Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School La PIROUETTE - YRDSB Marc… · Undeterred by last week’s ......
Transcript of Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School La PIROUETTE - YRDSB Marc… · Undeterred by last week’s ......
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Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School
PIROUETTE Inside the March 2016 Issue
La
Undeterred by last week’s snow day, the Health and Physical Edu-
cation classes’ trip to Georgina Outdoor Recreation Centre was a
go (and a BLAST!) on Friday, March 4!
We are the Future 1
From the Administration’s Desk 2
Department News 3-12
PETHS is… Athletics 14-15
Mental Health & Well-Being 16
“It is our future in which we will find our greatness” - Pierre Elliott Trudeau
This edition of La Pirouette is proudly presented to you by editor John Shep, Assistant Head of Special Education, and assisted by Sandra Fusco, English teacher.
“DUCK!” was the theme of Wednesday, March 9’s dodgeball tournament presented by ESP (Empowered Student Partnership), in
collaboration with the York Region Police and club teacher advisors, Stephanie Veneruz and Reena Bhagani.
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From the Administration’s Desk
Even though the winter of 2015 did not seem to be
very Canadian, we are happy that warmer days are
finally upon us and soon we will see the signs of
spring. While we have already begun planning for the
2016-2017 school year, it is nice to see a newsletter full
of the incredible learning opportunities and experienc-
es that are provided to our school community. While
it is impossible to highlight them all, we are most
proud of the ways that our school community has
embraced the work of our Trudeau values: developing
our critical thinking skills, providing opportunities to
explore the post-secondary pathways and committing
to personal well-being.
This year our students, staff and parent community
have continued to embrace these three priorities and
listed below are only a few of the achievements of our
work together:
Our Trudeau Terrace (BUILD) continues to take
shape – we have installed 10 picnic benches and,
thanks to a grant from the Markham Environmen-
tal Sustainability Fund, an additional outdoor space
will be added this spring
We had record number of participants in many of
the academic contests that take place in the winter
– more than 100 students participated in the Uni-
versity of Waterloo Math contests and our Busi-
ness and Health Sciences students participated in
DECA and HOSA, with many students advancing
to international competition
Our athletes were well represented in the YRAA
competitions – of the many teams that trained this
year, our Senior Boys Basketball team won several
GTA tournaments and both our Senior Boys Vol-
leyball and Swim Teams competed in Ontario
championships
This year’s 1st Pathways and Careers Night was a
huge success and we welcomed 30 parents and
alumni to share their career knowledge with more
than 350 students and parents
Our Student Leaders have excelled: Our CREATE
conference has implemented initiatives for well-
being, Trusivity is leading the dialogue about equi-
ty and inclusion and our Student Council initiatives
such as #MyTrudeauStory or the upcoming semi-
formal provide opportunities to enjoy school life
outside the classroom
This small snapshot of a few highlights represents was
a fraction of the learning that is achieved here every
day. Students and teachers spend hundreds of hours
aiming to learn with and from each other.
We are also very proud that our School Council has
continued to provide opportunities to share infor-
mation and discuss topics that are of interest to our
parents, guardians, family and community members.
We hope that you will join us at one of our upcoming
Parents Reaching Out grant sessions on March 31 or
April 28 where we will have case studies and guest
speakers that focus on parenting tips and raising
healthy and successful teens.
Please follow us on twitter @trudeauhs or going to
http://goo.gl/KZsZ0w to keep up to date with all
our news and announcements. In addition, please do
not hesitate to e-mail any one of us if you have ques-
tions or feedback. Thank you all for the role you play
in helping to make our school a great place to learn
and work.
Trudeau’s SCHOOL COUNCIL Update
The School Council is committed to supporting quality learning in a safe environment through a partnership
with staff, students, parents and the community to provide the highest standard of education. All parents/
guardians are welcome.
“From Student Success to Lifelong Achievement” PRO Grant Student Case Study Discussion: March 31
Next meeting date: April 28 @ 7PM (PRO Grant Guest Speaker: Dr. Susan Chuang from the University of
Guelph)
For further info, please contact: Julie Lum, School Council Chair or e-mail
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Department News
Mathematics Karen Jagoe, Teacher
The Mathematics Department
wishes to congratulate Yuanxian
Wang, Jason Yuen, Vivian He, and
William Wen on their results in the
2015 Sun Life Financial Canadian
Open Mathematics Challenge, the
Math@Mac Online Mathematics
Competition and the American
Mathematics Competition. Vivian,
Yuanxian and Jason have been
invited to the second round of the
2016 Sun Life Financial CMO
Qualifying Repêchage Competi-
tion. As well, William, Jason and
Yuanxian have been invited to the
American Invitational Mathematics
Examination. Bonne Chance!!
