Rothesay Netherwood School

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Rothesay Netherwood School
280px
Address
40 College Hill Road
Rothesay, New Brunswick, E2E 5H1
Canada
Information
School type Independent Day/Boarding Co-Ed
Founded
  • 1874 Thompson School by Ezekiel Stone Wiggins; 1877 - Rothesay Collegiate School
  • 1894 - Netherwood School
Oversight Board of Directors
Head of School Paul Kitchen (1987-)
Grades 6-12
Enrollment 285 (September 2014)
Language English
Campus 200-acre (0.81 km2) campus overlooking the Kennebecasis River
Colour(s) Green and Blue         
Team name Riverhawks
Website

Rothesay Netherwood School is an Atlantic Canadian, independent day and boarding university-preparatory school for grades 6-12 located in Rothesay, New Brunswick, a suburb of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada . It has been an International Baccalaureate World School since April 2007. It is an accredited member of CAIS (Canadian Accredited Independent Schools),[1] a founding member of the ACIS (Atlantic Conference of Independent Schools), a member of CIS (Conference of Independent Schools)[2] and a member of TABS (The Association of Boarding Schools).[3] RNS is the most recent Canadian addition to the international organization Round Square. The current Head of School is Paul G. Kitchen (appointed 1987), with Paul McLellan and Dean Van Doleweerd as Assistant Heads of School. The school is noted for its comprehensive curriculum integrating information technology, Outward Bound excursions, and daily participation in sports for all students.

Rothesay Netherwood School is an independent private school offering both the Canadian High School Diploma as well as the prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma. For a number of years, the students of the graduating class have received 99% - 100% university placement. The school's campus is located on a sprawling 200 acres (810,000 m2) overlooking the Kennebecasis River in Rothesay, New Brunswick.

Introduction

Rothesay Netherwood School was originally founded in 1877 and is the result of the merger of two separate schools, Rothesay Collegiate School for boys and Netherwood School for girls. The two schools had a history of co-involvement since the 1890s and officially merged in 1984 for financial reasons. The merged school was known as Rothesay Collegiate School Netherwood until 2002 when the current name was adopted. The current campus is that of the original Rothesay Collegiate School. The campus of Netherwood School for girls was sold and developed at the time of the merger.

History

File:Rothesay MacKayHouse.jpg
Mackay House, Rothesay Netherwood School

Rothesay Collegiate School

Professor Ezekiel Stone Wiggins founded Thompson's School in 1874, a boy's day school housed upstairs in Whelpley Hall near the Rothesay railway station, in Rothesay, an affluent suburb of the prosperous city of Saint John, New Brunswick.[4]

The school was intended to prepare students for enrollment into the Royal Military College of Canada, which was established in 1877.

In the 1880s the school was bought by George Lloyd, later leader of the group of colonists who founded the town of Lloydminster, Alberta and Bishop of Saskatchewan, who renamed it Rothesay College for Boys.

In 1891, the school was put on firm financial footing by local prominent citizen James F. Robertson, who renamed it Rothesay Collegiate School and moved it to its present location while adding boarding facilities. Lloyd remained headmaster until 1900. In 1907 Robertson handed the school over to the Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton and Rev. W.R. Hibbard was appointed headmaster the following year. Dr. Hibbard was succeeded by Dr. C.H. Bonnycastle in 1938 but the school was run by his assistant, Dr J.F.L. Jackson, while Dr. Bonnycastle served as an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. In 1963, the school was incorporated and leased to an independent Board of Governors. Following Dr. Bonnycastle's retirement in 1970, a series of five headmasters presided over the school for next 17 years.

Netherwood School

Girls were first enrolled at Thompson's School until its move in 1891. The Netherwood School for girls was founded in 1894 by Miss M. Gregory who was succeeded in 1895 by her niece, Mrs. J. Armstrong. In 1903, Miss E. Pitcher became co-principal with Dr. Susan B. Ganong at a time when it had only nine students. One of the most important people in the school's history, Dr. Ganong purchased the facility in 1912 and built it into an internationally recognized institution of high scholastic standing. She presided over Netherwood until her retirement in 1944 when she sold the school to the Netherwood Foundation Limited. Dr. Ganong was succeeded by several headmistresses that presided for relatively short terms.

Merger

In the 1970s the New Brunswick government began investing heavily in the public education system and RCS and Netherwood were subsequently challenged to maintain enrollment. In 1972 the schools formed a partnership that led to shared classes but separate campuses. Nevertheless, financial difficulties continued and were exacerbated by the lack of long-term strategy caused by a series of short-term Heads at each school. In 1984, RCS and Netherwood announced that they would both be closing. A group of parents and alumni came forward with a proposal to obtain financing and combine the two schools. The schools, now merged into RCS-Netherwood, were saved but this success came at the expense of the sacrificed Netherwood Campus.

Recent years

Between 1984 and 1991 over 2 million dollars were raised in the Call to Excellence Campaign led by Jack Hickman, allowing the school to continue operation; since the end of this first campaign the school has increased its enrolment by two-and-a-half times. From 1995-1996 the Building for the Next Century Campaign led to the construction and renovation of several buildings. In June 2002 RNS's newest boys residence, Kirk House, opened. Collegiate Hall was opened in May 2005 and now houses the school's offices and conference rooms. In October, 2006, 'Netherwood' House opened as the school's new Junior Girls Residence. In 2009, a new state-of-the-art dining hall was added to the campus, Heritage Hall, while the former dining hall was renovated into the school's modern library. In the fall of 2014, the school completed a modern expansion to its ice arena.

Today

Campus

Rothesay Netherwood School is located in Rothesay, New Brunswick, approximately ten minutes east of the city of Saint John, New Brunswick. The campus is situated on 200 acres (810,000 m2) of land in the Kennebecasis River valley, with much of this space is given over to woodlands and sports fields. The campus consists of:

  • Four boarding residences housing up to 140 students: Mackay House, Quinn House, Kirk House and Netherwood House;
  • Thirteen houses and nine apartments for faculty;
  • Heritage Hall - newest dining hall, with 3 giant projecter screens.
  • South House, providing faculty offices and housing student artwork;
  • Collegiate Hall, the main administration building;
  • Fawcett Hall - housing the Colin Mackay Library;
  • The Memorial Chapel, designed by G. Ernest Fairweather and F. DeLancey Robinson in 1923 in memory of the Old Boys who lost their lives in the Great War;[5]
  • School House, with seventeen classrooms;
  • Hibbard Hall (The English and Science building) with four laboratories;
  • The Théâtre Susan B. Ganong Performing Arts Centre, with seating for 200;
  • The Dr. C.H. Bonnycastle Memorial Arena;
  • The Irving Gymnasium, with regulation basketball, volleyball and badminton courts and a climbing wall;
  • Five soccer and rugby fields;
  • Two squash courts;
  • A fitness center;
  • Numerous walking trails

The school's World War I Memorial Chapel features several World War II memorial stained glass windows including `Resurrection of Christ`; `Virgin and Child` (1946); `Light of the World` (1945); `St. George`; `Military figure`; and `Boy Christ in the carpenter's Shop` by Robert McCausland Limited.[6]

In 1985, the RCS campus served as the backdrop for the William Hurt feature film "Children of a Lesser God". Many of the buildings on campus were prominently featured in the film.

School fees

Notable alumni

References

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  4. Ezekiel Stone Wiggins in the Rose Cyclopedia
  5. http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/nic-inm/sm-rm/mdsr-rdr-eng.asp?PID=8322 World War I memorial chapel
  6. http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/nic-inm/sm-rm/mdsr-rdr-eng.asp?PID=8323 World War II memorial windows

External links