West Vancouver Secondary School

Infobox Education in Canada
name= West Vancouver Secondary School
motto= Faire sans dire
established= 1927
1952 (present site)
type= Public
city= West Vancouver
province= British Columbia
country= Canada
principal= Mr. Tom Longridge
viceprincipal_label=Assistant Principals
assistant_principals= Ms. Jennifer Bach
Ms. Rebecca Rowley
Mr. Chris Sandor
grades= 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
teamname= Highlanders
enrollment_as_of= as of 2008
enrollment= 1 571
campus= Urban (North Campus)
Urban (South Campus)


motto_translation= Do without speaking
website= [http://www.sd45.bc.ca/wvss/ http://www.sd45.bc.ca/wvss/]
school_board= West Vancouver School District
religious_affiliation= None

West Vancouver Secondary School (WVSS) is a five-year secondary school located in the middle of West Vancouver, British Columbia which educates grades 8 through 12. It is one of the three public high schools in West Vancouver. WVSS is noted for being a very diverse school offering many opportunities for its students, and has a reputation of excellence as a public school. The school has two campuses, a North Campus and a South Campus. Each campus has its own gym and a cafeteria. The school has 2 grass fields and a gravel baseball diamond. The main field has a running track around it. The main field is used for all sports, such as soccer, football, and rugby union.

The Kay Meek Centre for the Performing Arts

In 2004, new $12 million CAD performing arts centre was constructed over the school's old theatre. The Kay Meek Centre for the Performing Arts was the vision of West Vancouver Resident Kay Meek who passed away in 2004. The centre features a main theatre with seating for 500 as well as a studio theatre for 250. The studio theatre was finished in February 2006. The first show in the theatre by WVSS was a very small show while the main theatre was still under construction. Kay's health was going downhill and so they created a small show just for her. The Kay Meek Centre is now used as a meeting hall for assemblies during school and also other shows such as the annual school fashion show or Asian New Year celebration. Recently, municipal meetings and performing arts organizations such as Pacific Dreams Theatre, Theatre West Van and many dance companies have also made use of the Kay Meek Centre.

International Baccalaureate program

WVSS is a member of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. It is the only public school on the North Shore to provide the High School program, thus drawing people from Squamish to Deep Cove and even downtown Vancouver to the school. It offers a variety of IB courses, such as Biology, Chemistry, English, Film, French, Geography, History, Japanese, Mandarin, Mathematics, Physics, Spanish, Theatre, and Visual Arts at higher or standard level. The standard Diploma programme course, Theory of Knowledge, is also required in this program.

WVSS is the only public high school in the West Vancouver School District to offer the IBO Diploma programme; however, Mulgrave School (a private school on the North Shore) also offers the IBO Diploma. The other three secondary schools in the district, Rockridge, Sentinel, Collingwood, a private school, offer the Advanced Placement (AP) Program.

External links

* [http://www.sd45.bc.ca/wvss/ Official website]
* [http://www.kaymeekcentre.com Kay Meek Centre for the Performing Arts]
* [http://www.ibo.org/school/000358/ International Baccalaureate Organization listing]
* [http://westvanreunion.blogspot.com/ 1985 West Vancouver Secondary Reunion Blog]
* [http://westvangrad86.blogspot.com/ 1986 West Vancouver Secondary Reunion Blog]
* [http://www.hiscox.net/grad87/ 1987 West Vancouver Secondary Reunion Forum]
* [http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2458211387] Grad 88 Reunion site