Bluevale Collegiate Institute (BCI; simply known as Bluevale) is a secondary school in

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto. Due to the close proximity of the ci ...

, Canada, run by the

Waterloo Region District School Board Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB, known as English-language Public District School Board No. 24 prior to 1999) is the public school board for the Region of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It operates 105 elementary schools, 16 secondar ...

. As of the 2019–2020 school year, Bluevale has an enrollment of 1,240 students. The school opened in 1972 under the direction of principal Robert Chilton, and vice-principal Charlie Wilson, initially with grades 9 through 11, adding grades 12, and then 13 in subsequent years. Bluevale's new school boundary took in students previously registered at

Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute is a public secondary school in Kitchener, Ontario, run by the Waterloo Region District School Board. It is part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. The school is located at 301 Charles St. E. As ...

, Kitchener–Waterloo Collegiate, and

Waterloo Collegiate Institute Waterloo Collegiate Institute (WCI) is a secondary school in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school is run by the Waterloo Region District School Board. During the 2019–2020 school year, 1,475 students were enrolled at the school. It has magnet ...

. As of 2022, the principal is Deborah Tyrrell.

Motto and colours

The school colours are maroon,

powder blue __NOTOC__ Powder blue is a pale shade of blue. As with most colours, there is no absolute definition of its exact hue. Originally, ''powder blue'', in the 1650s, was powdered smalt (cobalt glass) used in laundering and dyeing applications, an ...

and white. The school's motto is ''"Non Quis Sed Quid"'', meaning "“it’s not who you are, but what you are". Bluevale's mascot is a knight, named Norm.

Academic programs

According to the 2022–2023 course offerings, Bluevale Collegiate Institute offers courses in the following subjects:

arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

(including music,

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

, and

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile art ...

), business studies,

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and world studies,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French,

health and physical education Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

, mathematics, native studies,

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

, and technological education. Programs specific to the school include: Choose to Lead, which includes obtainment of the Duke of Edinburgh award; SHSM, or Specialist High Skills Major – which provides students with specialized skills and certifications – which is offered in the subjects technology, arts, or sports; and KRT, or the Knights of the Round Table, which serves as the school's student council and offers specific leadership courses to students. Bluevale also offers AP (Advanced Placement) courses, with Pre-AP courses offered in grades 9-11 and AP courses offered in grade 12.

Extracurricular programs

Sports

Bluevale provides opportunities for participation in athletics including intramurals, team sports and individual-based programs. These opportunities include rugby,

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

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 Sum ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

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 eve ...

, cross-country,

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

, and other teams. The school participates in WCSSAA (Waterloo County Secondary School Athletic Association). Many BCI teams have won WCSSAA and

CWOSSA {{notability, date=November 2011 Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association, or CWOSSA, is the governing body of all secondary school athletic competitions in Bruce, Grey, Wellington, Dufferin, Waterloo, Brant and Norfolk counties of On ...

(Central Western Ontario Secondary School Association) titles and have performed well at the Provincial level, including most recently the cross-country teams, swim team, basketball and volleyball squads. The Senior Boys and Girls Rugby teams both won WCCSSA championships in 2013. The Senior girls rugby team then placed in the top ten in all-Ontario competition. The BCI girls' field hockey team have won two consecutive OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) championships (2016 and 2017) while also medalling in the 2014 and 2015 campaigns.

Arts programs

The school's arts program offers music, dance, and visual arts. In addition, there are two different choirs, two bands, and some small ensembles. The main choir, Bluevale Singers, had over 100 members in 2013. The music program features instrumental, vocal and guitar courses. In 2003, Bluevale hosted the first annual provincial DanceFest, an annual dance competition and showcase of dance teams from schools across Ontario. 125 secondary students attended. In 2015, Ontario Secondary School DanceFest became a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

. Drama students perform at the National Theatre School Drama Festival (formerly the Sears Drama Festival) competitions each year and in their annual Fall Showcase. The visual arts program provides many opportunities for students to challenge their creativity though works of art using many mediums.

Other clubs

Like other schools in the region, Bluevale consistently has a high extracurricular participation rate, due to Students Council (also known as KRT - Knights of the Round Table) and the large number of clubs at the school. Other clubs include DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America), the Fishing Club and the Environment Club. The school often partners with other high schools in the region for special events such as Relay for Life, an event that raises money for cancer research.

Notable alumni

Todd Brooker Todd Brooker (born November 24, 1959) is a former alpine ski racer member Crazy Canucks and a ski commentator on television. World Cup career Born in Waterloo, Ontario, Brooker learned to ski and race at Blue Mountain, near Collingwood and ...

- An Olympic skier, who was a member of Canada's national ski team from 1976-1987. He won three

Alpine skiing World Cup The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France ( ...

titles. * Scott Moir and

Tessa Virtue Tessa Jane McCormick Virtue (born May 17, 1989) is a Canadian retired ice dancer. With ice dance partner Scott Moir, she is the 2010 and 2018 Olympic champion, the 2014 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (2010, 2012, 2017) ...

- 2 time Olympic Champions. They attended 2003-2004 while training at the KW skating club. *

Steven Rice Steven Rice (born May 26, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League in the 1990s. Rice was born in Kitchener, Ontario. Rice was drafted 20th overall by the New York ...

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Andrew Poje Andrew Poje (born February 25, 1987) is a Canadian ice dancer. With partner Kaitlyn Weaver, he is a three-time World medalist (2014 silver, 2015 and 2018 bronze), a two-time Four Continents champion (2010, 2015), a two-time Grand Prix Final cha ...

- 3-time Canadian national champion, 3-time world medalist in ice dancing. * Guillermo Verdecchia - Playwright has won the Governor General's Award for English language drama and a Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award. *

Chris Williams (director) Chris Williams (born December 19, 1968) is an American animator, film director, screenwriter and voice actor who directed the short film ''Glago's Guest''; co-directed '' Bolt'', which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature; '' Bi ...

- Oscar winning movie director * Mike West - As a member of the Canadian Swim Team, he won a Bronze

Olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid o ...

in 1984. *

Kirsten Moore-Towers Kirsten Moore-Towers (born July 1, 1992) is a Canadian retired competitive pair skater who competed internationally at the senior level for thirteen seasons from 2009 to 2022. She first achieved distinction partnered with Dylan Moscovitch, winni ...

- 2014 Olympic Silver medal team skating

References

External links

* Waterloo Region District School Board Educational institutions established in 1972 High schools in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo Schools in Waterloo, Ontario 1972 establishments in Ontario {{Waterloo Region schools