Vancouver College

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Vancouver College

"Semper Fidelis"
Always Faithful
Address
5400 Cartier Street
Vancouver, British Columbia, V6M 3A5, Canada
Information
School board CISVA (Catholic Independent Schools of the Vancouver Archdiocese)
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Superintendent Doug Lauson
Principal John McFarland
Vice principals Enzo Nardi (10-12)
Robert Kozikowski (7-9)
Barbara Seppelt (K-6)
School type Independent
Grades K-12
Language English
Area Shaugnessy, Vancouver
Mascot Finnegan
Team name Fighting Irish
Colours Purple and Gold         
Founded 1922
Enrollment 1069 (2067)
Homepage Vancouver College

Vancouver College (referred to informally as VC) is an all-boys university-preparatory Catholic school (K-12) located in the Shaughnessy neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. VC's elementary and secondary programs have a combined population of over 1,000 students. Despite its Catholic denomination, it is open to all religions. The school participates in sporting events under the moniker of the "Fighting Irish"

History

Vancouver College was founded in 1922 by the Christian Brothers, a world-wide community of religious brothers of the Catholic church founded by Edmund Rice. The school was a fully run boarding school until 1979, when the boarding houses were closed and renovated to its present conditions. Its archived history, displayed through galleries throughout the school, highlights its deep tradition in academia, athletics and the arts.

The school's focus is on the physical, emotional, artistic, athletic, academic and spiritual development of its students. The schools rigorous academic atmosphere, complemented by its strong athletics, strives to provide a strong base from which its students will succeed, highlighted in the school's motto "Leave Here A Better Man".

Architecture

  • Main entrance

  • Blessed Edmund Rice Hall

  • Christian Brother's Residence

  • Main entrance

Academic performance

Vancouver College's grade nine to twelve students write mid-term and year-end exams. They score at an average of about 80-90%.

Vancouver College's grade twelve students write the English 12 provincial examination and continually score above the provincial average by as much as 10%. Vancouver College students also perform well in North American science, mathematics, and essay competitions, consistently placing in the top quartile. Graduates have gone on to study at reputable universities and colleges in North America, Asia, and Europe.

Vancouver College offers many accelerated courses, advance placement (AP) courses, as well as university courses taught on campus.

Sports

Athletics is a key part of the tradition and culture of Vancouver College. The school competes in many sports, including

O'Hagan Field - produced professional star athletes & where movies have been filmed.

Students are expected and encouraged to participate in these programs. The football and basketball programs traditionally rank among the top teams in British Columbia, while VC's rowing has performed well at nationals, often ranking first or second. VC's teams are known as the "Fighting Irish", a slogan used as a reflection of school pride.

For the Irish, the 2007-2008 season was full of astounding achievements. The VC badminton and track and field teams came first in the province, and the rugby team (despite being the first College team since 1928) won the Lower Mainland New Zealand Shield.

In 2010, head Coach Todd Bernett lead the Fighting Irish Varsity football team to their first BC provincial title since 1994.

Extracurricular

Vancouver College has many student clubs, many of which include:

  • Student Council
  • Environment Club
  • Graduation Committee
  • Senior Edmundians
  • Junior Edmundians
  • The Annual "One World One Heart" Social Justice Conference (OWOH)
  • The Lettermen Society
  • Debate Society
  • Yearbook: The Collegian
  • Social Justice Club
  • Science Club (STRINGS)
  • The Voice Newspaper
  • Reach for the Top
  • Pro-Life
  • Model United Nations
  • Audio Visual Club
  • VC Ambassadors
  • Peer Tutoring
  • Ski and Snowboard Team
  • Book Club

Student clubs are, much of the time, solely organized and established based on student interest and support, therefore providing opportunities for student leadership.

Notable alumni

New Wing

Vancouver College's new wing
Holler Family Science Centre
On November 2, 2007, Vancouver College officially opened the Holler Family Science Centre and the new South Gym. The facilities were blessed by The Most Rev. Raymond Roussin, SM, The former Archbishop of Vancouver. This new addition to Vancouver College's academic community consists of four brand-new science classrooms, a state-of-the-art "super" laboratory, a greenhouse as well as several offices and classrooms serving the schools curricular and extra-curricular interests.

On January 30, 2008 construction had finished on the schools High Performance Fitness Centre. The centre consists of two floors, the first being a cardiovascular training area, and the other being serving as a weight-training facility. The Fitness Centre is attached directly to the new South Gym,servicing as an athletic complex for the benefit of its students and staff.

Following this, the Kucher Performing Arts Centre opened in December 2008, helping to expand the school's grounded traditions in the performing arts. The centre is a large underground theatre with complete audio visual systems.

On September 26, 2009, Vancouver College celebrated the Blessing and Rededication of the O’Hagan Field, featuring an all weather synthetic field. Other enhancements to O'Hagan include a world class track and a new playground for Elementary students.

Currently, the new south gym is now named Dave Hardy Gym after the former principal and the current president.

Uniform

For Winter dress, Vancouver College students wear grey dress pants, long-sleeved white dress shirt, and the school tie. Students must always wear black Oxford-style shoes except in the summer where they may be substituted with sandals worn with socks. In cases of inclement weather, students may choose to wear one of four school sweaters: The traditional winter sweater, the traditional Varsity Letterman sweater, the tradition Edmundian sweater, or the Student Council sweater. Students may also opt to wear the school Monogrammed Bomber jacket, or the traditional Varsity Lettermans jacket.

(Optional) For Summer dress, Vancouver College students wear the VC Fighting Irish Polo Shirt, along with the Fighting Irish beige coloured shorts. Students may wear different polo shirts as a status of which club or sport they may belong. For example, a student may choose to wear the Vancouver College "Golf", "rowing", "band", "environment club", "rugby", "football" or "badminton" polo, along with others, to distinguish their involvement within the school community during summer dress code.

Along with this, students in Grade 12 are given custom sweaters, unique to their year, to identify themselves as graduating seniors. Through the school's uniform system, students are highly individualized through a variety of options that help distinguish them within the school's community.

The traditional Winter uniform is mandatory for formal ceremonies and presentations.

Notes

References

    Awards

    External links

    Secondary schools
    Primary or elementary schools
    Private schools

    Coordinates: 49°14′11″N 123°08′09″W / 49.2363°N 123.1359°W / 49.2363; -123.1359

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