Richmond Secondary School
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| Richmond Secondary | |
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| Address | |
| 7171 Minoru Blvd Richmond, British Columbia, V6Y 1Z3, Canada |
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| Information | |
| School board | School District 38 Richmond |
| Principal | Mr. J. Mcleod |
| Vice principal | Ms. D. Smith and Phil Ballard |
| Staff | 64 |
| School type | Public high school |
| Grades | 8-12 |
| Language | English |
| Team name | Richmond Colts |
| Colours | Maroon, Grey, and White |
| Founded | 1956 |
| Enrollment | 1200 (January 16, 2006) |
| Homepage | http://rhs.sd38.ca |
Richmond Secondary School is a secondary school located at 7171 Minoru Blvd., Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, that serves students from grades 8 to 12, and is part of the Richmond School District (SD 38).
Richmond Secondary School was recently rebuilt on the field of the former school property. The new building was opened to students in January 2004. The previous building, which was used from 1956–2003 was torn down in early 2004 and since then has been replaced by an artificial turf playing field which officially opened late summer of 2005.
The previous principal of 12 years was Darlene Macklam. 2005–2006 was her last year and she was replaced by Mr. McLeod in July 1, 2006. The vice-principals are Ms. Smith, new to the administrative team, and Mr. Ballard.
In the former building, Richmond Secondary housed over 1600 students, in the new building there are approximately 1200–1250 students. The school colours are maroon, grey, and white. The school mascot is the colt, which can be found on the gym walls and a large section of the gym floor from the old building displayed in the main lounge.
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[edit] Feeder schools
For a majority of its history, Richmond Secondary was strictly a senior secondary, offering programs for grades 11 and 12. In 1996, a conversion of all the schools in Richmond resulted in Richmond Secondary becoming a school for grades 8 to 12. The former feeder junior secondary schools to Richmond Secondary included J.N. Burnett Junior Secondary School, Hugh Boyd Junior Secondary School, R.C. Palmer Junior Secondary School and Cambie Junior Secondary School. Prior to the conversion, Richmond Secondary also offered a French immersion program hosting feeder students from McRoberts Junior Secondary.
The current feeder schools are Brighouse Elementary School, Ferris Elementary School, and Blundell Elementary School. Students also come to Richmond Secondary School to participate in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.
[edit] Academics
[edit] International Baccalaurate Programme
Richmond Secondary School is currently the only IB World School in the Richmond district, offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme for students in grades 11 and 12. The magnet IB program provides a challenging and globally accepted curriculum for all its students. It is offered to a matriculating class of approximately 120 students every year. The program is co-ordinated by Remi Vicente, and has garnered Richmond Secondary a district-wide reputation as the "prep" school.
IB courses offered include (at the Standard and Higher levels): English, French, Mandarin, Spanish, Japanese, self-taught languages, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, History, Music, Theatre, Art, Mathematics, Information Technology in a Global Society (ITGS), and Theory of Knowledge.
There has been criticism from students however, regarding the rigidity of class openings and schedules due to various reasons, including lack of funding and administrative interest. For example, classes such as IB Physics are offered only at the Standard Level, while others like IB History are offered only at the Higher Level; many IB courses are not offered at all. Scheduling dilemmas include the inability to take both IB Chemistry and IB Biology at the Higher Level. This often places students at a disadvantage, particularly in applications to overseas post-secondary institutions which often demand courses either not offered, or unavailable due to scheduling difficulties.
There is also a pre-IB program for grade 10 students, which offers enriched materials at a preliminary level in preparation for the IB Diploma. Enriched classes are also offered in grades 8 and 9.
[edit] Global Perspectives Program
Richmond Secondary in addition, offers the Global Perspectives Program for Grade 12 students. For the 2005/2006 school year, students were accompanied by four dentists and sponsors on a humanitarian trip to Laos. For the 2006/2007 school year, a selected group of grade 12 students went to Morroco. For the 2007/2008 school year, selected grade 12 students went to the island of Borneo in Malaysia. As for the current 2008/2009, selected grade 12 students will be going to Paraguay. The Global Perspectives Program is directed by Mr. Kevin Matheny and assisted by Mr. Gepetto.
[edit] AVID program
It is currently one of the first pioneer schools in Canada electing to offer the AVID program (Advancement Via Individual Determination) to grade 9 students, assisted by several grade 12 students from the IB program. The AVID program is an academic support program that prepares students for post-secondary education and enrollment, started in 1980 at Clairemont High School in San Diego.
[edit] Pre-employment program
Richmond Secondary also has a pre-employment program and a program for teen parents. Both programs are available to students from all schools in the Richmond School District.
[edit] Athletics
Richmond Secondary currently offers numerous athletic teams for students including basketball, cross country, soccer, volleyball, golf, badminton, ultimate frisbee, table tennis, and track and field. Richmond Secondary was famous for its American culture sports such as basketball and football. However, the demographic changes after the late 90s, the school could not inhabit its basketball and football level while minor sports such as badminton and table tennis became more prominent.
The basketball team was a perennial provincial championship contender under coach Bill Disbrow who is considered one of the greatest coaches in Canadian high school basketball history. Richmond High won five BC AAA Provincial Championships, with their last provincial championship win coming in 1998.
Richmond Secondary also had a strong football team who also won three provincial championships in a row from 1996-1998. The football program at Richmond Secondary ended in 2000 due to shortage of players.
The Senior badminton team placed 10th at the BC Provincial tournament for the 2005/2006 school year under the supervision of coach Don Furugori.
The Junior badminton team placed 2nd in the Richmond Secondary School's Athletic Secondary Association for the 2006/2007 school year under the supervision of coach Timothy Cheng
The Senior badminton team placed 2nd in the Richmond Secondary School's Athletic Secondary Association and 1st at the annual Port Moody Badminton Tournament for the 2007/2008 school year under the supervision of coach Don Furugori.
[edit] Student life
The majority of Richmond Secondary's student population is of Asian descent[citation needed] . There are also many students of other various nationalities.
The Student Council each year organizes numerous events, such as school dances and elections. The Grad Committee, composed of grade 12 volunteers, organizes fundraisers (including the Junk-In-Your-Trunk Sale and the annual Grad Fashion Show) and co-ordinates events such as Winter Formal and Grad Dinner & Dance.
In addition to student clubs, Richmond Secondary also boasts of the school district's only student chef training program. The school is equipped with a full kitchen, in which student-trainees prepare meals and desserts for other students and faculty to be served during breakfast and lunch hours.
The Colt Zone offers a variety of snack foods, such as chips, candy bars and drinks. In 2007, the Colt Zone lowered prices of nutritious snacks promote healthy eating. Funds raised by the Colt Zone are directly returned to the school to support initiatives such as Global Perspectives, Grad Committee, Dry Grad and certain clubs.
[edit] External links
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