Columneetza Secondary School

Columneetza Secondary
Address
1045 Western Ave Williams Lake, British Columbia, V2G 2J8, Canada
Information
School number	2727047
School board	School District 27 Cariboo-Chilcotin
Principal	Mr. Gregg 'Cocksucker' Gaylord
Vice principal	Mr. Ken Lucks
Staff	54
School type	Public high school
Grades	8-13
Language	English
Motto	ROARS! Respect, Ownership, Acceptance, Responsibility, Safety
Mascot	Cougar
Team name	Cougars
Colours	Blue and White
Founded	1967
Enrolment	1139

Columneetza Secondary is a public high school in Williams Lake, British Columbia part of School District 27 Cariboo-Chilcotin. It is where Rick Hansen graduated from.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2004,Columneetza Secondary an arsonist set fire to one of its portable classes (nicknamed the Lone Bute portable) along with its shop wing which are separate from the actual school structure. Following the fire, both structures were torn down and the portable was replaced almost immediately. The shop wing has been available since 2006, with state-of-the-art equipment for students to receive hands on training. The arsonist was caught and sentenced accordingly. The School fire was featured on BCTV News on Global (TM) (now Global British Columbia(TM)) and CH news.

Behniwal, also known as "Binks" by his peers lived across the street from the school.

1965, the Columneetza building was approved for construction. Architectural firm: Carlberg, Jackson and associates Construction Tender: Stanzl Construction It was supposed to be a California campus style (Flat roof and separate buildings, the first in this area) Price of first phase: 2.5 mil Opening date: February 1967

History of the name

The school board asked for the community to come up with a suitable name. out of 125 entries, it was narrowed down to 4. Columneetza Senior Secondary, Roderick Mackenzie Senior Secondary, Williams Lake Senior Secondary and Cariboo Campus Secondary.

The name 'Columneetza' was discovered by a grade eleven student, named Gib Scott, who won a prize of $25.00 for coming up with the winning name. Meaning: Meeting of Princely people.

Grand opening: May 25, 1967 Starting at 8pm

In the beginning there were only 3 regular classrooms, the rest were portables, economics classes, labs, seminars and shops. The Gymnasium was not built yet. Students in a Phys. Ed. class were shipped to the Elks Hall for classes by bus.

There was a town wide campaign to convince citizens to approve a 3 million project to provide 6 classes, a gymnasium and 20 new dorm rooms.

The 2nd phase to complete the campus, was Complete September '68.

The school still didn't have a suitable playing field. So in 1971/72 several staff members built a field out of their own compassion. To this day, we only have a field because of the hard work or staff members involved in our community.

First principal: A.V. MacMillan. Vice principal was D.A. Shore. 22 teachers on staff in the beginning.

Freedom in education was a guiding belief of this early staff. “Progressive teaching methods used to instill freedom, independence and responsibility."

Columneetza has always been recognized for the academic achievements, clubs and activities.

'SCHOOL SIZE'

Columneetza has a head count of 1139 including students and staff as of September 2011. Compared to Williams Lake Secondary with only 717. While WL is a single 2 story building, CSS is spread out over several buildings and portables, and includes a wood/metal shop, cafeteria, and dormitory.

A graph model comparing Columneetza's square footage to that of Williams Lake Secondary was created to give a visual representation of the size difference. Taking into account WL's two story status and Columneetza's many outlaying buildings, A student at Columneetza was able to come up with an excellent rendering, taken at a height of 400m above both schools, thanks to Google Earth. At 130 squares (squares as filled on a graph) CSS is 40 squares greater than WL's 90.

Stats: CSS pop. 1139 WL pop. 717

Fun Fact: Since 1968, more teenagers have been educated at Columneetza Secondary (41 000 to date) then there are people living in and around Williams Lake.

Exchange Students

Columneetza is firmly established on an international level thanks to excellent exchange programs. International students can come for an academic year as individuals or for a week or two as part of a class exchange. Kids come from all over including Quebec, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, Spain, India, Japan and New Zealand. Thanks to local families who generously open their homes, the program continues to thrive.

Notable Alumni

Rick Hansen