Bernice MacNaughton High School
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| Bernice MacNaughton High School (BMHS) | |
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| File:BMHS Logo.gif | |
| Address | |
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999 St. George Blvd. , , E1E 2C9 | |
| Information | |
| School type | Public coeducational high school |
| Motto | "Qui valet sustinet" * (Strength to Endure) |
| Founded | 1975 |
| School board | District 2 |
| Superintendent | Karen Branscombe |
| School number | 1569 |
| Principal | Gary Wilson |
| Staff | 78 [1] |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | ≈918 (January 2007) |
| Language | English, French Second-Language |
| Area | Moncton West |
| Colour(s) | Green and White |
| Mascot | Highlander |
| Team name | The Highlanders |
| Feeder schools | Bessborough, Evergreen Park, Hillcrest [2] |
| Affiliation | None |
| School Song | BMHS Fight Song |
| Yearbook | ceilidh |
| School newspaper | The Highlander |
| Website | http://www.bmhs.ca/ |
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Bernice MacNaughton High School, or simply BMHS (formerly known as Dr. L. Bernice MacNaughton High School, or LBMHS) is a high school in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada situated at 999 St. George Blvd. It was founded in 1975 as a trade school, accommodating 1400 students. It became the MacNaughton Science & Technology Center (M.S.T.C.) in 1994 but was reestablished as a high school in 1999, consisting only of grade nine students.[3] 2003 saw the first graduating class of BMHS. At this time, BMHS held students from grades 9-12 for the first time. By the end of 2003, the building had received a multi-million dollar renovation. Additions included a newly built gymnasium and several new classrooms. Older classrooms were substantially refurbished. By 2005, a new roof for the school's cafeteria had been completed and the auditorium underwent a face lift, making the facility more up to date with new technologies.
Name
Bernice MacNaughton High School was named after Dr. L. Bernice MacNaughton, a Moncton teacher.[3]
Bernice MacNaughton High School is "unofficially" know under a number of different names including Bernice MacNaughton, MacNaughton and Bernie Mac. Its sports teams have often been referred to as "the Mean Green", "The Green Machine", "the Fight Club" (stemming from the school's "Fight Song") and "the Green Monster", and students "Green Monsters", after a few members of the Grade 10 class coined the catch phrases in 2001.
School Improvement Plan
Major additions/upgrades were part of the school's fourth and final structural phase of the BMHS School Improvement Plan. Drafting began in early 2001, with the complete outline being completed on May 21, 2003. The final cosmetic plans of Phase 4 originally included extensive landscaping and the addition of lighting from the entrance of the school's long driveway, although focus has since shifted away from these areas. (These parts of the phase may be addressed later) The original long-term plans of Phase 4 saw a proposed change in the location of the school's entrance (which is located on St. George, directly before a busy on-ramp/intersection). The proposed change would facilitate the flow of traffic. Preliminary independent traffic studies on this matter have been conducted but no conclusive results have been reached. This matter may still be under consideration. However, it should be mentioned that traffic lights have since been installed down the street from the school's entrance, showing a positive effect on the traffic flow and pace.
The Bernice MacNaughton School Improvement Plan was first drafted with the aid of School District 2, under the supervision of Jim Stevenson, the District Education Council (DEC), members of the school's Student Parent Advisory Committee (SPAC), under the leadership of Chairman Robin Craig, Ms. Susan Ross (Principal 1999-2004), Mr. Jack Powers (Vice-Principal 1999-2005), and various other community leaders, all of whom collaborated on this extensive project.[4]
School Atmosphere
Located in Moncton's West end, MacNaughton is situated amongst a very natural, green environment. Although located just off one of the city's main roads, BMHS offers a quite nature-oriented environment, with access to cross-country ski trails and two sports fields. It is also within walking distance of the city's walking trails as well as Centennial Park.
The school itself has a spacious design, with open foyers and a large, central cafeteria. The gymnasium features separate parking and entrances for special functions. The large auditorium is capable of handling fully orchestrated productions.
Extracurricular activities
BMHS has an extensive array of extracurricular activities to offer. Below are some of them.
Arts
Bernice MacNaughton offers various arts-related extracurricular activities. They are mostly music-related and deal with BMHS's annual musical production. They include:
Sports
MacNaughton offers a wide selection of sports clubs and organized teams at both junior varsity and senior varsity levels. These vary from year to year, and include:
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Bernice MacNaughton has also captured a number of New Brunswick Interscholastic Athletic Association (NBIAA) sports titles: 2004 AAA Senior Varsity Football, 2005 Girls Field Hockey, 2005-2006 AAA JV Girls Basketball, 2006 Girls Wrestling, 2006 AAA Senior Varsity Football, 2007 AAA Senior Varsity Girls Basketball, 2007 Senior Varsity Boys Volleyball.
Other Clubs
Other extracurricular activities (past and present) at BMHS include:
Audio/Visual Crew
This club is responsible for stage, lighting, and sound for BMHS's theatre.
Automotive Club
This group was formed in 2002, from members of the school's autoshop class.
Bike Club
The BMHS Bike Club is dedicated to repairing, fixing, and building bicycles and other small vehicles. In 2006, the club attended a bikers' conference in Alberta, bringing along their custom-built bike named "Wendy", which they entered into the bike-making competition.
