St. John's-Ravenscourt School

St. John's-Ravenscourt School
Address
400 South Drive Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Information
Headmaster	Dr. Stephen Johnson
Senior School Principal	Nancy Gillies
Senior School Vice-Principals	Dan Stanier Kevin Solinsky
Middle School Principal	Douglas Palm
Junior School Principal	Cheryl Chaban
Grades	K-12
Language	English
Mascot	Eagle
Team name	Eagles
Colours	Green and Gold
Founded	1820
Enrollment	830
Homepage	http://www.sjr.mb.ca/

St. John's-Ravenscourt School (commonly referred as SJR) is an independent, co-educational, university-preparatory school founded in 1820. Located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the school delivers an enriched curriculum from Kindergarten through Grade 12.Elizabeth II, as Queen of Canada, is the royal patron of the school.

History

The school was founded in 1820 by Rev. John West as the Red River Mission School for the children of early Selkirk settlers and select aboriginal children. The School was originally built on the banks of the Red River in Selkirk, and then relocated by Rev. David Thomas Jones to the west bank of the river near present-day St. John's Park. In 1834, the School recorded 20 boys and 21 girls attending the renamed Red River Academy.

The Academy was purchased in 1849 by the Bishop of Rupertsland, David Anderson, and was renamed St. John's Collegiate. In 1866, the school's name was changed to St. John's College School. The school's campus was expanded to include buildings on Main Street and Anderson Avenue, and stood as a landmark until their demolition in the early 1950s.

In 1929, Norman Young became the first headmaster of Ravenscourt. Young had been encouraged by a group of Winnipeg businessmen, who promised that their sons would attend. The school was originally located at Armstrong's Point on the Assiniboine River. In 1934, it was relocated to a house built by Colonel R.M. Thomson. The unfinished home was located in Fort Garry on the banks of the Red River. The new facility was soon expanded to include the Richardson Gymnasium, the first gym in Western Canada to sport a basketball court.

In 1950, the Board of Anglican churchmen that as a group governed St. John's College decided to close the school. This decision upset the alumni of the school, and the alumni sought a way to continue their school. It was finally decided that St. John's College School would be amalgamated with Ravenscourt. The two schools became St. John's-Ravenscourt.

After the flood of 1950, many new facilities were added to the school, notably an arena, and a lower school building. In 1971, the school made the decision to readmit girls to the school.

In November 1981, Her Majesty the Queen granted her patronage to the School, and one year later gave permission for the creation of scholarship in her name to mark the event of her patronage.

In 2008 and 2009, St. John's-Ravenscourt School was named one of Manitoba's Top Employers, which was announced by the Winnipeg Free Press newspaper.

Today, the school's student population has increased to 830 students, with a mandate of full acceptance of girls throughout by 2007.

On April 11, 2010, the public was made aware of a sexual assault that occurred within the male boarding dormitory. Four students were involved, one the age of 18. They were charged with sexual assault with a weapon, forcible confinement, and uttering threats. It was alleged the senior boarding students threatened the younger male boarders, holding them down and placing a wooden stick against their buttocks, in incidents that took place between September and December. As many as 15 students may have been targeted. The 18 year old man in question was granted bail, with the consent of the Crown attorney, on several strict conditions including a $10,000 surety, nightly curfew of 10 p.m. and an order to turn over his passport to Winnipeg police. He also had to agree not to have contact with any current SJR students. The man, who was originally from China, had no prior criminal record.

Campus

St. John's-Ravenscourt School has a large campus and several different buildings. The school campus is located directly on the Red River in Fort Garry at 400 South Drive. The school features an arena, multiple playing fields, two separate gyms, a music wing with several different music rooms, and classrooms.

The school is divided into three main wings. Each wing has its own faculty, including principal and viceprincipal.

Junior School Wing - The Junior School Wing consists of several buildings, the largest being the Kiddell Building. The Junior School wing includes a distinct Kindergarten education facility, several classrooms, a gym, and a computer lab. In addition to this the Junior School has an atrium, music room, and Junior School office.

Middle School Wing - The Middle School's facilities contain an art studio and the school's only theatre, the Moffat-Richardson Theatre. It also contains a computer lab, a common room for the students' use, several science labs and multipurpose rooms, as well as an office.

Senior School Wing - The Senior School Wing is the oldest, and largest wing of the school. It encompasses many separate buildings; sections include the Camsell Science Wing, the Tom Bredin Athletic Building, and the entrance hall of the school. The Athletics building includes one of the few international-sized hockey arenas in Manitoba, the Dutton Memorial Arena. The Senior School also includes the school's cafeteria, Hamber Hall. The wing also includes several music rooms, shared by the whole school.

Faculty

There are approximately 150 faculty members listed on the St. John's-Ravenscourt website. Some teachers teach in both Senior and Middle School, but most teach only on one level. Teachers who teach for over 25 years are recognized with a service award.

Curriculum

St. John's-Ravenscourt school delivers the Ministry-prescribed curriculum, as well an enriched curriculum set by SJR's own teachers. The school places emphasis on the math and public speaking programs within their curriculum. The school has devised its own mathematics curriculum, using its own textbooks and teaching materials. It has also made public speaking a mandatory course from grade six to eight.

Notable alumni

St. John's-Ravenscourt School has produced 18 Rhodes Scholars.

• Gerard Kennedy: Politician, former Ontario Minister of Education under Dalton McGuinty, former candidate for leadership of the federal Liberal party
• Jennifer Botterill: Olympic gold medallist, member of the Canadian national women's hockey team
• Brett Hull: former National Hockey League player, son of Bobby Hull
• Alexander Steen: National Hockey League player
• Tyler Arnason: National Hockey League player
• James Armstrong Richardson: Politician, member of Cabinet under Pierre Elliott Trudeau, businessman, founder of James Richardson International
• David Asper: lawyer (represented David Milgaard), businessman, Chairman of the National Post newspaper, Executive Vice President of CanWest Global Communications Corp.
• Steve Braun: television and movie actor
• Zach Werner: musician, record producer, entertainment lawyer and talent manager.
• Brian Engblom: former National Hockey League player
• Sarah Stock, aka Sarita: Wrestler
• Susan Coyne: writer and actor, best known as one of the co-creators and co-stars of the award-winning Slings and Arrows

Athletics

Athletics are important in the SJR community. Most notably, hockey is the school's most popular sport, with hockey teams from grade 4 to high school, including two high school boys teams and a female high school team. Hockey is played in Dutton Memorial Arena, the only Olympic-sized arena in the Winnipeg area.

Other popular sports include rugby, ultimate, basketball, volleyball, soccer, and badminton.

References

• St. John's-Ravenscourt School (2005). SJR - St. John's-Ravenscourt School - About. Retrieved October 30, 2005.

• Winnipeg Free Press (2010). Winnipeg Free Press - Online Edition - Accused in SJR sex-assault case granted bail. Retrieved June 6, 2010.

External links

• St. John's-Ravenscourt School Official Site