Gladstone Secondary School

Gladstone Secondary School is a public secondary school located in the Kensington-Cedar Cottage neighborhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is named after William Ewart Gladstone, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom four times between 1868 and 1894.

Gladstone Secondary School
Address
4105 Gladstone Street

Vancouver
,
British Columbia
,
V5N 4Z2

Canada
Coordinates49°14′55″N 123°03′39″W
Information
School typePublic, Secondary school
MottoFide et Virtute (in Latin)
(By Faith and By Courage)
Founded1950
School boardSchool District 39 Vancouver
Area trusteeAllen Blakey
PrincipalChristopher Parker
Grades8-12
Enrollment1340[1] (March 2008)
LanguageEnglish
AreaKensington-Cedar Cottage
Colour(s)Red and White (Black is also used in some applications)             
MascotLion
Team nameGladiators
Public transit access7, 19, 20, 25, N19, N20, Expo Line
Websitegladstone.vsb.bc.ca

There is a mural on the north side of the school which depicts the cultural diversity of the neighborhood. It was completed in the mid-1980s.

Current

Gladstone is a school of approximately 1300 students from grades 8-12. The students participate in many extracurricular activities, including clubs and sports teams. Gladstone is well known for its successful sports teams (e.g. Volleyball), and its participation in competitions related to engineering (Electrathon, Robotics). Gladstone's Fine Arts department is also highly regarded, with especially strong Music, Drama, and Dance programs.

Gladstone is a participant in the Think & Eat Green @ School program, designed to enrich student knowledge of sustainable food practices. Gladstone's focus in this project is on the redesign and infrastructural change to the kitchen and cafeteria. Gladstone was also featured in Season 1, Episode 7 of 21 Jump Street.[2]

History

Gladstone is built on property that was once an old farm. The location was designated for a school in the late 1920s, but because of the Great Depression and Second World War, construction did not begin until 1949.

Gladstone opened as a junior high school in 1950 with an enrollment of 1376 students. Mr. D.B. Mackenzie, who was Gladstone's first principal, opened the sliding gym doors to symbolize the opening of the school at a ceremony attended by all staff members and students. From the opening year in 1950, Gladstone added a grade each year until the first class graduated in 1954. Since then, many students have been through Gladstone's doors.

Academics

Gladstone has a diverse array of academic courses and programs that provide students with a range of educational options for them to pursue. The school offers three Advanced Placement courses in English, Calculus and Chemistry. Gladstone used to offer a Montessori program; however, this program ended in 2010.

Mini-School

The Gladstone Mini-School is an accelerated academics program that attracts self-motivated students looking for a challenge to their learning experience. Students are expected to possess above-average abilities in various areas of academia[3] and are encouraged to participate in community service to fully complete and graduate from Mini-School. Because of the nature of the program, students end up doing the equivalent of three years' work (grades 8, 9 and 10) in two years (grades 8 and 9).

There are two streams offered by Mini-School: Humanities (consisting of English, Social Studies, Core French, and PE Leadership) and Mathematics-Science (consisting of Math and Science). Most students applying for the Gladstone Mini-School choose full stream Mini-School, which consists of all 6 of the aforementioned classes. Prospective applicants are required to take a test to show their multiple academic abilities as well as submit a portfolio.

Motto and Code of Conduct

The school's motto and crest were chosen early in the school's history as a result of contests. The motto, "Fide et Virtute", which translates to "By Faith and By Courage" is the family motto of William Ewart Gladstone, after whom the school was named.

The school's Code of Conduct is summarized by the acronym RESPECT. It stands for Respect, Empathy, Safety, Positive Attitude, Excellence, Caring, and Teamwork.

Notable alumni

Timetable

Gladstone Secondary School operates on a linear timetable on a Day 1 / Day 2 rotation, from September to June. Each day has four blocks: three blocks of 1 hour and 15 minutes each, and one block of 1 hour and 22 minutes. The blocks rotate four times a year and each day of classes begin at 8:40 a.m. and end at 3:03 p.m. (Monday to Friday).

References
  1. Ready Reference March 2008
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2012-02-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. http://go.vsb.bc.ca/schools/gladstone/Programs/Pages/Specialty-Programs.aspx
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