Bluevale Collegiate Institute is a

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

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, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto, but it is n ...

, 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 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 ...

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. As of 2022, the principal is Deborah Tyrrell.

Motto and colours

The school colours are

maroon Maroon ( , ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word , meaning chestnut. ''Marron'' is also one of the French translations for "brown". Terms describing interchangeable shades, with overlapping RGB ranges, inc ...

, powder blue 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 or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

(including music,

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 ...

, and

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

business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource manageme ...

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

and world studies,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, French, health and physical education,

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

, native studies,

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

, 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 A student council (also known as a student union, associated student body or student parliament) is an administrative organization of students in different educational institutes ranging from elementary schools to universities and research or ...

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 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 ...

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

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 ...

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 ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

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 ...

, cross-country,

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 ...

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

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

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

CWOSSA {{Use mdy dates, date=July 2024 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 O ...

(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), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

. 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 24 November 1959) is a former Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer member Crazy Canucks and a ski commentator on television. World Cup career Born in Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, Ontario, Brooker learned to ski and race at The Tor ...

- 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 (skiing), Serge Lang and the alpine ski team d ...

titles. *

Scott Moir Scott Patrick Moir ( ; born September 2, 1987) is a Canadian retired ice dancer and coach. With ice dance partner Tessa Virtue, he is the Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics, 2010 and Figure skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics, 2018 Olym ...

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 medallist, 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 -

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

C. Ernst Harth Cary Ernst Harth (born February 2, 1970) is a Canadian character actor. Life and career Harth was born in Galt, Ontario, Canada. He got his first role of acting as a kindergartner when the drama club cast the school's largest child to play Sant ...

- Character actor known for such films as '' Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball'', '' Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed'' and ''

Thir13en Ghosts ''Thirteen Ghosts'' (also known as ''13 Ghosts'' and stylized as ''THIR13EN Ghosts'') is a 2001 supernatural horror film directed by Steve Beck in his directorial debut. A remake of the 1960 film '' 13 Ghosts'' by William Castle, the film stars ...

'' *

Andrew Poje Andrew Poje (born February 25, 1987) is a Canadian ice dancer. With partner Kaitlyn Weaver, he is a three-time World Figure Skating Championships, World medalist (2014 World Figure Skating Championships, 2014 silver, 2015 World Figure Skating Ch ...

- 3-time Canadian national champion, 3-time world medalist in ice dancing *

Guillermo Verdecchia Guillermo Verdecchia (born December 7, 1962) is a Canadian theatre artist. Verdecchia was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and came to Canada at the age of two. He was raised in Kitchener, Ontario. Verdecchia received an undergraduate degree in th ...

- Playwright has won the

Governor General's Award for English language drama The Governor General's Award for English-language drama honours excellence in Canadian English-language playwriting. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry or drama was divided. Because the awar ...

and a

Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award The Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award was a Canadian literary award given to Canadian plays produced by any professional Canadian theatre company, and having performances in the Toronto area. The prize had a monetary value of $25,000, and wa ...

. *

Chris Williams (director) Chris Williams (born December 19, 1968) is an American-Canadian animation film director, screenwriter and voice actor who is best known for directing the films '' Bolt'' (2008) and '' Big Hero 6'' (2014) and co-directing the film '' Moana'' (201 ...

- 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 medal, gold, silver medal, silver, and bronze medal, bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respect ...

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, winnin ...

- 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