Lethbridge Collegiate Institute

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lethbridge Collegiate Institute
Pro Scola et Pro Patriaa[›] For School and For Country
Address
1701 5 Avenue Southb[›] Lethbridge, Alberta, T1J 0W4, Canada
Information
School board	Lethbridge School District No. 51
Principal	Don Groft
Vice principals	Craig Brack, Debbie Yanota, Dr. Max Zaugg
Staff	122 (2006)[1]
School type	High school
Grades	9-12
Campus	Urban, 11 acres (0.04 km², 4.5 hectares)
Team name	Rams (♂), Clippers (♀)c[›]
Colours	Green and Gold
Founded	1928
Enrollment	≈ 1,550 (2007)
Feeder schools	Gilbert Paterson, G.S. Lakied[›]
Homepage	http://lsdweb.lethsd.ab.ca/lci/

Lethbridge Collegiate Institute (more commonly known as LCI) is the larger of two public secondary schools in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, serving grades nine, ten, eleven, and twelve. The school is the largest operated by Lethbridge School District No. 51, and entry is loosely based on location in either south or west Lethbridge.^[2]

The school was founded in 1928 in an adjacent building and opened at its current location in 1950. Since opening, several additions have been made, increasing student capacity to approximately 1,500. LCI is well known in southern Alberta for its academic and athletic opportunities for students. Many programs are offered academically, including the Advanced Placement Program in several subjects, automotives, construction and communication technology, fashion studies, and four language studies.^[1]

[edit] History

[edit] Early years

In the early 1900's, two Lethbridge schools made reference to their central location near what would later become downtown Lethbridge. The first was Central School, which had been built in 1891, fifteen years prior to the incorporation of the city of Lethbridge.^[3] The small school was the only one serving secondary studuents in the Lethbridge area.^[4] In 1909, Central School was closed and secondary students moved into a vacated building on 5 Avenue. When it became too crowded in the mid 1920s, a struggle began between the school board and the city to have a new school constructed.^[4]

Central School, which housed high school students until 1909

In February of 1928, work began on Lethbridge Collegiate Institute, the city's first combined junior/high school, at the corner of 4th Avenue and 15th Street South.^[4] The new site had previously been used for aviation activities in the city,^[5] until the opening of Kenyon Field south of Six-Mile Coulee in the summer of 1939.^[6] Construction at the site finished in October 1928, though a fire in the spring of 1929 ravaged the new building and caused classes to be moved to other local schools until later that year.^[4]

When the new LCI again became too small for the city's growing population in 1950, a new building was constructed on the same block just east of the old. Twenty-one schools were constructed in Lethbridge between 1946 and 1965, due to southern Alberta's booming population.^[3] Grades 10-12 were moved to the new building while grades 7-9 stayed behind. The new junior high was renamed Lethbridge Junior High School, but remained so for less than one year.^[7] In the latter part of 1950, the junior high adopted its new name, Hamilton Junior High School (named after William Alfred Hamilton, a former teacher, princial, and superintendent).^[7] It kept the name for over half a century, until its relocation to rapidly expanding west Lethbridge as G.S. Lakie Middle School in 2003.

Next door, classes commenced on November 22, 1950 at the new LCI. With an increase in population new sections of the building were added in 1955, 1957, 1970, and 1986.^[8][9] Today, a section of Hamilton's old building houses Allan Watson High School, not operated by district 51.^[10]

Stained glass above an entrance

[edit] A new grade

In the fall of 2003, Grade 9 students began attending the school, in accordance with a grade reconfiguration in many public schools across Alberta. Teachers, textbooks, and other classroom materials were brought in from local middle schools. The changes introduced a new term to the area, with "middle school" becoming grades 6-8 and the term "high school" redefined to include grades 9-12. This created minor inconveniences for staff in other areas, but at LCI it brought more students into a building that was already near capacity. Members of the community believed the government move was targeted specifcally at the city of Lethbridge; made to force the province to build an additional Lethbridge high school. Such a project had been anticipated for at least a decade. As expected, the announcement came in 2005; a year that saw the enrollment at LCI exceed 1,600 students. In an effort to reduce enrollment, students living on the city's north side must be enrolled in a course not offered at Winston Churchill High School to attend LCI, though since 2004 that building has also become very crowded. LCI's enrollment peaked in 2005, though the population of the city has steadily increased.^[11]

Campus map

[edit] Campus

The building is bounded by Allan Watson High School to the west, businesses to the north, a church and homes across the street to the south, and Catholic Central High School across the street to the east.

The current layout has the campus divided into sections, seven of which are in the main building.^[9] The "A" wing, with the cafeteria and a small, secondary gymnasium, is the western most portion of the building. The "B" wing, a newer component of the building, contains mostly the English and Mathematics departments. The bottom floor of the large, southern "C" wing holds the library and two lecture theatres. The upper floors contain computer, biology, chemistry, and physics laboratories as well as several classrooms. The main "D" wing contains administrator offices, science, and social studies classrooms. The main gym and counselling department technically make up the "E" wing, though it is hardly referred to by that name. Construction technology, automotives, and the LCI Performing Arts Centre north of the main gym are the "F" wing, while a small, third floor section containing home economics is the "H" wing. Underneath the home economics area is a fitness centre housing various exercise equipment. The single-storey, peripheral "G" wing, a linear building separated by a 15 metre lane from the main building, houses a communication technology lab, electronic equipment, autobody, and an art room.^[1][9]

Student-painted "Welcome" mural

Though a parking lot for staff with over 100 stalls is provided, no student lot is available. Students must park their vehicles on 5 Avenue, or south on 17 Street or 18 Street; competing with students from the other two area high schools also trying to park their vehicles. A lane north of the school is restricted to busses only. Students traverse the staff parking lot in the morning and afternoon to reach 13 busses, the majority of which carry students to and from west Lethbridge.

A concession booth close to the main gymnasium provides snacks and hot dogs for purchase during the day and at evening sporting events. The cafeteria at the west end of the building sells hamburgers, pizza, and submarine sandwiches; students are also free to leave the campus for lunch, several fast food restaurants are within walking distance. The LCI lunch period is almost entirely offset from that of nearby Catholic Central High School, in another effort to reduce congestion. Packed on two city blocks with five other schools, the surrounding narrow streets are difficult to navigate for parents and older students during the morning and afternoon rush.^[12] The school is also known for its internal overcrowdedness, scheduled to significantly diminish with the completion of an additional public high school in west Lethbridge in 2009.^[13] At present, hundreds of students are bussed from the city's west side daily. The total floor area at LCI exceeds that of all the other schools in the district combined.

[edit] Academics

From Monday to Thursdsay, the school operates from 7:55 in the morning to 2:56 in the afternoon, with five 68 minute clsases. Grade ten, eleven and twelve students have four different modules, with one doubled on each day of the week (e.g. module 3 is doubled on Wednesday).^[1] On Fridays, classes begin slightly later; running from 8:00 to 12:31, with four 62 minute classes and no lunch period. From Monday to Thursday, the lunch period begins at 11:47.

In preparation for Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs)^[14] at the end of the year, grade nine students operate on a similar system to that of local middle schools.^e[›] Local middle schools All courses run from September until June, with the exception of option courses which are semestered. This is contrary to grades ten through twelve, where nearly all classes are semestered, and students receiving 5 credits per course. 100 credits are needed to graduate, per Alberta Learning requirements.^[14] Each credit equals approximately 125 hours of classroom instruction. Of their final sixteen high school modules (4 in grade eleven and 4 in grade twelve), students are permitted to take three spares, with a general restriction of one per year in grade eleven and one per semester in grade twelve.^[1]

Due to the high enrolment, several teachers have had their classrooms segregated from their main department. In recent years, several teachers were left without classrooms and had to make use of whatever rooms were available during a particular module. As a result, the building is now much less departmentalized than was originally planned.

Student-painted National Honour Society mural

Numerous scholarships are offered annually for students. For several, application is not necessary; grade 11 or 12 students with an overall average above 80% are eligible to receive $400 via Rutherford Scholarships.^[15][14] Entry into the National Honor Society is also offered, requiring students to complete a minimum of 20 hours community service over the course of the year. The Society participates in directing annual functions such as "Parent-Teacher Evening". In the community, the group assists at the Chinook Regional Hospital and at Salvation Army functions, such as bell ringing.

