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New Science and Technology High School Opens in Vancouver (Vancouver Independent School for Science and Technology (VISST))
Tuesday, September 20, 2022Company Profile | Follow Company
Vancouver, BC, September 20, 2022--(T-Net)--If you have children in high school many have have noticed the cancelation of honours math and science programs and science and technology courses by the Vancouver School Board over the last few years (see further details here and here).
A new non-profit private high school (www.visst.ca) has now just opened in Vancouver for students interested in science and technology.
The school has an expanded corriculum in science, math, computer science and preparation for careers in science and technology.
The new school was founded by Dr. Mike Gelbart, Co-Founder and Principle, and,
Shaun Olafson, Co-Founder and Executive Director (pictured above, left to right).
Murray Goldberg is also a founding board member of the school. Following his time as a faculty member at UBC, Murray Goldberg founded WebCT, a company that grew to 350 employees providing the world's leading learning management system serving 14 million students in 80 countries at 4,000 universities and colleges. WebCT sold to rival company Blackboard in 2006 for $200M US. He also chairs the BC Chapter of the Manning Innovation Awards.
VISST says it offers the full B.C. high school curriculum augmented with additional STEM offerings, and also offers a number of fascinating summer camps and workshops for kids (such as Introductory Coding for Robots, Machine Learning, Demystified, and others).
The program involves a mix of acceleration and enrichment. Their curriculum starts from the end of elementary school and does not require any accelerated or enriched STEM prior to VISST.
Math: Math is accelerated with Math 8/9 completed in Grade 8 and Math 10/11 completed in Grade 9. This creates time for Statistics and AP Calculus in the later years. VISST students also participate in local math contests.
Science: Science is accelerated with Science 8/9 completed in Grade 8. This enables students to pursue Biology 11, Chemistry 11 and Physics 11 in Grade 9 or 10, creating time for AP sciences in the later years. VISST students also participate in local science fairs and events.
Technology: Their technology curriculum is initially delivered through the Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies courses. These courses especially emphasize computer science, but also include a wide variety of other topics such as robotics, fabrication, and entrepreneurship. In later years, they offer dedicated computer science courses including AP Computer Science.
VISST students participate in coding competitions and robotics events, and experience mechanical and electrical engineering projects at Dan Gelbart's legendary machine shop near UBC.
Humanities and other subjects: Although their humanities program is not accelerated, it is enriched following their curriculum philosophy, including project based learning, connections with the community, and interdisciplinary projects interfacing with their STEM courses. Furthermore, the acceleration of the STEM subjects leaves extra time for additional humanities courses in Grade 12 such as Philosophy and 20th Century World History.
Their philosophy involves a mix of rigorous fundamentals with project-based learning. Projects provide an incredible opportunity for students to pursue their interests, practice teamwork, grapple with ambiguity, and go deeper when their curiosity tugs. They say they also believe in the value of structured learning to build up fundamental knowledge and skills through practice, continually pushing the boundaries of their students' capabilities. Their courses, STEM and otherwise, are delivered through this combination of techniques.
About Vancouver Independent School for Science and Technology (VISST)
An independent STEM high school in Vancouver.
Vancouver's first and only STEM high school, bringing a thoughtful focus on the science and technology skills that are demanded by life and work in the 21st century, a curriculum designed and communicated so that students care about what they're learning and understand why they are learning it, and the academic and personal development to prepare our students for success both in and out of the workplace. Visit https://www.visst.ca/
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Vancouver Independent School for Science and Technology (VISST)
Vancouver (Education)
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