ClubsClub Spotlight:

Mosaic CLubPAGE 4

By Graydon Students, For Graydon Students.

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Header Design by Moaaz Waheed

Fall Issue: November 2015 graydonpost gmail.com @“The Graydon Post” on Facebook

Finding Volunteer Opportunities

Editorial

PAGE 5

Procrastination and School Clubs

Advice

PAGE 10

Trudeau’S Gender-Equal Cabinet

World

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School Diversity Deserving of Recognition

By Sinclaire Bruin Graydon students are renowned high achievers, and before the 2015-2016 school year started, some students were already celebrating the accomplishments of Gordon Graydon’s Gay-Straight Alli-ance (GSA). On August 19th of this year, Graydon’s GSA appeared as a shortlist final-ist of the 2015 Canadian Safe School Network/TD Award

for Excellence Against LG-BTQ Youth Bullying. The Ca-nadian Safe Schools Network (CSSN), presents the award in partnership with TD Bank to publicly funded elemen-tary or secondary schools across Canada. The winners and shortlisted schools dem-onstrate excellence in the de-velopment, creation, and pro-motion of school initiatives

to combat LGBTQ bullying. The CSSN is a non- profit or-ganization that aims to reduce youth violence in schools and communities across Canada by fostering a sense of shared responsibility over issues re-garding youth safety. Gordon Graydon’s GSA accomplishes this goal as one of the top five GSAs in the country. Continued on Pg 2.

Students Become Superheroes to Battle Hunger

A Graydon GSA Poster, refrencing the club’s award nomination.

WE Scare Hunger Posters encourage students to donate food.

By Nuwanthi Peirissingho

Nearly 850,000 people go hungry in Canada each year. Futher-more, there are nearly 59,000 annual visits to the food bank in Mississauga alone. The sad truth is that hunger is an issue wherever you go, even in the places you would least expect it. De-spite Canada being a well-developed country, there is at least one Canadian for every five who has to skip a meal simply because they cannot afford it. To counteract hunger, Graydon`s WE Club welcomed the WE Scare Hun-

ger campaign to Gordon Graydon. WE Scare Hunger is an initiative that donates non-perishable goods to food banks all around Canada to help tackle the hunger problem in local commu-nities. The campaign asks youth to “trick or treat” for non-perishables on Halloween night and donate them to a local food bank, instead of collecting candy.

Continued on Pg 3.

News

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Photos taken by Sinclaire Bruin, Safe Schools Network

School Diversity Deserving of RecognitionBy: Sinclaire Bruin

(Continued from Front Page)

In an interview for the Peel District School Board’s website Ms. Bellini, one of the club’s teach-er advisors, explains that “[Gor-don Graydon’s] approach with our GSA is to balance both in-school and in-community events so stu-dents develop a well-rounded un-derstanding and sense of advocacy for LGBTQ issues.” The Graydon Post also approached the two other teacher sponsors, Mr. Newhook and Ms. Stewart, and they shared why they believe Graydon’s GSA is so special. “It’s not a support group,” explained Mr. Newhook. “It’s more of a social issues group for every-body.”

Gradyon’s GSA focuses on the importance of equality, and members are not forced to disclose personal information to take part. When asked why they joined

such a club, each advisor gave similar answers. “What I like about [Graydon’s] GSA is that you don’t have to fall under the [LGBTQ] umbrella to be involved. Anybody is welcome,” Ms. Stewart told re-porters. Mr. Newhook took the time to elaborate on his personal connec-tions to the club, and how he has seen the effects of discrimination first-hand in his time as a counsel-or. He describes how just having a club like the GSA can really help students “feel safe within their own school.”

As a club, Graydon’s GSA is a force of change when it comes to raising awareness for LG-BTQ and related human rights issues. The club’s an-nual Coffee Haus event is a non-profit, performance- based social gathering, where several other schools and their GSAs are invited to Graydon to show their support for safe school en-vironments. The club also

attends LGBTQ rights conferences across the GTA, helps with the school’s annual Day of Pink, and discusses relevant human rights is-sues in their weekly club meetings. In addition to in-school ini-tiatives, Ms. Bellini and Mr. Ne-whook take their roles as advisors one step further by incorporating awareness programs into their cur-riculums for the courses they teach at various universities. They explain “[they] want to show students that there are safe places beyond grade twelve where they can be open and engaged.” However, even though awareness beyond high school is important, both the club members and teacher sponsors of Graydon’s GSA seem to agree that being a fia-nalist of the CSSN award is a step in the right direction in letting students know that Graydon is an inclusive, safe, and accepting place to be for all students.

