Bear Creek Secondary School

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Bear Creek Secondary School
Address
100 Red Oak Drive Barrie, Ontario, L4N 9M5, Canada
Information
School number	894060
School board	Simcoe County District School Board
Principal	Randy Bauer
Funding type	Public
Grades	9-12
Team name	Bear Creek Kodiaks
Colours	Red, Blue, Green and White
Founded	2001
Enrollment	>2000 (2006-2007)
Homepage	http://bcss.scdsb.on.ca/

Bear Creek Secondary School (known as BCSS) is a public secondary school (grades 9-12) located in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 2001, and currently has an enrollment of more than 2000 students.

The administrative staff includes R. Bauer (principal), G. Hunter (vice-principal), L. Kelman (vice-principal) and M. Ridout-Craig (vice-principal). Academics, leadership skills, character development and athletics are central to the philosophy of Bear Creek.

Bear Creek's vision statements are, "at Bear Creek, we believe that our school must serve and respect students, staff, parents and community, who are all integral elements of the culture of the school. Pride and progress, in individuals, teams, programs, and achievements will be hallmarks of Bear Creek."

Contents 1 Facilities 2 Academics 2.1 Cooperative education 3 "Commit to Character" campaign 4 Extra-curricular events and clubs 4.1 Club listing 4.1.1 Students’ Council 4.1.2 Coffee House 4.2 Athletics 4.2.1 Rugby 4.2.2 Football 4.2.3 Life Skills hockey tournament 4.2.4 Cheerleading 5 In the news 5.1 Chemical/substance leak 5.2 Ontario Workplace Safety Student Video Awards 5.3 Rape trial 5.4 Notable Achievement 6 Notable faculty 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Facilities

Bear Creek was completed January 2001 by Bonfield Construction for Simcoe County District School Board, costing $18,100,000. It was designed by Zawadzki Armin Stevens Architects. The school has two storeys and has 167,570 sq. ft. Athletic facilities include a small and large gymnasium, as well as a running track on the second floor. The school also features specialized classrooms, a round cafetorium, a food court area and a large forum. Exterior features include a large parking area, an outdoor track and a large sports/football field.

[edit] Academics

Students from grades 9 through 11 who have achieved honours standing in all eight of their credits participate in the "Night of Excellence", during which students receive certificates and academic medals. The Kodiak Achievement Awards are awarded to recognize the top achieving student in each course, from Grades 9 through 11.^[1]

[edit] Cooperative education

The Cooperative Education department at Bear Creek offers a multitude of placement opportunities for students. For the 3rd year, Bear Creek offers a Mobile Heavy Equipment 4-credit program. A new 4-credit Bear Creek Support Worker (BCSW) program will be offered this year, in the second semester. This program will be of interest to students considering post secondary paths in health care, childhood education, geriatric care and developmental support. In both specialized co-op programs, opportunities are available for students to earn industry specific certifications and to make relevant connections with business and community-college partners.

[edit] "Commit to Character" campaign

The "Commit to Character" Campaign is a deliberate effort across Simcoe County District School Board to nurture universal attributes that transcend racial, religious, socio-economic and cultural lines. It is a whole school effort to create a community that promotes the highest standards of student discipline and citizenship.

The ten Commit to Character attributes were selected through a series of consultations with community leaders, organizations and school communities to reflect what the communities of Simcoe County consider important. The traits are: integrity, responsibility, cooperation, caring, respect, optimism, honesty, empathy, courage and inclusiveness.

The Commit to Character committee at Bear Creek selects and recognizes students who have demonstrated the Commit to Character characteristics over the course of the year at an assembly held in May. In recognition of their good character, the students are awarded with a certificate and a prize. In the 2005-2006 school year, the students were rewarded with a trip to Canada's Wonderland.

[edit] Extra-curricular events and clubs

[edit] Club listing

• BOB (Bunch of Believers)
• Classics Club
• Concert band, Jazz band, Wind Ensemble
• Concert Choir, Jazz Choir
• Dance Team
• Fashion Design Club
• Gay-Straight Alliance
• Green Team
• Hospitality Club
• Improv Club, Sears Drama Festival
• Interact
• International Club
• Link Leaders
• Prom Committee

• Social Justice
• Student Council, Music Council
• Tech Crew
• Trailblazer's
• Weight Training Club, Yoga Club

[edit] Students’ Council

The Students’ Council at Bear Creek consists of representatives of the student body and appointed positions. Students’ Council hosts a fall dance and a semi-formal dance, as well as United Way week. Other activities that the Students’ Council hosts include Battle of the Grades week and Bear Creek Idol. The Students’ Council for 2006-2007 includes over 30 members.

