Western Canada High School

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Western Canada High School
Motto: Intelligentia, Vires, Virtus (Latin for: Understanding, Strength, Courage)
Address
641 17 Avenue SW Calgary, Alberta, T2S 0B5, Canada
Information
School board	Calgary Board of Education
Religious affiliation	None (since 1926)
Principal	Carol Grant-Watt
Vice principal	Tom Bugeman
Funding type	Private (1903 - 1928, as Western Canada College) Public (since 1928)
Grades	10, 11, 12
Campus	Urban
Established	1903
Enrollment	1968 (September 2007)
Grade 10	627
Grade 11	609
Grade 12	732
Communities served	Mount Royal Mission, Cliff Bungalow, Connaught
Homepage	http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b816/

Western Canada High School (WCHS) is a public senior high school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It has classes for grades 10 through 12. Western is located in the 17th Avenue business district of the Mount Royal community, and is the most centrally located public high school in Calgary.

WCHS is a highly regarded high school in Western Canada. Many famous Canadians have graduated from WCHS. The school is reputed for its strong academics, extra-curriculars, fine arts and athletic program. In past years, students have been admitted to prestigious universities such as Amherst, Berkeley, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, McGill, NYU, Penn, Queen's, Princeton, Stanford, University of Toronto, UCLA, University of Waterloo and Wharton.

1 History
2 Special programs
3 Notable alumni
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

The original school building was completed in 1903 as a British-style exclusive high school for boys called Western Canada College (not a college in the North American sense of the word). It was created by "The Western Canada College Bill of Incorporating Ordinance" enacted by the Government of the Northwest Territories, which Calgary was then a part of before the province of Alberta was created in 1905.^[1]

The private school had financial problems and was sold to the Calgary Board of Education. The CBE renamed it, re-opened it as public school, and constructed additional buildings on the land.

Western was Calgary's first composite high school, providing both technical and academic courses of study. The school has been substantially renovated and additions have been made to the building over the years. Linda Raasveldt became the first female principal of the school in 2002. Currently, the school is undergoing a series of renovations.

[edit] Special programs

The school provides French and Spanish language as a primary language instruction. In addition, it is one of a select number of schools in Calgary to offer French immersion. Western is one of a small number of Calgary high schools to offer an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme in English, and is the only Calgary public high school to offer the program in French. Each year, about 20-40 students graduate with an IB Diploma, and significantly more graduate with an IB certificate. It is also the only school in Alberta to offer Higher Level mathematics. The school also offers an extensive performing and visual arts program, and offers a certificate to recognize students that have made fine arts a focus of learning at the high school level. Fewer than 20 students received the certificate in 2006.

In 2007, Western Canada High School has also started to offer an online multicultural awareness program: Connections 25.

[edit] Notable alumni

Conrad Bain - Actor, known for his portrayal of Phillip Drummond on Different Strokes
Jim Dinning - Former Alberta treasurer ^[2]
Daniel Philip Hays - Speaker of the Canadian Senate ^[3]
Pat Kelly - Comedian, actor, and TV host.^[4]
Norman Kwong - Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta and the youngest athlete to be a member of a winning Grey Cup team in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a member of the Order of Canada. ^[5]
Matthew Cairns - Graduated from Western in two months due to his incredible intelligence, and lack of a schlong.
Larry Robinson - Played with the Calgary Stampeders from 1961 to 1974, winning the Grey Cup in 1971. He was the first player in the CFL to score over 1,000 points in a season.^[6] ^[7]
Kinnie Starr - Singer/songwriter who was nominated for the Juno Award for New Artist of the Year in 2004. ^[8]
Taryn Swiatek - Former member of the Canada women's national soccer team which placed fourth in the FIFA Women's World Cup competition in 2003. ^[9]
David E. Mitchell, O.C. - Founder of Alberta Energy Company which, along with PanCanadian Energy, merged to create EnCana Corporation.