MacNeill Secondary School


A. R. MacNeill Secondary School is a secondary school in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. As of September 2013, there are approximately 850 students attending the school. It is in School District 38 Richmond. The school was built at a cost of over CAD 25 million. The feeder elementary schools are Anderson, Cook, Talmey and Tomsett.
The school is named after Allan Roy MacNeill.
In addition to being one of the youngest schools in the district, it is also known to pilot and test any new ideas before they are applied to the rest of the schools in Richmond. Due to this specialized program, Macneill has been ranked as one of the most efficient schools in all of Greater Vancouver.

History

A.R MacNeill opened on September 2, 2003. In its first year, it was home to about 200 students and staff. The school also began with only two grade levels, 7 and 8, and as each year passed it added another grade. The first senior class graduated in 2008.

2006-2007

In the 2006/2007 school year, students entering grade 10 were removed from their respective academies and put into what was called the Transition Academy. This new academy was created to emphasize and educate students about graduation requirements, such as the recent Graduation Portfolio and post-secondary and career options.

2008-2009

In the 2008/2009 school year, MacNeill stopped accepting grade 7 students due to low enrollment and completely discontinued the arts and science academy options. MacNeill began using an electronic attendance system called BCeSIS and a new schedule management software.

Timetable

Students at MacNeill take eight courses over the period of two days. Each "day" consists of four 75-minute periods, a 19-minute break, 28-minute advisory, and lunch. Wednesdays, lunch is omitted, break is extended to 30 minutes, and advisory is 35 minutes. Students' timetables on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 2:59 p.m. On Wednesday, classes end at 2:00 p.m.

Athletics

A.R. MacNeill competes in the RSSAA leagues and enters teams in all of the traditional fall, winter and spring sport seasons. The following sports are available:

Fall

The school has a variety of clubs, covering a vast number of subjects from arts to humanitarianism.

Active clubs (2014/15)

Inactive clubs

The following clubs are not active as of the 2014/15 school year:
ClubDescription
Amica ClubMulticultural/friendship club promoting diversity with school and encouraging tolerance and anti-racism.
Chess Club
Global Footprints
Student Interpreters ClubStudents who act as interpreters