St. George's School (Vancouver)
St. George's School | |
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"Sine Timore Aut Favore" Without Fear or Favour | |
Address | |
4175 West 29th Ave. Vancouver, British Columbia, V6S 1V1 Canada | |
Coordinates | 49°14′50.34″N 123°12′1.07″W / 49.2473167°N 123.2002972°WCoordinates: 49°14′50.34″N 123°12′1.07″W / 49.2473167°N 123.2002972°W |
Information | |
School type | Independent All-boys |
Founded | 1930 |
Headmaster | Dr. Tom Matthews |
Principals | Gary Kern (Senior School), Greg Devenish (Junior School) |
Grades | 1-12 |
Enrollment | 1,160 |
Language | English |
Colour(s) | Red, Black, and White |
Mascot | St. George / the Dragon |
Team name | Saints / Knights / Dragons |
Endowment | $14,000,000[1] |
St. George's School (informally, Saints), of Vancouver, Canada is an independent boarding and day university-preparatory school for boys
History
St. George's was founded in 1930 by a group of Englishmen recently arrived in British Columbia. Captain John Harker, serving from 1943 to 1962, was its second and longest-serving Headmaster.
The original school operated out of a large country manor house. It has since expanded dramatically, and the school now maintains two campuses; the Senior School, on land leased from UBC in 1925, and the Junior School, converted from the former Convent of the Sacred Heart, a historic property purchased in 1979. The school continues to expand to this day, with the senior campus most recently renovating much of its classroom space, along with the auditorium and the main entrance.
Students
The student body at St. George's comprises 1,100 boys, with approximately 750 boys in the Senior School and the remainder in the Junior School. A sizable portion of the student body consists of boarding students. As in other independent schools, it maintains a system of prefects and mandates the wearing of uniforms. School Captain and other prefects are elected by faculty and their fellow students to provide student leadership with the School. Past School Captains and other prefects have included Rhodes Scholars, diplomats, prominent lawyers and businessmen, and professional athletes. The uniform, as is frequently the case in similar Canadian schools, includes an emblazoned blazer, grey flannels, and the wearing of the appropriate school tie. The school ties vary depending on extracurricular achievement, as well as prefect ties. Those who have attended since Grade 1 are called "Lifers".
Academics
St. George's offers a variety of academic options that include enriched and advanced-placement classes. Its boys participate in many regional, national, and international academic contests, in mathematics, the sciences, and the humanities/social sciences. St. George's also emphasizes the building of moral character, and the formation of strong, upstanding traits.[2] There is also a mandatory outdoor education program implemented for students from grades 1-10.
Sports
The school mandates that its boys have a recreational or varsity games choice starting from Grade 8. Boys in senior grades may opt out for one term based on past games attendance. St George's sports teams have done extremely well in the past 10 years, due in no small part to the commitment and motivation of the students coupled with the passion, dedication, and knowledge of the coaching staff.St. George's has a wide variety of sports teams, including:
Outdoor education
Students are required to participate in outdoor educational programs both in the junior school and the senior school. These activities range from half day trips (grade 1) to full, week-long excursions (grade 10). The junior experiences focus on an education aspect: students learn about first nations people and about the environment. The senior trips involve more personal-based learning; activities in the wilderness such as hiking, kayaking and canoeing focus on leadership and interpersonal skills. There is also a focus on environmental care and education. In grade 10, students have the option of applying for the 'Discovery 10' program, a year-long program similar to the TREK program offered at Prince of Wales Secondary School. This program is limited to 20 students who participate in a modified Social Studies and PE program, focusing on first nations history, environmental studies, and outdoor leadership. The students spend approximately 55 days out of class on trips (hiking, canoeing, kayaking, rock-climbing).
