Eric Hamber Secondary School

Eric Hamber Secondary School
Address
5025 Willow Street Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 3S1, Canada
Information
School number	3939022
School board	School District 39 Vancouver
Superintendent	Val Overgaard
Area trustee	Jane Bouey
Principal	Ms. Dianne Good
Vice principal	Mr. Doug Matear Mrs. Shannon Sorochan
Administrator	Ms. M. Garcia
School type	Secondary school
Grades	8-12
Language	English
Area	Oakridge
Motto	"Respice, Aspice, Prospice" Reflect on the Past, Consider the Present and Provide for the Future
Mascot	Griffin
Colours	Maroon and light blue
Founded	1962
Enrolment	1,595  (2011)
Homepage	http://hamber.vsb.bc.ca/mambo/

Eric Hamber Secondary School is a large public secondary school located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The school is named after Eric Hamber, former Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.

The school colours, maroon and light blue, were the colours used by Eric Hamber's race horses.

Eric Hamber Secondary School.

Family of schools

The surrounding elementary schools in Eric Hamber's catchment area include:

• Edith Cavell Elementary School
• Emily Carr Elementary School
• General Wolfe Elementary School (Vancouver)
• Simon Fraser Elementary School
• Sir William Osler Elementary School
• Sir William Van Horne Elementary School

Programs

Humanities Program and Challenge Academy

For grades 8 to 12, Hamber offers two options for students: The Accelerated/ Enriched Humanities Program and the new Challenge Academy.

The Humanities Program presents highly-able students in the humanities (English and Social Sciences) with a challenging Grade 8-12 program that encompasses both acceleration and enrichment. Students in the program are voracious learners who will complete three years of study in Grades 8 and 9, often moving above and beyond the traditional curriculum. Learners in Grades 10-12 will continue to expand their learning through enriched and advanced placement courses as well as through guided independent or concurrent post-secondary studies. This program will appeal to students of high ability who are extremely motivated to learn and respond well to a rapid pace of instruction. Generally, an “A” or “B” average in English and Social Studies is expected.

The Challenge Academy is for those students who sit in class dreaming of the fascinating opportunities to explore that they see passing them by. It is a unique opportunity for gifted learners who thrive on learning “outside the box” and who crave the ability to meaningfully influence the pace and content of their academic program. Students in this unique Grade 8-12 academy will have four challenge blocks dedicated to their core academic subjects. During these blocks they will have the opportunity to participate in research projects, experiments, problem-based learning simulations, multi-grade level seminars in a wide variety of topics, study groups, theme-based cross-curricular exploration, self-paced guided independent studies, concurrent studies at post-secondary institutions and other non-traditional approaches to the secondary school curriculum.

Students will be free to move at a self-determined pace through a wide variety of available courses, including the opportunity to “challenge” courses for credit. Instruction in this academy will often step outside the traditional curriculum and will be driven by individual education plans for each student.

This program is suitable for gifted learners who are extremely motivated to learn and thrive outside the traditional classroom setting. Students with a desire to shape the curriculum to suit their interests and to accommodate their learning styles as well as their ability to learn material quickly will find this program a good fit. This program is especially suitable for students who have been identified as “gifted” through the psycho-educational testing process.

Other programs

There are also French advanced programs for grades 8 to 11 and Mandarin challenge programs for grades 8 to 9.

Since 1992, Eric Hamber has hosted annual fashion shows showcasing student textile works.

Eric Hamber's Run for the Sun

On May 27, 2011, Eric Hamber held an event called "Run for the Sun" to raise about $25,000 to install 4 solar panels on the school's roof. The solar panels will be used to heat the water in the school year round. A total of 653 students from 26 classes participated by running or walking 5 kilometres. The event raised a total of $8,495.00 and a successful application of a Vancouver Foundation Generation Green award of $12,500 brings the total of approximately $21,000.^{[citation needed]}

In media

Eric Hamber has a history in television and film; one of the parking lots was extensively used in the early days of 21 Jump Street, including a memorable confrontation involving Johnny Depp.^{[citation needed]} It was later used as the high school in the 2007 film Juno.^{[citation needed]}

Canada Sings

In 2011, several of Eric Hamber's staff were part of a glee club called "The Edutones" on the show Canada Sings. They defeated the opposing The Distillery Restaurants Corporation's "Run DRC" glee club and won $10,000 for the BC Children's Hospital Foundation. They appeared on episode 6 which aired on September 8, 2011.

Notable alumni

• Jon Mikl Thor, (Class of 1971), heavy metal musician, bodybuilder and former Mr. Canada and Mr. USA
• Steve Wilson, (Class of 1982), former pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers
• Jenny Kwan, (Class of 1984), member of Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
• Robert Bennett, (Class of 1987), Annie nominated Disney Animator Beauty and the Beast (1991 film), Mulan (1998 film), Tarzan (1999 film), Lilo & Stitch, Brother Bear, The Princess and the Frog
• Eric Drysdale, (Class of 1987), Emmy award-winning writer for The Daily Show, writer for The Colbert Report
• Michael Benyaer, (Class of 1988), actor and cartoon and video game voice actor
• Ori Kowarsky, (Class of 1988), screenwriter and director of Various Positions, winner of the 2002 Prix de Montréal
• C. E. Gatchalian, (Class of 1992), award-winning playwright, poet and fictionist
• Benny Yau, (Class of 1998) Canadian actor and television personality, New Talent Singing Awards Vancouver Audition 2000 First Runner-Up, signed to Fairchild TV
• Mayko Nguyen, (Class of 1998) Canadian actress, star of Canadian film Going the Distance and television series Rent-A-Goalie
• Darryl O'Young, (Class of 1998) racecar driver associated with the Schnabl Engineering - LKM - Team Jebsen, currently in Hong Kong
• Kristin Kreuk, (Class of 2000), Canadian actress, star of Television show Smallville
• Fred Cheng, (Class of 2001), Hong Kong television actor, signed to TVB
• Jessica Trisko, (Class of 2001), crowned Miss Earth 2007

External links

• Official Eric Hamber Website
• Eric Hamber - Vancouver School Board
• Hamber Resource Center
• Class of 1978 Website
• VSB
• Canada Sings - Episode 6