Nelson McIntyre Collegiate

Nelson McIntyre Collegiate (NMC) is a grade 9-12 high school in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is part of the Louis Riel School Division and has an enrollment of approximately 280 students.

The school offers a wide range of programs for students of all skill levels and has a diverse student body that includes students from all over the world including International (Visa) Students from around the world.

As of October 2017, Nelson McIntyre Collegiate was ranked #1 in the Province of Manitoba schools ranking, #1 in the Louis Riel School Division schools ranking, #1 in the overall high schools ranking, and 11th overall in Canada.^[1]

In September 2015, NMC incorporated “Propel”, a district-wide, semester-long elective project-based learning (PBL) opportunity into the school's programming.

In September 2016, NMC began a 4-year process of changing its educational model from a “traditional” model to a school-wide PBL model.

History

Origins

Norwood Collegiate Institute

In 1914, a high school was established at the Tache School, a stone-structured building housing only ten rooms and a hall for assemblies, out of the need to extend education to a growing number of students beyond the 8th grade.t was then that Tache School began holding classes for Grades 9, 10, and 11 only. Students of the community of Norwood were allowed to complete their 12th grade education in one of the other schools in the community of St. Boniface. Boys were sent to Provencher School while the girls attended St. Joseph's Academy. As Tache School's attendance swelled beyond the capacity of the original Tache School, even when additions were built, some classes were taught in houses near the school and the Marion Street Salvation Army Hall. Once King George V School, now owned and operated by Springs Christian Academy, in 1916, classes in homes and at the Salvation Army Hall ceased.^[2] In 1927, following the establishment of the Norwood School District No. 2113 in 1925,^[3] Tache High School was given collegiate status and, thus, changed its name to "Norwood Collegiate Institute". With another increase in enrollment, plans were made for the school to move to a site already owned by the Norwood School Board. While changes were made in 1940, Grades 10, 11 and 12 students were moved to a temporary structure - temporary due to a shortage of funds because of the European War^[4] - on Highfield St. at St. Mary's Rd.

Following the war, in 1947, the firm of Green, Blankstein, and Russell presented plans for the new building to house the students and staff of Norwood Collegiate Institute. It would take nearly a decade for the official opening, which took place on November 16, 1956.

Nelson McIntyre Collegiate

This portrait of Nelson K. McIntyre hangs in the front foyer of Nelson McIntyre Collegiate.

To mark the historic occasion of the long-awaited high school (which would now house Grades 9 through 12), the school's new name, N.K. McIntyre Collegiate, was chosen in memory of Nelson K. McIntyre, who served as the chairman of the Norwood School Board at the time of his death.^[5] McIntyre, who laboured long and hard to see this new building through to fruition^[6] died only a few weeks before the official opening ceremony of the school, which was held on November 15, 1956 at the school's present location of 188 St. Mary's Road in the Norwood West area of the Winnipeg's "city ward" of St. Boniface.

N.K. McIntyre Collegiate eventually went through another minor name change to become, simply, Nelson McIntyre Collegiate.

Arson

Over the years, the school has suffered from 3 fires. Two of the fires, though causing great damage to the textiles and graphic arts labs, were contained to the Industrial Arts/Human Ecology wing of the school and are, therefore, considered "minor" in comparison to the first fire which occurred in 1986.

One broadcast, heard on Tuesdasy, July 22, 1986, stated that "an estimated $5 million fire had completed destroyed Nelson McIntyre Collegiate in Norwood".^[7] This fire was intentionally set, as evidenced by the point of origin on the second floor and spreading south the roofline. With the help of many, all files and records were safely and securely removed from the attached Norwood School Division board offices in under 45 minutes; however, the teaching staff were not as fortunate. Many of them lost years of paper records, teaching materials, and equipment.

The official re-opening of Nelson McIntyre Collegiate, following this first fire, took place on November 15, 1987.

Commemorated Honours

Commemorated Plaque at the entrance to the library at NMC

Nelson McIntyre Collegiate's gymnasium is named in honour of James W. Downey. Mr. Downey was the Superintendent of Norwood School Division from 1969-1980. The gymnasium was officially opened on March 21, 1977.

The school's library and resources centre, located on the main floor of the school, also stands in dedication of a former superintendent of schools of Norwood School Division No.8: Jacob Krueger.

Memorial Plaque in Remembrance of Norwood Collegiate Institute's Veterans of World War II

Nelson McIntyre Collegiate has, as part of its shared history with the former Norwood Collegiate Institute, the rare distinction of having veterans of World War II as part of its alumnae. And, as such, has had some of those alums give their life in the service of their country. A memorial plaque honouring the memory of the fallen soldiers hangs in the front foyer of Nelson McIntyre Collegiate. It reads: "In grateful memory of the former students of Norwood Collegiate Institute who gave their lives in the World War 1939 - 1945". It honours 33 fallen alumae of Norwood Collegiate Institute.

