Forest Heights Community School

Last updated

Forest Heights Community School is a high school located in Chester Basin, Nova Scotia, Canada. Servicing students and families from eastern Lunenburg County, it is a member school of the South Shore Regional School Board.

Contents

Background

Forest Heights Community School, often referred to as FHCS or Forest Heights, was founded in 1992 as part of an amalgamation due to the closing of Chester High School and New Ross High School located in two nearby communities. Forest Heights is seeded by two middle schools – Chester Area Middle School and New Ross Consolidated School. Although students from Chester and New Ross make up the bulk of the student body, other communities serviced by Forest Heights include Chester Grant, Western Shore, Tancook Island, Hubbards, Fox Point, Mill Cove, and Blandford. Forest Heights is actually in Chester Grant, just past the Chester Basin/Chester Grant road signs.

Enrollment

Given the rural location of FHCS the student body has historically hovered around the 400 student mark with all students having access to school bus transportation. 272 students were officially enrolled in 2013-14. The staff is made up of 22 teachers, 4 teaching assistants, 2 counselors, 2 administrators, 1 secretary, 3 custodians, 3 cafeteria staff and 1 community coordinator. Currently, there is no librarian working there, due to Nova Scotia education cuts.

Academics

Forest Heights is a grade 9-12 school and offers a variety of course options for students. Several math streams ranging from essentials to calculus are offered as well as several English streams. Art, Drama, Dance, Music, Child Studies, Production Technology, Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Film and Video, Design, Sociology, Geography, History, Law, Political Science, French, and Physical Education are all offered.

Forest Heights also provides the Options and Opportunities program that give students co-op placements in the workplace while still earning class credit.

Controversies

Discrimination Against Religious Expression

On May 3, 2012, the Board drew attention to itself in the Canadian media for allowing a student from Forest Heights Community School to be suspended by the school's principal for wearing a T-shirt that had the words, "Life is wasted without Jesus" on it, drawing criticism that it was discriminating against Christians and violating the boy's Charter rights to freedom of expression and religion. The T-shirt was an expression of the scriptural passage from the St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians 3:8, which says, "More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ....". [1] [2] [3]

On May 4, 2012, the South Shore Regional School Board decided to allow the boy to return to school on the following Monday and gave him permission to wear the shirt at school. They also hired a facilitator to deal with the issue; however, reports by CTV News indicated that the boy was not sure he wanted to return to school, feeling both discriminated against by administrators and bullied. [4]

Notable faculty

Judy Streatch is the former Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the riding of Chester-St. Margaret's. Judy was a teacher at Forest Heights Community School until June 21, 2005 when she took a permanent leave of absence when she won a by-election for a seat vacated by the late John Chataway.

Patricia Arab is the current member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the riding of Fairview-Clayton Park. Arab was a member of the Forest Heights Community School faculty until her election. [5]

Former Principal Joe Feeney is the current mayor for the town of Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney, Nova Scotia</span> Place in Nova Scotia, Canada

Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolved on 1 August 1995, when it was amalgamated into the regional municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CBHT-DT</span> CBC Television station in Halifax, Nova Scotia

CBHT-DT is a CBC Television station in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The station's studios are located on Chebucto Road in Halifax, and its transmitter is located on Washmill Lake Drive on the city's west side.

CJCB-DT is a television station in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. Owned and operated by network parent Bell Media, the station maintains studios on George Street/Trunk 22 in Sydney, and its transmitter is located on McMillan Road southwest of the city.

John Edward Chataway was a Canadian politician and Progressive Conservative Member of the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly for Chester-St. Margaret's from July 1999 until his death, and a cabinet minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darrell Dexter</span> Canadian politician

Darrell Elvin Dexter is a Canadian lawyer, journalist and former naval officer who served as the 27th premier of Nova Scotia from 2009 to 2013. A member of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party, he served as party leader from 2001 to 2013. He became Premier in 2009 after his party defeated the governing Progressive Conservative Party, leading the first NDP government in Atlantic Canada and the second east of Manitoba. His government was defeated in the 2013 election, becoming the first Nova Scotia government in 131 years to be denied a second mandate; Dexter himself was defeated in his constituency by 21 votes. Dexter now serves as a lobbyist for the cannabis industry.

