Richmond Secondary School
| Richmond Secondary | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
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7171 Minoru Blvd , , V6Y 1Z3 | |
| Information | |
| School type | Public high school |
| Founded | 1956 |
| School board | School District 38 Richmond |
| School number | 3838065 |
| Principal | Mr. J. Mcleod |
| Staff | 69 |
| Grades | 8-12 |
| Enrollment | 1221 (January 16 2006) |
| Colour(s) | Maroon, grey, and white |
| Team name | Richmond Colts |
| Website | 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 The previous building, which was used from 1956–2003 was torn down in early 2004 and since has been replaced by an artificial turf playing field.
The current principal of 12 years is Darlene Macklam. 2005–2006 will be her last year and she will be replaced by Mr. McLeod starting July 1, 2006. The vice-principals are Dianne Coulter and Phil Ballard.
In the former building, Richmond Secondary housed over 1600 students, in the new building there are around 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.
Feeder schools
For a majority of its history, Richmond Secondary was strictly a senior secondary, offering programming 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 were J.N. Burnett Junior Secondary School, Hugh Boyd Junior Secondary School and R.C. Palmer Junior Secondary School. Prior to the conversion, Richmond was also the grade 11 and 12 French imersion school and received students from McRoberts Junior Secondary.
The current elementary feeder schools are Brighouse Elementary School, Ferris Elementary School, and the majority of students from Blundell Elementary School. Students also come to Richmond Secondary School to participate in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. These students come from many different schools, and sometimes different school districts.
Academics
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 IB program provides a challenging and globally accepted curriculum for all its students. It is offered to a graduating class of approximately 120 students every year. The program is co-ordinated by Remi Vicente, and has gained Richmond Secondary a district-wide reputation as the "prep" school.
IB courses offered include English, French, Mandarin, Spanish, Japanese, self-taught languages, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, History, Music, Theatre, Art, Mathematics, 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 interest in opening more classes on the administrative side. 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 at the school.
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.
Global Perspectives Program
Richmond Secondary in addition, offers the Global Perspectives Program for Grade 12 students taught by Ken Lorenz. For the 2005/2006 school year, students were accompanied by four dentists and sponsors on a humanitarian trip to Laos. A complete list of class rosters and trip locations are available on a wall located inside the school. For the 2006/2007 school year, a selected group of grade 12 students will be going to North Africa.
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, sponsored by John Ryan and 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. The program targets those students stuck in the middle, whom do not receive enough support to achieve their full potential. Of the first 30 AVID students, 28 continued on to attent four-year colleges and the remaining two went on to community colleges. All of these students were the first in their families to attend college, several of whom spoke little or no english after migrating to the United States.
Pre-employment program
Richmond Secondary also has a pre-employment program and a program for teen mothers. Both programs are available to students from all schools in the Richmond School District.
Athletics
Richmond Secondary currently offers numerous athletic teams for students including basketball, cross country, soccer, volleyball, golf, badminton, ultimate frisbee, and track and field.
The basketball team, coached by Bill Disbrow, was a perennial provincial championship contender until the late 1990s, having won five BC AAA Provincial Championships, including the 1995 championship, where the Colts beat St. Michaels University School team led by Steve Nash's brother Martin Nash. The Richmond Secondary School won their last provincial championship 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, coached by Jeff Lochbaum, 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. The Senior team is currently coached by Don Furogori and the Junior team is coached by Timmy Cheng.
Mr. Zadorony who sponsors the cheerleading team has won many cheerleading competitions in the Lower Mainland.
Student life
Richmond Secondary offers a large variety of student clubs in addition to further opportunities in musical, dramatic, artistic, academic, and humanitarian endeavours.
Richmond Secondary has been known for its significant level of multiculturalism, with the majority of its student population being of Chinese descent. There are also many students of Caucasian, Taiwanese, Filipino, Russian, and East Indian backgrounds.
The Student Council for 2005/2006 organized numerous events including one school dance. Elections for presidential and administrative student positions for the 2006/2007 school year are yet to held.
The Grad Committee, which organizes fundraisers (including the Junk-In-Your-Trunk Sale and a Grad Fashion Show) and co-ordinates graduate events such as the Winter Formal and Grad Dinner & Dance is comprised of grade 12 volunteers, currently sponsored and co-ordinated by Wennie Walker, IB Biology teacher and adamant member of the T.A.L.L. club.
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, whose students prepare meals and desserts for other students and teachers to be served at morning and lunch hours.
The Colt Zone, sponsored by Information Technology and ITGS teacher, Mr. Szeto, offers a grand variety of snack foods during off-class time such as chips, candy bars, Asian drinks, and slushies. The school's Business Education class also periodically sells bubble tea in the student lounge, in addition to fundraising sales of chicken teriyaki meals sponsored by the Grad Committee.
Ms.Ding Ching-Lo, or often just called "Communist Chairwoman Ding" (共產主義者丁老師), a mandarin teacher at the school, runs the M.C.C.P. (Model Chinese Communism Party). The club, held every Friday, intends to raise the Chinese Nationalist spirit in the school (because of the large Chinese-Canadian population).