Paul Kane High School

Paul Kane High School (PKHS) is a dual track high school in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada and is a part of St. Albert Public Schools.[1] Opened in 1963, Paul Kane was the first Protestant high school in St. Albert. The school was named after Paul Kane, a painter known for his paintings of western Canadian First Nations people. The school currently has an enrollment of just over 1,000 students. Paul Kane's school colours are blue and white, with its sports teams being named the Blues. PKHS has sports programs including basketball, rugby and football.

    École Secondaire Paul Kane High School
    Address
    12 Cunningham Road

    St. Albert
    ,
    Alberta
    ,
    T8N 2E9

    Canada
    Information
    School typePublic
    Founded1963
    School boardSt. Albert Public School District No. 5565
    PrincipalErin Steele (Gr. 11 Admin.)
    PrincipalRuby Solomon (Asst. Prinicpal, Gr. 12 Admin.)
    PrincipalColleen Anderson (Asst. Prinicpal, Gr. 10 Admin.)
    Grades10–12
    Enrollment1,036
    LanguageEnglish and French
    Colour(s)Blue and white
    MascotBear
    Team nameBlues
    Websitepkhs.spschools.org

    The planned replacement of the current building for the school was announced by the Alberta Government as part of their 2018 budget. The replacement is expected to occur in the 2022–2023 school year, and will be the third building that the school has occupied.[2][3]

    Programs of study

    Required programs offered include the 10 to 30 level courses in both the 1 and 2 sequences. Some 14 and 24 level courses are also offered.[note 1]

    History

    Paul Kane High School was the first Protestant high school in St. Albert. It was built as a response by its school district – then called Protestant Separate School District No. 6 – to the rapid growth of the Protestant population in St. Albert. Before Paul Kane was built, the only other option for high school students in St. Albert was to attend St. Albert Catholic High School.[5] The school was named after Paul Kane, a painter who had once been commissioned by the Hudson Bay Company to paint pictures of the life of the aboriginal people in the Canadian West. At the school's inauguration, a representative of the company presented a trophy to the Student's Union, to be given each year to the grade 12 student who achieves the best score in his or her final testing.[6]

    Construction on the first site for Paul Kane High School began in 1961, with the school opening its doors for its first students on September 1, 1963. The building cost $515,832 to build, housing 20 staff members and 343 students from grade 7 to 12.[7][note 2] The building was designed as an experimental "windowless school," with each classroom having only one window, and the building itself having a central skylight. The concept was used both to reduce heat transfer from outside, and to prevent the distraction of the school's students. Some rooms had removable partitions that teachers could use to join classrooms, causing complaints of noise from the students. Some students described the setup as "prison-like."[6][8][9]

    By the early 1970s, the school could no longer accommodate its students, and so a new school was built across the field. The new location opened its doors in 1973, with students reportedly having "lugged their desks across the field" only to resume classes shortly after. The first location became Lorne Akins Junior High.

    A study was done in 1979 on the feasibility of Paul Kane getting a football team; the school didn't get a team until 2011.[5]

    In 2012, Paul Kane's Protestant school district, as well as the schools under it, became public at the request of the Alberta government. The new district became formally known as St. Albert Public School District No. 5565, or St. Albert Public Schools for short.[5][10]

    2022 Replacement Project
    Site plans for the new high school.

    In March 2018 the Alberta government announced it would be replacing Paul Kane High School as part of Budget 2018. Citing aging infrastructure and a growing student base, the government identified that the existing school would no longer be able to meet the needs of its students. The new school is scheduled to be built during the 2022–2023 school year and will expand capacity by 500 students, bringing the total students served up to 1,500. The cost of the project is expected to range between $45–80 million, making the school the largest of the projects announced in the budget.[2][3][11][12]

    Draft plans for the new school were released in February 2019. The new building will be located directly behind the old building. Among other features, the school will contain two floors, large windows, a larger gym with an attached drama room, 300 parking stalls, solar panels, and a new soccer field where the old school once stood.[13][14]

    Alumni

    Paul Kane has produced a number of notable Alumni, many of whom are known for their achievements in athletics.[15]

    Name Class Notable for
    Marisa Dick 2016 Artistic gymnastics
    Colton Parayko 2010 NHL hockey player
    Trevor Horne 2009 Spruce Grove MLA
    Marlee Scott 2003 Country music singer-songwriter
    Meaghan Mikkelson 2002 [n 1] Olympic hockey player
    Marc Kennedy 1999 Olympic curler
    Jarome Iginla 1995 NHL hockey player
    Padma Viswanathan 1984 Author & playwright
    Andrew Tiedemann Unknown Canadian rugby player
    Stephen Khan Unknown St. Albert MLA
    • Notable alumni of Paul Kane High School
    • Colton Parayko
    • Trevor Horne
    • Marc Kennedy
    • Meaghan Mikkelson
    • Jarome Iginla

    Notes
    1. Grade 11

    Notes
    1. Courses in Alberta are categorized by course number and sequence. The course number indicates the grade of the course, and the sequence indicates the type of challenge. For example, a 10–1 course indicates a grade level of 10 that focuses in abstract challenges, whereas a 20–2 course indicates a grade level of 11 that focuses primarily on concrete challenges.[4]
    2. Sources vary on this figure. "Official Opening Paul Kane High School", an article by the St. Albert Gazette that was written at the time of the school's inauguration, cites $515,832 as the figure, yet a retrospective article written by the same publication years later, "School Board Celebrates Paul Kane's History," cites $750,000.

    References
    1. "Combined three-year education plan and report to our community" (PDF). St. Albert Public Schools. November 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
    2. "St. Albert's Paul Kane High School to be replaced by 2022 | Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca. April 27, 2018. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
    3. Henderson, Jennifer (March 23, 2018). "Province announces money to replace Paul Kane". St. Albert Gazette. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
    4. "Get Ready, Get Set , Go For It – Learn more about high school and plan for your success" (PDF). Calgary Board of Education. 2019. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 18, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
    5. "St Albert Public / Protestant Schools". T8N. July 27, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
    6. "Official Opening Paul Kane High School". peel.library.ualberta.ca. St. Albert Gazette. October 19, 1963. p. 8. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
    7. "School board celebrates Paul Kane's history". St. Albert Gazette. January 14, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
    8. "Historic reunion in works for first Paul Kane grads". St. Albert Gazette. March 20, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
    9. "Once a gator, always a gator". St. Albert Gazette. September 27, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
    10. "Message from the Board – Fall 2012". spschools.org. News@6. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
    11. "Paul Kane High School Replacement Project". marierenaud.albertandpcaucus.ca. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
    12. Alberta, Government of. "Replacement high school coming to St. Albert". alberta.ca. Archived from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
    13. "New Paul Kane plans revealed". St. Albert Gazette. February 16, 2019. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
    14. "Agenda for the Board of Trustees' regular public board meeting Wednesday, February 13, 2019". St. Albert Public Schools. February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
    15. "Paul Kane Alumni". pkhs.spschools.org. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
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