Burnaby North Secondary School

Infobox Education in Canada
name=Burnaby North Secondary School


caption=Burnaby North from Kensington Avenue
imagesize= 200px
motto= Excellence, Discovery and Service
streetaddress=751 Hammarskjold Drive
city=Burnaby
province=British Columbia
postalcode=V5B 4A1
principal=Dave Mickie
url= [http://north.sd41.bc.ca/ Burnaby North Secondary School]
viceprincipal_label=Vice principals
viceprincipal=Parm Hari
Paul Fester
David Mushens
established= 1922
enrollment = ca. 2300
enrollment_as_of=
mascot=Viking
areacode=604
phone= 664-8550
fax = 664-8559
email = [e-mail]

Burnaby North Secondary School is the largest secondary school in British Columbia, Canada. It encompasses two buildings at 751 Hammarskjold Drive in Burnaby. Students from grade 8 to 12 attend the school. A statue of a Viking, the mascot of the school's sports teams, stands in front of the buildings. Burnaby North sits in Kensington Park, so physical education classes have easy access to an ice rink, golf pitch and putt, outdoor swimming pool, tennis courts, golf driving range, baseball diamonds and numerous outdoor fields.

History

Burnaby North was established in 1922 with around 50 students. Its original location was in a small building on Gilmore Avenue. The following year, a large increase in the student body caused the school to be relocated at a new building on Rosser Avenue. At the time, the school was known as "Rosser Elementary School". The two current buildings were completed in 1946 and were separate schools, "Kensington Junior Secondary School" and "Burnaby North Senior Secondary School", before both buildings were merged as one.

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 comprised of students from many ethnic backgrounds, though the majority are of East-Asian descent. The graduating class consists of approximately 450 students many of whom are offered scholarships to attend well known universities. Ivy league admission rates are fairly high compared to other schools in Canada, ranging from acceptances into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, UPenn, and Cornell. The school is better, on average, than a lot of private schools, for example, St. Georges. 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 1.5 million dollars). Burnaby North has one of the largest Advanced Placement (AP) programs in Canada. 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 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 of very 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 status, the highest standing, surpassing last year's record of 18 and setting a national record.

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.

General information

While Burnaby North is considered a highly academic school, it also offers a wide variety of clubs, teams, and school events.

Viking Head

Burnaby North's Viking Head statue was installed in 1988. The enormous black head wearing a two-horned helmet and facing Union Street was built by the school's Technology Education wing's welding staff and students. Traditionally, it gets decorated with a red-and-white Santa hat every Christmas season. [ [http://www.bigthings.ca/bc/pictures/vikin1.jpgPicture of mascot] ]

Filming

Burnaby North was used for the public service announcement-style commercial of Metroid Prime 2 that was shown in North America.The movie Hot Rod also had scenes filmed at the outside stairway location.

Notable students and teachers

*Joe Sakic - NHL Player
*Dave Nonis - former General Manager of the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL
*Don Mattrick - Former President of World Studios of Electronic Arts
*Vince Murdocco - Lead A
*Cliff Ronning- Retired NHL Player
*Joey Shithead- member of punk band D.O.A.
*Svend Robinson- former 25 year Burnaby-Douglas Member of Parliament
*Tamara Taggart- is a Canadian television presenter on CIVT-TV ("CTV-9") in Vancouver, BC.

Trivia

In 2008, the senior Reach for the Top Team won silver medal in the B.C. Provincial Finals. In its first-ever appearance at the Nationals, the Burnaby North team went on to clinching 7th place (out of 12 teams).

References

External links

* [http://north.sd41.bc.ca/ Burnaby North Secondary School]

Resources

*Burnaby North Grade 8 Survival Guide (Current Edition)