Barton Secondary School
Encyclopedia
Barton Secondary School (BSS) is located at 75 Palmer Road in Hamilton
, Ontario
, Canada
and is a part of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
. Officially opened in 1961, Barton Secondary School has a September 2008 enrolment of 955, and has 28 primary languages spoken within the school by students aside from English. The school's mission statement is "Educating students to become lifelong learners and contributing citizens in a challenging, changing, multi-cultural world." Students of Barton Secondary School are required, by Provincial Law, to complete 30 mandatory credits and the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test
(OSSLT) within their High School Career. The school also offers special education
classes as well as an English as a second language program.
s. In 1972, the school became Hamilton's pilot school in initiating a semester system that had been showing positive increases in student achievement amongst schools in Alberta
and British Columbia
. Over a four year period results were studied and in 1976, the semester system was deemed a success and adapted by other schools in Hamilton and the surrounding area.
The school has evolved into a modern composite high school that offers a variety in academics, athletics and co-curricular activities. The school has five computer labs, a renovated gymnasium and library, a full menu cafeteria, state of the art communication labs and technological shops. A Specialist High Skills Major in Manufacturing is offered at Barton. In the program students receive training in Fall Protection, Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System, CPR, First Aid and a Canadian Welding Bureau
(CWB) certification
because Barton is a CWB testing facility. B.S.S. has over 150 courses, though not all are offered at any given time.
field, while grade 11 and 12 students have the option to specialize in the program. Barton Secondary School also provides a Cisco
networking course through the Cisco Networking Academy
. This program is taught largely through the use of online material (with the exception of students creating an Ethernet Cable) as the school does not have the required equipment to provide students so that they may do the lab portion of the course.
, Barton ranked 703rd out of the 727 total secondary schools in the province of Ontario
, easily the lowest performing school in the Hamilton-Wentworth region. During the 2009-2010 academic year, the school was rated a 2.3 on a 10 point scale. The average grade level in Mathematics
for Grade 9 students is 1.9 out of 4, far below the provincial standard. 51.3% of tests in general written inside its walls fail to meet standards. Just over 65% of its Grade 10 students pass the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test
(OSSLT) on their first attempt, with a much lower success rate of 47.6% on subsequent attempts.
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and is a part of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board is the public school board in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, which was formed January 1, 1997 via the amalgamation of the Hamilton and Wentworth County school boards. HWDSB teaches approximately 50,000 students in its 114 neighbourhood schools...
. Officially opened in 1961, Barton Secondary School has a September 2008 enrolment of 955, and has 28 primary languages spoken within the school by students aside from English. The school's mission statement is "Educating students to become lifelong learners and contributing citizens in a challenging, changing, multi-cultural world." Students of Barton Secondary School are required, by Provincial Law, to complete 30 mandatory credits and the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test
Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test
The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test is a compulsory standardized test for high school students in Ontario who wish to obtain the Ontario Secondary School Diploma. It was established in 2001 by the Conservative government...
(OSSLT) within their High School Career. The school also offers special education
Special education
Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
classes as well as an English as a second language program.
History
BSS was founded in 1961 as part of the Board of Education for the City of Hamilton's plan to have enough schools available for children of baby boomerBaby boomer
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom and who grew up during the period between 1946 and 1964. The term "baby boomer" is sometimes used in a cultural context. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve broad consensus of a precise definition, even...
s. In 1972, the school became Hamilton's pilot school in initiating a semester system that had been showing positive increases in student achievement amongst schools in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
and British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Over a four year period results were studied and in 1976, the semester system was deemed a success and adapted by other schools in Hamilton and the surrounding area.
The school has evolved into a modern composite high school that offers a variety in academics, athletics and co-curricular activities. The school has five computer labs, a renovated gymnasium and library, a full menu cafeteria, state of the art communication labs and technological shops. A Specialist High Skills Major in Manufacturing is offered at Barton. In the program students receive training in Fall Protection, Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System, CPR, First Aid and a Canadian Welding Bureau
Canadian Welding Bureau
The Canadian Welding Bureau is a not-for-profit certification and registration organization for companies involved in the welding of steel structures. Welders in Canada are required to be certified every two years by the Canadian Welding Bureau. The CWB Group was formed in 1947 to administer the...
(CWB) certification
Welder certification
Welder certification, is a process which examines and documents a welders capability to create welds of acceptable quality following a well defined welding procedure.-Method:...
because Barton is a CWB testing facility. B.S.S. has over 150 courses, though not all are offered at any given time.
