Unionville High School is a community of learners dedicated to excellence and opportunity for all students and staff, the promotion and appreciation of creativity and the arts, and personal and social responsibility in an increasingly complex and interdependent world.
Unionville High School, located in Unionville, Pennsylvania, is distinguished for its commitment to academic excellence, a wide range of extracurricular activities, and a strong community spirit.
Unionville High School is most well known for its enriched arts program, Arts Unionville (formerly known as Arts York). The school was purpose-built to house this regional arts program, therefore it has enhanced arts facilities. Arts Unionville is divided into 4 categories: visual arts, music, dance, and drama. In order to gain entry into the program, grade eight to nine students are required to audition.
Unionville High School's dedication to academic rigor, comprehensive extracurricular programs, community involvement, and a supportive educational environment make it a special and esteemed institution. Its commitment to fostering well-rounded individuals who are prepared for future challenges is a testament to its excellence.
In the mid-1970s, Superintendent Stephen Bacsalmsi proposed the idea of an advanced arts program for the region. The Ontario government accepted the idea, but needed to wait for a new high school to be built. When Unionville High School was under construction, the government decided it was a prime opportunity to initiate the program. The school was finished and opened to the public in 1985, with the schools west wing constructed in the Spring of 2002.
Unionville High School also became the first school outside the United States to participate in the Apple Digital Campus Curriculum (ADCC) in 2002.
In 2005, Sheila Hetherington and Jerry Berridge, teachers in the history and tech departments, were recipients of the Governor General's Awards for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History. In 2006, the same two teachers later received the Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence. For the 2007-08 teaching year, Donna McAdam was a recipient of the Premier's Awards for Teaching Excellence. The two documentaries created during this course, When We Were Young and Never Shall We Forget, were of broadcast standard and aired on TVO.
The facilities at Unionville High include a visual arts room, communication/media lab, construction lab, design and technology lab, dance studios, music rooms, music practice rooms, drama rooms, a black box theatre, family studies labs, a photography blackroom, science labs, a resource centre, classrooms, a guidance office, two gymnasiums, two outdoor fields, an outdoor track, a weight room, washrooms and shower facilities, student cafeteria with microwaves and vending machines, a student council office, a yearbook office, student parking facilities, a staff dining room, and staff workrooms.[11]
There are approximately 300 computers in the school, divided between 9 computer labs. Notably, two of the computer labs employ Apple computers, as a part of the Apple Digital Campus.[11]
While officially being two separate properties, the school as well as the Markham Theatre are connected via a tunnel. The theatre occasionally hosts school assemblies as well as performances from the Arts Unionville program.
Arts Unionville, formally known as Arts York, is a four-year program that high school students take concurrently with the mainstream academic program. The high school enrolls students from all over the Greater Toronto Area. In 2010, due to school board changes, Arts York was forced to change their program name to Arts Unionville and will only take students from the Markham area, except for piano and stringed instruments. Class 2012 was the last year of Arts York. However, in the 2009–10 school year, the program was renamed "Arts Unionville" Shortly after, the York Region District School Board removed funding for busing, thus eliminating transportation means for long-distance students attending the program. As a result, students were forced to drop out. The decision was protested by many parents and students, and after hiring a lawyer, they settled out of court to have funding for bus transportation reinstated for the rest of the 2008–2009 school year. Students living in areas not around Unionville were expected to attend arts schools in their own districts. As a result, the pool of talent for these programs has significantly declined.
The Musical Arts department is the biggest section of Arts Unionville at Unionville High School. There are four classrooms for music situated in the east wing of the school directly adjacent to the underground link to the Markham Theatre. With its strategic placement, it is often said amongst faculty, staff, and students that the Music department is located in its own east wing.
The Arts Unionville Music program is separated into six categories: piano, winds, strings, vocal, brass, and percussion.
The Visual Arts program provides opportunities for individual creative and imaginative growth as well as development of technical skills.In this program, students are introduced to both traditional and experimental perspectives in painting and drawing. They will also be specializing in sculpture, photography, digital, printmaking (etching and silkscreen), and video. Students will also study art history and will learn to critically analyze their own work, enabling the students to discover individual strengths and directions. For the purpose of developing the aptitudes of talented students interested in the Visual Arts, programs are offered in all four years.
The Drama Department explores university level dramatic arts. Disciplines such as mask, mime, clown and Shakespeare are presented to the actors and explored through self-discovery.
Dance arts is another popular program in Arts Unionville. This program focuses on the development of creativity, artistry, and technique needed to improve dance expression.Students in this program are given opportunities to participate in dance programs such as Dance Infusion, Dance Access, and The Nutcracker productions in December staged by the National Ballet of Canada.
The curriculum at Unionville High School is diverse and comprehensive, covering a wide range of subjects. It includes specialized streams in Arts Unionville (Dance, Drama, Music, and Visual Arts), along with core academic disciplines like English, Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences, and Technological Education. The Arts Unionville program offers various levels and types of Dance (Ballet, Modern), Drama (including Production and Director’s Craft), Music (Piano, Strings, Vocal/Choral, Woodwinds, Musicianship), and Visual Arts (Drawing & Painting, Photography, Ceramics, Media Arts). Additionally, there are courses in Business Studies, Canadian and World Studies, Computer Studies, English as a Second Language, French, Health and Physical Education, and more, providing students with a well-rounded educational experience.
http://www.yrdsb.ca/schools/unionville.hs/Documents/Unionville%20HS%20Course%20Offerings%202020-2021%20Final2.pdf
The school is home to many clubs, although the number of clubs and their continuance varies per academic year. Some of the more longstanding clubs would include:[28]
Besides the school's arts programs, the school also has a respectable athletics program competing in the York Region Athletic Association and OFSAA. Following are some of the sports in which the school participates:
Please refer to this link to see support programs by YRDSB
https://www2.yrdsb.ca/community/community-supports
Location
For nature lovers, Unionville boasts an abundance of green spaces. The neighborhood is home to numerous parks, trails, and recreational facilities, providing ample opportunities for outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, and picnicking.
