MacNeill Secondary School

Infobox Education in Canada
name= A. R. MacNeill Secondary


imagesize= 250px
motto=
motto_translation=
streetaddress= 6611 No. 4 Rd
city= Richmond
province= British Columbia
postalcode= V6Y 2T2
areacode= 604
phone= 668-6212
fax= 668-6202
email=
url= http://www2.sd38.bc.ca/MacNeill-Web/
schoolnumber= 3838064
schoolboard= School District 38 Richmond
superintendent=
trustee=
affiliation=
principal= B. Raynor
viceprincipal= M. Charlton, L. Moran
administrator=
staff=
fundingtype= Public
schooltype= high school
grades= 8-12
language= English
area=
mascot= Raven
teamname=
colours= Blue and gold
enrollment= 934
enrollment_as_of= (2007)

A. R. MacNeill Secondary School is an secondary school in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. As of 2007, there were around 934 students attending the school. It is in School District 38 Richmond. The school was built at a cost of over CAD 25 million. The feeder elementary schools are Anderson, Cook, Talmey and Tomsett.

The school is named after Allan Roy MacNeill.

In addition to being the youngest school in the district, it is also known to pilot and test any new ideas before they are applied to the rest of the schools in Richmond.

History

A.R MacNeill opened on September 2, 2003. In its first year, it was home to about 200 students and staff. The school also began with only two grade levels, 7 and 8, and as each year passed it added another grade. The first senior class graduated in 2008.

In the 2006/2007 school year, students entering grade 10 were removed from their respective academies and put into what was called the Transition Academy. This new academy was created to emphasize and educate students about graduation requirements, such as the recent Graduation Portfolio and post-secondary and career options.

In the 2008/2009 school year, MacNeill stopped accepting grade 7 students due to low enrollment and completely discontinued the arts and science academy options. MacNeill begins using an electronic attendance system this year, called BCesis and new schedule management software which is speculated to be programmed by someone who must have attended a Semester school.

chedule

Weekday classes begin at 8:45 am and end at 3:10pm.

On Wednesdays, classes are dismissed at 1:10pm.

MacNeill also uses the Linear system, in which every second day is either a Day-1 or a Day-2.

Day-1 Block ABlock BBlock CBlock D

Day-2Block EBlock FBlock GBlock H

District Incentive Program

Also housed in MacNeill Secondary School is the District Incentive Program which is now known as "the Incentive Program at MacNeill". A program that focuses on independent, self directed education, Incentive has a great outdoor education program. Before June 2003, Incentive (DIP to its students) was housed in its own building on the corner of Steveston and Shell Road. With a student population of below 90, ranging from grade 8-10, DIP is staffed by 4 dedicated teachers. These teachers being Ms. Sharpe, Ms. Hendrix, Mr. Elliott, and Mr. Mathison. With activities for PE such as skiing and snowboarding at Whistler, kayaking, windsurfing, rock climbing, PE was something all students looked forward to. In addition, towards the end of every year, DIP students and teachers would go on a week long trip. One option every year is to go to Strathcona Park Lodge. Students have the option of participating in week long programs including rock climbing, ocean kayaking, white water kayaking and canoeing. Another option is to go on a trip to Quebec, to practice speaking French and to learn about the rich Quebecois culture. With visits to Chateaux Frontenac, St. Anne De Beaupre Cathedral, a great crepe restaurant, Mount Royale, St. Lawerence River, maple syrup farm, students are fully immersed in Quebecois culture. In 2004, students also went on a trip to Casa Guatemala, where they spent their time sight seeing, learning about the Guatemalan culture and performing humanitarian efforts. This past summer, a group of student along with head teacher, Mr. Hodgins and some parent volunteers took on the challenge of a paddling trip in Yukon.

On June 2003, the little DIP building on Shell Road closed its doors forever. In the months before June, the DIP community rallied to keep the building on shell's doors opened. With letters written in newspapers and speeches made to try to convince the school board that putting Incentive in a high school would make the program no different than "minischools" that exist in other high schools, parents, staff and students tried everything. After the trustee voted to close and move DIP, parents, staff and present and former students were seen with tears in their eyes. So instead of its own individual building, DIP was forced into MacNeill Secondary School. Afraid of losing its individuality, but forced by the trustees, the students and staff of DIP reluctantly moved into MacNeill Secondary School. Though DIP was given its own wing in the school, nothing would be the same. But the students and staff of DIP have strongly made the best of their situation. DIP has separate schedules also to stop conflicts between the schools. Only 10 minutes of intersection.

Now, DIP students and staff can be spotted in their wing in MacNeill Secondary School, still carrying on the great tradition of outdoor learning, and education that takes place outside of the classroom.

They also house a popular Clown Walk group called 2WA (2 Walk for Allah) consisting of members across Richmond.

References

* [http://www.corporate.gov.bc.ca/Capital_Projects/Lower_Mainland/Richmond.htm B.C. government capital projects inventory]
* [http://img.4chan.org/b/ /B/C Schools]

External links

* [http://www2.sd38.bc.ca/MacNeill-Web/ Official web site]

chool Reports - Ministry of Education

* [http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/reports/pdfs/class_size/03838064.pdf Class Size]
* [http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/reports/pdfs/sat_survey/2005/03838064.pdf Satisfaction Survey]
* [http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/reports/pdfs/school_perf/03838064.pdf School Performance]
* [http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/reports/pdfs/fsa/03838064.pdf Skills Assessment]
* [http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/reports/pdfs/student_stats/03838064.pdf Enrollment Reports]