[edit] Coffee House

The Coffee House is a special event originally done at Innisdale Secondary School for Innisdale students. However, recently Bear Creek also ran similar events for their students. Students can show their musical talents to their peers, who pay about $5 to watch the variety of talents at Bear Creek. Assorted drinks and snacks are also available for purchase. Money collected from Coffee House is usually sent to a charity group or organization, which helps the school become more connected with the community.

[edit] Athletics

The following sports programs are offered at Bear Creek:

• Athletic Association
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Cheerleading
• Cross Country
• Curling
• Flag Football and Football
• Golf
• Hardball and Softball
• Hockey
• Rugby
• Skiing
• Soccer
• Tennis
• Track and Field
• Volleyball
• Wrestling

[edit] Rugby

The Kodiak Rugby teams travel on a bi-annual tour of the United Kingdom, visiting and playing against schools in Scotland, England, and Wales. This year, they will take their 3rd tour to the United Kingdom. They will be hosted by Brynteg Comprehensive School, Bishopston High School, and Welbeck Defence Sixth College (DSFC). They will also have a chance to watch International Rugby between England and Wales.

[edit] Football

On October 26, 2006, Bear Creek hosted its very first "Thursday Night Lights" as a match between Bear Creek Secondary School and Innisdale Secondary School. The game resulted in a 29-27 win for Bear Creek.

[edit] Life Skills hockey tournament

Special needs students from Life Skills programs across Simcoe County participated in the 5th Annual Life Skills Floor Hockey Tournament that took place Wednesday, October 18, 2006 at Bear Creek Secondary School.

[edit] Cheerleading

The Bear Creek Kodiak Varsity Cheerleading team is made up of 30 student athletes, male and female, from grades 9 through 12. The team practices 3 times a week and adds an additional practice during intense competition season. Bear Creek Secondary School also runs a Junior Varsity Cheerleading Team. The J.V. team consists of 25 athletes, male and female, grades 9 and 10. Both teams competed on December 4th, 2005 at White Oaks Secondary School in Oakville. The varsity team also traveled to Kissimmee, Florida in March of 2006 to compete in the U.S. Nationals competition, in which they won second place. The Kodiak team participated in the U.S. Nationals again in February 2007, and walked away with a second place once more.

The cheerleading team also offers a cheerleading program for students in grades 4-8, called Kodiak Kubs. It is an 8 week camp, and at the end of the 8 weeks the team will competes at the school in the local Simcoe County Competition.

[edit] In the news

[edit] Chemical/substance leak

On December 21, 2005 just before 11:00 am, Barrie Police, Fire and EMS attended Bear Creek Secondary School in regards to a possible chemical/substance leak and numerous students and staff complaining of nausea, irritated throat, and watery eyes and coughing.

School officials immediately commenced evacuation of students and staff into outside portables and buses when the initial complaints of symptoms were reported. 8 individuals were initially decontaminated by EMS and treated on-scene for their symptoms and then transported by EMS to Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie for further medical assessment.

It is believed that the substance was pepper spray that had been released as a possible prank.^[2]

[edit] Ontario Workplace Safety Student Video Awards

For the 3rd Annual Ontario Workplace Safety Student Video Awards Contest in 2004, two of Bear Creek's students achieved awards of merit in the category of Public Service Announcement. Gin Barlow and Deziree Eddy, the two award winners, had to create a video that displays how to avoid the dangers in the workplace.^[3]

[edit] Rape trial

Bear Creek SS was in the news because of the court trial of a 17-year-old Barrie teen who formerly attended Bear Creek. The teen, who can not be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was accused of sexually assaulting 11 schoolmates. Most of the alleged incidents happened in 2003 or 2004, behind the school, or in the wooded area near the school where students often walk, court heard.

So far, 18 witnesses have testified for the Crown, but the defence has rested its case with only one witness, who testified only briefly. The witness, an 18-year-old male, said he was a student at Bear Creek last year and knew the accused on a casual basis, and knew he was suspended from the school, but never saw any altercation between the male and another female. The accused did not take the stand.

[edit] Notable Achievement

On June 20, 2004 Bear Creek Secondary School recognized its first two ever student-athletes to be signed on athletic scholarship. Ontario Scholars and nationally recognized athletes, swimmers Zack Hurd and Tori Clarridge have both been signed to American universities. Bear Creek proudly supports its athletes with Tori joining the University of New Mexico [1], and Zack joining The University of Maryland, Baltimore County [2].

[edit] Notable faculty

• Lance Chomyc, former Toronto Argonaut and football record holder (In 1991, he set a record of 236 points) ^[4])
• Harry Stegenga (former teacher), the 2005 Governor General's Awards for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History finalist ^[5]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Bear Creek Secondary School
• Bear Creek Library page