John Oliver Secondary School is a public secondary school located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, at East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street (between the Vancouver neighbourhoods of Kensington-Cedar Cottage, Riley Park-Little Mountain and Sunset). It is named after John Oliver, the Premier of British Columbia from 1918-1927. The school is composed of four main segments: the main building ("A" Building) containing the bulk of the learning areas, including the Auditorium and Learning Commons; a wooden building ("B" Building) affectionately nicknamed "The Barn," due to its appearance, which is closed but was previously used by the mini school and Digital Immersion students; a Drama Studio ("C" Building) which allows for several theatre and acting courses; and a concrete building — the engineering building — bisected by a breezeway, with automotive, metal, and wood shops.
John Oliver Secondary is a school of approximately 1150 students attending grades Eight to Twelve with nearly 70 teachers. The students participate in many extracurricular activities including Music, Sports and Clubs.
The school has a multicultural student population, with a large number of bilingual students. Although the predominant populations are reflective of the Indo and Filipino-Canadian neighbourhood it resides in, many other ethnic backgrounds are represented in the school's population.
The school was originally called South Vancouver High School and began in 1912 as two surplus classrooms on the grounds of Lord Selkirk Elementary at 22nd Avenue and Commercial Street. The following year, when enrolment jumped from 58 to 148, the high school students moved to General Gordon School, which is today known as Sir Sanford Fleming Elementary, located at 49th Avenue and Knight Street. Enrolment continued to increase and a site for a purpose-built high school was chosen near 41st Avenue and Fraser Street. South Vancouver's first, stand-alone high school was built in 1920, and was opened on January 21, 1921 by its new namesake, the Honourable John Oliver, then Premier of BC. By 1926, the enrollment of the school was over 900, and a second building with an additional 8 rooms was built to the west of the main building, on 43rd Ave. This new building, now called "The Barn", is still in existence today. The main part of the current school building was erected in 1950 on 41st Avenue, with the subsequent addition and expansion of technical studies shops, cafeteria and music wing during the following years. The original building burnt down on December 9, 1949.
Programs and course offerings
John Oliver is home to a Mini School for gifted children from grades 8-12. The goal of the Mini program is to enrich students in academics (through acceleration), as well as to take education outside the classroom on three trips per year. The traditional Mini School is currently being replaced by a high-tech Digital Immersion Mini School program, in which students use technology to better their education through using various programs for more advanced projects. Grade 8's, in place of their first field trip, visit various high-tech institutions and corporations located within the Metro Vancouver area, such as MDA and UBC.
Students in the Mini School undertake an annual science fair, with winners being able to move onto the district, regional, and ultimately the Canada-Wide Science Fair. Students in the main student body are able to participate in the school's science fair as well, although not compulsory.
John Oliver contains many classrooms in the main building equipped with home economics facilities. This allows students to take courses in various textiles, foods, cooking and pastries cafeteria, and nutrition courses.
The school accommodates a number of full computer labs which enables students to pursue their interests in information technology in the form of CAD, animations, photography, image editing, and digital literacy courses.
John Oliver also has a well equipped facility for the industrial arts containing several well equipped and dedicated facilities for woodworking, metalworking, and automotive technologies, enabling students to pursue their interests in various industrial disciplines.
There is also a post secondary program for students interested in the construction industry
With two gymnasiums, three fields, and access to nearby Memorial Park South, John Oliver is able to have diverse physical education courses, as well as weight training, fitness, and coaching and leadership courses.
Containing an auditorium and drama studio, as well as auxiliary facilities and band rooms, John Oliver is able to have many acting, drama, theatrical, as well as a junior and intermediate band, a senior concert band for gifted musicians, and is the only school in the district to offer a drumline.
John Oliver has hosted many events and productions annually.
On 21 and 22 September 2012 the PAC hosted the 100th Anniversary Celebration. The event commenced with a concert in the school's auditorium featuring music and performances from the past and present as well as honouring many of the distinguished Alumni, teachers and administration over the ages. The school classrooms were decorated with images from the past and it is estimated that many of the 20,000 past students attended. On the 22nd, there were a variety of other events for the celebration, including a homecoming basketball game and a sock-hop with live music from a band of alumni.
On May 27, 2009 John Oliver was chosen to host the 2009 Passport to Play as well the 2010 Passport to Play, a one-day event that offers students with disabilities the opportunity to learn about organizations which provide them with sports and recreational activities.