School specialization
BSS takes part in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board's Programs of Choice method that tailors learning to specific areas of interest. Barton Secondary School's focus is on the manufacturing industry and offers programs accordingly. Grade 9 and 10 students in the program are offered introductory courses in the manufacturingManufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
field, while grade 11 and 12 students have the option to specialize in the program. Barton Secondary School also provides a Cisco
Cisco
Cisco may refer to:Companies:*Cisco Systems, a computer networking company* Certis CISCO, corporatised entity of the former Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation in Singapore...
networking course through the Cisco Networking Academy
Cisco networking academy
Cisco Networking Academy, a global education initiative from Cisco Systems, offers networking programs, like the CCNA and CCNP courses, which prepare students for the certification exams of the same name, and other computer-related courses...
. This program is taught largely through the use of online material (with the exception of students creating an Ethernet Cable) as the school does not have the required equipment to provide students so that they may do the lab portion of the course.
Program highlights and student support programs
Barton Secondary School takes part in the following programs:- Monthly Case Conferences to focus on students at risk
- After-school Literacy & Numeracy program
- Math Work Room – to complete homework or assignments
- BEST Program - On-site Alter Ed. program for senior students
- High School Prep Course and Transition Program for Gr. 9 students
- Pathways program for all career destinations
- Cooperative Education/Work Experience for Students at Risk
- Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course
- Credit Recovery Programs
- Leadership and Peer Support course
- Locally Developed Courses
- Student Success Learning Teams
- OYAP
- Meetings with Feeder schools
- Development of Staff
- One on One meetings with Students at Risk (STAR) and communication with Parents
- Peer Mentorship Program between seniors and new gr. 9 students.
- Data Team meetings – Workshops for STAR – Study Skills, Organizational Skills, Test taking
- CISCO – Computer Networking certification programs
- Canadian Welding Bureau certification (CWB Testing Facility
- Manufacturing program, earned Profiling Excellence Educator Award
- Photography
- Basketball Academy
- Drug rehabilitation program allows former drug users the opportunity to start fresh by giving them a chance to earn work experience teaching
Credit Recovery Program
The Credit Recovery Program that Barton Secondary School offers is primarily for students with learning disabilities and/or a disability that affects the student in a way that he or she can not complete a required program, such as physical education. The Credit Recovery Program, although offering a student with the chance to gain a credit, does not in fact have anything to do with academic advancement. The program is actually the recycling program and students are equipped with a blue bin, garbage bag and gloves and expected to empty the recycling and garbage from each room in the school.Field trips
Barton offers a few school trips each year. These are dependent largely on which class you take and which club you are partaking in and can be broken down as follows:- Zoo Trip - For 9th grade science students only.
- Band Trips - For Band members only. Trips are to various locations to perform against bands from other schools.
- English Field Trip to Stratford - Open to all students
- Field Trip to One of Five Locations (Europe, New York, Boston, Washington, Ottawa) - 11th and 12th grade students only, with a different destination each year
Extracurricular activities
Barton has extracurricular activities that are largely the same as neighbouring schools. These include:- Sports (Basketball, Soccer, Hockey, Badminton, Swimming, Football and Girls Field Hockey)
- Year Book Committee
- Band
Academics
When compared to other schools nearby, Barton's academic performance can only be described as lacklustre. According to the Fraser InstituteFraser Institute
The Fraser Institute is a Canadian think tank. It has been described as politically conservative and right-wing libertarian and espouses free market principles...
, Barton ranked 703rd out of the 727 total secondary schools in the province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, easily the lowest performing school in the Hamilton-Wentworth region. During the 2009-2010 academic year, the school was rated a 2.3 on a 10 point scale. The average grade level in Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
for Grade 9 students is 1.9 out of 4, far below the provincial standard. 51.3% of tests in general written inside its walls fail to meet standards. Just over 65% of its Grade 10 students pass the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test
Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test
The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test is a compulsory standardized test for high school students in Ontario who wish to obtain the Ontario Secondary School Diploma. It was established in 2001 by the Conservative government...
(OSSLT) on their first attempt, with a much lower success rate of 47.6% on subsequent attempts.
Notable alumni
- Bryan CrawfordBryan CrawfordBryan Crawford is a former Canadian football running back who played his entire pro career with the Toronto Argonauts.- Early years :...
, (1982 - ), is a Canadian footballCanadian footballCanadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
running backRunning backA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
& special teams captain for the Toronto ArgonautsToronto ArgonautsThe Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
. - Branden Versluis, (1991 - ), advocate for spinal scoliosisScoliosisScoliosis is a medical condition in which a person's spine is curved from side to side. Although it is a complex three-dimensional deformity, on an X-ray, viewed from the rear, the spine of an individual with scoliosis may look more like an "S" or a "C" than a straight line...
awareness
External links
- Official web site
- Profile at the Education Quality and Accountability OfficeEducation Quality and Accountability OfficeThe Education Quality and Accountability Office is an arm’s-length Crown agency of the Government of Ontario, Canada, legislated into creation in 1996 in response to recommendations made by the Royal Commission on Learning in February 1995....
(EQAO) web site