Our Student-Athlete Development Model
First Pillar of Development: Academic Learning & Achievement
Our program works in partnership with North Delta Secondary School and the Delta School District to provide our students with a positive learning environment from which to develop their academic and athletic potential. As an accredited Hockey Canada Sports School, all our student-athletes are required to attend North Delta Secondary so that we can best support their academic development in a centralized learning environment.
Our Roots
Ian Gallagher, the president of our academy, is a retired educator who emphasizes the importance of academics to our student-athletes. In 2012, he established an integrated school model at the Delta Hockey Academy alongside educators and administrators from the Delta School District. Each year we work to improve our academic offering to best support our students’ academic development in collaboration with our partner school, North Delta Secondary.
Integrated School Model
Our integrated school model provides student-athletes with the tools to succeed both on the ice and in the classroom. Each grade has dedicated classroom time at the school and at the rink. For classes at the rink, we have teachers working on-site in our two classrooms: the Agnew Collaboration Room and the Focus Room. Private bus transportation is provided to shuttle students between North Delta Secondary School and Planet Ice Delta. The Student Lounge at the rink is a flexible space where students can study between practice, workout and class.
Our Academic Advisor
Christine Niemar is a full time educator from North Delta Secondary School who has worked as our DHA Academic Advisor in a liaison role between the school and the academy since September 2019. Ms. Niemar has an office and a classroom at the rink where she meets with students that may need extra support. She also tracks academic success of our student-athletes to ensure course work is completed on schedule. In addition to her liaison role, Ms. Niemar teaches Grade 8 French, Grade 8 Media Arts, and Grade 10 Career Learning at the rink in the Focus Classroom. Ms. Niemar serves as a representative on the Canadian Sport School Hockey League’s Education Advisory Committee.
Academic Course Credits
The following images outline the course credits that our student-athletes will work towards each year. Both “Hockey” and “Strength & Conditioning” are courses for which our student-athletes will receive credit and letter grades. Hockey is an elective course and Strength & Conditioning is a physical education course.
Sample Schedule
The following graphic illustrates a sample schedule for a grade 8 student-athlete:
For more details on student-athlete schedules for each team and each grade, please visit the Current Students page.
Preparing for Post Secondary
Our academic model includes online course components similar to the structure of post-secondary. Our educators work to best prepare our student-athletes for the academic structure and time management skills required for the future of their educational pursuits. Over 75 of our alumni have moved on to compete as varsity student-athletes at the collegiate level and they attribute their ability to manage their busy schedules to their experience at DHA. We have numerous alumni that have graduated from or are currently studying at ivy leagues and the top academic universities in Canada.
Top Academic Awards
The Delta Hockey Academy presents Top Academic Awards annually to student-athletes who have earned the highest academic achievements on their respective teams with difficulty of courses taken into account. The Top Academic Awards are selected by our DHA Academic Advisor and presented at our Year End Banquet in June.
Learn More about North Delta Secondary School
North Delta Secondary School has approximately 1050 students from Grades 8-12 and 80 staff members. We offer students a wide variety of academic and extracurricular opportunities. North Delta Secondary is a comprehensive, public high school. North Delta Secondary School is accredited by the Ministry of Education – Government of British Columbia. The academic program is organized on a semester schedule with daily schedules Monday to Friday from 7:15 am – 3:00 pm for all Delta Hockey Academy student-athletes.
For more information visit: https://nd.deltasd.bc.ca
School and District Codes of Conduct and Policies
North Delta Secondary School
11447 – 82nd Avenue
Delta, BC V4C 5J6
Phone: 604-596-7471
Website: http://nd.deltasd.bc.ca
Delta School District Vision 2030
The Delta School District has embarked on the creation of Vision 2030 and hopes that the visioning process will provide much needed positivity and collaboration, and act as a guiding ‘North Star’ as we support Delta students present and future for the next decade. For more information, please visit the district website: https://www.deltasd.bc.ca/district/our-vision/
