Bernice MacNaughton High School was named after Dr. L. Bernice MacNaughton, a Moncton teacher, and was formerly known as Dr. L. Bernice MacNaughton High School.
History
Founded in 1975 as a trade school, Bernice MacNaughton originally accommodated 1,400 students. It became the MacNaughton Science & Technology Center in 1994 but was reestablished as a high school in 1999, consisting only of grade nine students. 2003 saw the first graduating class of BMHS. MacNaughton underwent an extensive multi-million dollar renovation between 2000 and 2003; additions included construction of a new gymnasium and several classrooms, landscaping, additional lighting, and driveway resurfacing. The auditorium was renovated in 2006. By 2008, a new roof for the school's cafeteria had been completed. In November 2012, the City of Moncton announced that it would contribute $750,000 toward a new artificial turfsports field on MacNaughton's grounds. The Province of New Brunswick later announced that it would invest a further $400,000 toward the sports field, which was used as a training ground for the 2014 FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup.
Facilities
MacNaughton is located in Moncton's West end and is within walking distance of the city's walking trails and Centennial Park. Its campus offers access to cross-country ski trails and two sports fields. The school features a large, central cafeteria and foyer, and the auditorium can support fully orchestrated theatrical and musical productions. BMHS also has several science laboratories, special woodworking and metalworking shops, two art rooms, a darkroom, several computer labs, and two music rooms.
Academic life
Courses
Bernice MacNaughton High School runs on a two-semester arrangement. Most courses run on a full-semester basis, but some grade nine specialty courses are half-semester courses. MacNaughton offers students a wide variety of courses, from aviation technology to Mandarin, as well as five Advanced Placement courses: Calculus AB, Chemistry, English Literature and Composition, French Language, and Psychology. Classes commence at 08:45 and end at 15:30 AST. Students take five sixty-minute courses every day, with an hour-long break between the third and fourth classes and seven- or eight-minute breaks between all other classes. In 2008, BMHS implemented a thirty-minute directed learning period, known colloquially as "Period 6", in order to allow fellow Clan members to jointly study, work on homework, or seek extra help. During the 2009–2010 school year, the directed learning period was moved to 10:54 AST, between the second and third period. In the 2012–2013 school year, the directed learning period was rotated throughout the day as a function of the day of the week. The directed learning period was removed in the 2013–2014 school year.
BMHS offers a wide array of extracurricular activities:
Athletics
MacNaughton offers a wide selection of sports clubs and organized teams at the junior varsity and senior varsity, male and female, levels. These vary from year to year and include:
Badminton
Baseball
Basketball
Cross country
Curling
Field hockey
Football
Golf
Rugby union
Soccer
Track and field
Volleyball
Wrestling
Bernice MacNaughton has captured New Brunswick Interscholastic Athletic Association sports titles in 12 man football, girls' field hockey, AAA junior girls' basketball, AAA senior girls' basketball, junior men's wrestling, and AAA senior boys' volleyball.
Bike Club
The BMHS Bike Club was an after-school program where members built custom motorcycles and bicycles. In 2008, they completed a custom bobbermotorcycle, dubbed "Betty".
Breakfast club
The BMHS breakfast club serves a free breakfast to students on school mornings.
Membership in the school's Student Government is mandatory, and students are admitted as ordinary members of the Government upon payment of the school's nominal tuition fee. Elections for the upcoming year are held on the first Friday after May Day of the previous year. The Senior Treasurer is chosen via interview. Grade Representatives are selected in October.