A high number of LCI students go on to attend the universities of Lethbridge,^[16] Calgary, and Alberta, as well as Lethbridge College. In a 2004 Fraser Institute report which was conducted on the previous school year, LCI was ranked tied for 75^th, with Winston churchill and several others, among Alberta high schools. It was an improvement of 42 positions over the previous ranking.^[17] Due to increasing awareness, the number of students dropping out of school before completion has steadily decreased, on average, provincewidde.^[18] Though not available for individual institutions, the number of students completing school has also increased districtwide.^[19]

[edit] Advisor Program

LCI Rams and Clippers

Similar to a long running program in place at Winston Churchill High School, an advisor program was introduced in the fall of 2006. The program consists of an 8 minute session between the first two periods in which students of all grades meet with a teacher to which they were randomly assigned at the beginning of the year.^[1] The idea of the program is for students to have an influential adult within the school, one that is easier to communicate with than those of the counselling department. Administrative duties, such as public announcements and the handing out of report cards and newsletters, have also been shifted to the period. Advisors also make mid-semester phone-home reports to parents. Most students do not have their advisor teach them any other subject. In most circumstances, students in grade 9 will have the same advisor for all four years of high school.

[edit] Student Council

Student Council consists of a president, four vice presidents (one elected from each grade), a secretary, and a treasurer. Members of the council perform some administrative duties, such as the organization of assemblies and school functions.^[1] Though the vice president positions are intended to be a closer connection to administration within respective grades, they have been criticised for being simply symbolic. The budget designated to the council is low; the activities for which members were initally voted for promising to organize seldom happen. The president, with help from other council members, will normally "emcee" pep rallies geared toward increasing school spirit and promoting fine arts. Elections for all positions (except grade nine vice-president) are now held in June of the previous year. In previous years, elections were held in late September or early October.

[edit] Advanced Placement Program

Student art

The Advanced Placement Program (AP) at LCI is well promoted at feeder schools and locally compared to the International Baccalaureate program offered at Winston Churchill.^[1] It is intended to give gifted students an opportunity to learn new material in addition to the basic curriculum. ^[20] Some graduates of the AP program have stated that advanced material they learned in the program was similar to first-year univeristy courses. The program consists of advanced streams in mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, English, and social studies.^[14]

In grade 8 classes at middle school, students must achieve a final average above 80% to enter AP classes in grade 9. More extracurricular activities and "more peaceful" classrooms are among the praises for the program. However, for the majority of courses little to no extra work is completed in the advanced stream versus the regular stream. Unlike the IB program, Alberta Learning states that students may not switch between the lowest streams and Advanced Placement in grades 11 and 12 but they can, however, switch between the various streams in grades 9 and 10.^[14] Both programs are presented as having several strengthes and weaknesses; students are encouraged to select their high school based on other factors, such as their location in Lethbridge. LCI students annually write provincial advanced placement exams in various subjects, including World History, literature and physics, in grade 12.^[14]

[edit] Extracurricular activities

The main gymnasium has a large "Wall of Champions" along the east and south wall, timelining provincial athletic victories since the school's move to the building in 1949. Along with the "L.C.I. Wall of Distinction" profiling dozens of notable LCI graduates, several hallways are lined with framed photographs of past LCI athletic teams, choirs, and councils; dating back to the early 1980s.

[edit] Athletics

[edit] Football

LCI frequently identifies their active Canadian football program as one of the best in western Canada, proclaiming the various travel opportunities to newcomers that other schools are most often unable to provide. The program regularly produces Canadian Football League players and Division I players in the United States, The latest being Jon Gott, a 2004 LCI graduate who went on to Boise State University.^[22][23] Numerous standout athletes in the last two years year further confirm LCI's reputation as a top football program.^[24][25] Despite the recent individual glory, LCI struggles against the much smaller Raymond High School. The Raymond Comets have beaten the Tier I (schools win an enrollment exceeding 1,250) Rams three years in a row to continue in the provincial competition.

[edit] Other sports

The 2006-07 year was a good one for the LCI wrestling team, with several members winning various awards at provincial competitions.^[26] Elsewhere, a former LCI student and rugby player, Ashley Patzer, was named CIS player of the year for 2006.^[27] She wa also later named the University of Lethbridge Female Athlete of the Year.^[28]

As of 2007, track and field, baseball, basketball, badminton, curling, golf, softball, volleyball, and girls slowpitch are also played at LCI.^[1]

This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it.

[edit] School song

The song is no longer used or promoted at school athletic events, mostly because of the elimination of cheerleading several yaers ago.

