Burnaby North Secondary School
Encyclopedia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, as well as the largest in Western Canada
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
. It encompasses two buildings at 751 Hammarskjold Drive in Burnaby. Over 2,400 students from grades 8 to 12 attend the school. A statue of a Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
, the mascot of the school's sports teams, stands in front of the buildings. Burnaby North sits in Kensington Park
Kensington Park (Burnaby)
Kensington Park is a large urban park in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. It is located between major roads running along its perimeter - Hastings Street, Curtis Street, Kensington Avenue and Holdom Avenue....
, providing room for the school's ice rink
Ice rink
An ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or hardened chemicals where people can skate or play winter sports. Besides recreational ice skating, some of its uses include ice hockey, figure skating and curling as well as exhibitions, contests and ice shows...
, golf pitch and putt
Pitch and putt
Pitch and putt is an amateur sport, similar to golf. The maximum hole length for international competitions is with a maximum total course length of . Players may only use three clubs; one of which must be a putter...
, outdoor swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
, tennis courts, golf driving range, baseball diamonds and numerous outdoor fields.
History
Burnaby North was established in 1922 with around 50 students. Before moving to its present site, it was housed on Willingdon Ave, which later became Burnaby Heights Junior Secondary, when it moved to the Hammarksjold location, which was built by Coyne and Ratcliffe Construction and completed in 1962. Later on, Kensington Junior Secondary School and Burnaby North Senior Secondary School were merged as one.The project to merge "Kensington Jr" and "Burnaby North Sr" into "Burnaby North Secondary" began in the 1981-1982 school year. The objective was to see if money could be saved by sharing the resources and staff between the two schools. The former Kensington was referred as the "South Building" and Burnaby North Sr. was referred to as the "North Building". A wheelchair access elevator was added in 1983 to the North Building's East entrance.
To accommodate the merged schools, two connections were built. A level sheltered walkway was constructed to connect the ground level South facing entrance of the North building to the second floor of the South western entrance of the South building, and a wooden stair case was built on a hill to provide access from the North building's East entrance to the South building's ground level North entrance. The latter was replaced by a sheltered walkway that had a more gradual slope to accommodate accessibility.
In 2010, the school was named Canada's Greenest School .
Academics
Burnaby North is a highly academic school which enrolls a population of approximately 2400 students in grades 8 through grade 12 and is expected to grow in the upcoming years. The student body is composed of students from many ethnic backgrounds, although over 80 percent of students are of East-Asian descent. The graduating class consists of approximately 450 to 500 students, many of whom are offered scholarships to attend well-known universities. Ivy LeagueIvy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
admission rates are fairly high compared to other schools in Canada. In each of the past 4 years, Burnaby North graduates have won more than a million dollars in scholarship money annually (the graduates of 2008 were offered a total of 1.7 million dollars).
In 2010, the eight high schools in the district
School District 41 Burnaby
School District 41 Burnaby is a school district in British Columbia. The district serves the Municipality of Burnaby immediately east of Vancouver. A board of seven trustees manages this district. This elementary school has a population of around 1012 students from Kindergarten to Grade 7....
earned almost $7.3 million in scholarship money. Burnaby North came in second, earning $1.2 million, $1.16 million of which came externally .
Burnaby North has one of the largest Advanced Placement (AP) programs in Canada. Over 40% of the student body is enrolled in at least one Honours or AP course . In May 2007, 297 students wrote a total of 687 exams in 17 subject areas and a score of 3 or higher was earned on 87% of those exams, and 104 students achieved AP Scholar
Advanced Placement Awards
The College Board offers several awards to select students who take Advanced Placement exams.The term "award" is perhaps misleading, as no benefit is awarded to the recipient except the title itself.-AP Scholar Designations:...
