Burnaby North Secondary School

The Burnaby North Secondary School Viking Band marching in the 2007 Calgary Stampede parade

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 2300 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 (80%) are of Oriental ethnicity. The graduating class consists of approximately 450 students many of whom are offered scholarships to attend well known universities. For the past 4 years, Burnaby North graduates have won almost a million dollars in scholarship money annually. Burnaby North has one of the largest Advanced Placement (AP) programs in Canada. In May 2005, it had 209 students write a total of 431 exams in 17 subject areas and a score of 3 or higher was earned on 87% of those exams. The past four years it has had an average of 47 students named as AP scholars (65 were named in 2005). 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.

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 was established in 1994. 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 and bunny ears each year around Easter.[1]

Filming

Burnaby North was used for the public service announcement-style commercial of Metroid Prime 2 that was shown in North America.

Notable students and teachers

• Joe Sakic - NHL Player
• Dave Nonis - NHL General Manager
• David Milošević - NBA NBA Prospect
• Don Mattrick - Former President of World Studios of Electronic Arts

*Vince Murdocco - Lead A

External links

• Burnaby North Secondary School

Resources

• Burnaby North Grade 8 Survival Guide (Current Edition)

Schools in Burnaby, British Columbia
Secondary schools	Alpha · Burnaby Central · Burnaby Mountain · Burnaby North · Burnaby South · Byrne Creek · Cariboo Hill · Moscrop
Primary or elementary schools	Armstrong · Aubrey · Brantford · Brentwood Park · Buckingham · Cameron · Capitol Hill · Cascade Heights · Chaffey-Burke · Clinton · Confederation Park · Douglas Road · Edmonds Community · Forest Grove · Gilmore Community · Gilpin · Glenwood · Inman · Kitchener · Lakeview · Lochdale Community · Lyndhurst · Ecolé Marlborough · Maywood Community · Montecito · Morley · Nelson · Parkcrest · Rosser · Seaforth · Second Street Community · South Slope · Sperling · Stoney Creek Community · Stride Avenue Community · Suncrest · Taylor Park · Twelfth · Westridge · Windsor
Private schools	St. Thomas More Collegiate

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