Clubs and activities
The school offers a variety of extra-curricular clubs:[3]
- Amnesty International
- Anime Comics and Games Club
- Art Club
- Athletic Trainers
- Beekeeping and Organic Gardening
- Book Club
- Brass Ensemble
- Business
- Chinese Culture Club
- Debating
- Destination Imagination
- History Club
- Gay–straight alliance
- Graphic Novel
- Improv
- Jazz Band
- Food for Thought
- Investment
- Mah Jong
- Math
- Model United Nations (MUN)
- Robotics
- Wood Working
- Ceramics
- Percussion Ensemble
- Political Debate Club
- Photography
- Guitar
- Language clubs (Russian, German, Japanese, Mandarin)
- Green Machine
- Georgian Yearbook
- Scrabble
- Wind Ensemble
The boys publish a school yearbook, the Georgian, a magazine, the Saint, as well as a literary and artistic journal, the Opus. There are also various student-organised events such as music nights, socials, and mixers with sister schools.
In the media
On June 5, 2012, a package containing a human foot was delivered to St. George's School. The foot was later confirmed to be that of Lin Jun, who was murdered by Luka Magnotta, a Canadian pornographic film star, on or around May 25, 2012.[4][5][6]
Notable alumni
Year of Graduation | Name | Description |
---|---|---|
1947 | Peter J.G. Bentley, O.C., LL.D. | Past President and CEO and current Chairman of Canfor, past director and current honorary director of the Bank of Montreal, member of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, Chairman of Sierra Mountain Minerals, a director of the Vancouver General Hospital and University of British Columbia Hospital Foundation, past Chancellor of the University of Northern British Columbia. |
1972 | Peter Lam | Chairman of the Lai Sun Group and Media Asia Entertainment Group. Deputy Chair of Lai Sun Garments and Executive Director of eSun Holdings and Crocodile Garments.[7] |
1976 | Arthur Griffiths | Former Assistant to the Chairman of the Vancouver Canucks. Owner of the Vancouver Canucks from 1988 to 1997. Led the initiative to build GM Place. Helped Vancouver secure the 2010 Winter Olympics bid. |
1976 | John Weston | Member of Parliament for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country.[8] |
1977 | Alan Best | Canadian filmmaker. |
1999 | David Carter | Canadian field hockey Olympian |
2000 | Jay Malinowski | Lead singer and co-founder of the reggae-pop band Bedouin Soundclash. |
2002 | Donovan Tildesley | Canadian Paralympic Swimmer and flagbearer at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China. |
2004 | Michael Wilkinson | Attended the London 2012 Summer Olympics as a rower for team Canada, participating in the men's four boat class. |
NA | Tablo | Lee Seon-woong who goes by Tablo (Hangul: 타블로), is a South Korean-born Canadian rapper, record producer, songwriter, author, and entrepreneur. |
NA | Nicholas Tse | Nicholas Tse (Tse Ting-fung), Chinese: 謝霆鋒, (born 29 August 1980) is a Hong Kong actor, singer, songwriter, musician, entrepreneur, and martial artist. |
References
- ↑ "St. George's School - Vancouver, Canada" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-07-06.
- ↑ St. George's
- ↑ http://www.stgeorges.bc.ca/Page/SENIOR-SCHOOL/Clubs
- ↑ http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Canada/1239665812/ID=2241510529
- ↑ http://www.vancouversun.com/news/More+body+parts+found+Canada+suspect+Luka+Magnotta+faces+German+court/6735623/story.html
- ↑ http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1204006--montreal-murder-victim-is-missing-man-from-china-police-say
- ↑ http://www.stgeorges.bc.ca/Page/CONNECT/Georgians/The-Georgian-Honours
- ↑ http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=45cbc920-725e-4eea-a998-f319dd67bb37
Notes
- The junior school campus (Convent of the Sacred Heart) is a heritage site.
- St. George's "sister" schools are Crofton House School in Vancouver BC, St. Margaret's School in Victoria BC and York House School, also in Vancouver.
- The school has a rivalry with Vancouver College; for example, the Saints' and VC rowing crews compete annually in a regatta in April, the "Saints College Boat Race".
External links
- St. George's School website
- St. George's Summer Camps
- St. George's School Profile By OurKids.net: Canada's Private School Guide