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Confederation High School, Ottawa, ON

Confederation High School

1645 Woodroffe Avenue
Nepean / Ottowa, ON

mascot: Cardinals
colors: Red, White & Green
 
 
 
 
Confederation High School opened in the fall of 1967. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Barrhaven area grew to the point that the majority of Confed’s students were commuting from there. In 1999, John McCrae Secondary School in Barrhaven was opened and Confederation High School was closed. The CHS building is now “Confederation Education Centre” and is used for many activities by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.

(Below are just a few bits and pieces I’ve picked up about Confed. If you can offer corrections and additions to these bare bones, please leave a comment below.)

———— Facebook Groups ————

Confederation High School (1,400 members)
Confederation High School (250 members)
Confederation High Reunion (1,000 members)
Nepean Born and Raised (2,300 members) [The first page or two is mostly ads, but the older posts contain dozens and dozens of memories from folks who grew up in Nepean, many of them Confed alumni.]

———— Athletics ————

This is not a complete record of Confederation High School’s athletic accomplishments. These are just some of the records maintained on Ontario athletics websites and some info from old newspaper accounts.

The CHS cheerleaders defeated 30 city and district high schools to win the Campus Club cheerleading contest in 1969.

In 1981, CHS won both Carleton boy’s and girl’s curling crowns.

A football and rugby MVP at Confed, Joe Goodwin, competed on Spike TV’s Pros vs. Joes in 2008.

Former CHS teacher Phil Takahashi represented Canada in judo in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics.

Football

– 1983 Senior team was undefeated in the regular season (6-0)
– 1988 Junior Champs with an undefeated 9-0 record
– 1989 Team went undefeated until losing in the championship game
– 1993 Undefeated season (9-0), Ottawa-Carleton Senior Football Champions

Former Edmonson Eskimos player Eric Upton graduated from CHS and was placed on the Nepean Sports Wall of Fame in 1986.

In 2001, former Cardinal Jesse Palmer was drafted by the NFL’s New York Giants. He became only the second Canadian to start at quarterback in an NFL game. In 2004, he was the object of affection on ABC’s The Bachelor. He is now an announcer and football analyst.

(Ottawa Citizen – Oct 27, 1982)

[I found two articles about Rolanda. One calls her Coe, the other calls her Cole.] While in Grade 9 at Moira High School in Belleville, Rolanda Coe won the Athlete of the Year award. After moving to Barrhaven in 1982, she decided to test herself by trying out for the CHS football team. She made the team as a running back and punter, becoming Ottawa-Carleton’s first female football player.

Gymnastics – OFSAA Championships

1980 – Uneven Bars – Elite B (Elizabeth Shank)
1981 – Floor Exercise – Intermediate (Anna Fraser)

Track & Field – OFSAA Championships

1980 – 1500 metre – midget (Marc Oleson)
1980 – 3000 metre – midget (Marc Oleson)
1981 – 3000 metre – junior (Marc Oleson)
1982 – 1500 metre – junior (Marc Oleson)
1982 – 3000 metre – junior (Marc Oleson)
1982 – Cross Country (Marc Oleson)
1983 – 1500 metre – senior (Marc Oleson)
1983 – 3000 metre – senior (Marc Oleson)
– Marc Oleson set the national junior record for the one-mile run (a record that stood for 22 years). He received a full track and field athletic scholarship to Stanford University. In 1985 he was placed on the inaugural Nepean Sports Wall of Fame. In 1991, he won the cross country event at the Canadian Championships. In 1992, he competed on the Canadian Olympics team.

1985 – Girls Track – midget (Overall Team Champions)
1985 – 100 metre – midget (Jane Roos)
1985 – 200 metre – midget (Jane Roos)
1985 – High Jump – midget (Jane Roos)
1986 – 100 metre – junior (Jane Roos)
1986 – 200 metre – junior (Jane Roos)
1986 – 400 metre relay – senior (Jane Roos anchored the team)
– Jane Roos is the founder and Executive Director of Canadian Athletes Now, a program to raise financial support for Canadian athletes. In 2009, she received the Leadership in Sports Award at the Canadian Sport Awards.

———— Tidbits ————

In 1987, Confederation High School had 40% more students than it was designed for, while Merivale High School was operating at half-capacity. The school district boundaries were redrawn for all five Nepean high schools so each would have about 1,000 students by 1991.

Gord Hunter was a teacher at CHS for 31 years, retiring from teaching when the school closed. In 1980, he also began his political career by being elected as a Nepean alderman. In 1985, he was placed on the Nepean Sports Wall of Fame for his accomplishments in orienteering. In 2010, he announced he would not run for another term as councillor representing Knoxdale-Merivale ward, retiring after 31 years in politics.

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