User:JenniferChev/John Paul II Collegiate

John Paul II Collegiate (JPII) is one of three high schools in the city of North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada. JPII has a student body of approximately 750 students and a teaching faculty of approximately 40 teachers. JPII was named for Pope John Paul II. JPII is part of the separate school system, which is fully-funded by the province.

"John Paul II Collegiate is a Catholic High School serving the needs of parents and students of the Battlefords and area. With Christ as our model we are a community with a distinct purpose. Our vision is to integrate Catholic values in the intellectual, social, physical and spiritual development of our Christian community."

- School Philosophy

JPII is a dual-stream school, offering both English and French Immersion. Students have the option of taking sufficient credits in French-language subjects to obtain a bilingual high school diploma.

History
The original building housed Cairns Junior High School. The building was constructed in ???? in the collegiate Gothic style whose original four-story facade is still visible on the south side of the building. The original building had a gymnasium connected to the main building via hallways on the east and west sides of the building, enclosing an open-air courtyard. Cairns closed in ????

JPII opened in ??

Renovations of the school in 1987 covered the courtyard at the third story with roof and skylights, creating the 'Commons', where cafeteria-style table have created a lunch space. These renovations also added an elevator shaft in the Commons to facilitate access between the all levels of the school. The main entry of the school was moved to the north-east corner of the property. The original gymnasium became the school's library. A new gymnasium with locker rooms, combatants room, weight room, and stage was constructed.

St. Thomas College, a boys' classical college run by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, opened in 1932. In 1946, construction began on a new building overlooking the North Saskatchewan River valley, which opened in 1950. The college included a boarding school. By 1984, enrollment had declined to the point that St. Thomas was closed and the remaining pupils and staff moved to John Paul II Collegiate. St. Thomas College building is now part of the Don Ross Community complex.

Separate School
The Education Act of Saskatchewan (1995) allows for the existence of publicly-funded religious schools. These schools are typically Roman Catholic but may be Protestant. These schools teach religious classes from a faith-based perspective rather than from an anthropological perspective. It is the expectation that the separate schools incorporate their chosen faith into all subject areas. JPII is a publicly-funded Roman Catholic high school.

Students are not required to be a member of the faith of the school to attend, however, school codes of conduct are written from a faith-based perspective and students are expected to attend (though not necessarily participate in) religious services. Students are also required to take the religion class -typically called Religion in elementary school and Christian Ethics in high school. Students at JPII must also complete compulsory community service to complete their Christian Ethics credits. Requirements for graduation are the same as public high schools, such as North Battleford Comprehensive High School.

Course Offerings
Not all subjects are available at all grade levels
 * Accounting
 * Art or Arts Education (survey course, Gr. 8 and 9)
 * Biology
 * Career and Work Exploration
 * Chemistry
 * Christian Ethics (Éducation chrétienne)
 * Computer Science
 * Core French
 * Drama
 * English Language Arts
 * Français immersion
 * Health (Hygiene) (Gr. 8 and 9)
 * History (Histoire)
 * Information processing (Technologies de l'information)
 * Journalism
 * Law (Le droit)
 * Mathematics (Mathématiques)
 * Media Studies
 * Music
 * Native Studies
 * Physical Education
 * Physics
 * Professional and Applied Arts: Home Economics
 * Professional and Applied Arts: Industrial Arts
 * Psychology (Pschologie)
 * Science (Sciences) (Gr. 8 and 9)
 * Social Studies (Études sociales)

Athletics
JPII has junior (Gr 8 and 9) and senior (Gr 10, 11 and 12) teams in most sports.

JPII's athletic teams are called the Crusaders. There have been both tiger mascot costumes and knight/crusader costumes over the years.

JPII has athletes/teams in:
 * volleyball
 * cross country running
 * badminton
 * basketball
 * football
 * curling
 * soccer
 * golf