Rothesay Netherwood School

Infobox Education in Canada
name= Rothesay Netherwood School


imagesize= 280px
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streetaddress= 40 College Hill Rd
city= Rothesay
province= New Brunswick
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email=
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superintendent=
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oversight=Board of Governors
principal_label=Head of School
principal= Paul Kitchen (1987)
viceprincipal_label=Board Chair
viceprincipal=Derek Hamilton (2004)
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schooltype= Private Day/Boarding Co-Ed
grades= 6-12
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campus=180 acre campus overlooking the Kennebecasis River
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teamname=Riverhawks
colours=Green and blue
founded=1877 Rothesay Collegiate School1894 Netherwood School

1984 RCS-Netherwood

2003 Rothesay Netherwood School
enrollment= 250
enrollment_as_of=2007

Rothesay Netherwood School is a Canadian, private, boarding and day university-preparatory school (grades 6-12) located in Rothesay, New Brunswick Canada. The school is noted for its comprehensive curriculum integrating information technology, Outward Bound excursions, and daily participation in sports. RNS is the most recent Canadian addition to the international organization Round Square and is an active member of the educational groups CESI, CAIS, ACIS, CIS and TABS.

Introduction

Rothesay Netherwood School is the result of the merger of two separate schools, Rothesay Collegiate School for boys and Netherwood School for girls. The two schools had a history of co-involvement dating back to the 1890s and merged in 1984 for financial reasons. The merged school was known as Rothesay Collegiate School Netherwood until 2003 when the new name was adopted.

History

Rothesay Collegiate School

In 1877 a co-educational school intended to prepare students for enrollment into the newly-chartered Royal Military College of Canada was formed in Rothesay, an affluent suburb of the prosperous city of Saint John, New Brunswick. Originally called Thompson's School, this day school was housed upstairs in Whelpley Hall near the Rothesay train station.

In 1891, the school was purchased by local wealthy merchant James F. Robertson, who renamed it Rothesay Collegiate School and moved it to its present location while adding boarding facilities and restricting enrollment to boys. In 1907 Robertson handed the school over to the Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton and Rev. W.R. Hibbard was appointed headmaster the following year. Dr. Hibbard was succeeded by Dr. C.H. Bonnycastle in 1938 but the school was run by his assistant, Dr J.F.L. Jackson, while Dr. Bonnycastle served as an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. In 1963, the school was incorporated and leased to an independent Board of Governors. Following Dr. Bonnycastle's retirement in 1970, a series of five headmasters presided over the school for next 17 years.

Netherwood School

Girls were first enrolled at Thompson's School until its move in 1891. The Netherwood School for girls was founded in 1894 by Miss M. Gregory who was succeeded in 1895 by her niece, Mrs. J. Armstrong. In 1903, Miss E. Pitcher became co-principal with Dr. Susan B. Ganong at a time when it had only nine students. One of the most important people in the school's history, Dr. Ganong purchased the facility in 1912 and built it into an internationally recognized institution of high scholastic standing. She presided over Netherwood until her retirement in 1944 when she sold the school to the Netherwood Foundation Limited. Dr. Ganong was succeeded by several headmistresses that presided for relatively short terms.

Merger

In the 1970s the New Brunswick government began investing heavily in the public education system and RCS and Netherwood were subsequently challenged to maintain enrollment. In 1972 the schools formed a partnership that led to shared classes but separate campuses. Nevertheless, financial difficulties continued and were exacerbated by the lack of long-term strategy caused by a series of short-term Heads at each school. In 1984, RCS and Netherwood announced that they would both be closing. A group of parents and alumni came forward with a proposal to obtain financing and combine the two schools. The schools, now merged into RCS-Netherwood, were saved but this success came at the expense of the sacrificed Netherwood Campus.

Today

Between 1984 and 1991 over $2 million dollars were raised in the "Call to Excellence Campaign" lead by Jack Hickman, allowing the school to continue operation; since the end of this first campaign the school has increased its enrolment by two-and-a-half times. From 1995-1996 the "Building for the Next Century Campaign" led to the construction and renovation of several buildings. In June 2002 RNS's newest boys residence, Kirk House, opened. Collegiate Hall was opened in May 2005 and now houses the school's offices and conference rooms. The newest addition to RNS is 'Netherwood' House. It opened on October 4th, 2006 and is the Junior Girls Residence.

Campus

Rothesay Netherwood School is located in Rothesay, New Brunswick, approximately ten minutes east of the city of Saint John, New Brunswick. The campus is situated on convert|200|acre|km2 of land in the Kennebecasis River valley, with much of this space is given over to woodlands and sports fields. The campus consists of:

* Four boarding residences housing up to 140 students: Mackay House, Quinn House, Kirk House and Netherwood House;
* Thirteen houses and nine apartments for faculty;
* South House, providing faculty offices and housing student artwork;
* Collegiate Hall, the main administration building;
* Fawcett Hall, a 200 seat dining room;
* The Memorial Chapel, designed by G. Ernest Fairweather and F. DeLancey Robinson in 1923;
* School House with seventeen classrooms;
* Hibbard House (the Arts and Science building) with four laboratories;
* The Susan B. Ganong Theatre, with seating for 200;
* The Colin B. Mackay Memorial Library;
* The Memorial Arena;
* The Irving Gymnasium, with regulation basketball, volleyball and badminton courts and a climbing wall;
* Five soccer and rugby fields;
* Two squash courts;
* Two tennis courts;
* A fitness center;
* Numerous walking trails;

In 1985, the RCS Campus served as the backdrop for the William Hurt feature film "Children of a Lesser God". Many of the buildings on campus were prominently featured in the film.

Notable alumni

*Duncan Hewitt, first Canadian shot down in World War II's Battle of Britain.
*Gordon Fairweather, prominent Canadian politician and first chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
* John Peters Humphrey, drafter of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
* Arthur Irving, leading member of the Irving family and head of Irving Oil.
* James Irving, leading member of the Irving family and head of the J.D. Irving pulp and paper and shipbuilding comglomerate.
* John E. Irving, leading member of the Irving family chiefly responsible for the family's construction, engineering and steel fabrication companies.
* Derek Oland, CEO and majority owner of Moosehead brewery, the largest 100% Canadian-owned brewery.

External links

* [http://www.rns.cc Rothesay Netherwood School - official website]