| Alexander Galt Regional High School | |
| Location | |
| Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada | |
| Information |
Alexander Galt Regional High School (AGRHS), located in Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada, is an English language secondary school which opened in 1969. It provides English education to 1150 Secondary 1 - 5 students in the southeastern region of the Eastern Townships.
Contents |
The school is located on a 45-acre (180,000 m2) campus on the outskirts of Sherbrooke in viewing distance of Bishops University. The school is housed in a 3-floor, cross-shaped building which contains the classrooms, administrative offices, sports center, library, cafeteria and auditorium. Part of the building (One wing) is used by the Eastern Townships Technical Institute - a vocational education center.
The school offers and is not limited to :
The school boasts a large outdoor greenspace which consists of five soccer fields, two baseball fields, a football field and two running tracks. The running tracks consist of one paved, 5-lane track that encircles the football field, and one that hugs the outside perimeter of the school property. The latter is basically a packed down trail used for endurance running. All of which (minus half of a soccer field) are currently out of bounds to the students during the school day.
During the winter season, the school clears some of the soccer fields for the various winter activity days (winter carnival,etc...).
The school building contains in one of its wings the school multi-functional gymnasium. Consisting of one large gymnasium and a smaller gym adjacent to it. The larger gym can be divided using curtains (two of which are not functional) that can be automatically raised or lowered from the ceiling. By using the curtains the space can be divided to allow for two full-sized basketball courts or four half-sized courts. By using the curtains, multiple classes or groups can use the space independently. The smaller gymnasium contains a rock climbing wall, a half sized basketball court and a fully equipped weight training room.
The auditorium of the building is located between the central hub and gymnasium. It has a seating capacity of 600 people with wheelchair access. The auditorium is equipped for professional theatre with standard sound and lighting equipment system. The school invites everyone in the community to attend the school's yearly theatre production. The auditorium has also been used in the past as a movie theatre for students when either the gym is closed for maintenance or as a part of an activity. A majority of the seats in the auditorium are the ones that were there when the school opened in 1969. some of the seats in the back have been replaced due to damage, involuntarily encouraging the students to sit in the back of the auditorium.
The cafeteria has a seating capacity of 1000 people and serves hot lunches every day to students for a high fee(5.50$). It is located in the centre hub on the second floor.
The library of the school is located in the central hub of the building, on the third floor. The library offers its students access to its 28,000 books and 14 computers not forgetting the racks of laptops which are left from the ELS.
The school has many portable Apple laptops and desktop computers all with internet access. (See Enhanced Learning Strategy)
The courses and programs at AGRHS include Drama, English language arts, English-History, Ethics and Religion, French language, French Geography, History, Contemporary World, Contemporary World and Literature, Home Economics, Mathematics, Moral Religious Education, Music, Physical Education, School Community Service(Community Skills), Sciences, and Spanish.
AGRHS has many sports and extra-curricular activities such as Basketball, European football, Tennis, Badminton, Dance, Canadian football, Hockey, Rugby, Intramural Activities, Softball, Swimming, Cross-country running, Cheer-leading, Training and coaching.
Additionally, activities are offered to students who sign up for the related courses in Band Concerts and Drama Play.
The several sports teams at the school have try-outs, and have practices on a three-or-more per week basis, they also participate in games that either take place at the school itself, or at a neighboring school.
The AGRHS school band (Often referred to as the "Galt Band") has a wide variety of instruments including; trombones, saxophones, trumpets, tubas, guitars, flutes and many other instruments.
The Eastern Townships School Board recognizes that one to one computing, using laptops, supported in a wireless environment and properly implemented, can improve the performance of students. The intent of this project is twofold. It focuses on Learning and Teaching. The first primary objective is to enhance our students’ achievements such that improvements in literacy; numeracy; reduction in the repeating of grades; reduction in the dropout rates of Eastern Townships School Board students are attained by June 30, 2007. The second primary objective is to empower our teaching personnel by providing a technological tool for integration into the curriculum and teaching practices.
Every time Apple releases a new Ibook model they usually sent a shipment to the ETSB (Eastern Townships School Board). When the school receives the laptops, they are given to the newer students, and the older models (which are usually in a sub-par condition) are put on carts which are to be used by the rest of the school.
Professional development, in terms of curriculum and technology, is the basic principle of this initiative. The coordination and implementation of these professional development activities is fundamental in assisting our students and personnel to attain higher levels of achievement in the areas listed above
(Please note that students in Secondary Four and Five do not have access to these laptops on a one-to-one basis.)