Gamers' Club
The BMHS Gamers' Club was founded in 2005. It is currently the largest club in MacNaughton.
Grad Council
Grad council is made up of four positions: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
MacNaughton has had several successful Improv teams since the introduction of BMHS Improv (originally a side project of the Drama club) in 2001. These teams have gone on to compete in several provincial Improv tournaments, including the city's own "HubCap Comedy Festival", with noteworthy success.
The school's Improv team placed in the Top 3 in the province's annual Improv Competition in 2002.
Formed in 2000. The chess club has sent several competitors to the District 2 and New Brunswick Provincial Chess Tournaments, with some members placing in the top three. In the 2007 Provincial Chess Challenge, a Grade 10 student from the BMHS Chess Club placed first in the province and will represent New Brunswick at the National Chess Tournament in Quebec City.
Comics Club
The Comic Club was independently formed in 2001 by students. The club was an outlet for students to express their comedic side.
Formed in 2000, this group is currently inactive.
BMHS's SchoolReach teams have placed second in the province on two occasions during the 2006-2007 season. In 2005, the Intermediate team placed first in the Sir James Dunn tournament in St. Andrews.
School Newspaper
Formed in 2002, the latest school newspaper's name was The BMHS Times. Currently, the school newspaper's name is The Highlander.
Spirit Squad
During the 2006-2007 school year, the School Spirit Directors decided to form a Spirit Squad because they were involved in several sports and couldn't fully fulfill their Spirit duties and because the crowd could not be swayed to join in the cheers. The school now has a group of ten to twenty students who aid the School Spirit in energizing the crowd. This new group was enough to cheer on the teams. The squad gets painted up for the games and recites cheers during the games. They perform publicity stunts during the breaks and sometimes get the crowds to cheer along. The captain is chosen by the school spirit for the upcoming year.
Student Government
BMHS's students' union, officially called Student Government, but also referred to as Student Council, consists of thirteen positions:
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*May be a two-person position.
This year's student council consists of fourteen students, with two in the position of School Spirit. The 2007-2008 Student Government will consist of two Promotions Directors, as well as two students for School Spirit, so fifteen students in total.
Target
Target, under the direction of ISCF, is a small group comprised of teachers and students from the school.
The annual BMHS yearbook is entitiled "ceilidh", pronounced /ˈkʲʰeːlʲiː/. In 2006, MacNaughton was the first New Brunswick high school to publish their yearbook in full colour.
Theatrical Productions
Bernice MacNaughton has performed six Broadway musicals so far. They are:
- Oliver! (2003)
- Nunsense (2003)
- The Sound of Music (2004)
- Nunsense 2: The Second Coming (2005)
- Broadway meets the Bard, a collection of Broadway songs and Shakespeare excerpts. (December 2005)
- Grease (2006)
- West Side Story (2007) The show finished on April 21, 2007.
Other
- One student from BMHS participated in District 2's January 2007 production of Fame.
Drama
Formed in 2000, the Drama club has worked on several independent projects, as well as on projects in conjunction with the music department, and include:
- Lord of the Flies (2001)
- Several other "in house" drama productions, which include several original productions.
Community Forums
BMHS has a community forum that was founded in February 2007 by students for students.
School culture
Mascot
The mascot of BMHS is the Highlander. It was created in 1999 and was revised in 2003 by several committees, including School Spirit, Student Council and the P.S.S.C, in conjunction with various members from the Art Department .[3]
School colours
BMHS's school colours are green and white, portrayed in its sport uniforms and school apparel.
School song
The school's fight song was composed by Linda Langille, the music teacher at BMHS. The lyrics are as follows:
Ten thousand years from now you'll hear,
The Highlander's mighty cheer,
MacNaughton, the school above the rest!
We've got the fight in every game;
Victory is our only aim,
MacNaughton, our school is the best!
Our courage, strength, and might,
Backed by the green and white,
MacNaughton, you'll see our banner soar!
Hear us loud, hear us proud;
Our cheer will rise above the crowd,
MacNaughton, with strength to endure!
Fight, fight, fight for the green and white!
Fight, fight, fight for the green and white!
Go Highlanders!
The last verse is spoken. The first line of the last verse is shouted only by males, the second line by females, and the last line by everybody singing it.
Legacy Left
It because of the work and dedication of the Province of New Brunswick, District 2, SPAC (under guidance of Robin Craig), Principal Sue Ross (99-04) and Vice Principal Jack Powers (99-05) along with the school's staff, community leaders, parents as well as the students of the grade 9 class of 1999, that BMHS was reborn, once again, into a fully operational high school.
Now and into the Future
Bernice MacNaughton offers an accommodating, up-to-date learning environment with a multitude of on-site resources. The school offers a wide array of technologically oriented programs as well as an extensive selection of extracurricular programs.
External links
References
- ^ http://www.bmhs.ca/documents/teachers/teachers.html
- ^ http://www.district2.nbed.nb.ca/school.asp?s=1569
- ^ a b c http://www.bmhs.ca/documents/about_us/about_us.html
- ^ B.M.H.S. School Improvement Plan, 2003, MacNaughton High School, School District 2