Ms. Stewart, one of the teacher sponsors of Graydon’s GSA.

The CSSN ‘s Award Logo.

News

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Students Become Superheroes to Battle Hunger(Continued from Front Page)

Throughout the campaign, donation boxes were placed around the school to encourage students to donate in the hope of “scaring” hun-ger and providing food for those in need. With the accumulated amount of donations, Graydon students can proudly say they were active “su-perheroes” at battling the “villain” known as hunger. Graydon students put forth a lot of initiative and gen-erosity in this campaign, just like they did last year when they brought in 100 food items within the few days of the campaign`s run. In ad-dition to donating food items, this year Graydon students also went to SEVA Food Bank on November 8th and volunteered to help the local or-ganization sort all of their food items.

The Graydon WE Scare Hunger event was run by its team leaders, Darshini Goswami and Geethika Unnikrishnan. When asked how important they felt this campaign was, they both agreed that WE Scare Hunger takes the motto Free the Children stands for, “Me to We”, and puts it into action. The shift from a “Me” mindset to a “We” mindset can be clearly shown in this campaign as it lets youth understand that the issue of hunger is not just a third world problem.

“Look around us,” Darshini said. “Any one of us can be deal-ing with hunger right now, and for a child, just one donated box of pasta can [make] a difference. You can make that difference.” President of Graydon’s WE Club, Razan Samara,

posed this question when asked why she supports the WE Scare Hunger campaign: “If you were given the opportunity to change someone’s life, would you?” She followed her question by stating that, “the Me to WE campaign, WE Scare Hunger, does [change someone’s life]! Even if it may seem a little cliché, by get-ting involved in your community and donating non-perishables, it truly does make a difference. Think about it! That soup can you donated may have been the meal to help pre-pare a child for a long day at school, so that they can focus on their stud-ies and not their hunger.”

The WE Scare Hunger cam-paign just goes to show, sometimes the little things can go a long way.

SHSM Opening New Doors For Students On November 4th, students in Graydon’s Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) programs, Non-Profit and Hospitality and Tourism, went on an excursion to Cedar Glen Outdoor Centre lead by Mr. Ne-whook and Mr. Volpe. Surrounded by the striking fall countryside, the group participated in a number of workshops centred on conflict reso-lution and received certification in the field. The trip followed another SHSM workshop, held just weeks prior, in which participants received CPR training.

While the ideal weather and welcome break from school cer-tainly qualified the trip as a success, so did the number of students who took part. As recently as the 2014-2015 school year, SHSM work-shops usually drew only a handful of students. However this year, both the trip to Cedar Glen and the CPR training drew more than thirty stu-dents each. The SHSM programs are rapidly gaining momentum at Gordon Graydon, and this is espe-cially evident in the success of the recent SHSM workshops.

Moreover, the SHSM pro-gram at Graydon boasts the success of Skylight Cafe, which staffs Hos-pitality and Tourism students. The Skylight draws a steady stream of customers every time it opens and is a staple of the Graydon experience. If the positive turnouts to SHSM workshops and ventures are any in-dication, SHSM programs will con-tinue to grow in the future.

By Nuwanthi Peirissingho

By Mahnoor Hamid

Clubs

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Club Spotlight: Mosiac Club

Why do families attend church services or exchange gifts on Christmas Day? What is the sig-nificance of the shofar on Rosh Ha-shanah? Why are spring couplets on red paper with black ink placed on door frames on Chinese New Year? Why do people celebrate what they do and what is the importance of observing certain traditions?

Living in Canada, one is ex-posed to a multicultural community and has the privilege of witnessing many diverse ethnic celebrations. It is essential for Canadians to under-stand the significance of what the majority of the country celebrates as well as the traditions observed by other individuals in the general community. Graydon’s Mosaic Club has a mission to engage, edu-cate, and inspire Graydon students to participate in cultural challenges and learn about the world they live in. All activities organized by the

Mosaic Club have a goal to unite people of different views, beliefs, and cultures to represent the diver-sity of the Graydon community, and help in their awareness of different global cultures, religions, and soci-eties.

