Parkland Secondary School

Parkland Secondary School is a public secondary school in North Saanich, a suburb of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is operated by School District 63 Saanich. It is one of three secondary schools in the school district and is located at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula. The school serves the municipalities of North Saanich and Sidney as well as the nearby Pauquachin, Tsawout and Tseycum First Nations communities.[2] International students from around the world comprise a significant percentage of the student enrollment. In 2018, Parkland Secondary introduced the International Baccalaureate program, making it the only school on Vancouver Island to offer such a program. Parkland Secondary is fed primarily from North Saanich Middle School.[3]

Parkland Secondary School
Address
10640 McDonald Park Rd.

Sidney
,
British Columbia
,
V8L 5S7

Canada
Coordinates48.67055°N 123.42152°W / 48.67055; -123.42152
Information
School typePublic, high school
School boardSchool District 63 Saanich
PrincipalPrincipal: Ms. L. Chicanot Vice Principal: Mr. M. Freeman
Grades9-12
Enrollment500 (approx.)[1]
LanguageEnglish
Team namePanthers
Websiteparkland.sd63.bc.ca

Special programs

In addition to a full range of standard academic courses and athletics, the school also offers:

  • Hockey Academy - utilizes the ice rink at nearby Panorama Recreation Centre.
  • Judo Academy
  • Outdoor Education - includes kayaking, canoeing, wilderness safety, first aid, outdoor survival skills, nutrition/dehydration, wilderness cooking, navigation, and environmental practices.
  • Sailing Academy - in conjunction with the school's Marine Institute.
  • International Baccalaureate- Provides a more advanced education for students to join in grades 11-12.

Marine Institute

The Marine Institute at Parkland was established in 2012.[4] It is operated as a school academy, together with the Sailing Academy, to offer students a range of opportunities in academics, post-secondary credits and apprenticeships, trades certifications, environmental recreation, and sailing through both classroom-based instruction and on-the-water experience.[5] The Marine Institute partners with the Institute of Ocean Sciences, a research station operated by the Government of Canada at nearby Patricia Bay. The Institute of Ocean Sciences is paired with a Canadian Coast Guard base which home-ports Canadian and Japanese offshore oceanographic research vessels and an Arctic ice-breaker.


Controversies

In Spring 2018, a staff member criticized a door-sized poster created by a student on the physics room door. It featured SpaceX's Falcon Heavy Rocket that launched earlier that year. The controversy sparked when the staff member said the image was "phallic", "too masculine" and intimidating. This prompted a debate on whether the poster should be removed or not. In the end, a class on how to accept art and free expression was offered to all staff members.

The physics door in Fall 2018

Saanich International Student Program

The Saanich International Student Program (SISP) is co-located at Parkland Secondary School. It serves students in Grades 9-12 at Parkland Secondary, Stelly's Secondary School, and Claremont Secondary School.[6] In the 2013-1014 academic year SISP students comprised approximately 15% of Parkland secondary's student population.

Weather station

The University of Victoria operates a weather station at PSS as part of its School-Based Weather Station Network which gathers data from schools around Greater Victoria for its Climate Modelling Group of the School of Earth and Ocean Science. The data is collected at the university and used to provide meteorological forecasts online.[7][8]

Facilities

The school was originally constructed in 1970 and opened for the 1973-74 school year. A significant addition and upgrade was undertaken in 2000.[9] The school was scheduled to undergo seismic upgrades in 2014-15.[10]

References
  1. Parkland school context. Retrieved 2013-11-02
  2. North Saanich Middle School school context. Retrieved 2013-11-02
  3. Parkland school context. Retrieved 2013-11-02
  4. Parkland christens marine academy, BC Local News, November 30, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  5. Marine Institute at Parkland webpage. Retrieved 2013-11-02
  6. Saanich International Student Program webpage. Retrieved 2013-11-02
  7. UVic School-Based Weather Station Network Archived 2019-10-13 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved online 2013-11-02
  8. Weather station at Parkland Secondary. Retrieved 2013-11-03
  9. BC Government Capital Planning seismic structural risk ratings Archived 2013-11-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2013-11-02
  10. Local schools to get upgrades, Victoria News, April 23, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-02
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