Bishop Carroll High School (Calgary, Alberta)


Bishop Carroll High School is part of the Calgary Catholic School District in Alberta, Canada. The school is named after Bishop Francis Patrick Carroll, the Bishop of Calgary from 1935 to 1966. The school welcomes people who are not Roman Catholic; however, all students are expected to complete Religious Studies courses.
Bishop Carroll's athletic teams are nicknamed the Cardinals.

Curriculum

The school offers a unique program that allows students to work at their own pace in an individual environment. This self-directed learning is part of the constructivist model of student-centered learning advocated by member schools of the Canadian Coalition of Self-Directed Learning.
The school is a member of the Action for Bright Children Society.

History

Opened in 1971, Bishop Carroll High School was the first school in Canada to offer a program based on the CCSDL fundamental practices of personalized programming, flexible scheduling, continuous progress, mastery learning and a Teacher Advisory Program. In 2011, Mount Royal University signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Bishop Carroll High School to build on a history of cooperation between the two institutions in order to enhance a working relationship that will increase educational opportunities for students. The MOU allows discussions to commence between the parties to offer specific courses at the high school. Bishop Carroll High School students beginning in 2013 got a head start on their University studies with the successful completion of Critical Reading and Writing, a university-level credit course offered jointly by Mount Royal University and Bishop Carroll High School. This course was the first of its kind, and is part of a plan of continuing cooperation between the University and Bishop Carroll High School in many disciplines. In 2015, this MRU-BCHS course became dual credit.

Student Services Department

Three full-time counsellors offer a Comprehensive School Counselling program, which meet the needs of student in three basic domains: academic development, career development, and personal/social development. In 2014, Mount Royal University and partner school Bishop Carroll joined together to raise awareness about, and change the culture of, bullying. Who's Frank? is an initiative determined to change hearts and minds through the power of stories and inspire action against bullying.

Fine arts and performing arts

Music department

The Bishop Carroll Music Society is an independently-run organization directed by parent volunteers and faculty from the department of music at the school; it funds, promotes, and supports the music program and all its members. The music program consists of a Concert Choir & Auditioned Chamber Choir, Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Sassy Jazz Ensemble, four string orchestras, a Concert Band, Auditioned Touring Band, Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, 1:00 Jazz band and 2:00 Jazz Bands and in 2014 added a Symphony Orchestra. This is the only high school in Calgary with an Orchestra. In December 2017, the Virtuosi Strings were invited to perform at The Midwest Clinic, an International Band and Orchestra Conference in Chicago, IL.

School of Alberta Ballet

Bishop Carroll is one of two Calgary schools that has a relationship with The School of Alberta Ballet. Ballet students at Bishop Carroll and Queen Elizabeth High may receive credit toward their high school diploma for the instruction they receive at ballet school.

Student Body

2008 Lockdown

Bishop Carroll was locked down for approximately 4 hours on December 12, 2008. No threat was found and students were released.

2016 Lockdown

Bishop Carroll was locked down for approximately 2 hours on September 20, 2016. Once again, Police "found nothing out of the ordinary". Certain sources claim that a "bomb threat" was made to the school, while others say that the threat was "unspecified". A very similar lockdown happened at Bishop Grandin at the same time, but "Police say the calls to the schools were unrelated". No one was harmed, and all students were released.

Notable alumni