status, indicating they had scored 3 out of a possible 5 on at least 3 AP exams. This indicates quite early that the program is not only large, but is also of high quality, with many teachers having taught their AP course for as many as 12 years. In 2007 a total of 31 students achieved National AP Scholar
Advanced Placement Awards
The College Board offers several awards to select students who take Advanced Placement exams.The term "award" is perhaps misleading, as no benefit is awarded to the recipient except the title itself.-AP Scholar Designations:...
status, the highest standing which requires an average score of 4 over five or more exams, surpassing the previous year's record of 18 and setting a national record. In 2008 a total of 97 students became AP Scholars, and 35 students achieved National AP Scholar status, again surpassing the previous year's record and setting a national record. In 2009, there were 86 AP Scholars and 23 National AP Scholars .
Burnaby North also offers a very well-established Career Preparation program whereby students go out on work experience for between 30–90 hours. The goal is to introduce students to the world of work and to enable students to explore a career area that is of interest to them. Burnaby North is at the leading edge of the latest industry training programs (ACE-IT) that enable students to complete the first year theory exams and a portion of the on-the-job training requirements of an apprenticeship program.
Athletics
Burnaby North currently offers both a Hockey Academy and a Soccer Academy program. Several NHL players have attended this school, most notably Joe SakicJoe Sakic
Joseph Steven "Joe" Sakic is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player and current hockey executive. He played his entire National Hockey League career with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. In his 20-year tenure, Sakic won the Stanley Cup twice, captured numerous NHL...
, Cliff Ronning
Cliff Ronning
Clifford John Ronning is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the 7th round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, 134th overall...
and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Ryan Jeremy Noel Nugent-Hopkins is a Canadian ice hockey centre for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League. He was selected first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.-Hockey career:...
.
The school has a competitive volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
team, having won several provincial titles.
Burnaby North also has a competitive cheerleading team which performs at school events and competitions, including the Sea to Sky International Cheerleading Championships. This competition is the second largest in North America.
School Band
While Burnaby North is considered a highly academic school, its music program is also renowned. Its concertConcert band
A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...
and jazz band
Jazz band
A jazz band is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands usually consist of a rhythm section and a horn section, in the early days often trumpet, trombone, and clarinet with rhythm section of piano, banjo, bass or tuba, and drums.-Eras:SwingDuring the swing era in the mid-twentieth...
programs are the largest in Western Canada, and are often invited to national music festivals, such as the Kiwanis Music Festival
Kiwanis Music Festival
The Kiwanis Music Festival movement consists of regional music competitions in most Canadian urban centres. Its origin probably traces as far back as an inaugural 1908 festival in Edmonton, where Governor General Earl Grey advocated the establishment of music festivals throughout Canada's...
. The school's marching band, well known for their maroon uniforms and Viking headwear, are often invited to participate in the Calgary Stampede
Calgary Stampede
The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and features one of the world's largest rodeos, a parade, midway,...
and other national events.
Viking Head
Burnaby North's Viking Head statue was installed in 1994. The enormous black head wearing a two-horned helmet and facing Union Street was built by the school's Technology EducationTechnology education
Technology education is a study of technology, in which students "learn about the processes and knowledge related to technology". As a study, it covers the human ability to shape and change the physical world to meet needs, by manipulating materials and tools with techniques.-External links:...
wing's welding
Welding
Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
staff and students. Traditionally, it gets decorated with a Santa hat every Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
season, and bunny ears during Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
. During the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, it was covered with a red and white tuque
Tuque
A – variously known as a knit hat or stocking cap among other names – is a knitted cap, originally of wool though now often of synthetic fibers, that is designed to provide warmth in winter...
and scarf
Scarf
A scarf is a piece of fabric worn around the neck, or near the head or around the waist for warmth, cleanliness, fashion or for religious reasons. They can come in a variety of different colours.-History:...
, the national colours of Canada.
Filming
Burnaby North was used for the public service announcementPublic service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
-style commercial of Metroid Prime 2 that was shown in North America.