When asked about her ex-perience in the club, Jazz Fung, an Executive of Mosaic replied, “I en-joy how Mosaic Club allows me the opportunity to experience and gain insight into cultures outside of what I am normally accustomed to. I also like that we get to organize events that celebrate and honour the rich mix of cultural heritages [within] our school. When I first joined Mo-saic Club, I assumed that the club was [just] about diversity. After a year of being in the Mosaic Club, I am more aware of the importance of the different aspects of diversity, and the major role that cultural di-versity plays in people’s lives. [Be-

ing] exposed to diverse cultures broadens your understanding of the social, racial, and ethnic differences that exist.”

The members of the Mosaic Club hope to educate students about such diverse cultures by decorating, planning and organizing for cultural events, creating posters, and filming cultural videos for the school. In the upcoming weeks, Mosaic hopes to plan for this winter’s Christmas Day celebration.

Hey Graydon Post read-ers; Mosaic Club wants your ideas! What would you like to do for this year’s Christmas Day celebration? Email us at graydonmosaic@gmail.com, or let us know by filling out our survey at https://www.survey-monkey.com/r/6PRCGBC

The link can also be found on the Graydon Post Facebook Page.

Photo provided by Graydon Mosiac Club

The Mosiac Club’s inclusive nature is shown in its logo.By Beth Kannath and Hani Abdul Aziz

Editorial

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By Rushi Gajaria Participating in volunteer activities is a great way to get in-volved in your community, learn new skills, connect with others, and get your mind off of your school work. From personal experience, I have come up with five tips I think will help you find more volunteer opportunities:

Student Services Can Help. Graydon’s school admin-istration spends lots of time look-ing for and sharing ways to get in-volved in the community. You can visit the guidance office for some potential opportunities, or check out the volunteer board in the guidance hall. Volunteer opportunities are oc-casionally shared on the school an-nouncements as well.

Use Social Media. Social media is another great way to seek out opportunities. Be sure to use Facebook and Twitter to like or follow groups or organiza-tions to stay updated on the oppor-tunities they are offering. On Facebook, there are plenty of-groups you can join that exclusively share volunteering events. On Twit-ter, you can follow “@VolunPeel” or “@VolunteerMBC” to learn more about how to get involved.

Network. Believe it or not, you’ve already started building your own personal network of connections.

Right now, it’s most likely com-prised of your peers and family members. Reaching out to people you know is another great way to stay up to date and seek opportuni-ties. As you spend more time vol-unteering, you’ll meet more people and build your network. As your network grows stronger, you’ll have access to even more opportunities.

Attend Volunteer/Opportunity Fairs. These events are designed with the sole purpose of helping you find ways to get involved. At-tend these events, and you’re bound to find an opportunity that aligns with an area you are interested in. Furthermore, you may want to visit a Mississauga’s Youth Advisory Committee (MYAC) or Peel Stu-dent Presidents’ Council (PSPC) meeting, where you’ll be able to access new resources and also have the chance to connect with some amazing youth from across the re-gion.

Just Ask. The easiest way to get in-volved is simply sending an email or phoning a local organization to see how you can help them out. It may feel a bit intimidating, but most organizations are happy to find students interested in volun-teering with them, and will be glad to receive any additional help.

Aside from the satisfaction you gain from knowing you helped someone, there are also many other perks to volunteering. You may get free samples or items and if you’re volunteering at a paid event, you can often get free admission.

Getting involved is a lot eas-ier than it seems. The skills and con-nections you build will have lasting impacts on your life. Remember, in the wise words of Wayne Gretzky, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Time to get started!

Photo taken by Sinclaire Bruin

Get Involved With Volunteering!

Graydon`s volunteer board can be found near Four Corners and is updated regularly.

Editorial

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As technology has expanded and grown over the past decades, so has its uses; most im-portantly, its use in the classroom. The Peel District School Board implemented the “Bring Your Own Device” system in 2012, with Wi-Fi networks being available since 2010.

There are, of course, pros and cons to the system used in schools throughout the Peel region. Starting with the pros – all the limit-less potential BYOD has brought to schools. With such a large number of devices able to be used with the system, including laptops, tablets, and smartphones, the entire world

of information is right at the students’ fingertips. No longer will students have to fully rely on physical books to look up information, or find the definition of a word – type it into a device and it will appear right away. For ESL or learn-ing challenged students, the ability to use devices in the classroom can re-

ally help. With so many translation tools and learning apps available,

what may have been a challenge before can become easier with the advent of advanced technology in the classroom.

Though there are many positives, there are some negative points to the BYOD program. Stu-dents may take their teachers for granted or believe that all answers can be found online, now that they have a device connected to the inter-net. Additionally, the ease of access students now have to their phones and devices means they might be playing a game of Clash of Clans under their desk instead of listening to teachers; the great potential of the devices is limited by what the stu-dents will use them for. Additional-ly, there is the ever-pressing issue of money – technology is often expen-sive and many families have limited funds.