The John Oliver Theatre Company has an annual production in which students from Drama and Acting courses, as well as the general school population, have a chance to perform in a play. Students not only have an opportunity to gain experience as actors, but as Stage Managers, make-up artists, and costume designers, among others. Students can also gain valuable technical experience by helping design and run various audio and visual effects. Previous productions include "The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon" (2014), "The Sound of Music" (2013), and "Arsenic and Old Lace" (2012).
John Oliver hosts an annual basketball tournament called "Joker's Classic." Held in two portions consisting of three days in the latter half of two weeks, over 16 teams compete with each other to come out on top. The girls tournament is held in the first week, with the boys tournament held afterwards. Leadership classes organize committees to handle various aspects of the tournaments, such as concession, advertising, sponsorship, audio/visual, and admission. There are a variety of team and individual awards given out, such as team placement awards, best player, and sportsmanship awards.
To celebrate and showcase the cultural diversity of John Oliver, students hold an annual Multicultural Show where students show off their talent through performances and a fashion show.
On or near November 11, John Oliver remembers those who fought in World War One by an annual Remembrance Day assembly. "Oh Canada" is sung, with a short skit recreating some aspect of the War following it. A trumpeter plays "The Last Post" followed by a moment of silence.
During the first week of school, a week of special presentations are held for each grade. These help inform the grades about important topics teens should know about.
Two or three weeks after Winter Break, John Oliver holds a week of exams. The Mid-Year exams are a bench-marker of how well students are doing, and prepares students, especially grade 8's, for End-of-Year exams. Special presentations are also held during this time for younger grades.
John Oliver offers a wide variety of team sports held over the school year, usually with several separate teams for junior, senior, male, and female categories. This list is not exclusive.
Badminton
Basketball
Rugby
Soccer
Track and Field
Wrestling - Ranked 3rd in the province 2011-2012 year. T2.
John Oliver has a very strong student community. Part of this student community are the extra-curricular clubs and their teacher sponsors.
Students' Council - The student government of the school.
Bhangra Club - The Bhangra Club practices year-round and performs at school events.
Dance Squad - The Dance Squad practices year-round and performs at school and district events.
Destination ImagiNation - Destination ImagiNation is an educational program hosted by Destination ImaginNation Inc. in which student teams solve open-ended Challenges and present their solutions at Tournaments.
Rainbow Diversity Club - The JO-Rainbows strive to create a school environment free of homophobia. Every year they hold a "Day of Silence" event, in which participating students remain verbally silent throughout the entire school day and participate in the nationwide Anti-Bullying Day, also known as Pink Day.
Grad Committee - The Graduation Committee is in-charge of arranging all grad related activities including the prom, Dry Grad, and the School Leaving Ceremony.
Lighting and Sound Crew (Technical Crew) - The John Oliver Lighting and Sound Crew facilitates all audio/visual activities at events including assemblies, theater productions, and the Multicultural Show.
Multicultural Club - The Multicultural Club encourages multiculturalism by hosting year-round multicultural events including the John Oliver Annual Multicultural Show.
Eyes of Hope - A club that focuses on spreading awareness about the world's critical issues and crises. In addition, they also conduct many fundraising campaigns throughout the course of the year.
JO Ambassador's - Being a community service club, JO Ambassadors plays an important role in the major events that take place in the school. Most members volunteer to help out in many public events.
Environmental Club (Trash Talkers) - Promotes sustainability and environmental awareness throughout the school and the community through green projects and daily tips.
Eileen Dailly, former BC MLA and Minister of Education, notable for abolishing corporal punishment in BC schools.
Herb Dhaliwal, First Indo-Canadian person to become a member of federal cabinet.
Walter Gage, University of British Columbia professor and administrator. Order of Canada recipient (1971).
Jim Pattison, billionaire businessman and Order of Canada recipient.
Ray Perrault, former Liberal Party of Canada Member of Parliament and Senator.
Gordon 'Gogie' Stewart, member of the BC Sports Hall of Fame.
William "Willie" Loftus, former Canadian Football League player
Evander Kane, NHL hockey player currently playing for the Buffalo Sabres.
Mozhdah Jamalzadah, Afghan singer, model and TV show host. (2000)
American comedy-drama film, What Goes Up starring Hilary Duff, Josh Peck and Steve Coogan was filmed in John Oliver.
In the Fall of 2009, the school's main website was re-designed using the Open-source Content Management System, Joomla. The new website includes an often updated Photojournalistic photo gallery which displays photos of current and past events. The new website also contains "Teacher Blogs", Individual WordPress Blogs that teachers can collaborate and post assignments for students and parents to access. Starting in 2010, the Open-source digital learning environment Moodle and an in-school email system utilizing Google Apps were also implemented. Mr. Zhi Su, a teacher and the technology department head, has led the implementation and training process.