The Euclid Mathematics contest is
on Tuesday, April 12, 2016. Stu-
dents interested in writing the con-
test are to sign up with their Grade
12 Mathematics teacher or Mr.
Pournasrola. The deadline is Fri-
day, March 11.
Once again, the Ministry of Educa-
tion has provided special funding
for after school Mathematics pro-
grams for Grades 9 and 10 stu-
dents not meeting the provincial
standard. Forms are being distrib-
uted by Grade 9 and 10 teachers.
The Grade 9 After School Numer-
acy Program commences March 21
through April 20; classes are Mon-
days and Wednesdays. The Grade
10 After School Numeracy Pro-
gram commences March 21
through April 20; classes are Mon-
days and Tuesdays. Students are
asked to return signed forms to
their teacher before March Break –
Friday, March 11.
English Kristy Webster, Assistant Subject Head
We are incredibly pleased that
there are four sections of students
participating in the after-school
literacy classes at Trudeau. These
classes run for students in prepa-
ration for the OSSLT which is
being written on March 31. We
commend the efforts of these
students for putting in the extra
time and energy to prepare for the
test. We truly appreciate the sup-
port of the parent community in
making this endeavor such a suc-
cess. Best wishes to everyone
writing the test!
Unfortunately, due to lack of en-
rollment, the after-school Grade 9
session did not run first semester.
However, any parents who are
interested in having their son/
daughter receive any additional
support in developing the skills
crucial for the Grade 9 English
program are welcome to join this
semester’s after-school course.
When students return from March
Break, this extra support class for
Grade 9 students will run on
Mondays and Wednesdays after
school. Students can pick up
forms from the English office or
from their English teacher. The
English department looks forward
to supporting our Grade 9s!
Parents always ask us, “how can I
help my child perform better in
English?” Our answer is to en-
courage students to “read” and
then “read some more.” The fol-
lowing infographic stresses the
importance of reading and how it
can help and enrich their lives:
Keep up to date:
Don’t forget to check us out on
Twitter @trudeaumusic
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Department News
Business Emily Marotta-Kulcsar, Subject Head
Trudeau Business is off to a fantas-
tic, Semester 2 start! Our entire
Department welcomes back Mme.
Nethersole, who has re-joined us
to teach BTT1OF. We also said
farewell to Mme. Stevenson and M.
Jackson, and thanked them for all
of their hard work and dedication.
In January and February, our De-
partment also welcomed the Char-
tered Professional Accountants
Association (CPA of Ontario) who
presented information about their
institute and program of study. All
Grade 11 Accounting classes took
part in this informative and lively
set of presentations. A plaque was
awarded to our school on behalf of
the 6th place CPA provincial
placement of Raymond Si. This
is truly an outstanding achieve-
ment! We look forward to fu-
ture partnerships with CPA.
Last fall, our Business Leader-
ship students, along with the
Computer Science Department,
went to see a screening of the
movie The Intern. This field trip
was a huge success! Students
saw first-hand how the Business
themes of diversity, gender
roles, and collaboration exist in
Management.
Once again, our Introduction to
Business classes (BBI2O1) went to
the Cadbury plant in November.
They directly saw how production
processes are at the heart of busi-
ness. Thanks to Mr. Gandhi, Ms.
Ayliffe, Mr. Shields, Mr. Jackson,
and Mr. Kostandoff for your ef-
forts in making this trip a memora-
ble one.
Later this spring, our department
will, once again, host many provin-
cially-run contests that are spon-
sored by The Ontario Business
Educators’ Associa t ion or
O.B.E.A. These are annual events
that are held on the same day
throughout Ontario. As always, we
are anticipating great results from
Trudeau Business students!
In brief, there has been much
“Business” happening at Trudeau,
and we look forward to continue
fostering student success and ex-
cellence!
DECA Amul Gandhi, Teacher Advisor
2015-2016 was an amazing year for
DECA@Trudeau! The year start-
ed with over 200 students writing
the entrance test to join this year’s
chapter. After elimination, we had
130 students representing Trudeau.
This year, we had the privilege of
hosting the Regional Competition
on November 7, 2015. With over
1800 students competing from
throughout the Board, DE-
CA@Trudeau did not disappoint
with over 40 awards presented to
our students.
90 of the students qualified to
compete at the Provincial Compe-
tition over two days in February in
downtown Toronto. With over
8,000 students coming from across
Ontario, the competition was
fierce. Through hard work and
determination, 14 of our students
will represent Team Ontario at the
International Career Development
Conference (ICDC) this April in
Nashville, Tennessee.
