Halifax Grammar School

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Halifax Grammar School
Established	1958
Type	Private co-educational
Headmaster	Dr. Paul Bennett
Students	500
Grades	0–12
Location	Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada
Yearbook	The Grammarian
Website	www.hgs.ns.ca

The Halifax Grammar School is a private, coeducational day school in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located in south-end Halifax, near Saint Mary's University. It has a student population of approximately 500, and at the high school level follows the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma program. The school's current headmaster is Dr. Paul Bennett, formerly of Lower Canada College, who began his position at the start of the 2005-2006 academic year.

Students at the Halifax Grammar School pursue a wide variety of activities within the school community, as well as in the wider local, provincial and national communities.

Contents 1 Schools 1.1 Campuses 2 Academics 3 Arts 3.1 Past musicals 3.2 Debating

[edit] Schools

The school is divided into the Prep School (grades primary through 4), the Middle School (grades 5 through 9), and the Senior School (grades 10 to 12). Each school has its own head of school and teachers, and each offers an environment that embraces students' needs, as well as preparing them for the next step in their educational career.

Prep School
Head of school: Marjorie Cooper
The Prep, or "preparatory," School, offers an environment that nurtures students' creativity and development.

Middle School
Head of school: Steven Laffoley
The Middle School is a place where students can grow, mature, and learn not only about academics, but about the world that they will live in for the rest of their lives.

Senior School
Head of school: Matthew Moffatt
The Senior School is where students get down to the true quest for knowledge, taking advanced IB courses for as many as three years.

[edit] Campuses

The Halifax Grammar School occupies two campuses, one located on Atlantic Street, and the other on Tower Road. The building on Atlantic Street was the original location of the school before decisions were made to expand it. For two years, the School rented the "Bethany" building on the corner of Tower Road and Inglis Street from Saint Mary's University (it is now used as an ESL building by the university), before purchasing the closed Tower Road School building from the City of Halifax. The Tower Road Campus (TRC) houses the Middle School, the school's administrative offices (including the headmaster's), the Silver Art Studio, and the Meinertzhagen Auditorium, a multipurpose converted gymnasium which is used for everything from school assemblies to dances to musical performances. The Atlantic Street campus houses the Prep School (downstairs) and the Senior School (upstairs), as well as a large gymnasium used for sports games. The school also uses the "Tower" gym facilities at Saint Mary's University for some of its gym classes.

[edit] Academics

Since being founded, HGS has consistently maintained a high level of academic achievement. The Senior School's conversion to mandatory IB studies for all students during the 2002-2003 school year ensured that this level will only continue to rise in the future. However, this is not to say that the school's academic program is limited to the guidelines of the IBO. By exposing students to a variety of areas of study from an early age, the school enables them to see where their strengths and interests lie while at the same time diversifying those strengths and interests. Course choices become progressively more flexible, allowing students to specialize, while certain compulsory courses (at various levels) provide a basis of knowledge that is essential to all students. Both IB and non-IB classes are available both as part of the main curriculum and as extra credit. The great number of different courses and teachers means that class sizes are often very small, in extreme cases only two or three students per class. This encourages a sense of community and interaction between students and teachers while driving both parties to excel. The administration strives to prevent scheduling conflicts and accommodate special circumstances so as to prevent students having to drop courses that they are committed to.

Due to the heavy workload involved with study at HGS, all prospective Senior School students from other schools are required to undergo entrance testing before being admitted. Although this testing rarely results in a student's being refused entry to the school, it does help the administration to make course recommendations based on the student's strengths and weaknesses, or to prepare to provide specialized help where necessary. This system is also used to identify candidates for the school's merit-based scholarships, which range in value and have a variety of qualifications, from pure academics to community service to athletics, and numerous combinations thereof.

HGS also offers a number of continuing education programs available to the wider community, such as Spanish and Bridge lessons.

[edit] Arts

The school has a comprehensive arts program, most notably at the high school level, allowing students the option of taking IB Higher Level Art. Students regularly have their art exhibited throughout both school campuses, and are encouraged to reach the highest levels of creative potential.

Musically, the school began an expansion in 2003 with the implementation of a band program for students in the Middle School. The school is well-known in the Halifax area for its annual production of Broadway musicals.

[edit] Past musicals

• 2007: Bye Bye Birdie
• 2006: Guys and Dolls
• 2005: Fiddler on the Roof
• 2004: The Pajama Game
• 2003: Grease
• 2002: Kiss Me, Kate
• 2001: Anything Goes
• 2000: Flapper, the Musical
• 1999: Lucky Dollar, Private Eye

[edit] Debating

The Halifax Grammar School is home to an exceptional debating program under the instruction of Mr. Josh Judah and has enjoyed many successes in recent years including 3 consecutive years as champions of the Dr. Moses M. Coady Debating Tournament at St Francis Xavier University and top placings at the Sodales Tournament at Dalhousie University and the McGill University High School Invitational