 2007, after going undefeated over the previous four seasons with a 46-0 record.^[7]

History

The school was founded by Ed King, who was also the first principal.

As the school was being planned and built, the first year of classes (1986) took place on a campus at Etobicoke before being moved at Christmas of the same year to a new temporary campus (1996-1990) located on Hollymount Dr in Mississauga.

Due to the large population, the school also took a second shared campus on Rathburn Dr also in Mississauga. They were to stay there until the school building's construction was completed. It was open for the 1990-91 school year.^[2]

Due to a school population of over 2600 student for the 1990-91 school year, a new school was created and the population was split using a new boundary. All students going into grades 11, 12 and 13 were allowed to finish their high school years at Father Michael Goetz which student in grades 9 and 10 in the new boundary were moved to the new school (St. Francis Xavier Secondary School).

In 2002, the school began an expansion which resulted in a new wing being added.

"Monolith"

During the first term of the 1994–1995 school year, a group of students anonymously published and distributed Monolith, a photocopied monthly newsletter mostly detailing the publishers' grievances with teachers and administration at the school as well as some overall observations regarding growing up in the mid-nineties. The Halloween issue was distributed by costumed, masked students in the cafetorium and included complimentary condoms, as a protest against a biased sex education at the school. The final, Christmas issue was distributed in the school's public restrooms. Some of the students responsible were found and suspended early in the second term. The suspensions proved controversial, with articles published in The Mississauga News and some of the suspended students appearing on CityTV's Speakers' Corner.

"The Green Room"

"The Green Room" is the school's official intrascholastic magazine. It is developed by a committee of students who convene under staff supervision. It consists of writers, comic artists, photographers, and layout designers, with two editors. Four issues are released per academic year, which are distributed to every student. It has been criticized by some students as "the most un-green magazine ever" as it supposedly "follows the Yellow Pages business model". In response to this argument, the magazine has chosen to forgo semi-plastic pages in favor of paper pages. As a result of this action, the magazine is now criticized for low production quality.

Notable alumni

• Cauchy Muamba, CFL player for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
• Henoc Muamba, NFL player for the Indianapolis Colts.
• Jonathan Hood, CFL player for the Toronto Argonauts.
• Greg Wojt, CFL player for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
• Andrew Nicholson, NBA player for the Orlando Magic.

See also

• List of high schools in Ontario

References

External links

• Official site
• Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board Profile