Robert Cecil Palmer Secondary School

Palmer uses the same grading scale as established by the BC Ministry of Education.

For anything less than 49%, students will be assigned an "I" (Incomplete) which will turn into an "F" (Fail) if course requirements are not completed.[5]

Palmer offers honours level courses through its selective Pre-AP/Incentive program. The program develops academic excellence and offers acceleration for subjects in Math, Science, and Socials Students. The Incentive program also challenging students in leadership opportunities, outdoor and physical education, and community service, with the intent of building strong personal character. The Incentive program is established on the basis of promoting a well-rounded education for high school students and to develop learners to think critically.

Entry to the Program is by application, followed by an entrance exam and an interview.[6]

As of 2016–2017, the program offers:

• Enriched (honours) courses in English, Math, Social Studies, and Science
• 2 year accelerated track for Grade 8, 9, 10 Math and Science
• Preparation for AP courses and exams in Grade 12
• Trips and outdoor camp experiences to complement Incentive classes
• Leadership and community service opportunities
• Develops personal character[7]

Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered at RC Palmer Secondary School and are taken by qualified Grade 12 students by selective application. Palmer's AI Code is 821315, as assigned by College Board.

As of 2016–2017, the following five AP courses are offered:[8]

The Accelerated Credit Enrolment in Industry Training (ACE IT) program is the in-class component of a high school apprenticeship. ACE IT students are Youth Apprentices registered with the Industry Training Authority (ITA).

ACE IT programs are usually offered as partnerships between school districts and post-secondary institutions with onsite training at either location. Students who successfully complete the ACE IT program earn credit towards both high school graduation and a post-secondary credential. Enrolment in the ACE IT program is free.[9]

Palmer is the only school in Richmond that houses the Plumbing Program for the ACE IT program.

Independent Directed Studies (IDS), co-operated with the Richmond Virtual School, under teacher supervision, allow students to initiate their own learning on a subject of choice and earn credits towards graduation. Students must submit an IDS application and have previously shown independent work abilities and excellent work ethics to enroll in the course.[10]

RC Palmer Secondary School has been working with the Collaboration Time late start model for a number of years. Currently, Palmer Staff meet in groups on the first Tuesday of every month for 75 minutes to work on initiatives related to enhancing student achievement and engagement.[11]

Palmer dedicates 90 minutes of time per week tied to the third block of the day. This 18 minute period is intended to support sustained reading in an area or on a topic that interests the student. The goal is to provide a regular consistent environment that encourages students to pursue reading for pleasure. Access to a variety of topics and authors as well as a variety of strategies is important to developing engaged readers.[12]

The school houses the Global Network club. Global Network is a humanitarian service club composed of Palmer students who provide service to both their local and global community. With projects both locally and globally, the goal of Global Network is to raise awareness for issues happening all around the world in addition to creating a platform to discuss and contribute to solving these issues. To do this, the club hosts various events and fundraisers throughout the year with all proceeds supporting causes or campaigns, including Halloween for Hunger, Santa’s Breakfast, Mini WE Day, and 30 hour famine.

The school regularly participates in science competitions within British Columbia,[14] including the Annual UBC Physics Olympics and Kwantlen Science Challenge. The school placed 2nd in the SD38 Popsicle Bridge Building Contest in 2015.[13]

Recently, the JAX Club (formerly known as the Japanese Exchange Club), headed by Bill Fukazawa, has been supplied by Thomas Kemper soda in an exclusive brand called JAXOLA, to promote interest of the club and Palmer.[13]

RC Palmer Liberty Club is a school club focused on empowering youth through activism in the community. It provides an environment for political awareness, education, and action, through working closely with political figures and organizations, sharing voices with like-minded youth, and making local differences. The goal of the club is to have youth understand the importance of government and politics in the role that it plays within our lives. Liberty Club prepare students in becoming responsible citizens by providing opportunities to foster their opinions on social issues. We also have youth dedicate time to important causes such as veteran affairs and child healthcare.[13]

Liberty Club members are also responsible for the largest student led fundraiser in Richmond history. At $3,700 donated to BC Children's Foundation.[13]

The intramural program is an opportunity given to all students, regardless of skill level, to participate in an athletic activity. The intramural games occur during lunch time, where students participate in a variety of activities in the gymnasium. The activities are open to all students and the intramural season runs for about a month long, concluding with playoffs.

Intramural sports offered include:

The school hosts a basketball program for students that replaces the regular P.E. course with an all-basketball program and teaches the fundamentals, tricks, and plays of the sport. In 2007, the senior basketball team made it to the 63rd Annual Telus-BCHSBBA Boys Provincial Basketball Championships, held in the PNE Agrodome. In 2011, they won the Provincial Championships at the Langley Events Centre.[17]

British Columbia Provincial Champions:

Lower Mainland Champions:

RSSAA League Champions:

Palmer is actively involved in promoting interest in the fields of STEM and research. The school has hosted the Palmer Annual Science Fair (Richmond District) since 2008 and sponsors the 1st place, 2nd place, and, sometimes, 3rd place of the fair to compete in the Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair.[21]

The school's teams had also won multiple medals at the Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF).

• 2015, Microcontroller Controlled Laser Area Denial (M-CLAD)[22]
  • Gold, Excellence Award – Senior
  • Dalhousie University Faculty of Science Entrance Scholarship
  • UBC Science (Vancouver) Entrance Award
  • University of Manitoba Entrance Scholarship
  • University of Ottawa Entrance Scholarship
  • Western University Scholarship
  • University of New Brunswick Entrance Scholarship
• 2014, Concentrated Photovoltaic Thermoelectric Hybrid Systems (C.P.T.H.)[23]
  • Bronze, Excellence Award – Intermediate
  • Western University Scholarship
• 2010, A Statistical Approach to the Applications of Fractal Geometry[24]
  • Discovery Channel Math Award
• 2009, Cancer-Killing Combinations[25]
  • Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science Award
  • The University of Western Ontario Scholarship
  • Gold, Health Sciences, Excellence Award – Intermediate

Destination Imagination is a volunteer-led, educational non-profit organization that teaches 21st century skills and STEM principles to kindergarten through university level students through creative and collaborative problem-solving challenges. In the past, Palmer has won 1st and 2nd in 2014, 2013, 2010, 2009, and 2006 Destination Imagination British Columbia Provincial Tournament. The team is most notable for their Instant Challenge excellence, which Palmer had earned 2 consecutive gold medals at the Provincial level.[26]

Palmer students enrolled in Enriched Math[7] or Pre-Calculus courses are encouraged to take part in the various math contests that occur annually. Palmer also houses a Junior and Senior Math Club[13] which works on math contest problems and promotes interest in math.

Math Challengers:

CEMC Math Competition: