Our senior social studies department, inspired by their participation at Harvard Graduate School’s Think Tank on Global Education, oversee the Global Studies Program, which focuses on a different topic each year (global health, design thinking) and has students create solutions to current global issues that can be implemented at a local level.
WPGA is a member of
Global Online Academy (GOA), a consortium of independent schools worldwide that offers online courses with a global perspective, e.g. Climate Change & Global Inequality, Entrepreneurship in a Global Context, Gender & Society. Andrew Bendl, Head of Senior Social Studies, and GOA Site Director, co-developed the Global Health course for GOA. Students present projects at GOA's annual Catalyst Conference; the interactive, multimedia projects are designed to spark change in their local communities.
Debate, Model UN and Public Speaking Clubs
WPGA offers one of the largest debate and Model United Nations (Model UN) programs in North America. The intermediate debate club (grades 4–7) and senior debate club (grades 8–12) include 125 students; both clubs compete at local, provincial, national, and international competitions. The senior club includes Model UN, which further develops students’ negotiation skills and understanding of global issues. In Model UN, students compete at provincial and national tournaments, attend Harvard Model UN each year, and every October host the Vancouver Youth Model United Nations in Whistler for students from schools across the Lower Mainland.