Our school community has had a busy fall settling into our replacement school. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our entire staff for all their hard work over the past year packing for the move and unpacking at our new location. Finishing touches to the school, parking lot, and outdoor facilities will continue throughout the year. Updates will be posted on the school website. We ask your support in fol-lowing the drop-off and pick –up directions posted on the website to ensure the safety of our students and flow of traffic on Church Street. We are planning an Open House for our new school early in the spring. More information on the date and time of this celebration will be available on the website once the date is finalized. The Ministry of Education has developed an important resource for parents to support the policy docu-ment: Growing Success, Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting in Ontario Schools, Grades1-12, 2010. The tool “Supporting your Child’s Learning Through Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting” will sup-port you in understanding the Growing Success policy. I encourage you to access this resource through the web site ontario.ca/EDUparents. Information about our school’s EQAO results for both Grade 9 Math and the Grade 10 Literacy Test are posted on http//www.eqao.com/. We are pleased with our overall achievements and continue to look for areas of improvement to support our students. The interim report card provides both parents and students with information on current achievement lev-els in courses. Comments on strengths and areas for improvement in learning skills will assist parents when discussing strategies to enhance academic performance. Student success requires parents, teachers, and the school community to work together to support the engagement of students in their learning. I encourage you to attend our Parent/Teacher Interview Night, which is scheduled for Thursday, Novem-ber 25, 2010 – 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. This will give you an opportunity to speak with your son/daughter’s teachers and tour our new facilities. If you have any concerns about your son/daughter’s progress, please contact the school. Margaret Clarke

Principals Message

MDHS November Newsletter

Truman Tai nearly qualified for OFSAA but ended up losing an intense triple-hole sudden death playoff at the York Region Championships. Congratulations Truman.

Boys Golf - coached by Mr. Gasteiger

M A R K H A M D I S T R I C T H I G H S C H O O L

Newsletter Date

Volume 1, Issue 1

Markham Athletics

Girls Golf - coached by Mr. Howard

Here’s an athlete to watch for! Julia Champion represented Markham and York Region at the OF-SAA Girls Golf Championship this past October. Julia is a Grade 9 student in her first year of com-petitive golf. Congratulations Julia!

Cross Country - coached by Ms. Whittaker

Andrew McColl is to be congratulated on his outstanding performance at the York Region Champi-onships with his 14th place finish out of 196 runners. As a Grade 11 student, Andrew competed against a strong Senior boys field with predominantly Grade 12 students. Andrew trains year-round.

Tennis - coached by Ms. Mills

The tennis team capped off another great season with 2 York Region Champions! Ringo Cheung was the Junior Boys gold medalist while Sasha Leznoff took home the gold in the Senior Boys Open-divsion.

Junior Girls Basketball - coached by Ms. Tunnicliff

The Junior girls have a strong squad this year and enter playoffs with an 8 -2 league play record. The team’s tenacious defence along with natural scoring ability has made this group of players exciting to watch. Good luck with the remainder of your season girls!

Mid-Season Sports

League games are underway – GO MARK-HAM!

Varsity Girls

Hockey – coached by Mr. Howard and Mrs. Howard

Varsity Boys

Hockey – coached by Mr. Gasteiger

Winter Season Sports declared:

Junior Boys Basketball – coached by Mr. Hsia and Ms. Kaba

Senior Boys Basketball – coached by Ms. Morrison, Ms. Tunnicliff and Mr. Brar

The teams have been selected and look forward to exciting seasons!

Senior Girls Basketball - coached by Ms. Morrison

The team is comprised of 8 Grade 11 students and 1 Grade 12, but it’s the right combination, as this year’s team has proven why they are in the top 8 teams in York Region. The girls defeated Stouf-fville in an exciting buzzer-beater 49-47 in the first round of playoffs. The team moves on to the quarter finals this week. Special mention goes to Tara Brown for her leadership and dedication over her 4 years playing basketball at MDHS.

Junior Boys Football – coached by Mr. Earle and Mr. Hartslief

The team had a great season going undefeated in exhibition play with 7 wins and 1 tie versus Durham region teams. Congratulations boys!

Senior Boys Football –

coached by Mr. Pritty, Mr. Unger, Mr. Hartslief and Mr. Earle

The team had a slow start but finished their season with a record of 4 wins and 3 losses. The high-light was the Marauders shut-out win over Brother Andre 14-0 to recapture the Markham Bowl title. Markham faced a strong King City squad in the playoffs but came up short. Congratulations on your perseverance and dedication this season boys!

