William Aberhart High School

William Aberhart High School
Address
3009 Morley Trail NW
Calgary, Alberta, T2M 4G9
Canada
Coordinates 51°04′43″N 114°06′55″W / 51.07859°N 114.11535°W / 51.07859; -114.11535Coordinates: 51°04′43″N 114°06′55″W / 51.07859°N 114.11535°W / 51.07859; -114.11535
Information
School type Public
Motto Semper Paratus
(Always Prepared)
Founded 1957
School board Calgary Board of Education
Superintendent Naomi Johnson
Area trustee George Lane
Principal Tamie Annis-Johnson[1]
Grades 10–12
Enrollment 1424 (September 2009)
Language English, French immersion, Spanish bilingual
Area Area II
Colour(s) Orange and white         
Mascot Orange
Team name Orange
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.
Website 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, two 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 since 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:

  • Access and ALP4 programs - The Access program programs provides students with a wide range of learning experiences. Students learn life skills and take part in many activities both in and out of the school. The ALP4 program is an academic program for students with special needs. Students integrate into classes, and are also involved in community work experience with the VRRI.
  • Advanced Placement (AP) Education - William Aberhart High School is one of the few schools in the Calgary area which offers Advanced Placement classes for talented students. These include AP Biology, AP Calculus (self-paced), AP Chemistry, AP Comparative Government & Politics, AP English Literature & Composition, AP French Language, AP Physics (self-paced), AP Fine Arts, and many other programs.

The school is part of the Action for Bright Children Society.[4]

Fine Arts Program

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

  • The Concert Choir (which consists of full-time choir students and after-school participants);
  • The Jazz Choir (full- and part-time choir students, through a competitive process);
  • The Concert Band (composed of Grade 10 students);
  • The Symphonic Band (consisting of grade 11 and 12's)
  • The Jazz Band (open class - grades 10 through 12);
  • The Wind Ensemble (an advanced concert band, which plays Grade 4+ band music);
  • Beginner Strings (a beginner class for string players, grades 10 through 12)
  • Advanced Strings (an advanced class for string players, grades 10 through 12)
  • Musical Theater (an elective, one semester course in which the students perform a musical at the end of the term)


All of the school's ensembles and bands frequently achieve superior ratings at the Kiwanis Music Festival. Aberhart's symphonic band is one 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 citywide 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

  • Brendan Durant - actor at The Second City Theatre Toronto, head writer for This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
  • James Gosling - father of the JAVA Programming Language - Order of Canada Recipient[5]
  • Katherine Govier - author[6]
  • Sid Marty - author and singer-songwriter [7]
  • Todd McFarlane - comics artist and creator of the series Spawn.[8][9]
  • Chima Nkemdirim - Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Calgary Naheed Nenshi from 2010 to 2018[10]
  • David Winning - Film and television director known for his work in science fiction and thrillers.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "William Aberhart High School Profile". www.cbe.ab.ca. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 William Aberhart High School 2009-2010 Registration Guide. p. 1.
  3. ↑ "About us". William Aberhart High School. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  4. ↑ http://www.abccalgary.com/schools.html
  5. ↑ "Governor General Announces New Appointments to the Order of Canada".
  6. ↑ "Official website of Canadian author Katherine Govier". www.govier.com. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
  7. ↑ "Sid Marty.com". www.sidmarty.com. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
  8. ↑ Nowak, Peter (December 24, 2007). "Artist spawns a web of influence". CBC News.
  9. ↑ McFarlane, Todd. "The Spawning Ground". Spawn #1 (May 1992). Image Comics.
  10. ↑ Chima Nkemdirim, Chief of Staff, City of Calgary|CityAge
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