Rick Hansen Secondary School (Mississauga)
Encyclopedia
Rick Hansen Secondary School (RHSS) is a public high school
located in the south-eastern edge of Streetsville, a community in Mississauga, Ontario
. Rick Hansen is the home to graduates from Fallingbrook Middle School
, Fairwind Senior Public School, and Hazel McCallion Senior Public School
. The school opened in 1999, and in 2002, the school expanded with a new wing on the west side of the school, which added 14 classrooms, 2 dance studios, and 2 art rooms. Nearly 2,000 students attend this school.
Many athletic programs are present in the school, and the name of the mascot is Thunder. Their elaborate technology program allows students to major in manufacturing- and robotics-related courses. They also have a successful FIRST
Robotics team, known as Theory 6, and many smaller, but still successful, VEX Robotics teams. Other extra-curricular activities include the Drama Council, the Peer Mentors, and DECA
.
The school is a sister school to Rick Hansen Secondary School
in Abbotsford, British Columbia
.
chose Rick Hansen Secondary School. Rick Hansen granted permission to the Peel District School Board to use his name for the school, saying that he was "delighted that your school will be part of my heritage and to carry the history of the Man in Motion tour by being a barrier-free school." The school's architects implemented a wheelchair
-friendly and barrier-free
design by doing the following:
The school was built as Peel's first technically oriented school where students have the ability to work and learn in a 21st century technological environment. There are television
s in every room in the school, and the school possesses more than twelve computer labs. Laptops are used by every teacher to use in planning lessons and teaching. In the first school year, there were only 655 students and 53 staff members in the school. At the time, the school only taught ninth and tenth graders. The first two floors of the school were occupied by the ninth and tenth graders and the third floor was used by elementary school students, due to the fact that the neighboring Swinbourne Public School was still under construction at the time.
. The school collects a small amount of money from late students entering the school after the morning announcements have been completed. Other ways the school collects money is by having a Mad Minute, where Peer Mentors run to every homeroom and collect as much loose change as possible from people's pockets in a short length of time. The school also occasionally hosts many other activities, such as a coin drive, a school walk, pledge sheets, and a wheelchair basketball game at the school's gym.
, an athlete who won all-star awards in five sports when he was paralyzed at the age of 15 after being thrown from the back of a truck. He subsequently became an athlete and an activist for people with spinal cord
injuries. Rick Hansen has made many special visits to the school, and his most recent visit was on April 5, 2011 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Man in Motion World Tour. In the event, Hansen announced that a relay will take place to retrace the Canadian segment of the original Man in Motion Tour. The celebration was attended by many notable people, such as Hazel McCallion
, the mayor of Mississauga, and David Onley
, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
. In total, twenty-five medal-bearers, including the school principal and a staff member, were chosen from the school. The Relay made its way through Rick Hansen on November 10, 2011.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
located in the south-eastern edge of Streetsville, a community in Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga is a city in Southern Ontario located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area. With an estimated population of 734,000, it is Canada's sixth-most populous municipality, and has almost doubled in population in each of the last two decades...
. Rick Hansen is the home to graduates from Fallingbrook Middle School
Fallingbrook Middle School
Fallingbrook Middle School is a middle school at 5187 Fallingbrook Drive in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. FallingBrook was converted from a JK-G5 to a middle school due to the area growth with more student in the middle school age, but Jk-G5 got a brand new school which was build just down the...
, Fairwind Senior Public School, and Hazel McCallion Senior Public School
Hazel McCallion Senior Public School
Hazel McCallion Senior Public School is a middle school located in Streetsville, Mississauga. The school was opened in 1991 to accommodate students from Willow Way Public School and Whitehorn Public School. Hazel McCallion public school is named after the current mayor of Mississauga, Hazel McCallion...
. The school opened in 1999, and in 2002, the school expanded with a new wing on the west side of the school, which added 14 classrooms, 2 dance studios, and 2 art rooms. Nearly 2,000 students attend this school.
Many athletic programs are present in the school, and the name of the mascot is Thunder. Their elaborate technology program allows students to major in manufacturing- and robotics-related courses. They also have a successful FIRST
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology
FIRST is an organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen in 1989 to develop ways to inspire students in engineering and technology fields...
Robotics team, known as Theory 6, and many smaller, but still successful, VEX Robotics teams. Other extra-curricular activities include the Drama Council, the Peer Mentors, and DECA
DECA (organization)
DECA, also known as Collegiate DECA on the college level) is an international association of students and teachers of marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and service . DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing,...
.