NOTE: Check out the York Region Athletic Association website for league game schedules which are posted for the Mid-Season sport and will be posted by late November for the Winter Season sports at www.yraa.com . Select the sport from the menu on the left-hand side of the page.

Markham Athletics

M A R K H A M D I S T R I C T H I G H S C H O O L

Volume 1, Issue 1

Newsletter Date

Junior and Senior Girls Volleyball

Please see Mr. Bar-ber (Phys. Ed. Dept.) for informa-tion regarding try-outs!

Curling

Coached by Mr. Berry, Ms. Moon and

Mr. Pownall

Markham is offering 3 teams this year – Girls, Boys and Mixed. Our boys team have set their sights on taking home their 5th con-secutive YRAA championship ban-ner! We also look forward to the return of our girls team to YRAA competition.

Rock Climbing

Please see Ms. Mills (Phys. Ed. Dept.) for information about joining the team. Both males and females from Grades 9-12 are invited to train and compete in this ex-citing sport.

Health and Physical Education Department (H.P.E.) The H.P.E. staff are enjoying teaching in the new facility. We would like to remind our students that proper Markham P.E. attire is important for safety and hygene purposes. The following clothing is available for purchase: H.P.E. T-shirt - $10, (grey) Royal blue shorts - $17 (dazzle fabric or mesh) Track pants - $30 (navy blue with MDHS lettering – 2 styles: “open” leg or elasticized) Cash is accepted or cheques can be made payable to MDHS.

Student Athletic Association (S.A.A.)

S.A.A. is comprised of student volunteers who want to contribute to student life at MDHS through athletics. This year’s Executive members include: President - Safeh Pairose; Vice-President – Valli Subasri; Secretary – Lily Li; Treasurer – Rachel Jacob; Athlete Representatives; Stephanie Gemmell and Marena Shokri; Publicity/Special Events Coordinators – Alyssa Porter and Neema Nazeri; Athletic Banquet Coordinator – Monil Shah; S.A.C. Representative – Sydney Mann. S.A.A. would like to congratulate our “Athletes of the Month” for October: Junior Girls – Kristen Osborne (Basketball); Senior Girls – Tara Brown (Basketball); Junior Boys – Ringo Cheung (Tennis); Senior Boys – Sasha Leznoff (Tennis) Also, calling all Volleyball players!!! S.A.A. is hosting its annual Volleyball Tournament on Wed. Nov. 24th from 3-6pm for all MDHS students. Sign-ups will start the week of Nov. 15th. Prizes will be awarded for the tournament champions, the best-dressed team, and the team with the most spirit!

1. The STEP Program focuses on the student who is struggling to attain core grade 9 and 10 credits.

2. EOP (Exploring Opportunities Program) is a hands-on, senior construc-

tion based course which allows students interested in Construction Tech-nology, the opportunity to build projects in and around the Markham com-munity, while acquiring the skills required to continue their career paths.

The Personalized Alternative Education Department currently offers 2 program to meet the differentiated needs of students at Markham District High School.

M A R K H A M D I S T R I C T H I G H S C H O O L N E W S L E T T E R

Interested individuals may contact Mr. Levine at (905)294-1886 Ext.166

Personalized Alternative Education Department

The 2010/11 school year is full of great possibilities and new opportunities for all MDHS students. Numerous creative competitions are available to any MDHS stu-dents who are interested. De-tails will be posted on the art office door as they become available. Congratulations to Nicole Leung for winning the Touchstone Sculpture Com-petition that was started last year! Nicole is currently working on the next phase of this endeavour, which in-volves surveying the space, finalizing materials and con-structing the art piece that will find a permanent home in the front atrium of MDHS. In the next few weeks the art club along with other art stu-dents will begin working on

murals that will be placed around the school at the be-ginning of the next school year. Any MDHS students who would like to submit an idea for one of these murals is asked to speak to Ms. Rosalle in the art office. The Art Department would like to welcome Ms. Lui to the creative team. She has already inspired her students and will continue to do so in many ways as the year pro-gresses.

Art

History Department

Well, we’re off to a great start in a brand new building. The History and Geography workrooms have been blended and most of us can be found in room 208. We’ve got a couple of great student teachers now doing some wild and innovative lessons with our eager learn-ers. The grade 12 Philosophy classes are about to partici-pate in a field trip to visit a Buddhist temple where they

will receive enlightenment into a new and wonderful possible existence. Re-membrance Day ceremo-nies will once again be brought to MDHS students as part of the Grade 10 Gifted History program. Good luck to our very own Mr. Bower who will be accompanying a number of students to Holland on the annual cultural exchange.

CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATION

Each year Mayor Frank Scarpitti and Markham Council honour high school and post-secondary students who have achieved outstanding re-sults in designing business plans. The town is com-mitted to building and supporting small busi-nesses and the jobs they bring to our community. In support of this priority the town through the Markham Small Business Enterprise Centre sponsors the Young Entrepreneur Awards. This year’s awards were presented in October at a reception at the Civic Cen-tre. Friends and family of

the winners attended. MDHS repeated as the first place winner in the high school business plan cate-gory in 2010. Tony Chen, Amy Martin and Jennifer Yip combined to place first. MDHS student Darryl Cheng finished as the run-ner-up. In addition to the congratulations of Mark-ham Council, federal repre-sentatives Paul Calandra, M.P. (Oak Ridges-Markham) and the Hon. John McCallum P.C, M P (Markham-Unionville) at-tended to recognize our stu-dents’ accomplishment.

The Business Plan contest and the Summer Company program will be offered again in 2011. Information will be available from Business Studies teachers in February.

Business Studies

Markham District Classics Students continue their tradition of excel-lence in provincial level competition with another Three Trophy Sweep at Certamen. Certamen, the Latin word for competition, is a major day long contest sponsored by the National Junior Classical League, and involves teams of four students in a trivia-style contest with buzzers, demonstrating their mastery in Greek Mythology, Roman History, Ro-man Life, and Latin Derivatives. On October 28th, Markham sent 6 teams to Toronto French School to compete against over 50 teams from around Ontario, and all of our teams made it into the final 4 of their divisions., and in fact home brought home all three trophies, at the Junior, Intermediate, and senior level competition. Congratulations to our champion junior team of Nishani C., Tiffany H., Amy Z., and Dennis Y., along with our first place intermediate team of Ringo C., Cherrie S., Micael T., and Muralie V. Finally our senior triumphed too over all competition, and victory went to the team of Darien P., Ber-nard Y., Amy L., and Bryan K.

Classics students are getting excited about other upcoming competitions and events, such as the Saturnalia Banquet (December 10), the McMaster Mini-Conference Competition (April 28th), the Spring Certamen (in April at Bear Creek H.S. in Barrie), and, of course, the major 4 day competition at Brock Uni-versity in Saint Catharines, the Classics Conference (May 12-15th).

Another year has begun in the Cooperative Education department and our stu-dents have been on the job for over a month now. The Co-op students are now ex-perts on the topics of re-sumes, cover letters, job interview skills and health and safety. This year, the Co-op students are in-volved in a range of career

areas including veterinarian science, education, medi-cine, and a wide variety of trades. These are just a few of our many types of place-ments with employers who have kindly agreed to men-tor our MDHS Co-op stu-dents. As our program is growing, the Co-op department is al-

ways looking for new em-ployers in the Markham community to support and guide our students. If you are interested in hosting a Co-op student or know of someone who can, please contact Ms. Vrensen, De-partment Head of Commu-nity Based Education, at ext. 171.

Page 8

Co-Operative Education

Student Council Silent Auction for Markham - Stouffville Hospital Expan-sion Fund Thursday, November 25th at Parent Teacher Interview Night This year marks the second year that MDHS Student Council is helping to raise funds for the Markham-Stouffville Hospital Expansion Fund. Our first fundraising event will be a Silent Auction of some gift baskets during Parent Teacher Inter-view night. The gift baskets will be on display that night and people may place a bid up until 7:30pm. The winners will be announced that night. Thank you for your support of the hospital.

Student Council News

The Markham DHS Computer Studies department is excited about our new school, complete with its school-wide wireless network, ceiling-mounted LCD projectors in every classroom and our new iMac® lab.

