Rick Hansen Secondary is a public

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 ...

in the neighborhood of Townline Hill, located in the west part of

Abbotsford, British Columbia Abbotsford is a city located in British Columbia, adjacent to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver and the Fraser River. With an estimated population of 153,524 people it is the largest municipality in the province outside metrop ...

. It is part of

School District 34 Abbotsford Abbotsford School District (also known as School District 34) is a school district in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. The district is located in the city of Abbotsford. It has seen steady growth as a result of Abbotsford's place as one ...

. Rick Hansen Secondary School (RHSS) is named after

Rick Hansen Richard Marvin Hansen (born August 26, 1957) is a Canadian track and field athlete (Paralympic Games), activist, and philanthropist for people with disabilities. Following a pickup truck crash at the age of 15, Hansen sustained a spinal cord ...

, an athlete who won all-star awards in five sports when he was paralyzed at the age of 15 after being thrown from the back of a truck. He subsequently became a

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

and

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

for people with

spinal cord injuries A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in the parts of the body served by the spinal cor ...

. The school usually takes in graduates from the nearby Eugene Reimer Middle School, and serves a predominantly

Desi DESI may refer to * Desorption electrospray ionization * Drug Efficacy Study Implementation * Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument See also * Desi (disambiguation) Desi or Deshi is a self-referential term used by South Asian people. Desi may al ...

& South East Asian community. In 2015–2016, the school suspended many of its programs such as various clubs, sports teams, concert band and its cafeteria due to the low number of students. The school saw record low enrolment as recent as 2016 and 2017, where it dropped to 591 students, compared to 938 in 2007. On October 19, 2020, a student collapsed and died following a medical incident in class. The school is a sister school to Rick Hansen Secondary School in

Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

School of Business & Science

In 2015, the school opened B.C.’s "first science and business school." Eligible students were able to earn college-level credits, attend college lectures, and take internships to gain experience.

Athletics

The school has teams in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

ultimate frisbee Ultimate, originally known as ultimate Frisbee, is a non-contact team sport played with a frisbee flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by AJ Gator in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate resembles many traditional sports in its ath ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. * 2018 Grade 9 boys Basketball Provincial Champions * 2017 Provincial AAA Sr. Boys Basketball Champions * 2004 AAA Football Provincial Champions * 2004 Provincial Boys Wrestling Champions * 2006 Provincial Boys Wrestling Champions * 2011 Provincial Boys Wrestling Champions * 2012 provincial Boys Wrestling Champions

Controversies

Rick Hansen Secondary is much known in Abbotsford for its apparent gang and drug problem, however this is highly disputed. The school is most notable for incidents such as when in March 2011, 3 students set fire to various towel dispensers in the school's bathrooms. Another incident includes when in October 2013, a 17-year-old student was assaulted with a collapsible baton in the boys’ locker room by another 16-year-old student.

Notable alumni

Jacob Doerksen Jacob Luke Doerksen (born October 16, 1987) is a Canadian former professional basketball player. Career A native of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Doerksen played basketball and football at Rick Hansen Secondary School, he was named the Britis ...

, basketball player

References

{{Reflist High schools in Abbotsford, British Columbia Educational institutions in Canada with year of establishment missing