School Programming

Nelson McIntyre presently houses an array of programs and courses that are features of any other high school. Core curricular courses in the Humanities, maths, and sciences, extensive elective opportunities in the areas of fine arts, performing arts, human ecology, and industrial arts are staples of this, and other high schools. But setting Nelson McIntyre apart are a number of other opportunities in which students can grow and be enriched.

Nelson McIntyre's Junior Achievement program was featured news during the 2016/17 school year at the annual Junior Achievement Banquet featuring many school programs from across Southern Manitoba.^[9] The Mac's J.A. company swept the awards with a record 12:

NMC is also home to a number of alternative education programs. The IPSA program (International Program for Students with Autism) is an important part of the accepting culture that is "The Mac's" reputation. Here, students at various points on the autism spectrum are cared for and taught occupational, everyday-living skills. NMC's Co-Op Education program is for students who require modifications to their educational curricula and are also helped in gaining suitable employment and a level of personal success. The Quest program at Nelson Mac, and a sister program at J.H. Bruns Collegiate in Louis Riel School Division, benefits students with limited non-modified credits in their educational experiences by Grade 11.

Propel

In 2014, Superintendent Duane Brothers and Assistant Superintendent of Innovation Irene Nordheim worked with returning principal Ralph Wagner on an innovative, semester-long program called "Propel", a project-based learning initiative, housed at Nelson Mac and funded by the Louis Riel School Division.

Initially, the plan would feature a flexible classroom/workshop space; an interdisciplinary, multi-credit approach; and a rotating faculty of instructor/facilitators working alongside students who applied to be part of the program.

The program was open to all schools in the division and would target "spike" students in the 11th grade only - students who were "spiking", or receiving high grades, in one area of study and maintaining a baseline of grades in all other areas of school. The ideal "Propeller", as they would come to be called, would have a clear passion but was growing indifferent to the "traditional" model of high school education. 11th grade were chosen as the target year due to the overall feeling of apathy toward education in that grade.

Wagner, along with newly installed Vice-Principal Charlene Smallwood, and first semester Propel instructors Matt Patrician and Patrick Hansen designed a PBL program (based on principles explored and research by the Buck Institute of Education^[10]) in which students would receive credit in English Language Arts, Information-Communication Technologies and Physical Education at a minimum. Students would then design their own capstone projects in which other high school curricula - such as art, music, carpentry, textiles, or even a second English Language Arts credit, could be considered. Students could, in fact, leave a semester of Propel with 5 high school credits earned - more than in a traditional high school model.

In lieu of a final exam, all students would present their capstone projects in the closing week of the semester and elucidate on how the journey in creating the project had, in fact, impacted their educational experiences and changed them as learners. Final capstone projects of students have included fashion lines, concept music albums, animated short films, poetic anthologies, community service projects, business models, social media promotion, and even a warming hut for The Forks river trail. The hut, a two-year endeavor, was designed by Sean Kohli, a Propeller whose home school was NMC. He designed the hut, named "On The Rails" and inspired by Winnipeg's rich history during the railway era,^[11] using Google SketchUp in his first year (Grade 11), and then constructed the hut and delivered it to the Forks in his second year, as a high school senior.

Though the rotating faculty idea was piloted during the 2015/16 school year, by the summer of 2016, it was clear that a consistent faculty of instructors was needed for consistency's sake, and Patrician and Hansen were brought back to NMC full-time to run Propel.

In its first year, Propel was nominated for the prestigious Premier Award for School Board Innovation.^[12]

As of the 2017/18 school year, Propel has run 6 successful cycles, more than 100 students, and has expanded to welcome students in the 12th grade - many of whom are returning Propellers.

Extracurricular activities

• Interscholastic sports programs such as volleyball, basketball, soccer, golf, badminton, and track and field
• School activities such as Leadership, Weight training, Yearbook and SHOW (Students Helping Our World)
• Musical Production and Talent Show.

Features

• School size provides an environment which allows staff to know students better
• International students from countries such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Japan, Sweden, and the U.S.A.
• School Library Media Centre with a computer lab with Internet accessibility
• Two additional computer labs with Internet accessibility
• Nelson McIntyre Parent Council meets monthly
• Nelson McIntyre Performing Arts Parents’ Association (PAPA) provides support through fund raising activities for workshops, student trips, equipment, and scholarships

References