Computer Studies

This year’s Computer Programming Club also sees a renewed pursuit of excellence, under the energetic leadership of grade 12 students Clark Gaebel and Ben Foppa. Students can participate in:

the Canadian Computing Competition (CCC) on Tuesday, March 1, 2011, which is a computer programming contest run by the University of Waterloo that allows individual students to compete against students from all over Canada; winners may go on to represent Canada at the International Olympiad of Informatics

the Educational Computing Organization of Ontario (ECOO) Boardwide Programming Contest, planned for March 2010, which allows students in teams of three or four to compete against other schools in York Region; the top teams then go on to face schools from across the province in the regional and provincial finals

the DWITE Online Computer Programming Contest, an automated contest that allows students to practice for pro-gramming contests like CCC and ECOO

The Improv Team has been selected and are pre‐paring for the first per‐formance in our brand new theatre! Performance nights will be advertised soon. If you enjoy shows like Whose Line Is It Any­way? or if you’ve ever been to Second City, you should come out to our Improv evenings. Speak‐ing of Second City, the grade 9 and 10 drama classes are visiting Second City on November 17th for a fun day of improv and

acting workshops with the Second City cast. And if you’re wondering when our season of plays will be starting, the grade 11 and 12 classes will be performing their mid‐term shows in January. Dates and more informa‐tion will come soon. It’s going to be another busy year for MDHS Drama!

decisions about science issues. The development of Scientific literacy is an ongoing task which can be sup-ported in the home in simple ways such as discussing the implications of a TV health report, or by discuss-ing the choices of ingredients for a healthy lunch. “A scientifically and technologically literate person is one who can read and understand common media re-ports about science and technology, critically evaluate the information presented, and confidently engage in discussions and decision-making ac-tivities regarding issues that involve science and technology.”

Science Co-ordinators’ and Consultants’ Association of Ontario (SCCAO)

The MDHS Science depart-ment proudly opened for the business of Science learning in their new rooms on the second floor on September 7th. One learning goal of the Ontario Science curriculum is to foster the de-velopment of Scientific Literacy. Sci-entific Literacy is defined by the Minis-try as “possession of the scientific knowledge, skills, and habits of mind required to thrive in the science-based world of the twenty-first century.” We use this learning goal to help us plan relevant Science classes for our stu-dents. Our courses provide students with the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of sources of scientific information including print and a vari-ety of digital tools including MOODLE, or textbook websites such as ScienceSource.ca and also to make

MDHS Drama

Science

their literacy skills and to develop a love of reading. Students who are looking for enrichment opportuni-ties are encouraged to check with their Eng-lish teachers about upcoming writing con-tests and all students are reminded that VoX, our school liter-ary magazine, is back into full swing and the editors are looking for student submissions. We wish all students continued success as the school year pro-gresses.

With the school year well underway, the English Department is continuing its part-nership with the Li-brary. Our grade 12U students have had the opportunity to learn from the ex-pertise of our Librari-ans during ISP book talks. Our grade 9 students are about to begin their Library orientation sessions and learn more about effective use of inter-net search engines. This year, our grade 11 Media students have chosen to dem-onstrate their talents and skills by taking on the challenge of creating the MDHS newsletter. This is

their first of three newsletters and the English Department is very proud of their ef-forts! In addition, we are very pleased to an-nounce that Mr. Unger, our Media Studies teacher, has organized an ex-tended field trip op-portunity for our Me-dia classes and other interested grade 11 students. In Febru-ary, students will have the opportunity to travel to New York City and learn more about the media in-dustry. It promises to be an exciting trip! As always, we con-tinue to encourage students to practice

English News

Y R D S B

courses, please see any of the Geography teachers.

It’s hard to believe that it’s November already! It seems as though it was just yesterday that we were in unpacking our supplies and get-ting our classrooms organized. Our grade 9 students have just finished their first unit and have handed in their unit culminat-ing assignments – Pear Island or Mys-tery Island. We are excited to be offering a new course for next year; it will be a Grade 11 Native

Studies course, but we will be marketing it to Grade 10 stu-dents. The course will allow us to ex-plore Canada’s Na-tive Peoples, their history, art, music and culture. We will also be offering two Grade 11 courses – Travel and Tourism (Open level) and Hazards and Disasters (College / University level) as well as the Grade 12 course – World Issues (University level). For more information on any of these

News about the geography department!

Computer Cartridge, Cell Phone and Digital Camera Recycling Program

If you have any empty computer car-tridges or cell phones or digital cameras that you are no longer using, please do not throw them out; in-stead, send them to the school (drop off box in the Main Of-

fice or in the Geogra-phy Department – room 208). We send them to be recycled. The money earned is used to buy new com-puters for the school. Parents, if there is no recycling program at your place of work

we will be happy to recycle the printer cartridges here. Help us relieve the pres-sure on our garbage dumps and buy more computers for the school. Last year we raised over $1000.

Y R D S B

Geography Department

Student Council-Festive Food Drive!

