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Western Canada High School
Motto: Intelligentia, Vires, Virtus
(Latin for: Understanding, Strength, Courage)
Address
641 17 Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta, T2S 0B5, Canada
Information
School board Calgary Board of Education
Religious affiliation None (since 1926)
Principal Carol Grant-Watt
Vice principal Tom Bugeman
Funding type Private (1903 - 1928, as Western Canada College)
Public (since 1928)
Grades 10, 11, 12
Campus Urban
Established 1903
Enrollment 1968 (September 2007)
Grade 10 627
Grade 11 609
Grade 12 732
Communities served Mount Royal Mission, Cliff Bungalow, Connaught
Homepage http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b816/

Western Canada High School (WCHS) is a public senior high school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It has classes for grades 10 through 12. Western is located in the 17th Avenue business district of the Mount Royal community, and is the most centrally located public high school in Calgary.

WCHS is a highly regarded high school in Western Canada. The school is reputed for its fierce academics, strong extra-curriculars, fine arts and athletics programs. In past years, students have been admitted to prestigious universities such as Amherst, Berkeley, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, McGill, NYU, Penn, Queen's, Princeton, Stanford, University of Toronto, University of Western Ontario, University of Virginia, UCLA, University of Waterloo and Wharton.

Contents

History

The original school building was completed in 1903 as a British-style exclusive high school for boys called Western Canada College (not a college in the North American sense of the word). It was created by "The Western Canada College Bill of Incorporating Ordinance" enacted by the Government of the Northwest Territories, which Calgary was then a part of before the province of Alberta was created in 1905.1

The private school had financial problems and was sold to the Calgary Board of Education. The CBE renamed it, re-opened it as public school, and constructed additional buildings on the land. To raise funds for the new college, 5000 shares were sold for $10 each. Many of the original investors read like a "Who's Who" list for Alberta; Pat Burns, R. B. Bennett, A.E. Cross, William Pearce, A.C. Rutherford (who was premier at the time), and George Lane.

Western was Calgary's first composite high school, providing both technical and academic courses of study. The school has been substantially renovated and additions have been made to the building over the years. Linda Raasveldt became the first female principal of the school in 2002. Currently, the school is undergoing a series of renovations.

Special Programs

The school provides French and Spanish language as a primary language instruction. In addition, it is one of a select number of schools in Calgary to offer French immersion. Western is one of a small number of Calgary high schools to offer an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme in English, and is the only Calgary public high school to offer the program in French. Each year, about 20-40 students graduate with an IB Diploma, and significantly more graduate with an IB certificate. It is also the only school in Alberta to offer Higher Level mathematics. The school also offers an extensive performing and visual arts program, and offers a certificate to recognize students that have made fine arts a focus of learning at the high school level. Fewer than 20 students received the certificate in 2006.

In 2007, Western Canada High School has also started to offer an online multicultural awareness program: Connections 25.

Notable Alumni

See Also

  • St. Mary's High School - The only other high school in the nearby area. It also predates the province of Alberta, and it also has an IB program.

References

  1. ^ WCHS historical timeline
  2. ^ Jim Dinning biography (personal web site)
  3. ^ Lau, Michael, "A century of schooling: Western Canada High School turns 100 in 2003 and alumni are planning a mega reunion complete with tunnel tours", Calgary Herald, September 28, 2000, pg. 2
  4. ^ Lewis, Jason (2004-09-09). "The doctor of love is in: Former Loose Moose improviser plays the ladies’ man in Intern Academy", FFWD Weekly. Retrieved on 8 August 2006. 
  5. ^ The Alberta Order of Excellence - Profile of Norman Kwong
  6. ^ "Top-Ten All-time players from Alberta (Football Alberta)", CANOE JAM! Sports
  7. ^ Stampeders player profile for Larry Robinson
  8. ^ Wilton, Lisa, "New Starr of hip-hop", CANOE JAM! Showbiz
  9. ^ Maxwell, Cameron, "Swiatek sets sights on China", Calgary Sun, Canadian Online Explorer, January 27, 2002.

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