M.E. LaZerte High School

M.E. LaZerte High School is a high school in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in the north eastern Kilkenny neighbourhood. It is part of Edmonton Public Schools. The school's team name is the Voyageurs, which is also what they call the student body.

M.E. LaZerte High School
Address
6804 144 Ave NW

Edmonton
,
Alberta
,
T5C 3C7

Canada
Coordinates53°36′20″N 113°26′40″W
Information
School typeSecondary School
MottoWhere Excellence Happens
Founded1969
School boardEdmonton Public Schools
SuperintendentDarrel Robertson
Area trusteeMichelle Draper[1]
PrincipalKim Backs[1]
Grades10-12
Enrollment1912[1] (2016-17)
LanguageEnglish, Mandarin
Area24,889 square metres (29,767 sq yd)[2]
Athletics conferenceMetro Edmonton High School Athletic Association[3]
Team nameVoyageurs[3]
Websitewww.melazerte.com

History

M.E. LaZerte High School was founded in 1969 as M.E. LaZerte Composite High School, and was named for Milton Ezra LaZerte.[4] LaZerte spent 61 years in the education field in various municipal, provincial, federal and academic positions.[5]

Demographics

As of the 2016–2017 school year the school's students came from more than 83 cultural backgrounds and spoke over 73 languages. This cultural diversity has been celebrated since 1997 with the annual Taste of LaZerte celebration. The 2016 event lasted one week and ended with a pot-luck lunch for 1000 people and two hours of cultural performances choreographed by the students.[6]:3

Facilities

M.E. LaZerte consists of three linked buildings; a two-storey gymnasium block, a two-storey academic block, and a one-storey vocational block.[7]:2 The facilities include:[8]:4

  • two gyms
  • weight room
  • five computer labs
  • three science labs
  • automotive shop
  • two construction labs
  • welding lab [9]
  • dance studio
  • digital arts studio
  • library

The school is adjacent to Londonderry Junior High School and to the Londonderry Fitness and Leisure Centre, which has a 25-metre pool, a fitness centre, an ice arena, and outdoor tennis courts.[10] The three facilities share outdoor fields (three soccer fields, two baseball diamonds, two football/soccer fields, and a running track).

Programs
  • Regular:[11] 1426 students[1]
  • International Baccalaureate (IB) Certificate and full Diploma:[12][13] 290 students in IB Certificate and 162 students in IB Diploma[1]
  • Chinese (Mandarin) Bilingual:[14] 91 students[1]
  • Ukrainian International Bilingual:[15] 7 students[1]
  • Interactions (supports students with autism spectrum disorder):[16] 13 students[1]
  • Registered Apprentice Program (RAP) (part of the school year is spent working as an apprentice towards obtaining a trade ticket):[17] number of students NA

Athletics

M. E. LaZerte competes in the 51-school Metro Edmonton High School Athletic Association region of the Alberta Schools' Athletic Association (ASAA),[3] and enters 22 teams in the following sports:[18]

  • Badminton
  • Basketball (boys' and girls' teams)[note 1]
  • Cross Country
  • Football[note 2]
  • Golf
  • Rugby (boys' and girls' teams)
  • Soccer (boys'[note 1] and girls' teams)[note 3]
  • Indoor Soccer (coed)[note 3]
  • Swimming[note 3]
  • Team Handball
  • Track & Field
  • Volleyball (boys' and girls' teams)[note 1]
  • Wrestling

The school hosts an annual memorial basketball tournament in honour of former teacher and basketball coach Thom Elniski.[20][21]

Notes
  1. There are Junior teams for both boys and girls in basketball and volleyball, and a Junior boys' team in soccer.
  2. In 2016 M. E. LaZerte was one of approximately six high schools in the Metro Edmonton High School Athletic Association with a coed football team.[19]
  3. Championships for soccer, indoor soccer, and swimming are at the regional Metro Edmonton High School Athletic Association level since these sports are not sanctioned by the ASAA.

Provincial championships
  • Boys' volleyball 1976[22]

Racism controversy

A student-taken photo of students in M.E. LaZerte was posted with a racist caption on Snapchat on 11 February 2016. The posting was denounced on Twitter by another student at the school, who was then suspended for two days for having included the offensive picture.[23] The student who posted the original Snapchat picture was expelled from the school, and the student who was suspended for reposting the picture stated that she intended to change schools.[24] Following the suspension the student's lawyer successfully appealed to have the suspension rescinded and removed from the student's permanent record, as "an unreasonable and gross overreaction".[25]

Notable alumni

References
  1. "M.E. LaZerte School". Schools. Edmonton Public Schools. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  2. "School Facility Evaluation Project: M.E. Lazerte Composite High School" (PDF). Alberta Infrastructure School Facilities Branch. 4 April 2000. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  3. "Member Schools". Metro Edmonton High School Athletic Association. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  4. Kostek, M. A (1992). A Century and Ten: The History of Edmonton Public Schools (PDF). Edmonton Public Schools. p. 491. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  5. "Milton LaZerte". 100 Years: University of Alberta Centenary. University of Alberta. 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  6. "M,E, LaZerte High School: Summer 2016 Newsletter". M.E. LaZerte High School. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  7. Francis Ng Architect Ltd. (26 March 2013). "RECAPP Facility Evaluation Report: M. E. Lazerte Composite High School" (PDF). Alberta Infrastructure. Government of Alberta. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  8. "M.E. LaZerte School: 2016–2017 High School Program Guide". M.E. LaZerte High School. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  9. Mah, Bill (11 April 2013). "Edmonton high school, union team up to spark welding careers". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  10. "Londonderry Amenities". City of Edmonton Recreation Centres. City of Edmonton. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  11. "Regular Program". Programming. Edmonton Public Schools. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  12. "International Baccalaureate Certificate". Programming » Teaching Philosophy. Edmonton Public Schools. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  13. "International Baccalaureate Diploma". Programming » Teaching Philosophy. Edmonton Public Schools. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  14. "Chinese (Mandarin) Bilingual". Programming » Language and Culture. Edmonton Public Schools. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  15. "Ukrainian International Bilingual". Programming » Language and Culture. Edmonton Public Schools. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  16. "Interactions". Programming » Special Education. Edmonton Public Schools. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  17. "Registered Apprentice Program". Programming » Skills and Job Training. Edmonton Public Schools. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  18. "Lazerte Athletics". M.E. LaZerte High School. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  19. Cummings, Madeleine (9 November 2016). "Meet the Edmonton high school girls who played football and smashed stereotypes this season". Edmonton Examiner. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  20. Swane, Brian (7 February 2011). "Hoops star honours coach that changed his life". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  21. "Thom Elniski tournament a slam dunk for CBC Edmonton's sports panel". CBC News. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  22. "2011 Hall of Fame". Alberta Schools' Athletic Association. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  23. Hampshire, Gareth (22 February 2016). "Edmonton student suspended after taking on racism in social media post". CBC News.
  24. Islam, Sanam (23 February 2016). "Edmonton student suspended for tweet wants record cleared". Edmonton Metro. Archived from the original on 14 January 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  25. Hampshire, Gareth (24 March 2016). "Punishment overturned for student suspended after taking on racism". CBC News.
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