Eric Hamber Secondary School is a public secondary school located in the South Cambie neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Eric Hamber is a comprehensive secondary school with approximately 1500 students. Each year, approximately 70% of the senior class graduates with honours standing. The school is named after Eric Hamber, former Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. The school colours, maroon and light blue, were the colours used by Eric Hamber's race horses.
Video Eric Hamber Secondary School
Feeder schools
The elementary schools in Eric Hamber's catchment area include:
- Annie B. Jamieson Elementary School
- Edith Cavell Elementary School
- Emily Carr Elementary School
- General Wolfe Elementary School
- L'École Bilingue Elementary School
- Simon Fraser Elementary School
- Sir William Osler Elementary School
- Sir William Van Horne Elementary School
Maps Eric Hamber Secondary School
Programs
Gifted Programs
For Grades 8 to 12, Hamber offers two options for students: the Challenge Program for acceleration and enrichment and the Studio Program (formerly Academy) for innovative thinking.
The Challenge Program, available in English, Social Studies, Science and/or Math, presents highly-able students with a challenging Grade 8-12 program that encompasses both acceleration and enrichment. Students in the program are voracious learners who will complete three years of study in Grades 8 and 9, often moving above and beyond the traditional curriculum. Learners in Grades 10-12 will continue to expand their learning through enriched and advanced placement courses as well as through guided independent or concurrent post-secondary studies. This program will appeal to students of high ability who are extremely motivated to learn and respond well to a rapid pace of instruction.
The Studio, short for the Latin "Studium Libertatis", is a place where students who crave opportunities for empowerment, autonomy, flexibility and choice are given the liberty to engage in their zeal for learning. Teachers function as mentors to learning as students explore and develop skills in creativity and critical thinking and prepare themselves for success in a rapidly evolving global environment. Students in this program are accepted into accelerated English and Social Studies courses as well as several elective courses exclusive to accepted students. The program is aimed at students with a desire to shape the curriculum to suit their interests and to accommodate their learning styles.
Mandarin Bilingual Program
Eric Hamber offers a Mandarin Accelerated program for Grade 8 and 9 students who have completed the Mandarin Bilingual program at Jamieson Elementary School.
Fashion Design and Technology
Eric Hamber has the largest high school fashion design program in western Canada. The program was started in 1992 by Nina Ho. Many graduates from Eric Hamber Secondary's fashion design program complete post secondary fashion programs in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia and work in the fashion design field locally and abroad with companies such as Lululemon, Aritzia and Mac and Jac. Eric Hamber students have a strong history of winning awards locally, provincially, and nationally at the Skills Canada Competition. An annual show is presented every year to showcase the students' work.
Dragon Boat Team
Eric Hamber has a dragon boat team that has won numerous local and national dragon boat competitions, regularly representing Canada at the World Dragon Boat Championships.
Theatre Hamber
The Eric Hamber Theatre department runs four mainstage and four junior theatre productions (the "Footlights") each school year. The mainstage productions usually include a guest-directed play, musical and student-written play.
Eric Hamber's Run for the Sun
On May 27, 2011, Eric Hamber held an event called "Run for the Sun" to raise money to install 4 solar panels on the school's roof. The solar panels are being used to heat the water in the school year round. A total of 653 students from 26 classes participated in the event by running or walking 5 kilometres. The event raised a total of $8,495.00 and a successful acceptance of a Vancouver Foundation Generation Green award of $12,500 raised a total of $21,000.
Clubs
Clubs are a staple of the Hamber community. Each year a clubs day exhibition is hosted, encouraging students to get involved. The official clubs for the 2016/17 school year are as follows: Bike Club, Business Club, Canadian Youth Leaders Association, Chess Club, Coffee House, Compassionate Leadership Club, Craft Club, Debate Club, Diversity Club, Environmental Club, Eric Hamber Eternal Dragon (Dragon boating), Footlights, Garden Club, Gender and Sexuality Alliance, Gourmet Club, Griffin's Nest, Hamber Christian Fellowship, Hamber Reads, Healing Harmonies, Helping Others Succeed Together, Japanese Culture Club, Jia, Library Monitors, Lighting Crew, Math Club, Mental Health Awareness Club, Model United Nations, Multicultural Club, Photography Club, Reach for the Top, Science Club, Sketchbook Club, Ski/Snowboard Club, Sound Crew, South Asian Club, The Knitting Club, Uniform Room, Wish Youth Network Society, Writing Club, and Youth for Youth Association.
