In 2005, Maclean's Magazine chose Jasper Place High School as the top overall high school in all of Canada.[2][3] In 2008, adding the methods used by the E.I.U's quality of life model, Jasper Place Ranked 1st in Canada, and 2nd in North America. In 2014, Strathcona High School was named 2nd best in Canada, but scored the same as Jasper Place, leading into a tie. However, on an international level, JP fared better than Scona and ranked as the #1 school in North America due to the I.B program. In comparison, Strathcona tailed at #4. Jasper Place High School has a student population of 2927 students,[4] making it the most populated high school in Edmonton as of the 2023-2024 school year.
Jasper Place athletic teams are called the "Rebels".
Programs of study
The Jasper Place Composite High School Logo.
Jasper Place High School offers a wide variety of programs and courses. The most notable of these are the full and partial International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) programs, as well as general Alberta curriculum studies. Jasper Place is the only Edmonton Public High School to offer both IB and AP. Jasper Place is also the only Edmonton school to offer Film Studies IB in addition to its many other IB courses. The school also has the largest offering of CTS courses in Edmonton and has developed a major focus on computers, having teamed up with NAIT, the University of Alberta, and Grant MacEwan in order to allow students to complete their high school courses and receive credit for introductory courses at these institutions.[5]
Beginning in the 2008/2009 school year, students were able to take an additional daily class known as "Block Zero" beginning before school begins, from 8:05 to 8:53 (as of the 2022–2023 school year). This makes it a shorter block then regular classes (48 minutes compared to 79 minutes). Courses offered include extra AP or IB science classes needed to get the full number of hours needed for the AP/IB Science courses, band class, and extra physical education.
Beginning in the 2013–2014 school year, the school began offering Alternative Learning Opportunity (ALO) Days. The format of the days has varied depending on the year, as well as the semester. In the first semester that it was offered in, students could pick from a variety of courses that either lasted 1, 2 or 3 days (or a combination of courses so that they had 3 days worth of activities) that were spread out over the semester. This was changed in semester two of the same year to instead have two continuous days where the blocks were each 3 hours (all morning or all afternoon), in which students would go to their first and third block classes on the first day, and their second and fourth block classes on the second. In the 2014–2015 school year, the number of ALO days was increased to 5 a semester, and the format was again changed, to having students pick either one block, two blocks or all day sessions. The ALO Days have had controversy however, including from an Edmonton Journal columnist (who later had to apologize to the school), and have been marked with low attendance throughout.
Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, the last Thursday of every month is known as a “condensed collaboration day”, where classes are shorted to fifty minutes instead of the regular 75, resulting in the final bell ringing at 12:38pm, with time afterwards allotted for students to work on missed assignments/exams (as of the 2022-23 school year). In the 2024-2025 school year, these were changed to be every Thursday.
Fine arts
Art
Art and Honours Art courses are also offered at Jasper Place High School. Student artwork is displayed throughout the school.
Drama
Jasper Place High School offers regular Drama courses, but also offers Advanced Acting and Technical Theatre extracurricular classes. It is recommended that these extracurricular courses are taken in conjunction with Drama. The students also participate in the One Act Play Festival, direct one act plays, and participate in Improv.
School productions
Jasper Place High School's Masquerade Theatre sees two mainstage productions every year. However, 2008 was the school's first year performing a collective, Shadowed, a play written and performed by the entire cast and crew in addition to one main stage production.
2005/2006 – Twelfth Night, While The Lights Were Out
2006/2007 – Antigone, The Miss Firecracker Contest
Students are offered Choir, Band, and Guitar, and introduced a Music Technology course (referred to as "Audio" in the school) during the 2008/2009 school year in which song-writing, composition, and technical music development is taught. Optional music clubs include Jazz Band, Glee Club and Drumline.
Trades
Jasper Place High School offers a wide range of trades, including culinary, cosmetology, welding, automotive class, aesthetics, carpentry and more.
Athletics
The Athletics program at Jasper Place has a multitude of options, including:
Jasper Place holds an annual tournament called the REB International Basketball Tournament, regularly hosting high-school level teams from across the globe, such as China, Australia, and the US. The REB tournament began in 1982 with only sixteen teams competing. Now one of the largest international high school basketball tournaments in North America, the 2007 REB tournament saw 38 teams.[6]
In 2015, the REB Basketball Tournament had its 34th tournament.
Fitness centre
The Jasper Place Fitness Centre is located near the CTS wing of the school, and is open from 9:00 am – 12:10 pm, and 1:15 pm – 5:00 pm. It is also available to female students before school as a part of a special women's fitness group. The Fitness Centre is fully stocked with exercise equipment for virtually all needs.
Clubs
Jasper Place clubs change every year, depending on student's interests. But some of the most common choices include:
Jasper Place High School places a great deal of focus on computer technology. The school offers a variety of courses such as Business Technology, Computer Science, Design Studies, and Hypermedia Technology. One ever-popular aspect of the Computer Technology courses is the instruction in Robotics design and creation.
Jasper Place's Computer Technology courses are designed to help a student's transition into post-secondary schooling, and the school has entered into partnerships with NAIT, the University of Alberta, and Grant MacEwan College to allow students to gain credit for high-school coursework.
They also have a TV show and Radio Station, JPTV and JPR (Jasper Place Radio) respectively. As of the second semester of the 2021/2022 school year, the TV show runs during the second period on Tuesday and Thursday, and the radio station runs at various times throughout the day.
Accomplishments
Statistics
In 2005, Jasper Place High School was chosen as the top overall high school in all of Canada by Maclean's Magazine.[2][3]
Jasper Place has a 98.7% course completion rate, 93.2% of students meet the acceptable standard in diploma courses, and 1 in 4 students meet the standard of excellence in diploma courses.[7]
