O'Neill Collegiate and Vocational Institute

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O'Neill Collegiate and Vocational Institute is located in Oshawa, Ontario within the Durham District School Board. The school has students in grades 9-12 and offers a wide range of academic and extracurricular activities. The school is well known as an art school, drawing many students from around The Greater Toronto Area into one of the arts programs offered at O'neill CVI. The science programs are also very well developed, with multiple fully functional science labs.MottoThe official motto of the school is "Let Talent Flourish", which is featured in many of the schools murals and artistic expressions, most notably being the mural in the art hallway that is based off Vincent van Gogh's 'The Starry Night', featuring the motto, hidden in the position of the stars. The motto is also featured in the 'boys foyer', above the door that enters into the main art/technology hallway.HistoryO'Neill CVI is the oldest secondary school in Oshawa, opened in its present location in 1909 as Oshawa High School. High school classes had been held in the Central Public School downtown for many year prior to this, so the school's roots go back well into the 19th century. The original building is still in the core of the school, but is not visible from outside.After several major expansions during the 1920s, OHS became Oshawa Collegiate and Vocational Institute in 1930. In the Post-war era, when Oshawa began building other high schools, OCVI was renamed O'Neill Collegiate and Vocational Institute after long-time principal, Albert O'Neill, who had led its expansion and transition to collegiate status. O'Neill celebrated its 75th anniversary (as OCVI, though it's actually much older when the OHS days are included) in 2005 with a large mural in the library and a huge reunion of students and teachers.