Once again, Markham is participating in the annual Festive Food Drive. 18 of our Period 6 classes have signed up to sponsor a needy family in York Re-gion by gathering non-perishable food, gift cards and toiletries. The organi-zation that we are working with is The Rose of Sharon. If your class has not signed up and you would like to make a donation, there will be a drop off box in the Main Office. The Festive Food Drive ends on Friday, December 10th.

NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY RESOURCE

CENTRE We were very happy to welcome students

to our new library in September. The MDHS library has always been a welcoming, multi-purpose space and we hope to continue that tradition in the new building.

As the old building is being torn down, I have included here some photos of our old library to remind you of some of the activities that took place there.

At the end, you will see a glimpse or our new library with the old building in the back-ground.

Music department: Visitors from Africa

Teachers in Grade 9 Gifted program, 2010 Packing up, June 2010

In our new library, November Our new library, November 2010

Thursday, December 2, 2010 College Information Session #2 (How to Apply) January 3 – 7, 2011 Grade 8 Feeder School Visits Wednesday, January 12, 2011 University Application Deadline Thursday, January 13, 2011 Grade 8 Parents’ Night Tuesday, February 1, 2011 College Application Deadline Wednesday, February 2, 2011 Grade 9 Classroom Visits Thursday, February 3, 2011 Course Selection Assemblies

September and October are extremely busy months for the Guidance staff. Adjusting student timetables, performing credit checks for our potential 2011 graduates, and visiting our new grade 9 students in classes are just a few of the ac-tivities and events already completed for this new school year. Guidance staff has delivered the first workshops for preparing our grade 12 students for university and college applications. Our University Fair on October 18th, with all Ontario Universities represented, was a great success. We will be hosting a College Panel, with representatives from eight local colleges, on November 17th.

The following are important upcoming events: Wednesday, November 3, 2010 Grade 8 Take Your Kids to High School Day Grade 9 Take Your Kids to Work Day Wednesday, November 17, 2010 College Panel Discussion (8 local Colleges) Wednesday, November 17, 2010 and Thursday, No-vember 18, 2010 Grade 11 Destinations Assemblies Friday, November 19, 2010 Last day to drop a course (regarding Full Disclosure policy) Thursday, November 25, 2010 Parents’ Night (5 p.m. to 8 p.m.) Thursday, November 25, 2010 University Information Session #2 (How to Apply)

Guidance News

Y R D S B

MDHS Guidance

On November 24th, over 30 grade 11 and 12 students will write the University of Water-loo’s Canadian Open Math Challenge. This is a 2.5-hour contest that challenges the stu-dents in topics like algebra, ge-ometry, functions, trigonome-try, and counting principles

This past May all 27 of our students in our enriched Calculus class (Advanced Placement Calculus) wrote the three-hour AP Calculus exam whose content is university calculus mate-rial. Over the summer we received official notice of exem-plary results from this group of individuals. Specifically, 26 of the students achieved the top score possible and the other in-dividual obtained the second highest mark available! We are anticipating similar superb results from the 2010-2011 AP Calculus class which sees 25 students enrolled in this unique program.

Once again, Mr. Mitchell is running our after-school Math League. Thirty students will write six half-hour math contests throughout the school year. Their scores will be put up against the scores of students from vari-ous schools across the continent. Best of luck to the entire team!

Sign-ups for the February 24, 2011 Pascal (Grade 9), Cayley (Grade 10), and Fermat (Grade 11) will occur in December. Any student who would like to write this contest should keep an ear open for further information from their teacher in the very near future.

The MDHS Music Department has been so very busy this year. Here are a few highlights of what we’ve been up to:

Wind Symphony at Markham Fair This was the first performance of the season and everyone had excited nerves, hoping to play their very best! This has been a long standing tradition. Guest Composer/ Conductors - November 9th and 11th The Wind Symphony will also have the opportunity of working with Conductor/Composer Samuel Hazo on his piece Arabesque. Along with Slavonic Dances, Arabesque is also currently on the Symphony’s repertoire for performances in November The Wind Symphony will have a chance to work with Conductor/Composer Elliot Del Borgo on his piece Slavonic Dances. The Symphony is currently plugging away in hopes of a stellar performance! Markham Veteran’s Hall- November 6th As part of Remembrance Day, the Wind Symphony will be performing at the annual ceremony at Markham Veteran’s Hall Participation House Benefit Concert- November 12th The Wind Symphony will be playing for a great cause on the evening of Fri-day, November 12th. A few pieces from their repertoire include: Arabesque, Slavonic Dances, and English Folk Songs Suite. Rehears-a-thon- November 13th On the second Saturday in November, all the members of the Grade 10 Symphonic Band will participate in the annual Rehears-a-thon to raise money for The Canadian Mental Health Institution Chapters Gig It has been a long tradition for the MDHS' choirs and jazz bands to perform in an exciting gathering at the Chapters store located on Highway 7 and Warden; in the First Markham Plaza. So come out and join the members of Church Street Swing Machine, Monday Morning Blues Band, Opus One, Chamber Choir, Sis-

