Semiahmoo Secondary School

Semiahmoo Secondary School

"Semiahmoo...We are the future"
Address
1785 148th Street
Surrey, British Columbia
Canada
Information
Type Public School
Established 1940
School district School District 36 Surrey
Principal Ms. Claudine Bunyan
Faculty 96
Grades 8–12
Enrollment Regular: 1500
IB Program: 99
Color(s) Royal blue and white, with red as an accent.
Team name Totems
Newspaper Totem Times
Affiliation IB World School
Website www.semi.sd36.bc.ca

Semiahmoo Secondary School (/ˌsɛmiˈɑːmoʊ/ SEM-ee-AH-moh) is a public high school in South Surrey, British Columbia, and is part of School District 36 Surrey. Founded in 1940 as the first senior secondary school in South Surrey, Semiahmoo spans Grades 8 through 12. The school currently has a student population of 1481 and a faculty of 96, and is headed by Principal Claudine Bunyan.

Semiahmoo is one of three public high schools on the peninsula, along with Earl Marriott Secondary School to the southeast, and Elgin Park Secondary School to the northwest.

History

Semiahmoo Secondary was built in the city of White Rock in the late 1930s, becoming the area's first secondary school. The former building, now cleared, stood where White Rock Elementary School stands today. When White Rock Junior Secondary was built in 1961 on Oxford Street, Semiahmoo was officially renamed Semiahmoo Senior Secondary. A severe classroom shortage in the 1980s, started by a fire in White Rock Junior Secondary, prompted an effort by the provincial ministry of education to expand educational facilities in South Surrey. In 1990, Semiahmoo was transferred to the newly renovated and expanded White Rock Junior facilities, officially becoming Semiahmoo High School.

Extracurricular activities

Music

Semiahmoo Secondary School is known for its music program, with a forte in jazz.[1] Almost all of Semi's instrumental music ensembles are full courses in the school timetable. The Grade 11 and 12 jazz bands and soloists travel to the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival annually. Another jazz festival that Semiahmoo attends is the Envision Jazz Festival in Surrey, B.C.

Also notable is Semi's recent success at MusicFest Canada 2008 in Ottawa. Three of Semi's Jazz Band 12 members were included as part of the Canada-wide Yamaha Allstar Jazz Band.[2] Semiahmoo ensembles have won several awards at MusicFest Canada in addition to numerous individual scholarships given out to students who demonstrate musical excellence.

Band and Music Directors

The Semiahmoo music program's rise to fame was created by David Proznick (retired in 2003). In 2003, Proznick won the Keith Mann Outstanding Band Director Award. This honor is a memorial plaque given to one director annually in all of Canada. Dave Fullerton (retired in 2012), also won the Outstanding Band Director Award in 2011 for his involvement in MusicFest making Semiahmoo the only school in all of Canada to have two of their band directors win this prestigious honor.

The department is currently headed by Dagan Lowe, a 1997 graduate of the school, with aid from Kevin Lee and Gary Tse (Teacher of IB Music). Semi also has three concert bands, and several extracurricular jazz combos, which include Grade 12, 10, and even Grade 8 combos.

Visual Art

Semiahmoo has one of the most prolific visual art programs in the province. More students are accepted into the Emily Carr University of Art and Design from Semiahmoo each year than from any other secondary school in the province. Starting in 2007, the IB Visual Art program was introduced, and is by far the largest in the province. IB Art Graduates are attending the Rhode Island School of Design, Stanford, Parsons—New York and Paris.

Theatre

Semiahmoo houses a theatre that can hold approximately 20 people. Despite its small size, the program has produced two well-received musicals, Grease in 1996 and Fame in 2001. In addition, the senior grades perform various one-act plays, Shakespearean works, and improvisation sessions throughout the year.

Athletics

Semiahmoo is the 2012 and 2013 Girls Cross-country Provincial Champions. Semiahmoo's Boys Volleyball won the Provincial Championship in 2010 and their coach, Kyra Iannone, won 2011 Coach of the Year.

Semiahmoo has competitive teams for the following sports:

Semiahmoo Secondary School has a reputable rugby team. In the past eighteen seasons, the Totems have won the Fraser Valley High School Championship (Sparling Cup) nine times and qualified for the Provincial Championship, in 1988, 1992, 1995, 2011 and 2012. They won the provincial tournament in 1988 and 1995. The school lost the Sandcastle Cup in 2011 to the Earl Marriott Mariners, A match held each year between the senior teams of Earl Marriott and Semiahmoo. The annual game draws nearly a thousand spectators from both schools as well as the rest of the Semiahmoo Peninsula.

Academics

International Baccalaureate (IB)

Semiahmoo is an internationally successful IB World School, with an IB exam average of 35 diploma points equating to a 95% average. The IB program has provided opportunity for Semiahmoo students to go directly into medicine and law in the UK. This school has the international recognition of being one of the few schools in the world to have three Blyth Cambridge Scholarship winners in a row. Semiahmoo's Physics Team won the UBC Provincial Physics Competition for the last two years. Semiahmoo Secondary School has been an IB World School since June 1980. Surrey students are permitted to cross school boundaries to enter International Baccalaureate Diploma. Approximately 250 students in Grades 11 & 12 are enrolled in the IB Program. Students apply to the program in the Grade 10 year by sending in the completed application package which can be found on the school website.

Notable alumni

Anmol Jawandha (Blyth Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Scholarship Winner 2013)

References

  1. ↑ http://www.semiahmoomusic.com/
  2. ↑ http://www.musicfest.ca/yas_musicians_e.asp?year=2010
  3. ↑ http://www.bcssru.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=54
  4. ↑ Biography Section
  5. ↑ {{cite web|url=http://www.sd36.bc.ca/earlma/hockeyskills/pdf_files/updates_doc/hcsa_program_overview.pdf|format=pdf|title=Hockey Canada Skills Academy - Semiahmoo|accessdate=February 29, 2012}}
  6. ↑ Glen Schaefer (June 19, 2011). "The Hero who would have been carpenter". The Province. Retrieved February 29, 2012. As a [...] White Rock teen who spent his time in the woodworking and auto mechanics shops at Semiahmoo secondary, actor Paul Campbell wasn't marked for stardom.
  7. ↑ )CV Ardo Hansson

External links

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