, motto_translation = Let There Be Light , staff = 121 , founded = 1917 , schoolboard =

School District 39 Vancouver The Vancouver School Board (VSB; officially School District 39 Vancouver) is a school district based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A board of nine trustees normally manages this district that serves the city of Vancouver and the Uni ...

, superintendent = Scott Robinson , director = Magdalena Kassis (Director of Instruction) , principal = , hours_in_day = 6 hours , grades_label =

Grades Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also r ...

, grades = 8- 12 , enrollment = 1360"School Information"
B.C. Ministry of Education (2009-09-30). Retrieved on 2010-11-11. , enrollment_as_of = September 2016 , language =

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 , colours = Royal Blue and Gold , mascot = Demons , team_name = Blue Demons , newspaper = The Demon , yearbook = The Haida , url = Kitsilano Secondary School is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

secondary 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 '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

in the

Kitsilano Kitsilano () is a neighbourhood located in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Kitsilano is named after Squamish chief August Jack Khatsahlano, and the neighbourhood is located in Vancouver's West Side along the south shore of Engli ...

neighbourhood of

Vancouver, British Columbia 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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The school has several district programs including

French immersion French immersion is a form of bilingual education in which students who do not speak French as a first language will receive instruction in French. In most French-immersion schools, students will learn to speak French and learn most subjects s ...

and on-site pre-employment. Advanced Placement courses are also offered.

The school

The first students selected royal blue and gold as the school colours, based on those at Aberdeen University (the Alma Mater of one of their teachers); the first

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

classes chose "

Fiat Lux Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...

" (Let there be light) as the school

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

. The original school crest was designed by Mr. S. P. Judge, the first art teacher at Kitsilano, and although the crest has undergone some slight changes over the decades, it still proudly displays the colours and motto. The school is particularly well known for the numerous television and film productions which have been filmed there.

Disturbing Behavior ''Disturbing Behavior'' is a 1998 teen science fiction psychological horror film starring James Marsden, Katie Holmes, and Nick Stahl. The film was directed by David Nutter, who was a director and producer on ''The X-Files'', and the screenplay ...

, Big Bully,

Anything for Love ''Anything for Love'' is a 1993 direct-to-video teen comedy film directed by Michael Keusch and starring Corey Haim and Nicole Eggert. It was aired on television in the United States as ''Just One of the Girls''. Plot Summer is over and 16-year ...

, The Santa Claus 2,

21 Jump Street ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...

, and

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American television teen and family drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by Sc ...

used Kitsilano as a filming location. The school also counts a number of former alumni who went on to careers in film and television, notably

Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian-American actor. He is one of the highest-grossing film actors of all time, with a worldwide box-office gross of over billion. He began his career starring in the Canadian teen ...

and

Joshua Jackson Joshua Carter Jackson (born June 11, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is known for his starring role as Charlie Conway in '' Mighty Ducks'', as Pacey Witter in The WB teen drama series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003), Peter Bishop in the ...

. The school song "Hail Kitsilano" was composed in 1936 by Mr. Ivor Parfitt. The school's mission statement is: "Kitsilano A place where you find Safety, energy, respect Passion for Learning!

!" The main foyer is home to a portrait of Chief August Jack Khahtsahlano, the school's namesake. The auditorium houses a Tanu

totem pole Totem poles ( hai, gyáaʼaang) are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually m ...

, carved by

Don Yeomans Don Yeomans (born 1958) is a Haida artist from Prince Rupert, British Columbia best known for his silkscreen art. His art is in the collection of Museum of Anthropology at UBC and on permanent display at the Canadian Museum of History. Early li ...

in 1986 in honour of Vancouver's centennial anniversary.

Kits sports

In addition to its distinguished academic record, Kitsilano has been highly successful in a number of sports, most prominently, basketball, rugby, soccer, ice-hockey, and cheer. It won provincial basketball championships in 1997, were the City and District Champions and went to the Provincial finals in 1977, and more recently the HSBC Vancouver basketball tournament in 2007. In addition, the Kits cheerleading team went to the world championships held at the ESPN World Wide Sports Centre in Florida in 2017 and 2018. Concluding the 2020-2021 school year, the Kitsilano Athletics department shifted away from the "Blue Demon" name and logo toward a culturally appropriate new name and logo.

History and facilities

Kitsilano Secondary School was founded in 1917, when overflow classes from King Edward High School were moved to Cecil Rhodes School. The first temporary wooden structures for the new school were built in 1920 at Trafalgar and 12th Avenue. The current building was designed by Vancouver VSB staff architect Frank A.A. Barrs and opened in 1927. In 1958, a Modernist-style addition designed by school architect Allan B. Wilson was added to the south side of the original building. In 1973 a single storey concrete structure was added on the southeast corner of the site. In 2010 the school board approved a concept plan for the seismic upgrades to the facility. In October 2011 the provincial government announced a $57.8 million restoration project that will include seismic upgrades and new construction meeting

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

(LEED) Gold Standards. In 2012 three design-build partners, each comprising a general contractor and an architectural firm, were shortlisted for the project. In August 2013 it was announced that the Bouygues Building Canada team were selected to design and build the renovation and expansion. Construction began on the south east corner in 2014. This involved the removal of the tennis and volleyball courts. The new academic wing was completed in the summer of 2015 and the school's renovations were finished by fall 2017.

Incidents

On April 5, 2013 students, parents and staff were informed that an incident involving two students and a staff member may have occurred during a school trip two years earlier. The teacher involved was placed on paid leave. Neither the Vancouver School Board or Vancouver Police Department will discuss the specifics of the allegations. No charges have ever been filed. On January 31, 2018 a groping incident between students occurred at a school dance. The incident was under investigation as of February 3, 2018 according to a Vancouver School Board spokesman. Parents were also informed by administration about the incident.

Notable alumni

Kathleen Heddle Kathleen Joan Heddle, (November 27, 1965January 11, 2021) was a Canadian Olympic rower. She and her long-time rowing partner Marnie McBean were the first Canadians to be awarded three Olympic gold medals at the Summer Games. They also won a s ...

, Olympic rower, 3-time Gold medallist * Josh Holmes, Video game designer *

, actor *

Levon Kendall Levon Maxwell Simon Kendall (born July 4, 1984) is a Canadian-Irish professional basketball player who currently plays for Movistar Estudiantes of the Liga ACB. He plays at both power forward and center. He is 2.09 m (6 ft 10 ¼ in) in hei ...

, professional basketball player *

Boris Malagurski Boris Malagurski ( sr-Cyrl, Борис Малагурски; born 11 August 1988) is a Serbian-Canadian film director, producer, writer, political commentator, television host, and activist.

, film director, producer, writer, political commentator, and television host * Justin Mensah-Coker, professional rugby player, currently playing with Plymouth Albion R.F.C. (UK) *

, television/movie star *

Sarah Strange Sarah Strange is a Canadian actress. She has worked in a variety of American and Canadian television and film projects, including Helen in the Canadian drama ''Da Vinci's Inquest'' and as the voice actor for Ranma Saotome. Life and career Strang ...

, television/movie actor

References

External links

School history webpage

Kitsilano SS renewal project

Kitsilano SS renewal project schedule

Canada's Historic Places, Kitsilano Secondary School webpage

Kitsilano Secondary School Alumni Association
{{Authority control 1918 establishments in British Columbia Educational institutions established in 1918 French-language schools in British Columbia High schools in Vancouver