To our dear LCI/We will be true/We'll hold our colors high/Cause LCI we're all for you./We will fight all the way/To spread your fame/Our banners will not sway/Cause Green and Gold/Will put the rest to shame./FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!^[1]

[edit] Choir

The choral program at LCI is prominent, and is arguably the school's most successful extracurricular program. Choir is provided as an optional course at all grades.^[1] Auditions are held annually for the school's three representative choirs:

• The Chamber Choir is LCI's feature group, directed by Frank Gnandt. The majority of their music is spiritual, but they also known to add African or Gaelic music. Near the end of every school year, the choir, through various fundraising efforts over the course of the year takes an international trip. At the 2006 MusicFest Canada competition in Ottawa, Ontario, the Chamber and Jazz choirs received gold awards in the choral/vocal jazz division.^[29] Past trip locations also include Japan, New York City and Hawaii. Every few years, Gnandt takes the choir on a tour through Europe, giving the singers an opportunity to perform in Italian and French cathedrals. The choir will take such a trip in 2007, touring Western Europe.^[30]

• The LCI Singers consists of girls from grades 9-12, led by Karen Hudson. They mostly perform at school functions, such as that for Remembrance Day. In May 2005, the group travelled to Edmonton to perform for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.^[31] They usually take one major trip each year, using several concerts throughout the school year as fundraisers.

• The Jazz Choir, also led by Gnandt, consists of 13 students, all of whom are members of the Chamber Choir. They are an A cappella group, but also use a rhythm section consisting of a piano, bass guitar, and drums. Their songs range from ballads to almost rock-like jazz. The choir also performs at the aforementioned Christmas and spring concerts.

[edit] Clubs

Entrance to Performance Arts Centre

The school has provisions for over 30 clubs, less than a third of which are currently active due to lack of students interest. The most prominent of those that are active are 'Students Alive', 'Peer Support', and 'Travel Club'; the latter of which will travel to Costa Rica in 2007. After a brief revival in 2005-06, the 'Chess Club' was again put to rest at the beginning of the current school year. Also notable is a group called the Association to Kill Apathy (AKA), which does community as well as environmental work. On Remembrance Day of 2006, the group dedicated "peace poles", in association with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, garnering local media attention.^[32] The Collegian Column is a weekly school bulletin produced by faculty, appealing primarily to older students interested in scholarship information.^[1] The LCI Journal, the school newspaper, has not been active for a number of years. Concerning defunct clubs and media, the school leaves it to faculty to decide if they are reviving a project, pending student interest.

[edit] Other activities

LCI has its own small theatre that had previously been a metal shop. There is a fall theatrical production performed entirely by students, performed at the Genevieve E. Yates Memorial Centre, located a few blocks to the west of the school. LCI has won several competitions with their entry in the spring high school one act competition locally.

LCI is well known for its student exchange. The most advertised is that with Japan, as LCI regularly exchanges students with a high school in Sapporo.^[33] LCI students will travel to Japan in early July of 2007.^[30] In the 2006/2007 year, students were also exchanged with a high school in Spain, with several Spanish students arriving in the fall of 2006 and several LCI students departing for Spain in the spring of 2007.

The LCI dance program is rapidly expanding and features numerous styles including jazz, modern, and hip hop; all under the direction of Betty Poulsen.^[1] Usually, sometimes several times a semester, there are residencies with professional dancers and choreographers from Calgary for as long as three weeks. The program's feature event, Summerdance, is held in the spring at the Yates Memorial Centre.^[1]

In 2007, a group of LCI students will travel to Vimy Ridge, along with Winston Churchill students and more than 3,600 students from across Canada to participate in events celebrating the ninetieth anniversary of Canadian military victory there during the First World War.^{[34] [35] [36]}

[edit] Notable alumni

• Christopher Donaldson, screenwriter
• Kari Matchett, who played Dr. Mariel Underlay on the ABC series Invasion
• Ryan Parker, Lethbridge alderman^[37]

This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it.

[edit] Additional images

East side of B wing

Cafeteria

Performance Arts Centre

Vimy Ridge promotional display

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• L.C.I. Home Page
• Alberta Education
• Lethbridge School District No. 51

Schools in Lethbridge School District No. 51

Secondary schools	Lethbridge Collegiate Institute · Winston Churchill High School
Middle or junior high schools	Gilbert Paterson Middle School · G.S. Lakie Middle School · Lethbridge Christian School · Wilson Middle School
Primary or elementary schools	Dr. Gerald B. Probe Elementary School · École Agnes Davidson Elementary School · Fleetwood Bawden Elementary School · Galbraith Elementary School · General Stewart Elementary School · Lakeview Elementary School · Lethbridge Christian School · Mike Mountain Horse Elementary School · Nicholas Sheran Community School · Park Meadows Elementary School · Senator Buchanan Elementary School · Westminster Elementary School

Coordinates: 49°41′38″N, 112°49′01″W