Halifax Grammar School Explained

Halifax Grammar School
Motto:Inito ad discendum, Exito ad serviendum
Motto Translation:Enter to learn, Exit to serve
Established:1958
Type:Private Co-educational
Grades:JP–12
Address:945 Tower Road
City:Halifax
Province:Nova Scotia
Postcode:B3H 2Y2
Country:Canada
Head Of School:Steven Laffoley
Enrollment:600
Team Name:Gryphons
Mascot:the gryphon
Yearbook:The Grammarian
Website:www.hgs.ns.ca

The Halifax Grammar School (HGS) is a private, educational day school in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located in south-end Halifax, near Saint Mary's University. Approximately 600 students attend the school, making it the largest independent school in Atlantic Canada. At the high school level students take the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program. The Head of School is Steven Laffoley. All prospective students get tested every year for their own learning paths. The school offers merit-based scholarships in academics, community service, and athletics.The school is the leading school in Atlantic Canada

Schools

The school is divided into the Prep School (Grades Junior-Primary through Grade 4), the Middle School (Grades 5 through 9), and the Senior School (Grades 10 to 12). Each school has its own Head of School and teaching staff.

The Halifax Grammar School is located at 945 Tower Road and houses Junior Primary through grade 12. The Halifax Grammar School used to occupy two campuses, one located on Atlantic Street, and the other on Tower Road but an expansion was added on to the Tower Road campus, opening for the 2018-2019 school year allowing the entire school to be housed in a single campus. A building at 420 Tower Road was the original location of the school before they purchased the building on Atlantic Street, which they soon decided to expand. For two years, the School rented the Bethany building on the corner of Tower Road and Inglis Street from Saint Mary's University, before purchasing the closed Tower Road School building from the City of Halifax.

Academics

Halifax Grammar maintains a high level of academic achievement. The school has offered the International Baccalaureate program, which provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education, in its Senior School since 1993. All School Students are enrolled in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program starting in Grade 10.

Admission

The school is a tuition-based academic institution, with an admission fee to enrol a new student and other, additional costs.[1] Students wear Grammar gear on assembly days and at special events.

Arts

The school's arts program is run by three teachers, including the painter Renee Forestall[2] who teaches visual arts in the Middle and Senior Schools. At the High School level, students have the option of taking IB Standard Level Art.

Students may participate in the school's seven bands, learning repertoire from jazz, popular, and classical music. Prep School students in grades 3 and 4 must sing in the school choir, which performs several times each year in the community. Middle School students mount an annual dramatic production, often Shakespeare, while Senior School students produce an annual musical.

The school has a performing arts studio, funded through donations and fundraising efforts, that was completed in 2012.

Recent musicals

The school has run a Senior musical for over a decade. Actors, lighting technicians, and stage staff are all students. The school hires independent directors, band members and sound staff. The musicals that have been produced are:

Athletics

Boys and girls teams at Middle and Senior School levels compete in the primary athletic league of secondary schools in the province, the NSSAF. The school competes in a variety of sports including soccer, basketball, hockey, golf, track and field, cross country, skiing, badminton, and touch football. Halifax Grammar's Senior Varsity Basketball teams rank highly in Division 1 among the best high school teams in the province despite the small number of high school students in the school.

Past achievements for Grammar's athletic teams:

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

Notable alumni

Heads of School

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: HGS Financial Information. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140226154911/http://www.hgs.ns.ca/financialinformation?rc=0. 2014-02-26.
  2. Web site: Renee Forrestall, Secord Gallery . www.secordgallery.com . 31 December 2017 . en.
  3. Web site: Russell Smith: Biography . www.russellsmith.ca . 2008-07-14 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080621093901/http://www.russellsmith.ca/biography.htm . 2008-06-21 .
  4. Web site: Jay Ferguson - Sloan . www.exclaim.ca . 2008-07-14 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081005045924/http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/questionaire.aspx?csid1=23 . 2008-10-05 .