Westwood High School is an English-language high school located in St. Lazare and

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, roughly 24 km west of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

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 ...

. The school is administered by the

Lester B. Pearson School Board The Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB, , CSLBP) is one of the largest school boards on the island of Montreal and one of the nine English school boards in the province of Quebec. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec. Established in 1998, ...

and is divided into a junior campus in Saint-Lazare for secondary I and II and a senior campus in Hudson for secondary III, IV, and V.

History

Immigrant families from

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

first began to settle on this land in the early 1800s. Attracted by the rolling hills, fertile lands for farming, and proximity to the Ottawa River, families put down their roots along the

Lake of Two Mountains Lake of Two Mountains (French: ''Lac des Deux Montagnes'') is part of the river delta widening of the Ottawa River in Quebec, Canada, at its confluence with the St. Lawrence River. Lake of Two Mountains has four outflows: Rivière des Mille Îl ...

. Beginning construction in 1919 and officially opening in February 1920, Westwood Senior High School, previously Hudson High School, is a school with a long history. Renovations first began when it became necessary to erect a fence in order to prevent cattle from wandering onto the yard during lunch. Since then, the population of Hudson and surrounding towns has continued to grow, leading to major renovations and additions in 1939, 1948–49, 1961–62, and in 1987-88. On July 1, 2003,

High School and Vaudreuil County High School were divided into Westwood High School Senior Campus located in Hudson, Quebec which offers secondary III, IV, and V education, and Westwood High School Junior Campus located in St. Lazare, offering secondary I & II education. These two campuses serve the

and St. Lazare areas, as well as 24 other surrounding communities, up to the

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

border. The land where the junior campus is today was known as lot #P603, which the town of St. Lazare purchased from Mrs. Shirley Hunt and her brother David Hunt. The land had been in the Hunt family for several generations. A referendum was also held, as some residents did not want the school to be built. It was what the local newspapers called "A ongoing saga" but in the March 29, 2000 edition of the Hudson Gazette, the front page reported "New school on schedule" The junior campus, formerly known as Vaudreuil County High School was poised to open its doors in August 2000, but due to delays was not ready for over a month after the school year began. The first principal of Vaudreuil County was David Hatfield. Only a year after its opening, the Lester B. Pearson School board decided to merge Hudson High School and Vaudreuil County High School, putting the junior grades at Hudson High and senior grades at Vaudreuil (opposite of today). This decision was met with anger, and a court battle from the community . The quarrel took until the end of the 2002-2003 school year to resolve.

Location

The junior Campus is located in St. Lazare, roughly 24 kilometres west of

. The senior campus is located in the town of

Hudson, Quebec Hudson is an Greater Montreal, off-island suburb of Montreal, with a population of 5,4112021 Census. It is located on the south-west bank of the lower Ottawa River, in Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality. Situated about west of down ...

of the

Montérégie Montérégie () is an administrative region in the southwest part of Quebec. It includes the cities of Boucherville, Brossard, Châteauguay, Longueuil, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Vaudreuil-Dorion. ...

administrative region within the

Greater Montreal Greater Montreal (, ) is the most populous metropolitan area in Quebec and the second most populous in Canada after Greater Toronto. In 2015, Statistics Canada identified Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as with a population of 4,02 ...

metropolitan area of

– roughly 24 km west of Montreal Island.

Programs and activities

The senior campus offers a variety of co-curricular programs which includes athletics, drama, music, art, cultural activities, debating, student government, community service, tutoring, and more. Clubs available to students include Journalism, Library Club, Art Club, Drama Club, Outdoors Club, Model UN, Sisterhood (a club that aims to bring together and empower girls through a safe community on campus), Brotherhood (a club that aims to improve the image that high school boys have acquired by engaging in positive school activities), Ceramics, Corporate Pitch (a club responsible for raising funds towards Bridge to Burundi), and Yearbook. Sport activities are available to students during the fall season:

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

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 soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

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 ...

, and

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

; the winter season:

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 (appro ...

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

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

; and the spring season:

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

, girls' touch football,

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

, and outdoor

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

. A Word-Study Program is offered which allows students to work outside of school one day per week in order to practice a skill or trade which may interest them as a future career. This course counts for four credits, and students are expected to continue to take a full course load. Secondary V students have the opportunity to participate in the International Development Project which consists of a 2-3 week cultural exchange in a Central or South American country. The aim of this project is to expose students to global issues and encourage community involvement as well as fostering respect, responsibility, cooperation, and accountability.

Bridge to Burundi

The Bridge to Burundi project was started in October 2009 by students who were touched by a presentation given by one of the teachers, native

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

an Jean-Claude Manirakiza, about the state of education in his home country following the

Burundian genocides The Burundian genocide may refer to: * the Ikiza – the 1972 mass killings of Hutus * the 1993 ethnic violence in Burundi against Tutsi The Tutsi ( ), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes ...

. The students set out on the process of building an elementary school in Rwoga, Burundi and after 8 months opened the school to 60 1st graders. The project has continued to grow and now offers free education and supplies to more than 400 students, a medical center, a convenience store, a flour mill, solar panels, and drinkable water to the village. Funds for the project have been raised through bake sales, talent shows, dances, corporate sponsors, and in 2015 the students of Westwood Senior High School published their first children's book "Bakuru and the School on the Hill" The project has been officially endorsed by Lt.-General

Roméo Dallaire Roméo Antonius Dallaire (born June 25, 1946) is a retired Canadian politician and military officer who was a senator from Quebec from 2005 to 2014, and a lieutenant-general in the Canadian Armed Forces. He notably was the force commander of U ...

, a former UN Commander; the Burundi government; Greg Mortensen (internationally-bestselling author of Three Cups of Tea); Primus Online,

Aeroplan Aeroplan is the frequent-flyer program owned by Air Canada, Canada's flag carrier. The Aeroplan program was created in July 1984 by Air Canada as an incentive program for its frequent flyer customers. In 2002 it was spun off as a separate corpor ...

, and Facebook Canada. The project also won an award at the 2010 Quebec Entrepreneurship Contest.

Alumni

Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian politician and academic who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on T ...

(Hudson High School) *

Vanessa Lengies Vanessa Lengies (born July 21, 1985) is a Canadian actress, dancer, and singer. She is known for starring in the drama ''American Dreams'' as Roxanne Bojarski. She appeared as Charge Nurse Kelly Epson on the TNT medical drama '' HawthoRNe'', and ...

(Hudson High School) *

Amanda Walsh Amanda Walsh is a Canadian actress, writer, and former VJ for the Canadian television station MuchMusic. Early life Walsh was born in Rigaud, Quebec. She went to Hudson High School, in Hudson, Quebec. Career Walsh began working as a profession ...

(Hudson High School)

References

External links

Lester B. Pearson School Board

St. Lazare, Quebec

Peaceful Schools International
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westwood High School Junior Campus English-language schools in Quebec High schools in Montérégie Lester B. Pearson School Board Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality