Harry Ainlay Composite High School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Harry Ainlay High School
type = Public secondary
city = Edmonton
province = Alberta
country = Canada
district = Edmonton Public Schools
grades = 10–12
students = 2351 (as of September 2008)
established = 1966
mascot = Bam Bam
motto = "In Omnibus Excelsior
"In all things excellence"
colours = Royal Blue and White
website = [http://www.ainlay.ca www.ainlay.ca]

Harry Ainlay High School is a Canadian high school located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in the Royal Gardens Community, south of Whitemud Drive on 111 Street. The school is operated by the Edmonton Public School System, and a wide variety of educational opportunities for students, including: full French Immersion instruction, International Baccalaureate, Career and Technology Studies, and Registered Apprenticeship programs. The school has an enrollment of over 2,200 students in 2007. The school enjoys a strong reputation in all areas. Since opening in 1966, the school has produced over 20,000 graduates.

The school sports teams are the "Titans" and their mascot is a blond Rambo-type character named Bam-Bam. The school is named after a former Edmonton mayor, Harry Dean Ainlay.

French Immersion

Harry Ainlay is one of high schools in the Edmonton Public School System that offers full French Immersion for all core courses. "French Immersion students are taught in French 100 per cent of the time (Exception:English Courses and most optional courses. I.E.: Language Arts) . . . Students have the opportunity to achieve international language certification and recognition upon graduation." [ [http://districtsite.epsb.ca/root/ShowProgramProfile.cfm?Program_ID=5 Program Choices - Languages - French Immersion ] ] The school has also hosted the French Gala for several years, where French students from across Edmonton Public Schools gather in a speech competition.

International Baccalaureate Program

Harry Ainlay is one of eight schools in the Edmonton Public School System offering an International Baccalaureate diploma program. [ [http://districtsite.epsb.ca/root/ShowProgramProfile.cfm?Program_ID=24 Program Choices - International Baccalaureate - Diploma Programme ] ] Having a diploma graduating class normally greater than fifty students, Ainlay has one of the largest IB classes in Alberta.Fact|date=August 2007 However, this is often attributed to the large population base of the school, with about 450 students enrolled in the diploma program and 200 students enrolled in the certificate program each year. [cite news | url = http://districtsite.epsb.ca/root/SchoolViability.cfm | title = Individual School Profiles | work = Edmonton Public Schools | date = 2007-06-21 | accessdate = 2007-08-14 ]

Since June 1980, Harry Ainlay has offered IB courses in Biology, English (A1), History, Physics, and Visual Arts at Higher Level and Chemistry, French (B), German (A1 or "ab initio"), Japanese (B or "ab initio"), Mathematics, Music, Physics, and Theatre Arts at Standard Level. [ [http://www.ibo.org/school/000160/ Harry Ainlay High School ] ]

Career and Technology Studies

The school offers a variety of programs aimed to help students develop skills for employment after graduation. These include: Automotives, Cosmetology, Computer Programming & Animation, Communication Technology, Construction, Design Studies, and Welding. Preparatory courses in Cosmetology and Automotives are offered at the school, allowing students to leave high school ready for a career in these areas.

Annual Sports Tournaments

Harry Ainlay plays host to two major sports tournaments annually: the Titan Volleyball Tournament and the Tri-Province Basketball Tournament. Both tournaments host a Men's and a Women's draw, and run over three weekends, one each for the Senior, Junior, and Junior High tournaments. While most high school tournaments are organized by teachers, the tournaments at Harry Ainlay are entirely student-run. The Executive Committee for each tournament is comprised entirely of students. The Executive work in conjunction with a staff tournament director.

The Titan Volleyball Tournament (TVT) is traditionally held in November, and began in 1978 as a small local tournament. Since then it has grown into a much larger Invitational tournament, drawing competition from as far away as Norway. The strongest teams from the Public and Catholic school districts of Edmonton and surrounding area are invited to compete. The tournament is also open to schools from across the province and outside Alberta. Typically several teams from Calgary and Southern Alberta, as well as a few out-of-province teams are invited.

The Tri-Province Basketball Tournament (Tri-Prov) is usually held at the beginning of February. Tri-Prov was founded by current City of Edmonton City Council member Bryan Anderson in 1974. It began as a Senior Men's tournament, but has since expanded to include Senior Women, Junior Men and Women, and a Junior High Men and Women. Top-calibre teams from three provinces, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, compete in Junior and Senior Male and Female divisions. Due to its intensity and energy, Tri-Prov is now ranked as one of the premier high school basketball tournaments in the country. Historically, this tournament is highly competitive and many teams use it as an important practice run for the season finals. It is not uncommon to see the winner of Tri-Prov win their respective municipal or provincial Championships.

Extracurricular Student Activities

Programs run by students, for students, are important and widespread and give students the opportunity to organize students' union events such as Touch of Class, Aloha Ainlay, Halloween, Christmas Week, Culturefest and Oktoberfest. Many clubs, including the History Movie Club, Habitat for Humanity, Games Club, and Encounters With Canada, are available at Ainlay as well, with plenty of opportunities to start new clubs or associations. [ [http://www.ainlay.ca/studentsUnion.html Harry Ainlay - Students Union ] ]

New grade 10 students, coming to Ainlay are invited to take part in Link Crew, a program used across the country to get students acquainted with the school, meet new friends and register for school on their own for the first time. [ [http://www.ainlay.ca/linkCrew.html Harry Ainlay - Link Crew ] ]

Arts

There is also a strong arts presence in the school with an IB Art Show, a Symphonic band program with international recognition, a major drama production each year, and a student directed one act play festival. A technical theatre program is also offered out of the regular timetable.

References

External links

* [http://www.ainlay.ca/ Official site]
* [http://ainlay.ca/triprov/ Tri-Prov Basketball Tournament site]
* [http://ainlayvolleyball.ca/ Titan Volleyball Tournament site]