The school is a sister school to Rick Hansen Secondary School
Rick Hansen Secondary School (Abbotsford)
Rick Hansen Secondary is a public high school in Abbotsford, British Columbia part of School District 34 Abbotsford.Rick Hansen Secondary School is named after Rick Hansen, an athlete who won all-star awards in five sports when he was paralyzed at the age of 15 after being thrown from the back of...
in Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford is a Canadian city located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, adjacent to Greater Vancouver. It is the fifth largest municipality in British Columbia, home to 123,864 people . Its Census Metropolitan Area, which includes the District of Mission, is the 23rd largest in Canada,...
.
History
When the school opened on September 7, 1999, it was named East Credit Secondary School, and it was one of the first schools where the administrative staff helped create the blueprint of the school. It was the first public high school to open in Peel in ten years. Many names of many Canadian icons were suggested for the school, but the Peel District School BoardPeel District School Board
Peel District School Board is a Canadian public board of education for the Peel Regional Municipality, headquartered in the HJA Brown Education Centre in Mississauga...
chose Rick Hansen Secondary School. Rick Hansen granted permission to the Peel District School Board to use his name for the school, saying that he was "delighted that your school will be part of my heritage and to carry the history of the Man in Motion tour by being a barrier-free school." The school's architects implemented a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
-friendly and barrier-free
Universal design
Universal design refers to broad-spectrum ideas meant to produce buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to both people without disabilities and people with disabilities....
design by doing the following:
- All floor tiles were in a special color scheme that assisted students with visual impairments
- Disabled parking spots were relocated into a more accessible location
- All furniture in every classroom was barrier-free
- There was a specialized door system that made hallways fully accessible to students
- Handles on all doors in the school were lowered for accessibility
- Push buttons were installed in every drinking fountain
- The library shelves were spaced enough for a wheelchair to go through
- Disabled showers were realigned to better suit the use of students
The school was built as Peel's first technically oriented school where students have the ability to work and learn in a 21st century technological environment. There are television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
s in every room in the school, and the school possesses more than twelve computer labs. Laptops are used by every teacher to use in planning lessons and teaching. In the first school year, there were only 655 students and 53 staff members in the school. At the time, the school only taught ninth and tenth graders. The first two floors of the school were occupied by the ninth and tenth graders and the third floor was used by elementary school students, due to the fact that the neighboring Swinbourne Public School was still under construction at the time.
Donations
Every year, students from Rick Hansen Secondary find new ways of collecting money for the Rick Hansen FoundationRick Hansen
Richard M. Hansen, CC, OBC is a Canadian Paralympian and an activist for people with spinal cord injuries. Following a car crash at the age of 15, Hansen sustained a spinal cord injury that paralyzed him from the waist down. Hansen is most famous for his Man In Motion World Tour...
. The school collects a small amount of money from late students entering the school after the morning announcements have been completed. Other ways the school collects money is by having a Mad Minute, where Peer Mentors run to every homeroom and collect as much loose change as possible from people's pockets in a short length of time. The school also occasionally hosts many other activities, such as a coin drive, a school walk, pledge sheets, and a wheelchair basketball game at the school's gym.
Association with Rick Hansen
The school is named after Rick HansenRick Hansen
Richard M. Hansen, CC, OBC is a Canadian Paralympian and an activist for people with spinal cord injuries. Following a car crash at the age of 15, Hansen sustained a spinal cord injury that paralyzed him from the waist down. Hansen is most famous for his Man In Motion World Tour...
, an athlete who won all-star awards in five sports when he was paralyzed at the age of 15 after being thrown from the back of a truck. He subsequently became an athlete and an activist for people with spinal cord
Spinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain . The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system...
injuries. Rick Hansen has made many special visits to the school, and his most recent visit was on April 5, 2011 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Man in Motion World Tour. In the event, Hansen announced that a relay will take place to retrace the Canadian segment of the original Man in Motion Tour. The celebration was attended by many notable people, such as Hazel McCallion
Hazel McCallion
Hazel McCallion, née Joueneaux, CM is the mayor of Mississauga, Ontario. McCallion has been Mississauga's mayor for years, holding office since 1978...
, the mayor of Mississauga, and David Onley
David Onley
David Charles Onley, OOnt is the 28th and current Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada.Onley was a television journalist prior to his viceregal appointment. He worked primarily for Citytv as a science and technology reporter, and for the 24-hour news station CablePulse 24 as a news anchor and...
, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada and resides predominantly in her oldest realm, the United...
. In total, twenty-five medal-bearers, including the school principal and a staff member, were chosen from the school. The Relay made its way through Rick Hansen on November 10, 2011.
External links
- Theory6.ca - The website of Team 1241, the school's robotics team.
- School Website Link - The school's official website.
- Peel Myclass Sites