Burnside High School
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2009) |
| Burnside High School (Waimairi-iri) | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 43°30′27″S 172°34′34″E / 43.5075°S 172.5762°E |
| Information | |
| Funding type | State, non-integrated |
| Motto | Latin: Recte Sic Dirige Cursum (Thus direct thy path aright (In this way direct your course correctly)) |
| Established | 1960 |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. | 319 |
| Principal | Warwick Maguire |
| Years offered | 9–13 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Enrollment | 2542 (June 2011[1]) |
| Socio-economic decile | 8[2] |
| Website | burnside.school.nz |
Burnside High School (BHS) (Māori: Waimairi-iri) is a state coeducational secondary school located in the suburb of Burnside in Christchurch, New Zealand. With a roll of 2542 sutdents, it is the country's fourth-largest high school, and the largest outside of Auckland.
History
Burnside High School started construction in 1959. A swimming pool was added in 1961, which became fully functional in 1964 after the addition of filtration equipment. The gymnasium was soon constructed afterwards. In 2004 and 2005 saw the beginning of the construction of a new block, library and administration area. These were opened in 2006 by Helen Clark, the Prime Minister of New Zealand. The school's fiftieth jubilee was held in 2010, attended by John Key, an ex-pupil and Prime Minister of New Zealand. Following damage caused by the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, Avonside Girls' High School are sharing the facilities of Burnside High School. Avonside Girls' High School will relocate back to their home site in 2012.[3] Burnside High School, due to being relatively undamaged and with power and water restored shortly after the quake, was used as a welfare centre by Civil Defence.[4]
On 28 March 2012 the school was put into lockdown after students reported seeing a man walking the grounds carrying a silver pistol, which was later found by police to be plastic.[5]
Students
In 2008 the school had 2595 students: 69% European/Pakeha; 23% Asian descent; 4% Maori; 2% Pacific; 2% Other. Burnside High School is decile eight.
Students undertake the NCEA assessment system for Years 11 through 13, which uses Not Achieved (NA), Achieved (A), Merit (M) and Excellence (E) grades.
Structure
The school is split into four divisions - North, South, West and Senior, the first three consisting of students from Years 9-12 (Equivalent Grade 8 - 11) and Senior division consisting of only Year 13 (Grade 12) students. Each division has a guidance counsellor, three deans and a divisional principal and, in addition, Senior Division includes a careers advisor. The school has a Principal, Second Principal, Assistant Principal and 13 Heads of Department.
Motto, crest and colours
The school motto is Recte Sic Dirige Cursum, which means Thus direct thy path aright, or In this way direct your course correctly.
The school's crest is a cabbage tree, due to the historic importance of a group of cabbage palms situated on the school grounds. These trees were used as an important landmark by Maori travellers before European settlement of Canterbury.
The school uniform colours are green and white.
Grounds and facilities
The school consists of 14 blocks containing classrooms, labeled from A to N, and X, a library and administration building (also containing a sick bay and student office), two gyms, a pool, a canteen, an auditorium that seats 750 people, and numerous sports fields and courts situated on the grounds, which are a total of 16.2 hectares (40 acres) in size.
- X Block is largely dedicated to computing, holding the central virtualization server, and routers for the school,
- M Block is the Music and Drama department),
- N Block is for Art, including a Dark Room, N Block also contains Hospitality, Food and Nutrition and Textile rooms.
- K Block is largely for Languages,
- D Block is for Mathematics (including most of D Block extension),
- L Block for learning support,
- C Block for Craft, Wood/Metalwork and Cooking,
- I Block for Sciences, downstairs I Block for English,
- F Block for Senior students (Y13)
The school has a school-broadcast system designed as an Armed Intruder Lockdown Scheme in the event of a Virginia Tech style school shooting, which informs teachers and students of an armed intruder, and safety measures to be taken to ensure classrooms and buildings are locked down for safety.
Notable alumni
- Andrew Ellis - All Black A member of the 2011 Rugby World Cup winning team.
- Rob Fyfe - Chief Executive Officer of Air New Zealand
- John Key - Prime Minister of New Zealand (2008–present)[6]
- Eleanor Catton - Acclaimed Author
- Henry Suluvale - Western Samoan rugby league player
- Hayley Westenra - operatic pop singer
- Gemma Knight - Television Host of What Now
Notes
- ^ "New Zealand Schools - Education Counts". Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ Decile change 2007 to 2008 for state and state integrated schools
- ^ Sue Hume (2011). "Avonside Newsletter 'Tatler' - July 2011" (PDF). Avonside Girls' High School. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ "Christchurch Earthquake: What you need to know". nzherald.co.nz.
- ^ "Toy sparks gun scare at school". Stuff.co.nz. 28 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
- ^ "Biography - John Key". Retrieved 18 December 2011.