William Aberhart High School

William Aberhart High School

Semper Paratus
Always Prepared
Address
3009 Morley Trail NW
Calgary, Alberta, T2M 4G9, Canada
Information
School board Calgary Board of Education
Superintendent Naomi Johnson
Area trustee George Lane
Principal Tamie Annis-Johnson[1]
School type Public
Grades 10-12
Language English, French Immersion, Spanish Bilingual
Area Area II
Mascot Orange
Team name Orange
Colours Orange and White         
Founded 1957
Enrollment 1424 (September 2009)
Communities served English Program: Banff Trail, Brentwood (east of Brisebois Dr), Capitol Hill (west of 14 St), Citadel, The Hamptons, Lynx Ridge, Ranchlands, and Triwood (Charleswood and Collingwood).
French Immersion Program: Arbour Lake, Banff Trail, Beddington Heights, Bowness, Briar Hill, Brentwood, Bridgeland/Riverside, Cambrian Heights, Capitol Hill, Citadel, Country Hills, Country Hills Village, Coventry Hills, Crescent Heights, Crestmont, Dalhousie, Edgemont, Evanston, Greenview, Greenwood, Greenbriar, The Hamptons, Harvest Hills, Hawkwood, Hidden Valley, Highland Park, Highwood, Hillhurst, Hounsfield Heights, Huntington Hills, Kincora, Lynx Ridge, MacEwan, Montgomery, Mount Pleasant, North Haven, Panorama Hills, Parkdale, Point McKay, Queen's Park Village, Ranchlands, Renfrew, Rocky Ridge, Rosedale, Rosemont, Royal Oak, Sandstone, Scenic Acres, Silver Springs, St. Andrews Heights, Sunnyside, Thorncliffe, Triwood (Collingwood, Charleswood), Tuscany, Tuxedo Park, University Heights, Valley Ridge, Varsity, West Hillhurst, and Winston Heights/Mountview.
Feeder schools English Program: Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and Senator Patrick Burns.
French Immersion Program: Georges P. Vanier and Branton.
Homepage http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b829/

William Aberhart High School is a public senior high school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, which teaches grades 10, 11, and 12. It is operated by the Calgary Board of Education. It is a comprehensive English and French Immersion school of 1500 students.[2] William Aberhart High School is located at 3009 Morley Trail NW. The school contains 54 classrooms, 2 gymnasia, a fitness centre, a multi-media library resource centre, and specialized areas for music, drama, and art.[3] It also plays host to a debate union. Other school activities and clubs include the largest high school Model United Nations team in Calgary; the most frequently published school newspaper in Southern Alberta, The Advocate; an independent students' media magazine, The Iconographer; an environmentally active organization, Destination Conservation; the Student Outreach Society, a peer support group; a bilingual club, Immersion en Action; and many others.

Until 2005, the east side of the third floor was populated by the National Sports School of Canada. They have sinced moved south to Ernest Manning High School.

Curriculum

William Aberhart High School offers a French Immersion program.[2]

Special programs

Several special programs offered by William Aberhart High School include:

Fine Arts Program

The fine arts program at William Aberhart High School consists of several groups:

All of the school's ensembles and bands frequently achieve superior ratings at the Kiwanis Music Festival. Aberhart's symphonic band is on of both Calgary and Alberta's top ranking high school ensembles.

The Concert Choir and Symphonic Band both travel, at both a national and international level, competing and performing at a variety of venues, as well as taking in local music, such as excursions to the Berlin Philharmonic, amongst others.

The school's music program has yielded several promising young musicians, including Mark Ahenda who premiered his own composition, Miserere Nobis, at the 2010 final concert.

Extracurricular activities and clubs

Clubs

Competitive Service Academic Other
  • Social Amnesty Club
  • The Advocate
  • The Iconographer
  • Destination Conservation (environmental)
  • Student Leadership Activities
  • Yearbook
  • Graduation Committee
  • Art Enrichment
  • Dead Poets Society
  • Immersion en Action
  • Queer-Straight Alliance
  • Filmfest
  • Global Cultures Club
  • Anime Club
  • Archery Club
  • Badminton Club
  • Grad Fashion Show
  • Choral
  • Harry Potter Club
  • Drama Company
  • Theater Club
  • Battle of the Bands
  • Improv Club

Debate Union

William Aberhart High School has the largest youth debate union in western Canada. The debate team has been highly successful, winning many competitions in Calgary, Alberta and Canada as a whole. Students from Aberhart's debate union have been selected many times to not only represent Aberhart, but also Alberta at the national level. On an international level, Aberhart has placed in the top five in events such as the European Schools Debating Championships, North American / Oxford Cup Debate Championships, Oxford Union Schools Debating Competition, International Independent Schools Public Speaking Championships, World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships, Pan American Debate Championships, and the World Schools Debating Championships.

Social Amnesty

A student run club that makes its focus on raising awareness in humanitarianism. The club is composed of a group of compassionate students desiring to make a difference in world crisis and injustice. So far the club has run campaigns on clean water, human rights in Burma, and homeless shelter relief during the 2007-2008 school year. Social Amnesty also organized and hosted a "Darfur week" in the 2008-2009 school year.

The Advocate

Aberhart's school paper that publishes bi-weekly throughout the school year. The paper mainly covers athletics, student opinions, and school events. The Advocate is the most published student newspaper in western Canada.

The Iconographer

The Advocate was Aberhart's school arts and literature magazine which was published exclusively by students on a regular basis. It featured mainly poems and photography, but also included short stories, among other things. Its publication schedule depended entirely on how many submissions they received from the student body at the school.

The Advocate was followed by "The Issue" (edited by Wendy Smith), and became focussed on education reform. Many of the people involved were part of E.Y.E. (Educational Youth Enterprises), a city-wide movement to improve education practices and promote "Free Schools".

Athletics

Coed Male Female

Soccer, senior

  • Basketball, junior
  • Basketball, senior
  • Field Hockey, junior
  • Field Hockey, senior
  • Soccer, junior
  • Soccer, senior
  • Volleyball, junior
  • Volleyball, senior
  • Wrestling
  • Rugby

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. "William Aberhart High School Profile". www.cbe.ab.ca. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  2. 2.0 2.1 William Aberhart High School 2009-2010 Registration Guide. p. 1.
  3. "About us". William Aberhart High School. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  4. "Governor General Announces New Appointments to the Order of Canada".
  5. Nowak, Peter (December 24, 2007). "Artist spawns a web of influence". CBC News.
  6. McFarlane, Todd. "The Spawning Ground". Spawn #1 (May 1992). Image Comics.

External links

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