Widdifield Secondary School

Widdifield Secondary School
Address
320 Ski Club Road North Bay , Ontario , P1B 7R2 Canada
Coordinates	46.33522°N 79.45043°W / 46.33522; -79.45043
Information
School type	High school
Founded	1965
Closed	2020
School board	Near North District School Board
Superintendent	Roslyn Bowness
Principal	Alison Herst Jackson
Grades	9-12+
Enrollment	734 (2016[1])
Language	English, with French immersion program
Colour(s)	Red and royal blue
Mascot	Wildcat Wade
Team name	Widdifield Wildcats
Website	www.nearnorthschools.ca/widdifield/

Widdifield Secondary School (WSS) was an English public high school in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. It was part of the Near North District School Board.

Overview

The school was founded in 1965 and named after Joseph Henry Widdifield, a nineteenth-century physician and member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for York North. It had a capacity of 1,164 students and the active student body generally ranged from 900 to 1,000. Because of the extensive school zone, approximately 35–65% of students were bussed in. The school's motto was "Mens Quaerens in Corpore Sano," loosely meaning "an inquiring mind in a sound body" in Latin.

Widdifield was the first school in Canada to incorporate a Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM)— Arts and Culture certificate program. It later obtained SHSM programs in Construction, Environment, and Health and Wellness,[2] as well as a fine arts magnet program called Arts Nipissing.

Closure

In September 2017, the Near North District School Board voted to close Widdifield, citing the declining youth population of North Bay and insufficient funding to maintain all three city high schools under their jurisdiction.[3] The decision was challenged by local parents and investigated by the Ontario Ombudsman,[4] but eventually reaffirmed in a 2019 revote.[5]

In January 2018, the school board announced that WSS would close in September 2019.[6] In September 2018, they announced that the closure would be delayed by at least one year, due to difficulties securing increased government funding for the other two local schools.[7]

Widdifield finally closed in June 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, graduates went to the school one at a time to retrieve their diplomas from a table.[8][9] The students and special programs were distributed to North Bay's other English public schools: Chippewa Secondary School and West Ferris Secondary School.[10]

Post-closure

The Widdifield building has since lain dormant. In 2023, it was used as a filming location for the American movie Everything's Going to Be Great.[11] On February 2 2024, the North Bay Nugget reported on a pair of businessmen who proposed a public–private partnership to convert the building into an athletic centre, but were struggling to gain an audience with the school board.[12]

Drama

Widdifield boasted a small theater and an extracurricular drama troupe called "The Company".

• International Thespian Society Festival: Numerous Widdifield productions travelled to the annual drama festival, which was held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln during that time.
• Sears Ontario Drama Festival: Widdifield was a part of the drama festival for almost 50 years and won over 100 awards in the District, Regional and Provincial rounds.
• Widdifield was also the home of the school board's summer youth theatre program, Theatre Out Reach On Stage, which moved to West Ferris after the closure.

Notable alumni

• Al McDonald, former mayor of North Bay[13]
• Barbara Olmsted, Olympic bronze medalist in team kayaking at the 1984 Summer Games
• Michael O'Shea, head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League
• Mike Yeo, assistant coach of the Ottawa Senators in the National Hockey League

See also

• Education in Ontario
• List of secondary schools in Ontario

References

1. "School Information Profile - Widdifield" (PDF). nearnorthschools.ca. Near North School Board. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
2. Young, Jackie. "Directors October Board Report". nearnorthschools.ca. Near North District School Board. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
3. Galor, Shay. "Widdifield Secondary School slated for closure, 'It angers me'". CTV News Northern Ontario. CTV News. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
4. Turl, Jeff. "Near North School Board failed to follow a fair and transparent process in closing Widdifield says Ontario Ombudsman". baytoday.ca. Bay Today. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
5. White, Erik. "Forced to vote again on high school closure, North Bay school board reaffirms 2017 decision". cbc.ca. CBC News. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
6. Girard, Carrie. "3:2 North Bay High School Consolidation – Programming Framework". nearnorthschools.ca. Near North District School Board. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
7. "Timeframe for Closure of Widdifield Secondary School Changed". nearnorthschools.ca. Near North District School board. September 10, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
8. Taschner, Eric. "Final graduating class of Widdifield Secondary School celebrates with drive-by graduation ceremony". CTV News Northern Ontario. CTV News. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
9. "Widdifield Farewell Stay Well Grade 12 Celebration". nearnorthschools.ca. Widdifield Secondary School. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
10. "Transition Information For Parents and Students For September 2020". Near North Schools. Widdifield Secondary School. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
11. Dawson, Chris. "The old Widdifield Secondary School a movie set?". baytoday.ca. Bay Today. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
12. Hamilton-McCharles, Jennifer. "Local investors' big plans for vacant Widdifield Secondary School". North Bay Nugget. Postmedia. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
13. "City Council Biography - Inside City Hall - City of North Bay". Retrieved 2012-07-08.