Football
In 2010, under the direction of PE Teacher Bobby Gibson, Eric Hamber became the only public school in Vancouver to have an American Football program. In the 2010 season, the Eric Hamber Griffins competed in the Junior Varsity AA league only. In the 2011 season, the Griffins competed with teams in both the Junior Varsity AA and Varsity Tier II leagues. In 2012, both the Junior Varsity and Varsity teams competed in the AA league. That year, the Junior Varsity team made the playoffs, becoming the first Griffins Football team to do so, losing in the first round. In 2013, the Griffins Junior Varsity team competed in an amalgamated AA/AAA league while the Varsity team was relegated at the school's request to the Tier II development league. The Junior Varsity team failed to make the playoffs while the Varsity team was defeated in the first round of the Tier II championship.
Beginning in 2014, Eric Hamber stopped fielding both a Junior Varsity and Varsity team, opting to join the teams and compete with a roster consisting of grade 9 to 12 players in the Tier II development League. In the 2014 season, the Griffins made it to the final of the Tier II Provincial Championship. In 2015, the Griffins continued to field only one team, with that team losing in the semi-finals of the provincial tournament.
Starting in 2012, Eric Hamber began a Grade 8 football program in the spring. The team does not play in the formal Grade 8 fall league but organizing exhibition games with other schools during the spring sports season. The program also organizes a flag football program in the spring for feeder elementary schools to promote a culture of football amongst students who are likely to eventually attend to Eric Hamber.
Eric Hamber Griffins Football runs with relative independence from the athletics department of the school due to its unique province-wide league and player-based funding. Player fees range from $250-300 based on the season and funding is available for those who can't afford the costs.
In media
Eric Hamber has a history in television and film; one of the parking lots was extensively used in the early days of television series 21 Jump Street, including a memorable confrontation involving Johnny Depp. It was later used as the high school in the 2007 film Juno. Eric Hamber was used for the filming of TV series iZombie in November 2015.
Canada Sings
In 2011, several of Eric Hamber's staff were part of a glee club called "The Edutones" on the show Canada Sings. They defeated the opposing The Distillery Restaurants Corporation's "Run DRC" glee club and won $10,000 for the BC Children's Hospital Foundation. They appeared on episode 6 of season 1 which aired on September 8, 2011.
Notable alumni
- Jon Mikl Thor, (Class of 1971), heavy metal musician, bodybuilder and former Mr. Canada and Mr. USA
- Scott McNeil, (Class of 1980), Voice Actor
- Steve Wilson, (Class of 1982), former pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers
- Jenny Kwan, (Class of 1984), member of Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
- Eric Drysdale, (Class of 1987), Emmy award-winning writer for The Daily Show, writer for The Colbert Report and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
- Michael Benyaer, (Class of 1988), actor and cartoon and video game voice actor
- Ori Kowarsky, (Class of 1988), screenwriter and director of Various Positions, winner of the 2002 Prix de Montréal
- C. E. Gatchalian, (Class of 1992), award-winning playwright, poet and fictionist
- Jen Sookfong Lee, (Class of 199-), author of The Better Mother
- Benny Yau, (Class of 1998) Canadian actor and television personality, New Talent Singing Awards Vancouver Audition 2000 First Runner-Up, signed to Fairchild TV
- Mayko Nguyen, (Class of 1998) Canadian actress, star of Canadian film Going the Distance and television series Rent-A-Goalie
- Darryl O'Young, (Class of 1998) racecar driver associated with the Schnabl Engineering - LKM - Team Jebsen, currently in Hong Kong
- Aisha Sasha John, (Class of 1998) dancer and poet
- Kristin Kreuk, (Class of 2000), Canadian actress, star of Television show Smallville
- Fred Cheng, (Class of 2001), Hong Kong television actor and singer, the winner of The Voice of Stars
- Jessica Trisko, (Class of 2001), crowned Miss Earth 2007
- Jacqueline Wong Sum-wing, (Class of 2007), first runner-up for Miss Hong Kong 2012
- Katie Findlay, (Class of 2008), actress, star of The Carrie Diaries
External links
- Eric Hamber Secondary School
- Eric Hamber - Vancouver School Board
- Hamber Resource Center
- Class of 1978 Website
- VSB
- Canada Sings - Episode 6
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia