Western Canada High School

'''Western Canada High School''' (WCHS) is a public senior [[high school]] in [[Calgary]], [[Alberta]], [[Canada]]. It has classes for grades 10 through 12. Western is located in the 17th Avenue business district of the Lower [[Mount Royal, Calgary|Mount Royal]] community, and is the most centrally located public high school in Calgary. ==History== The original school building was completed in 1903 as a British-style exclusive high school for boys called '''Western Canada College''' (not a college in the North American sense of the word). It was created by "''The Western Canada College Bill of Incorporating Ordinance''" enacted by the Government of the [[Northwest Territories]], which Calgary was then a part of before the province of [[Alberta]] was created in 1905. The private school had financial problems and was sold to the [[Calgary Board of Education]]. The CBE renamed it, re-opened it as public school, and constructed additional buildings on the land. To raise funds for the new college, 5000 shares were sold for $10 each. Many of the original investors read like a "Who's Who" list for Alberta; [[Patrick Burns (businessman)|Pat Burns]], [[R. B. Bennett]], A.E. Cross, [[William Pearce Howland|William Pearce]], [[Alexander Cameron Rutherford|A.C. Rutherford]] (who was [[Premier of Alberta|premier]] at the time), and George Lane. Western was Calgary's first composite high school, providing both technical and academic courses of study. The school has been substantially renovated and additions have been made to the building over the years. Linda Raasveldt became the first female principal of the school in 2002. Currently, the school is undergoing a series of renovations. ===Special Programs=== The school provides [[French language|French]] and [[English language]] as a primary language instruction. In addition, it is one of a select number of schools in Calgary to offer [[French immersion]]. Western is one of a small number of Calgary high schools to offer an [[IB Diploma Programme|International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme]] Each year, about 20-40 students graduate with an IB Diploma{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}}, and significantly more graduate with an IB certificate.{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}} The school also offers an extensive performing and visual arts program, and offers a certificate to recognize students that have made fine arts a focus of learning at the high school level. ==Athletics== The Western Redmen compete under the governance of the [[Alberta Schools Athletic Association]] [http://www.asaa.ca] and Calgary Senior High School Athletic Association [http://www.calgaryhighschoolsports.com] The school boasts teams in the following sports: * Badminton * Basketball * Cheerleading * Cross Country * Field Hockey * Football * Rugby * Soccer * Swim and Dive * Track and Field * Ultimate Frisbee * Volleyball * Wrestling ==Notable alumni== *[[Conrad Bain]] - Actor, known for his portrayal of Phillip Drummond on Different Strokes *[[Barney Bentall]] - singer/songwriter: ''Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts'' * [[Braids (band)]] - art rock band, known for their critically acclaimed debut album ''[[Native Speaker (album)|Native Speaker]]'' *[[Jim Dinning]] - Former Alberta treasurer *[[Daniel Philip Hays]] - [[Speaker of the Canadian Senate]] *[[Pat Kelly (comedian)|Pat Kelly]] - Comedian, actor, and TV host. *[[Norman Kwong]] - [[Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta]] and the youngest athlete to be a member of a winning [[Grey Cup]] team in the [[Canadian Football League]] (CFL). He is a member of the [[Order of Canada]]. *[[Larry Robinson (Canadian football)|Larry Robinson]] - Played with the [[Calgary Stampeders]] from 1961 to 1974, winning the Grey Cup in 1971. He was the first player in the CFL to score over 1,000 points in a career. *[[Kinnie Starr]] - Singer/songwriter who was nominated for the [[Juno Award for New Artist of the Year]] in 2004. *[[Taryn Swiatek]] - Former member of the [[Canada women's national soccer team]] which placed fourth in the [[FIFA Women's World Cup]] competition in 2003. *[[David E. Mitchell]], O.C. - Founder of Alberta Energy Company which, along with PanCanadian Energy, merged to create EnCana Corporation. *[[Ryan Northcott]] - actor, known for his role in [[Mystery, Alaska]], among other TV and Movie Roles. *[[Daniel Okulitch]], Operatic Bass-Baritone. Class of 1993. Starred in [[Baz Luhrmann]]'s Broadway Production of La Bohème, and the World Premiere of [[The Fly (opera)]], by [[Howard Shore]] and Directed by [[David Cronenberg]]. *[[Abdul Traya]] - Became famous when he registered the domain appleimac.com in 1998 and founded WestNet Canada. *[[Emerson Frostad]], [[Olympics|Olympic]] and professional [[baseball]] player. *[[Jan Lisiecki]], classical pianist *[[Whitehorn Kirst]], Lead Guitarist of [[Iggy Pop]] from early 1990s-early 2000s *[[Dave Golokhov]], Senior Sports Writer, Askmen.com and Radio Host On Sirius Satellite Radio ==See also== *[[St. Mary's High School (Calgary)|St. Mary's High School]] - The only other high school in the nearby area. It also predates the province of Alberta, and it also has an IB program. ==External links== {{Commons|Western Canada High School}} *[http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b816/ Western Canada High School official site] *[http://www3.telus.net/wchsalumni/ WCHS Alumni Association] *[http://web.archive.org/web/20071211124648/http://calgarypubliclibrary.com/calgary/historic_tours/public/pub38.htm Western Canada College at the Calgary Public Library] - Photo of the original building. (via [[Internet Archive]]) {{coord missing|Alberta}} {{High Schools in Calgary}}