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Lord Byng Secondary School

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Lord Byng Secondary School
Address
Map
3939 West 16th Avenue

Vancouver
,
British Columbia
,
V5R 3C9
Information
School typeSecondary school
Motto"Custos Morum"
(Guardian of Morals)
Founded1925
School boardSchool District 39 Vancouver
SuperintendentT. Grant
Area trusteeSharon Gregson
School number03939038
AdministratorRita Nardi
PrincipalMaria Taddei
Grades8-12
Enrollment1325 [1] (2009)
LanguageEnglish
AreaWest Point Grey
Colour(s)Scarlet and Grey   
Team nameGrey Ghosts
Websitehttp://byng.vsb.bc.ca/

Lord Byng Secondary School is a grade 8-12 school located in the West Point Grey neighbourhood on the west side of Vancouver, British Columbia. The school officially opened in 1925 and was named in honour of The Lord Byng of Vimy, a hero of Vimy Ridge, as well as Gallipoli, and was largely responsible for the incorporation of tanks on a large scale at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917 [2]. At the time during which the school opened, Lord Byng was the Governor General of Canada.

Lord Byng Secondary School

The school was expanded in 2003 with a new library and gymnasium, as well as studios and classrooms. After being ranked the most vulnerable school to earthquakes in 2004/05, Lord Byng Secondary became the site of a seismic upgrade. Construction ended in the summer of 2005.

According to the annual Fraser Institute rankings, Lord Byng Secondary was ranked second-worst public school in Vancouver. In 2006, Lord Byng achieved 156th place of all B.C. public schools in terms of provincial scores, scoring approximately an 24% average. When placed against private schools, Lord Byng placed 201st overall, the lowest out of all private facilities. Not only is this school extremely weak academically, it's students are also privileged and pompous, with a mediocre art program that is a huge disappointment.

In the 2005-2006 school year, Byng Art's Theatre Company and the school gained national attention for staging the play The Laramie Project after the Surrey School Board banned the play.[3]

Byng Arts Mini School

The Byng Arts Mini School is a program for students which places artistic development at the core of the high school experience through enrichment in the fine arts as well as academics. Traditionally, students have specialized in Visual Arts, Band, Strings, or Theatre, but options have expanded to include Literary and Media Arts.

The School offers an intensive program that is designed for students who wish to direct their energies and passions towards the arts, to work within a community of students who share their interests, and to maintain strong academic achievement.

The program promotes both academic and artistic excellence while fostering interdisciplinary awareness and individual creativity through curricular and extracurricular activities in the fine arts, literary arts and applied fine arts.[4]

Lord Byng Music Department

Under the direction of the Fine Arts department head, Scott MacLennan, Lord Byng has one of the best music programs in the Lower Mainland. Many of the groups, including the high-level Honour Orchestra and Senior Wind Ensemble, have consistently placed 1st or gold in provincial and national competitions (such as Kiwanis and MusicFest Canada). In 2008, the Honour Orchestra won the trophy for first place at the Northwest Orchestra Festival, competing against advanced American school orchestras.

The Lord Byng Symphony Orchestra is a unique feature of Lord Byng, and one of the only public school symphony orchestras in the province. Students are expected to perform unabridged symphonies and pieces. A few grade 12 soloists (usually one per term) are chosen to perform concertos.[5]

Lord Byng offers a variety of programs, both in band and strings. Listed below are some of the classes that are currently offered:

  • Beginner Band
  • Junior Band
  • Intermediate Band
  • Senior Band / Wind Ensemble
  • Junior Jazz Band
  • Intermediate Jazz Band
  • Senior Jazz Band
  • Beginner Orchestra
  • Intermediate Orchestra
  • Senior Orchestra
  • Honours Orchestra
  • Symphony Orchestra
  • Choir
  • Junior Symphony Orchestra

Some of the notable band trips include Osaka, Japan (1970), Austria and Germany (2003), New York City (2005), Italy (2007), and England (2009).

Achievements

Lord Byng Secondary School received a rating of 9.2 out of 10 in the 2007 edition of The Fraser Institute's Report Card on Secondary Schools in British Columbia and Yukon. It ranked 13th out of the 291 schools ranked in the report card. As of 2006, Byng is tied with University Hill as the top overall ranked public school in the Lower Mainland.[6]

Lord Byng and Hollywood

  • Lord Byng's interiors were used for the hospital scenes. Its exteriors stood in for a fictional Harding High School in Wisconsin during the second-season premiere of Masters of Horror [citation needed]
  • Areas of the school were used in the filming of Hollow Man 2. [citation needed]
  • School's yards were used in the filming of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. [7]
  • Some students from the band and orchestra of the school were cast as extras in Marianas Trench "Beside You" music video that took place in Chan Centre, University of British Columbia. [citation needed]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ Ready Reference March 2008
  2. ^ "Battle of Cambrai 1917". Wikipedia. November 20th to December 7th, 1917. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  3. ^ "B.C. school stages controversial 'Laramie Project'". CBC Arts. January 11, 2006. Archived from the original on 2009-09-12. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2006-01-13 suggested (help)
  4. ^ Vancouver School Board Mini School Information
  5. ^ Lord Byng Symphony Orchestra
  6. ^ "Report Card on Secondary Schools in British Columbia and Yukon". Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  7. ^ "Info on 'extensive' Wolverine filming". Retrieved 2007-09-20.

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