ters of Song, Third Stream, and several small ensembles in a fun filled eve-ning! Markham Theatre December Concerts – December 1st and 2nd Please join us for our annual Markham Theatre concerts on the first Wednesday and Thursday in December. These two spectacular evenings feature almost 500 student musicians performing in choirs, bands, jazz en-sembles and small, chamber groups. Tickets will be available soon – please contact the music department or Mr. Caswell directly at mark.caswell@yrdsb.edu.on.ca

News from the Special Education Department. The Special Education Department is excited to have moved into the new building. We have a fresh new space where we can con-tinue to offer high quality programs for the students at MDHS who are identified. Our resource room is up and running now and students with IEPs are free to come down and use our services, be it a quiet place to be, using a computer or just coming for some extra support. MDHS offers a wide range of programs for identified students. We have an Autism Class, ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) Class, Intensive Class, Language (LD) Learning Disabilities Classes, and Core Gifted programs. Individual Education Plan (IEP) time is upon us now. Please remember to sign your child's IEP and get it back to the school as soon as possible. Also if your child has a Special Equipment Amount (SEA) claim, please make sure you have signed the SEA forms for this year.

Communications Technology The new facility for CommTech is just about fully operational now, the computers are up and running, new photo lamps for digital photography are in place and the studio lighting for video has arrived. Grade 10: The students are involved in the creation of a One Page Flyer using the industry standard Photoshop as their introduc-tion to Graphic Visual Communication. Peer mentors are assisting students with the complexities of this project. Grade 11: Students have just completed a Stationery Package that included a business card, letterhead and business envelope graphics. These students have now moved forward to creating a Digital Story using Photostory and digital images from home. As we continue to get our feet under us, the students look ahead to creating Radio ads and stories for the Audio component and Inter-views as part of the Video segment of the program.

Construction Technology Our brand new facilities are just coming to completion. The grade 10 and 11 students have made forms and mixed concrete with great success and are in the process of building shed models. The grade 12 students have helped in assembling racking in the school and have begun the full scale mock up for their project as part of a residential house within the shop.

Cosmetology Our new Cosmetology facility is operational and a great success with our students. The intricacies of hair care and design are being practised on state of the art equipment led by our experienced Cosmetology teacher, Ms. Khalighi. Stop by for a consultation!

Electronics There is a lot of activity in the electronics programs. TEJ2O: Super Vehicle Challenge. The Grade 10’s have designed & are finishing their mini electric race cars. These cars will be racing along a 10 metre track this week and the winning team will have their names engraved on the coveted “SUPER VEHICLE CHALLENGE” trophy. TEL3M: BLAST Co. The Grade 11’s have been working on their DJ light show displays and will be presenting to their classmates next week. The electronic circuits filter out HIGH/MID/LOW signals from music and cause lights to flash on/off with the songs. VERY COOL! TEL4M: The Grade 12’s are building IC circuits that control the cycling of LED’s within their project display. The LED patterns

are uniquely designed and can resemble the famous KNIGHT RIDER light pattern. The other circuit operates as a game device that flashes LEDs and clicks a speaker similar to what is found on game shows such as Wheel of Fortune.

ROBOTICS CLUB: The Robotics Club is off to a great start and members have been building their first NXT robots. We are looking forward to some creative robot challenges this year. Meetings are typically the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month...listen for the announcements.

Grade 9 Exploring Technologies Students have been learning about technological drawing (manual and computerized) and general class safety. Shortly, they will be going into the wood shop to begin their first project – a wooden shelf.

Technological Design Students have completed a section on the introduction to AutoCAD and a summative assignment in which they complete a mechani-cal or architectural drawing. Students are now learning to draw products that incorporate plastic, metal and/or wood materials.

Transportation Technology Our new Transportation Technology teacher, Mr. Guttridge had to hit the ground running, organizing the Transportion facility . The students are hard at work jacking cars, pulling and balancing tires and getting some of the important theoretical concepts down. Mr. Guttridge is still looking for car donations from the Markham community to further enhance the learning of our students.