The movie Hot Rod
Hot Rod (film)
The soundtrack was composed by ex-Yes guitarist, Trevor Rabin. Several songs by the Swedish rock band Europe are in the movie, including "Cherokee" and "Rock the Night." The full trailer contains three Swedish rock band songs, Europe's "Cherokee" and "The Final Countdown," and The Hives' "See...
also had scenes filmed at the outside stairway location.
Notable Alumni and Staff
Alumni:- Joe SakicJoe SakicJoseph Steven "Joe" Sakic is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player and current hockey executive. He played his entire National Hockey League career with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. In his 20-year tenure, Sakic won the Stanley Cup twice, captured numerous NHL...
- retired hockey player - Dave NonisDave NonisDavid M. Nonis is a former Canadian ice hockey defenceman, former general manager and executive of the National Hockey League's Vancouver Canucks and current general manager of the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League .-Playing career:Growing up in Burnaby, B.C., Nonis played junior...
- former GM of the Vancouver CanucksVancouver CanucksThe Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,... - Don MattrickDon MattrickDon A. Mattrick who was raised in Vancouver, Canada is best known for his 28 years of experience and leadership in the interactive entertainment industry. Mattrick is currently the President of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft...
- former president Electronic ArtsElectronic ArtsElectronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers... - Vince MurdoccoVince MurdoccoVince Murdocco is a Canadian actor and former kickboxer. He won a North American Cruiserweight Kickboxing Championship in 1990.- Filmography :* Wolf Canyon as Jhonny Willkes* Canes as Uniformed Cop...
- actor - Cliff RonningCliff RonningClifford John Ronning is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the 7th round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, 134th overall...
- retired hockey player - Joey Keithley- musician
- Svend RobinsonSvend RobinsonSvend Robinson is a former Canadian politician. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons from 1979 to 2004, representing the suburban Vancouver-area constituency of Burnaby for the New Democratic Party...
- politician - Tamara TaggartTamara TaggartTamara Taggart is a Canadian television presenter. She currently serves as the weekday anchor of CTV News at Six alongside with Mike Killeen on CIVT-TV in Vancouver, British Columbia....
- TV personality - Jade KwanJade Kwan- About Jade :Kwan entered the New Talent Singing Awards Vancouver Audition 1999 with the song "Face" and was awarded first runner-up. As such, she represented Vancouver in the New Talent Singing Awards Canada Finals 1999 and won...
- musician - Mike SantorelliMike SantorelliMike Santorelli is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League .-Playing career:...
- hockey player, plays for the Florida PanthersFlorida PanthersThe Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and are the... - Ryan Nugent-HopkinsRyan Nugent-HopkinsRyan Jeremy Noel Nugent-Hopkins is a Canadian ice hockey centre for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League. He was selected first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.-Hockey career:...
- hockey player, plays for the Edmonton OilersEdmonton OilersThe Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League .... - Matt Hewitt - hockey player, plays for the Regina PatsRegina PatsThe Regina Pats are a junior ice hockey team that plays in the Western Hockey League. The Pats are based out of Regina, Saskatchewan and the Brandt Centre is their home arena.-History:...
Staff:
- Paul Batten - actor
- Phillip Byrne - film editor
- Ingrid Balchen - musician, a winner of Star SearchStar SearchStar Search is a television show that was produced from 1983-95, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Alfred Masini. A relaunch was produced in 2003-04. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd...
- Manuel SobralManuel SobralManuel "Manny" Sobral is a former boxer, competing in the welterweight division. A resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, he represented Canada at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, where he was eliminated in the first round by Finland's Joni Nyman on points .-External links:* *...
- boxer - Barry SeebaranBarry SeebaranBarry Seebaran is a Canadian cricketer. He is a slow left-arm orthodox bowler.The son of a former player, Seebaran first played in 1989 and was selected a year later for the 1990 ICC Trophy in the Netherlands, justifying his position at such an early age by being the best spin bowler in the...
- retired Canadian Cricket player - Sabrina Versteeg - netball player, plays on the national team