Bishop Martin High School (BMHS) is a

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

located in

Orange Walk Town Orange Walk Town is the fourth largest town in Belize, with a population of about 13,400 (Official Release of the Main Findings of the 2010 Population and Housing Census). It is the capital of the Orange Walk District. Orange Walk Town is locate ...

, Belize.

History

BMHS was established on September 2, 2002, by the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Belize City-Belmopan Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, under Bishop Osmond P. Martin. It opened with 60 first form students and Mr. René Constanza as the principal. It moved to the present location on San Lorenzo Road in 2004. In 2018-19 it had an enrollment of 385 students, with Mr. Luis Pook as principal and Mrs. Luisa Gillett vice-principal.

Academics

Students in first and second form (9th and 10th grade in the United States) all have the same

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

but there are alternate programs in third and fourth forms. The focus of most of the subjects at third and fourth form is preparation for CSEC exams, as is the case in most Belizean high schools. Education at BMHS is also focused on Catholic faith and values. The calendar includes activities connected to the Church's

liturgical year The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and whi ...

, including an emphasis on mission education – preparing students for today's world but also with a faith in life beyond this world. The school's patron saint is San Juan Diego, canonized by John Paul II in 2002.

Student life

A special characteristic of the school is its involvement of parents through service hours and also in disciplinary matters. From participation in intramurals to involvement in

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

activities, the whole school community is involved. The Head of Discipline is in overall charge of disciplinary matters and uses reflection on student behavior and one-on-one counselling, besides involving the parents in the disciplinary process.

Past principals of BMHS

* 2002-06 Father René Constanza, CSP * 2006-08 Mrs. Maria Johnston * 2008-10 Mrs. Flavia Burgos * 2010-19 Mr. Luis Pook

References

*Bishop Martin High School Handbook, 2013 Catholic secondary schools in Belize Educational institutions established in 2002 2002 establishments in Belize {{CentralAm-school-stub