Ultimately, however, BYOD has more benefits than it has down-sides, in that it has so much po-tential. With the world of technol-ogy ever expanding and the BYOD program being so new, there is still time for students and teachers to discover how to use the technology around them to benefit their educa-tion and further their learning of the world around them. There are still ways for the system to improve; it’s only just begun.

Photo taken by Sinclaire Bruin

BYOD: Benificial or Negative to Students?

A Graydon student uses their device to study and work on homework.

By Amy Xu

The BYOD logo on the web page for school Wi-Fi login.

Opinion

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By Vaishnavi Kotha

What do you want to be when you grow up? Where is your life headed? What is your future go-ing to look like?

As a high school student, these are common questions I have heard since the start of my freshman year. Even now, as a senior, I feel the same stress when I try to answer such questions. Everyone has stress; it is a part of human nature. In fact, evidence suggests that stress is pres-ent even before we are born. As such, humans encounter stress at all ages, though it can be an even more unnerving experience for the aver-age teenager. We are considered the ‘middle-class,’ or ‘in-betweens,’ of the age hierarchy; too old to be chil-dren yet still too young to be adults. It is because of this label that the idea of decision-making can prove to be a Herculean task, even more so because the need to

progress and move forward in life is a natural human instinct. We are constantly searching for something more, something better than what we already have. Thus, teenagers begin a massive game of chess, constantly making sacrifices in ex-change for small victories, playing against the future; the ultimate op-ponent. In this manner, we spend our last, irreplaceable years of true childhood planning effective battle strategies to conquer our obstacles only to tackle new ones.

However, the quest for prog-ress is by no means a new one. From the dawn of the Industrial Revolu-tion to the fast-paced, globally con-nected society of today, progress has skyrocketed. In the words of British architect and writer, Stephen Gardiner, “the Industrial Revolution was another of those extraordinary jumps forward in the story of civili-zation.” This monumental milestone of progress shaped North American culture (characterized by rapid technological devel-opments, economic growth, and a consumerist soci-ety) and can help illustrate why teenagers, specifically, feel so much stress regard-ing their plans for personal progress.

While it is impor-tant to recognize the advan-tageous nature of the Indus-trial Revolution, it is fair to assert that it has also had its

share of disadvantages. Technology has made humans lazier than ever. The need to rely on a car in order to travel to a local store or constantly be in front of a computer screen has become the new norm, and the ef-fects are apparent in multiple cases. For example, according to a study conducted by Max Roser, the aver-age life expectancy in the United States has increased by 25 years – from the age of 54, approximately 100 years ago, to 75 years now – but quality of life overall has decreased. Obesity rates have skyrocketed as physical activity has diminished, and this growth has been the number one trigger of an increase in cancer rates. The Joslin Diabetes Center re-ports that now more than ever, chil-dren under the age of 15 are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and mineral deficiencies. It seems fitting then that increased levels of stress accompany this decline in health.

Photos taken by Sinclaire Bruin

It’s Time to Stop and Smell the Roses

Vaishnavi Kotha

A Graydon student uses her personal device.

Opinion

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It is also worth taking no-tice that humans have become so engrossed in this technological age that one-on-one social interaction and communication is no longer prevalent in society. Rather, social media has succeeded in taking the place of face-to-face conversation by feigning a means of achieving a sense of community in a more ‘ef-ficient’ way through instantaneous responses. It is common to see people isolate themselves in front of computer screens just to become submerged in a world that offers the luxuries of instant messaging and global connectivity. Living in an age where communication is mostly done online to such an extent, where we send virtual cake emoticons in order to wish a loved one ‘Happy Birthday’, depicts just how isolated we have become. French aviator and writer, Antoine De Saint-Exupery, expresses this effectively when he explains that “the machine does not isolate man from the great problems

of nature but plunges him more deeply into them.” Perhaps this is why stress rates have increased so much; we have become so en-grossed in living our own lives in-dependently that we have forgotten how much a sense of community can help us make choices.

