Wellington Secondary School 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 ...

located in

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. It is part of

School District 68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District 68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith is a school district on central Vancouver Island in British Columbia. This includes the major centres of Nanaimo and Ladysmith. It is also covers the surrounding communities and the adjacent northern Gulf Is ...

and is known for its music, film, and athletics programs. Wellington secondary school is the catchment school for the

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

Departure Bay Departure Bay is a bay in central Nanaimo, British Columbia, on the east coast of Vancouver Island. The surrounding neighbourhood is also referred to as "Departure Bay" —once a settlement of its own, it was amalgamated into the City of Nan ...

and Uplands neighbourhoods.

History

Wellington Secondary was founded in 1967 as a

junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

, grades 8 through 10. Since its initial construction in 1966 and 1967, the building has had additions in 1973, 1979, 2001, and 2016. Five elementary schools currently feed into Wellington Secondary. From 1875 to 1944, Wellington Public School was the school located on the top field behind what is now called Mount Benson Elementary School. Although Wellington Secondary is a relatively new school, it has the historical "

" neighbourhood school name, which predates the province's oldest high school, ( Victoria High School, est. 1876) by one year.

Music

Wellington "swingin" Secondary consists of numerous award-winning jazz bands and concert bands, under the direction of award-winning music teacher Carmella Luvisotto. Luvisotto, a personal friend of jazz musicians

Ingrid Jensen Ingrid Jensen (born January 12, 1966) is a Canadian jazz trumpeter. Music career Jensen was born in North Vancouver and grew up in Nanaimo. She received a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. After graduating from Berklee, she ...

and

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, '' Billboard'' maga ...

, has provided her students with many unique and memorable musical opportunities throughout the years. The concert bands, which include a grade 8 concert band and a senior concert band, have travelled to various festivals in

. The jazz bands, which range from grade 9 to 12, have also been to a number of festivals, including the Envision Jazz Festival in

Surrey, British Columbia Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surr ...

, the

Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival The Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival is an annual jazz festival, the largest west of the Mississippi River, that takes place in February on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. In 2007, the festival was awarded the National Medal ...

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city in North Central Idaho, United States. Located along the state border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. The county seat and largest city of Latah County, Moscow is the home of the Universit ...

, and

MusicFest Canada MusicFest Canada, originally established as the Canadian Stage Band Festival (CSBF), is a national educational music festival in Canada. It was founded in 1972 by Robert Richmond (the founding president), Gary Wadsworth, and Paul Miner. The CSB ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

(1998),

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

(2005 and 2007),

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

(2004),

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

(2001, 2006, 2008 and 2010),

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

(1999, 2000, 2003 and 2009), and

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

(2002).

Athletics

Wellington Secondary's athletics program includes volleyball, basketball, soccer, and rugby teams. In 2005, the Wellington Senior Boys Basketball team came second in the AAA Provincial Basketball Tournament. The Wellington Senior Girls Basketball team came eighth in 2012 and third in 2013 at the AA BC Provincial Basketball Championships in Kamloops.
The school mascot is Welly the Wildcat.

School tournaments

Wellington Secondary holds a variety of tournaments in multiple fields. Some of these tournaments are: * Annual

Dodgeball Dodgeball is a team sport in which players on two teams try to throw balls and hit opponents, while avoiding being hit themselves. The objective of each team is to eliminate all members of the opposing team by hitting them with thrown balls, cat ...

Floor Hockey Floor hockey is a broad term for several indoor floor game codes which involve two teams using a stick and type of ball or disk. Disks are either open or closed but both designs are usually referred to as "pucks". These games are played either on ...

tournaments. * Annual Superball Basketball tournament. * Two yearly PC game tournaments, which vary every year. Games used in past tournaments include ''

StarCraft ''StarCraft'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance am ...

'', '' Tribes: Vengeance'', and ''

Trackmania Nations ''TrackMania'' is a series of racing games for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo DS and Wii developed by Nadeo and Firebrand Games. Instead of following the usual trend of choosing a set car and track to play ...

References

{{reflist High schools in British Columbia Education in Nanaimo Educational institutions established in 1967 1967 establishments in British Columbia