City School

理念是：把城市作为课堂 - Use the city as a classroom。重点培养有很强的问题解决能力和领导力。

小班（每个班13个孩子），课程面很广，老师和学生像朋友一样相处，甚至学生可以选择老师。作业量非常大，经常出去后回来做 Project - 把整个城市作为课堂，当然不是在教室内学习了。

The students who come to City School at King George Secondary have at least one thing in common with each other - they all chose to leave their traditional high schools because they wanted a different kind of school environment. They prefer to spend their days with a much smaller group of people; they are prepared to give up a lot of course options in order to have small classes with teachers who will know them and their families pretty well by the time they graduate. City School students call teachers by their first names, and choose "advisors" instead of being assigned counsellors. They might have the same teacher for two or three courses.

The atmosphere in City School seems quite casual compared to a regular school, but everybody here is responsible for making it a place where schoolwork is respected as serious business and people can learn what they need and want to learn. Some City School students look "different" and they like to come to a school where nobody puts them down for that.

City School starts at Grade 10 and we try to maintain about thirteen students in each grade for a maximum of forty. We are in the category of "district specified program", which means our students come from all over Vancouver and not just the West End.

City School is not for dropouts, and though some of our students have had interruptions in their schooling for various reasons, most of them have not. The course load is different from traditional school; we might do five or six courses and have some of them every day. Our school hours this year are 8:30 to 4:00. Some courses are semestered. They are primarily academic and our graduates qualify for university.

City School students will tell you they get a lot of homework; they do! This is partly because there just isn't enough time in class to cover everything, partly because it's important for people to learn how to learn on their own, and partly because we often leave the school building to use other resources in the city (that's where the name City School came from).

"Use the city as a classroom" has been our slogan from the beginning, back in 1971. Just look at our field trip list to see what kinds of educational opportunities we have been able to take advantage of. Some trips are overnight or longer, like camping, science trips or cultural exchanges.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Small size: With a population of only 40, you’ll find students and teachers get to know one another more than they can in a large school setting.

Facilities: Our main room is a multi-level space with a quiet study area, computer room and kitchen as well as classrooms. We have a seminar room and a fenced patio and garden.

Your input: At community meetings, we discuss concerns, plan field trips, decide what activities and projects the school will do and what courses will be offered. Your input on one or more of the committees (school decor, grad, finance, garden, kitchen, fund raising, special events, etc.) is key to the operation of the school.

Mix of people: Our students and staff commute from all over Vancouver. We are diverse in our interests, opinions, backgrounds, eccentricities and talents, but the common thread is that we’ve chosen an alternative setting to learn and work in. We value and promote an atmosphere of respect and acceptance.

Enrichment, not acceleration: You can expect some of what you’re used to in regular school, but we use resources beyond the usual. An advantage of our diminutive size is that we can be flexible about when and where we learn. Some typical or recent excursions include Vancouver Playhouse, Museum of Anthropology, BC Civil Liberties Union conference, Grouse Mountain snow shoeing, Vancouver International Film Festival, cycling Stanley Park sea wall, Vancouver Art Gallery, Law Courts, dragon boating, Roedde House museum, Vancouver Archives, Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, English Bay beach volleyball. Some of these activities require time commitments outside of regular school hours (evenings and over-nights).

Traditions: Highlights of our school year are our Autumn Potluck Dinner & Social, Halloween Fine Juice and Cheese Tasting, Santa’s visit, the Arts Fair, spring camping trip and June grad dinner. Spontaneous potluck lunches happen about once a month; jam sessions often spring up after school. We mount at least one dramatic production every year.

Parent involvement: We encourage and appreciate parents’ involvement in our school community. There are projects we undertake that we couldn’t achieve without them volunteering to host exchange students, run garage sales, work behind the scenes on our plays and so on. We take advantage of their experience and talents whenever possible.

WHAT COURSES ARE OFFERED?

Along with graduation-required courses, we offer electives in the arts, humanities and sciences. Some of the courses you can expect to find: Art, Drama, History, Law, Literature, Biology, Earth Science, Comparative Civilizations, Philosophy, Spanish, Independent Directed Studies (Music, Film, etc.)

HOW DO I JOIN?

You may want to visit for a day. We encourage you to do so, and welcome inquiries from students, parents, guardians and school counsellors. It’s best to apply before March, for the following September. We sometimes accept students during the school year if space permits.

For more detailed application information, visit our web site click on “City School” or phone 604-713-5816.

Administering School: King George Secondary

Grade: 10-12