<i>Theodore Tugboat</i> Children’s television series

Theodore Tugboat is a Canadian children's television series about a tugboat named Theodore who lives in the Big Harbour with all of his friends. The show originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada as a co-production between the CBC, and the now defunct Cochran Entertainment, and was filmed on a model set using radio controlled tugboats, ships, and machinery. Production of the show ended in 2001, and its distribution rights were later sold to Classic Media. The show premiered in Canada on CBC Television, then went to PBS, was on Qubo in the United States, and has appeared in eighty different countries.

Saint Mary's University (SMU) is a formerly Catholic, public university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The school is best known for having nationally leading programs in business and chemistry, as well as one of the best Canadian women's basketball programs. The campus is situated in Halifax's South End and covers approximately 32 hectares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Shore Regional Centre for Education</span> Public school board in Nova Scotia, Canada

The South Shore Regional Centre for Education (SSRCE) is the public school board responsible for the administration of elementary, junior high, and high school education in Lunenburg County and Queens County in Nova Scotia, Canada. The South Shore Regional Centre for Education was established on August 1, 2004 by an Act of the provincial legislature.

Trevor John Zinck is a Canadian former politician, a former member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly who represented the riding of Dartmouth North as an Independent and a New Democrat. He was first elected for the New Democratic Party in the 2006 election, succeeding retiring NDP MLA Jerry Pye. He served as the Community Services critic for the NDP, and was re-elected in the 2009 election. Zinck pleaded guilty on June 17, 2013 to charges of fraud over $5,000 and breach of trust by a public officer and later resigned as a result.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipality of the District of Chester</span> Provides local government to the rural residents in part of Nova Scotia, Canada

The Municipality of the District of Chester is a Nova Scotia district municipality occupying the northeastern half of Lunenburg County, Canada.

Judy Streatch is a Canadian politician, who was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Chester-St. Margaret's in Nova Scotia from 2005 to 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lenore Zann</span> Canadian actress and politician

Lenore Zann is a Canadian actress and former politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Cumberland—Colchester in the House of Commons of Canada as a member of the Liberal Party. Before entering federal politics, she represented the electoral district of Truro-Bible Hill in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2009 until 2019 as a member of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party and from June 9, 2019, until September 12, 2019, as an independent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen McNeil</span> Canadian politician

Stephen McNeil is a Canadian politician who served as the 28th premier of Nova Scotia, from 2013 to 2021. He also represented the riding of Annapolis in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2003 to 2021 and was the leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party from 2007 to 2021.

Anti-Bullying Day is an annual event, held in Canada and other parts of the world, where people wear a pink-coloured shirt to stand against bullying.

Kelly Maureen Regan MLA is a Canadian politician who has served in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly since 2009, most recently as the MLA for Bedford Basin. She was first elected as the Member for Bedford-Birch Cove. Since is a member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party.

Denise J. Peterson-Rafuse is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Chester-St. Margaret's in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2009 to 2017 as a member of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party.

Timothy Jerome Houston is a Canadian politician who is the 30th and current premier of Nova Scotia since 2021. He was first elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2013 provincial election. A member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, he represents the electoral district of Pictou East. Houston also served as the leader of the opposition from 2018 to 2021. He and the Progressive Conservative party won a majority government in the 2021 Nova Scotia general election, becoming the first Progressive Conservative premier since 2009.

Patricia Arab is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2013 provincial election. A member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, she represents the electoral district of Fairview-Clayton Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Mombourquette</span> Canadian politician

Derek Mombourquette is a Canadian politician. He represents the district of Sydney-Whitney Pier as a member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Nova Scotia general election</span>

The 2021 Nova Scotia general election was held on August 17, 2021, to elect members to the 64th General Assembly of Nova Scotia.

References

  1. ↑ "Student's 'Jesus' shirt sparks feud with school". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  2. ↑ "'Jesus' T-shirt student taken out of school by dad". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  3. ↑ "Suspended student allowed to wear 'Jesus' T-shirt". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  4. ↑ "N.S. Teen allowed to wear 'Jesus' T-shirt to school | CTV News". www.ctv.ca. Archived from the original on 6 May 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  5. ↑ david (2017-06-15). "Patricia Arab". Nova Scotia Legislature. Retrieved 2022-02-16.

Coordinates: 44°36′01″N64°19′17″W / 44.600326°N 64.321276°W / 44.600326; -64.321276

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.