Civil Municipal - April 2024

that there is also the quality of the spaces and the opportunities they provide. That’s why the project at James Cardinal McGuigan is so important; because it adds a new dimension to that school.” THE NEW SPORTS COURT The project to which Zlomislic refers is a brand new, $550,000, high-performance, multi-sport, athletic court at James Cardinal McGuigan High School in the Downsview neighborhood of North York. “It’s a wonderful addition to the TCDSB and the community,” says Principal Antonio Bisceglia. “Our students can play basketball, volleyball, pickleball, cooperative games, soccer – pretty much any sport can be played on this surface. It acts as another gym and is designed for both recreational and elite players. It caters to all students. It’s an outdoor facility, which means we can use it for most of the spring, summer, and fall seasons. It’s being used by all our students, and the students in our feeder schools and elementary schools. The data shows that physical education contributes to well- being – mentally, physically, and spiritually. So, it’s really important to our school community as we continue to grow in terms of enrollment.” “Our high school is a high-performance athletic high school, and the high-performance athletic program is for students who want to pursue a specific sport, post-secondary. They can take specialty physical education classes dedicated to their particular sport, whether it’s soccer, basketball, volleyball, etc.” Bisceglia continues. “This new facility accommodates those students. But an even greater impact is for the recreational student who isn’t a high performing student; for the kid who wants to shoot hoops after school, or who wants to play volleyball at lunch.” In addition, the court is open to the community after school hours. “That project made a positive impact on the school,” Zlomislic states.“It made a tremendous contribution, not just to daily academic life, but to programming that might set up kids for other opportunities in sports. We’ve already started discussions about the 281 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 5, ISSUE 04 TORONTO CATHOL IC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD