Halifax West High School

Halifax West High School
Halifax West exterior
Location
Map
283 Thomas Raddall Drive

Halifax
,
Nova Scotia
,
B3S 1R1

Canada
Coordinates44°39′24.2″N 63°39′51.7″W / 44.656722°N 63.664361°W / 44.656722; -63.664361
Information
TypeSenior high school
MottoEruditione Iter Patefacite[1]
Established1958 (original campus); new campus opened 2003[2]
School boardHalifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE)[4]
PrincipalLee Anne Amaral[3]
Grades9–12[3]
Enrollment1,856 (September 2024)[3]
Colours
   
   
Black and red[2]
MascotWeston the Warrior[2]
Websitehwh.hrce.ca

Halifax West High School (often Halifax West or The West) is a public senior high school in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. The school serves students in grades 9–12[3] and is operated by the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE). Its campus on Thomas Raddall Drive in Clayton Park West opened in January 2003, replacing the original 1958 building in Fairview.[2]

Halifax West is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School authorized to offer the IB Diploma Programme since 2007,[5][6] alongside the provincial curriculum. The school also partners with the adjacent Bella Rose Arts Centre, a non-profit community theatre located inside the school.[7]

History

The original Halifax West Municipal High School opened in September 1958 on Dutch Village Road in Fairview.[2] In the late 1990s the building experienced persistent indoor air quality problems; in 2000, authorities announced accommodation plans that included split-shift classes hosted at J. L. Ilsley High School while longer-term solutions were developed.[8] The situation at the former site has been discussed in analyses of “sick” school buildings in Canada.[9]

A new facility for Halifax West was constructed in Clayton Park West, with students moving into the Thomas Raddall Drive campus in January 2003.[2] During design of the new school, space was set aside for a future theatre to serve both the school and surrounding community; the Bella Rose Arts Centre subsequently opened in 2007 following a fundraising campaign that involved local partners.[10][7]

Campus and facilities

The current campus is located at 283 Thomas Raddall Drive in Clayton Park West, Halifax.[4] The Bella Rose Arts Centre, a professionally operated community theatre housed within the school, hosts school musicals, concerts and community performances throughout the year.[7][11]

Academics

Halifax West offers the Nova Scotia curriculum with courses in English and French, and an IB Diploma Programme pathway (authorized 2007).[5][12][6] School communications and SAC minutes indicate the school serves grades 9–12 and had approximately 1,856 students in September 2024.[3]

Student life

The school hosted the Canadian Student Leadership Conference (CSLC) in September 2015, bringing hundreds of student leaders and advisors to Halifax West.[13]

Arts

Halifax West runs annual musical theatre productions and other performing arts events, many staged at the Bella Rose Arts Centre. Recent examples include The Addams Family (May 2025).[11][14]

The school has produced the following musical theatre productions:[15]

Athletics

Teams at Halifax West compete as the Warriors[17] in interscholastic sport under School Sport Nova Scotia.[18] Common offerings have included soccer, basketball, rugby, hockey, volleyball, football, track and field and more (offerings vary by year).[17]

Identity

The school's mascot is Weston the Warrior and the school colours are red and black.[2] The Latin motto Eruditione Iter Patefacite appears in school communications.[1]

Feeder pattern

Halifax West is the senior high school for students in the Halifax West Family of Schools within HRCE.[4][19]

Notable facilities

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Halifax WEST Student Government (about)". Instagram. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Halifax West High School — 65 Years (history & facts)". Halifax West 65 Years. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e "School Advisory Council Minutes – 24 Sept 2024" (PDF). Halifax West High School (HRCE). 24 September 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Halifax West High". Halifax Regional Centre for Education. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Halifax West High School (IB World School profile)". International Baccalaureate Organization. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Nova Scotia IB Diploma Program Schools". Nova Scotia IB Program. 12 February 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d "Bella Rose Arts Centre — Home". bellaroseartscentre.com. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  8. ^ "Split Shift for Halifax West Students". Halifax Regional Municipality — News Release (archival PDF). 7 September 2000. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  9. ^ "Lessons from a Sick School: Halifax West High School". Environmental Health Association of Canada. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  10. ^ a b Sheppard, Jeremy (9 October 2008). "Bella Rose Arts Centre launched after long fundraising". The Signal (University of King’s College School of Journalism). Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  11. ^ a b "The Addams Family — Musical (May 2025)". Halifax West High School (HRCE). 8 May 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  12. ^ "International Baccalaureate (HRCE)". Halifax Regional Centre for Education. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  13. ^ "CSLC History — 2015 Halifax (Halifax West High School)". Canadian Student Leadership Association. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  14. ^ "Events — The Addams Family". Bella Rose Arts Centre. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  15. ^ "Productions". Halifax West High School Fine Arts and Technology Education. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  16. ^ "Mary Poppins – 2016". Halifax West High School Fine Arts and Technology Education. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  17. ^ a b "Halifax West High — Home of the Warriors". Halifax West High School (HRCE). 3 September 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  18. ^ "School Sport Nova Scotia — Past Champions & Resources". School Sport Nova Scotia. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  19. ^ "Schools Sorted by Type". Halifax Regional Centre for Education. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_West_High_School