Dartmouth High School is a Canadian public high school located in the Brightwood

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

of Dartmouth,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Encompassing

grades Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...

9 through 12, Dartmouth High School has always had a diverse student body with many

ethnic groups An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...

, along with a wide variety of

courses Course may refer to: Directions or navigation * Course (navigation), the path of travel * Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...

and educational opportunities for students. Along with English, the school also offers the

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 ...

program. Dartmouth High overlooks the

Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural har ...

, which can be seen from about one sixth of the rooms in the building.

Staff

During the 2005–2006 school year, Dartmouth High School has had a teaching staff of roughly 60, with about 12 support staff. Due to changes in the

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

pension plan A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a "Defined benefit pension pla ...

in Nova Scotia, 19

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

in 2006. The school's former

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

, Phil Legere, was honoured with the SAA "Distinguished Principal's Award" in 2005. He retired in 2008. The principal is now Eartha Monard.

The Arts

Music Department

In 2001, 2003 and 2006, the school's

concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind instrument, woodwind, brass ...

went to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

to help promote music and perform in the country. The concert band usually goes on lengthy and distant trips each year, though in 2007, they went on a smaller scale trip to

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

for the Cape Breton Music Festival. In 2008 the band visited several European countries including

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, and played in the Atlantic Music Festival. Following this trip, the band not go far in 2009, instead taking part in an Arts night, sponsored by the HRSB. The band went to

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in 2010. The School also has a Choral Group, Jazz Band, Ska Ensemble, and other smaller scale ensembles. The event known as "A Battle of the Bands" is held regularly in support of the Music Department.

Theater

The

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

department stages a large scale production each year, usually in conjunction with the school's band or the Halifax Regional Arts, a division of the Halifax Regional Center For Education.

Stage productions

2024: ''

Alice In Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

''
2023: ''

The Mousetrap ''The Mousetrap'' is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The play opened in London's West End in 1952 and ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when the stage performances had to be temporarily discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemi ...

''
2019: ''

Elf the Musical ''Elf'' is a musical based on the 2003 motion picture, with a score by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin. The book is adapted by Bob Martin and Thomas Meehan from the film. The musical premiered on Broadway in the Christmas season of 2010 and ...

''
2018:

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

''
2018: ''

Seussical ''Seussical'', sometimes ''Seussical the Musical'', is a musical comedy with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty, and written by Ahrens and Flaherty. The musical is inspired by many of the children's stories of Dr. Seuss, with most ...

''
2017: ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

''
2017: ''

Urinetown ''Urinetown: The Musical'' is a satirical comedy musical that premiered in 2001, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. It satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bur ...

''
2016: ''Makeup, Tights, and Everything Nice (original musical)''
2011: ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

''
2010: ''

Little Shop of Horrors (musical) ''Little Shop of Horrors'' is a horror comedy rock musical with music by Alan Menken and lyrics and a book by Howard Ashman. The story follows a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh. The musical is l ...

''
2009: ''

Once Upon a Mattress ''Once Upon a Mattress'' is a musical theater, musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. It opened off-Broadway in May 1959, and then moved to Broadway theat ...

''
2008: ''

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet St ...

''
2007: ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

''
2006: ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

''
2005: '' Ducktails and Bobbysocks''
2004: ''

The Flies ''The Flies'' () is a play by Jean-Paul Sartre, produced in 1943. It is an adaptation of the Electra myth, previously used by the Greek playwrights Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides. The play recounts the story of Orestes and his sister E ...

''
2003: ''

Hotel Paradiso ''Hotel Paradiso'' is a 1966 British comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Panavision. It was directed by Peter Glenville and based on the play ''L'Hôtel du libre échange'' by Maurice Desvallières and Georges Feydeau. The film allowe ...

''
2002: ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' (1892), ''A Woman of No Importance'' (1893) and ''An Ideal Husban ...

''
1998: '' The Girl Who Wasn't Blue''
1997: ''

Hollywood Hotel The Hollywood Hotel was a famous hotel, society venue of early Hollywood landmark, formerly located at 6811 Hollywood Boulevard, on the north side, extending from Highland Avenue to Orchid Avenue, in central Hollywood, Los Angeles, Californ ...

''
1996: ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

''
1995: ''

The Baltimore Waltz ''The Baltimore Waltz'' is a play by Paula Vogel. It revolves around a brother and sister who appear to be taking a European trip and is based on Vogel and her brother Carl's real-life experiences. The play had a workshop at the Perseverance Thea ...

Athletics

Dartmouth High School has competitive teams in all the major high school sports, most distinctively excelling in cross country and track and field where they have won many Metro banners. The Spartans have also won many recent Metro Boys Rugby titles, and Tier II Football titles in 1995, 2004, 2010 and current champions in 2018. The last Tier I Football Championship was won in 1971. Dartmouth High School maintains a sports rivalry with cross-town school

Prince Andrew High School Woodlawn High School (formerly Prince Andrew High School) is a Canadian public school, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It is operated by the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) (formerly the Halifax Regional School Board) and is an Internat ...

, who they play each Thanksgiving in football, called the Turkey Bowl. The Turkey Bowl was suspended for the 2010 season due to vandalism of the playing field and fan violence.

School renovations

In March 2011 demolition started of northeast side of the school for the construction of new gymnasium facility and an entire wing under the direction of the

Nova Scotia Department of Education The Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is a department of the Government of Nova Scotia responsible for overseeing education institutions in the province. Becky Druhan is the current Minister of Education. Histor ...

. The new gymnasium was completed in 2012, fully equipped with renovated locker rooms and a storage room. The project is expected to take 3 years and it required the offices of the Nova School Boards Association to be relocated . In the fall of 2010 school wide

electrical Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

upgrades started as well as a new

roof A roof (: roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of tempera ...

Transportation

Dartmouth High School is located next to the Bridge Terminal, a major bus station in the

Halifax Transit Halifax Transit is a Canadian public transport service operating buses and ferries in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Founded as Metro Transit in March 1981, the agency runs two ferry routes, 66 conventional bus routes (including corridor, local, and expre ...

system. In 2021, Halifax Transit launched a pilot program to provide high school students with free transit passes. The program aims to provide youth with convenient transportation and encourage the use of public transit. Dartmouth High School was chosen as one of four schools where the program is being piloted over the 2021/22 school year.

References

{{reflist

External links

Dartmouth High School official website

School profile at Halifax Regional Centre for Education

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia High schools in Nova Scotia Schools in Halifax, Nova Scotia Educational institutions established in 1959 1959 establishments in Nova Scotia