Nevertheless, both the In-dustrial Revolution and the techno-logical age can teach us a lot about progress. For one, progression in any field is always an achievement, despite any cons that may accom-pany the pros. It is not the purpose of this article to suggest that society should revert back to the Stone Age. It seems irrational, and ultimately disadvantageous, to want to go back and undo thousands of years of hu-man achievements and discard ev-erything we have built even if it may help reduce the toll of stress on our health. However, we can always take small steps in our own daily lives to release some of the stress

that accompanies the constant desire to advance forward. Sometimes, it is okay to halt the wheels of prog-ress in order to cherish the present. In the words of Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing, “we live in a moment of history where change is so sped up that we begin to see the present only when it is already disappearing.”

Maybe the current definition of progress needs to be refurbished. The constant yearning to achieve, progress, and succeed will always be an innate human desire; however by taking the time to concentrate on the present moment, the mind can become more in sync with the world around it. One can ‘de-stress’ by taking a break from their daily life and perhaps come back to their regular tasks with a fresh new per-spective. From there, one can once again proceed on the path to accom-plishing their goals.

Photo taken by Sinclaire Bruin

Graydon students using their phones together.

World

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Photos provided by The Globe and Mail

Trudeau’s Representative Cabinet

By Mahnoor Hamid

Following a majority win in the October 19th federal elections, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau was sworn in as Canada’s 23rd Prime Minister on November 4th. As one of his first acts as Prime Minister, Trudeau unveiled a gender-equal cabinet featuring 15 women and 15 men who were sworn in on the same day. When asked why he chose a gender-equal cabinet, the Prime Minister simply replied: “Because it’s 2015.”

The change is notably different from former-Prime Minister Ste-phen Harper’s 2011 cabinet, which was comprised of 30% female min-isters. The decision also marks the first gender-equal cabinet in Can-ada and places our country among only five nations worldwide to have achieved gender equality at the fed

eral level, including countries such as Finland, in which 63% of min-isters are women, and Sweden, in which approximately 53% of min-isters are women.

As published in the Globe and Mail, there are benefits to having more women in office, according to

Nancy Peckford, a representative of an organization that advocates for a program called Equal Voice. These benefits include more trans-parency and accountability, as well as more recognition for issues that impact women.

Indeed, there is hope that specif-ic issues, such as the number of missing and murdered indigenous women, will be addressed appro-priately with women like Jody Wil-son-Raybould, the first Aboriginal woman to become the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and Carolyn Bennett, the Minister Indigenous and Northern Affairs, holding positions in the federal cabinet. However, overall, Canada can be proud that it will be a world leader in demonstrating that gender-unequal cabinets are a relic of the past.

Justin Trudeau and his new cabinet.

A graph that compares Canada’s 2011 cabinet to the new, 2015 equivalent.

Advice

Paper Layout and Gordon Design by Sinclaire BruinAditional Page Designers : Aayush More, Eisha Rehan, Maheen Syed, and Madeeha MazharEditors: Aayush More, Madeeha Mazhar, and Sobia Mahmood 10

Help! Lately I’ve been find-ing myself procrastinating on getting my work done! What should I do?

I can definitely relate to you! I found a few helpful tips that can help reduce procrastina-tion. The first thing you might want to do is figure out what is causing you to procrastinate. Could it be poor time manage-ment, or is it distractions like your cell phone or the internet? Once you have found the source, you can try to fix the problem.

A good practice is to make a to-do list everyday to keep track of what needs to be done. When you’re working, try to eliminate possible distractions; study in a clean and quiet environment, and consider using blocking apps on your phone and/or laptop to pre-vent yourself from getting dis-tracted by social media.

You may also want to get into the habit of studying regu-larly and setting reasonable time limits for each task. Rewarding yourself after completing an as-signment can help to give you motivation you need to continue working. Remember, it’s also im-portant to take short breaks in be-tween each assignment!

Hi! I’m having trouble find-ing the right club for me. Any advice?

Choosing clubs can be a hard decision, but it really comes down to what interests you the most. Here at Gordon Graydon, there are many choices to choose from!

Do you enjoy being ac-tive and athletic? Join a sports club like the Student Athletic As-sociation or participate in sports intramurals! Do you enjoy per-forming or dancing? Join a club like the Graydon Dance Club or Theatre Graydon! Listening to the announcements and checking the club bulletin board is the best way to get all the updates on club meetings or events.

You can also check out the Graydon Post’s “Club Spotlight” section to find less well known clubs that might interest you. Or, if there aren’t any clubs that fo-cus on your interest, you can talk to members of the Student Activ-ity Council about how you can start your own club.

Procastination and School Clubs

Hey Graydon! My name is Gordon, and I’m the giver of ad-vice around here at the Graydon Post. Make sure to check out what I have to say!