Prince of Wales Secondary School

Prince of Wales Secondary School
School entrance in 2006
Address
2250 Eddington Drive Vancouver , British Columbia , V6L 2E7 Canada
Coordinates	49°14′44″N 123°09′28″W / 49.2456°N 123.1578°W / 49.2456; -123.1578Coordinates: 49°14′44″N 123°09′28″W / 49.2456°N 123.1578°W / 49.2456; -123.1578
Information
School type	Secondary school
Motto	"Ich Dien" (I Serve)
Founded	1920
School board	School District 39 Vancouver
Superintendent	Suzanne Hoffman
Principal	Ms. A. Haveman
Grades	8-12
Enrollment	1216 (2015)[1] 820 (2021)(estimated) (2014/15)
Language	English
Area	Arbutus Ridge
Colour(s)	Black and Gold
Team name	Walesmen
Website	pw.vsb.bc.ca
Last updated: December 11, 2018

Prince of Wales Secondary School is a public secondary school located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

History[]

Prince of Wales is named in honour of the Prince of Wales, the heir apparent to the Canadian throne. The ostrich feather and crown symbol, and the Ich dien motto of the school are identical to those of its namesake. Prince of Wales opened for classes in September 1920 at its original site, which is now Shaughnessy Elementary School. In 1960 it moved to its current location, which had previously been a golf course.

Programs offered[]

Electives[]

Prince of Wales offers a variety of electives that appeal to student interests, which range from applied skills such as home economics, stagecraft, technical education, and business education, to fine arts (graphic design, fimmaking, photography, art, choir, music). Many students pursue these electives for personal interest, or they choose these courses because they will be studying in this fields for their post-secondary programs. For example, many students take senior level accounting, marketing, and economics courses offered at PW and go on to study Commerce / Business in their post-secondary program.

TREK Outdoor Education Program[]

The TREK program^[2] is offered for grade 10 students from schools throughout the Vancouver School District with an interest in outdoor activities and environmental education.

The program admits 112 students each year, who are get to go on various outdoor trips throughout their school year. The program finishes most of the regular grade 10 academic curriculum while being able to participate in outdoor activities, including both overnight and day trips that teach basic outdoor skills, minimum impact camping, hiking and backpacking, ocean kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, back-country (telemark) skiing, cross-country (Nordic) skiing, snow shelter building & winter camping, avalanche awareness, cycle touring, outdoor cooking, and map & compass navigation, and in-class focus on sustainability and the environment.

GOLD Program[]

The Gifted Over Learning Disabled (GOLD) Program^[3] is a district program designed for gifted students who have also been identified as having a learning disability. The acceptance rate is very low with an average of only about 8 students per year. Students in the program have at least one GOLD block as part of their regular timetable with GOLD English also being offered at the grade 8 level. The curriculum of the program includes communication skills, decision making, subject and personal support, self-awareness and self-advocacy.

Timetable[]

• Prince of Wales formerly operated on a linear timetable of Day 1 / Day 2 rotation, from early September to late June. Each day has four (4) blocks with 1 hour and 15 minutes of instruction in each block. Classes begin at 8:55 a.m. and end at 3:03 p.m. Due to Covid 19 during the 2020-2021 schoolyear Prince of Wales operated on a quarter system with two classes per quarter. Classes were in session from 8:40 to 12:32 or from 1:18 to 3:03 depending on whether you had morning classes or afternoon classes. During the first quarter one class was online and one was in person and it would switch every two weeks but that later changed to switching every week. In the last two quarters both classes were in person. Currently during the 2021-2022 schoolyear Prince of Wales operates on a semester system, with 4 classes every semester. Classes run from 8:40 to 3:06. The return to school after winter break has been delayed by one week due to an increase of Covid 19 cases.

Notable alumni[]

• Kim Campbell, First female Prime Minister of Canada.
• Deborah Grey, First Reform Party member of Parliament.
• Spencer Chandra Herbert, first MLA for Vancouver West End, youngest elected Vancouver Park Commissioner.
• Emmanuelle Schick Garcia, film director/screenwriter.
• Bruce Fairbairn, music producer for Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Loverboy, Van Halen, Chicago, The Cranberries and KISS.
• Lawrence Chou, Hong Kong actor, singer.
• Jessie Farrell, Canadian country music award-winning singer.
• Rafe Mair, broadcaster, political analyst.
• Andrea Neil, pioneer of women’s soccer in Canada and first woman to be inducted for soccer into Canada's Sport Hall of Fame.
• Peter New, actor, voice actor and screenwriter with roles in Agent Cody Banks, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Antitrust.
• Nicholas Lea, actor best known for his portrayal of Alex Krycek from The X-Files and as star/producer of Whistler.
• Sara Neil, Olympic cyclist, winner of the bronze medal in the 57 km road race at the 1987 Pan American games.
• Ryan Reynolds, Hollywood actor, attended the Trek program for one year
• Tseng Kwong Chi, Hong Kong-born American Photographer, Artist.
• Peter Kelamis, Actor and Comedian.

See also[]

• Monarchy in British Columbia

References[]