We wish the following students
great success at ICDC: Tristen
Huang, Ethan Thompson, Alex
Lee, Grace Shan, Justin Oue,
Christy Lee, Abilash Sathyakumar,
Ellie Li, Sherry Sun, Flora Zhang,
Catherine Tang, Yiran Zhang, An-
tonia Racz and Stephen Choi.
Lastly, we would like to thank Ms.
Daleman, Ms. McKague, Ms. Mac-
Donald, Mr. Lee and Mr. Rajah
who took time out of their busy
schedules to help support the DE-
CA@Trudeau chapter this year.
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Transforma Dan Giang, Teacher Advisor
We are proud to announce that
Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School
now has a partner school in Brazil!
We have been matched with C.E.
Dom Antonio Almeida Moraes
Junior, a state school located in São
Gonçalo, a municipality in the
Greater Rio de Janeiro area with
approximately 600 students in
Grades 6-12.
Transforma is the educational
component of the Rio 2016 Olym-
pic Games. It aims to connect
schools in Brazil with schools from
participating Olympic countries
from around the world. As the
only school in Canada participat-
ing, our students are proudly repre-
senting the entire country.
The first stage of Transforma is
already complete with students
sending a cultural box filled with
i tems represent ing Canada
(pictured below). Members of the
Transforma Committee, including
Justin Hai, Kristen Price, Gary
Wang, and Evan Wong, worked
until late hours to prepare the box.
This box is currently being shipped
to our partner school and we
should expect a return package in
April.
Future events include a video ex-
change as well as a cultural fair to
be held in June.
History Kajal Joshi, Teacher
This year, our Grade 10
History students had
the exciting opportunity
to participate in the
“How We Remember”
contest offered by His-
torica Canada. The
contest challenged stu-
dents to create either a
piece of writing or art-
work around the theme
of remembrance for
World War One.
We are extremely happy and
proud to announce that
Grade 10 History student
Simon Lee (pictured above)
won first place in the Senior
Writing Division. Simon
wrote a screenplay about the
Halifax Explosion. All of the
entries submitted to the con-
test were reviewed by a jury
who viewed hundreds of sub-
missions from all across Can-
ada. As first place winner,
Simon received an iPad. We
would like to congratulate
Simon on this remarkable
achievement; we are all very proud
of you!
Simon’s screenplay can be viewed
online at http://canada1914-
1945.ca/
We would also like to congratulate
Nemica Raneethran, a Semester 1
Civics student in the History de-
partment. She was one of 107 stu-
dents selected from across Ontario
to participate in a three-day Model
Parliament Program
in Toronto. While
there, she met key
figures in Ontario’s
parliament including
Kathleen Wynne, and
learned about the
legislative process
through workshops
and presentations.
She did a great job
representing our
school!
Upcoming Events:
Our History students
are really looking for-
ward to a number of
field trips taking place this spring.
Our Grade 10 History students will
be visiting Camp Borden again this
year where they will have the op-
portunity to view a large collection
of weapons, soldier uniforms,
tanks, military equipment, and mili-
tary aircraft. Our Grade 11 World
History students will also be going
to the ROM to view the Rome and
Greece exhibits. Last, but not
least, our Grade 11 and 12 Law
students will be visiting the courts
again this year where they will be
able to speak to a judge and view
current, ongoing trials.
Department News
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Department News
Music Tiffany Wong & Ronald Cheung, Students
It has been a hectic, yet fulfilling
and successful time for the Music
Department as we slowly approach
the end of the school year at Pierre
Elliott Trudeau High School. Alt-
hough semester two only just start-
ed, our students have accom-
plished so much from attending
extended rehearsals to playing in
multiple music festivals across the
GTA.
Throughout these past few
months, students and teachers
have worked tirelessly to perfect
their competition and festival piec-
es. Of course, the ensembles’ hard
work did not go unnoticed. Our
students went to these festivals
with their heads held high and an
overwhelming confidence that
matched no other schools. At mu-
sic festivals such as OBA, OVF,
Kiwanis, GTI, and YCB, we re-
ceived many outstanding recogni-
tions from world-class adjudicators
who were blown away with every-
one’s performances. Their rank-
ings at these festivals are evidence
of the students’ hard-work, dedica-
tion, and passion for music.
Some highlights of the rankings
include: the Grade 10 symphonic
band, Grade 9 concert band, junior
strings, Grade 12 wind symphony
receiving a platinum rating; the
intermediate strings, Trudeau
chamber choir, Grade 9 concert
winds, Grade 11 wind symphony,
and Grade 10 symphonic wind
receiving a gold rating! Although
such recognitions are amazing, the
importance of attending these fes-
tivals and competitions is to allow
students to have the opportunity to
make music and connect with oth-
ers through their mutual love of
the art. Bravo to all students,
teachers, chaperones, and admin
for these amazing accomplish-
ments!
As we continue to journey through
the second semester of the school
year, we will approach our annual
Spring Harmonies Concert at the
FLATO Markham Theatre. Our
spring concert is a two-night con-
cert that showcases all the ensem-
bles’ musical abilities throughout
the school year. This concert is a
reflection of the students’ improve-
ments and skills that they have
garnered during the semester. The
Spring Harmonies Concert is an
amazing opportunity for parents,
guardians, and friends to attend
because our performances will
highlight an array of genres from
strings, to jazz, to vocals. It will
definitely be a jam-packed night
full of amazing music that you will
never forget. Our students have
worked very hard preparing for
this concert and support from their
friends and family will definitely
encourage them to continue to
pursue music and find joy when
playing their instruments.
In addition, a new initiative that
the Music Council will try to hold
is a bake sale. The objective of the
bake sale is to raise money to fur-
ther improve the resources that we
have in our department. With the
money raised, we will aim to buy
more iMacs for
our computer
lab to allow all
students to
have a chance
to use our re-
sources, to
benefit their
learning and
understanding
of music theo-
ry and to ad-
vance our stu-
dent’s learning
and devotion
to music.
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Course Selection Sabrina Cao, Student
A topic that constantly lingers in a
student’s mind, especially as gradu-
ation creeps around the corner, is
post-secondary education. At the
mere age of sixteen, Trudeau stu-
dents have taken, or will be taking,
their first steps into planning their
career path for the future. With
the pressure of making decisions
that will ultimately decide their life,
students often find this a frustrat-
ing process.
As a Grade 11 student, I am very
much caught up between the wave
of anxiety and excitement of life
after high school. Having recently
submitted my course selection
form, it was a shock to realize that
this is going to be the last time I
will be choosing my courses in
high school. The amount of free-
dom Trudeau provides for course
selection is amazing; students have
the choice from taking Food and
Nutrition classes to learn the art of
culinary, to learning Newton’s Law
in Physics. However, having this
enormous spectrum of courses
introduces another obstacle:
choosing those that fit a student’s
pathway. Many Trudeau students
get caught up in the process of
selecting appropriate courses that
will meet the pre-requisites for post
-secondary programs, and help
lighten their course load. As a re-
sult, the choices students make
today will impact their future pas-
sion for certain fields.
As we move past course selection,
we encounter many more decisions
heading our way, such as should I
apply for college or university?
Which program is fit for me?
What are my alternatives? With
decisions thrown at us at every
turn, the support of and encour-
agement of parents and teachers
are especially important. Now, I
do not mean the constant ques-
tioning of “what do you want to do
in the future?”, but instead guid-
ance and counselling as to how we
should proceed down this path.
After all, deciding for the future is
a big thing.
Co-operative Ed Fanny Leung, Teacher
Co-operative Education students
have started their work placements
this semester. The variety of path-
ways and careers that students are
experiencing include law, television
media, culinary arts, graphic design,
artistic game design, education, vet
and pet care, medicine, human
resources, chemical testing, ac-
counting and pharmaceutical stud-
ies (pictured here is Bunny Lee, Co
-op stu-
dent) .
We
would
like to
wel-
come
and
thank
our new
commu-
nity
partners for this semester: Clip-
wires Game Design, Fisher Envi-
ronmental Ltd. (chemical testing),
Buttonville Day Care, Holman
Exhibits, Dr. Jonathan Tai’s Dental
Clinic, Dog Village Grooming and
Daycare Center, Svirk Branislav
and Paradise Homes, Children’s
Place, Phase One Audio Group,
The Treadmill Factory and Dr.
C.K. Yeung Walk-In and Family
Clinic. We look forward to a se-
mester of fulfilling experiential
learning with all our existing and
new community partners. For
more information about co-op,
please visit http://goo.gl/
XzlsBY.
Department News
From the Guidance Office: Course verification was handed out this past Tuesday and is due back on Friday, March 11. This is
an opportunity for students to make changes to the courses they have selected for next year.
Grade 10 and 11 students attended assemblies where Ms. Linkewich explained how their course
selections actually determine the courses that run next year. The myths and facts of making
changes to timetables were discussed. Please see: http://bit.ly/1QtRm81 for the presentation
students saw.
Graduating students will begin applying for Grad Awards in early May. Students will see Tweets on
the Guidance Twitter account (@PETHSGuidance) and hear announcements about applying to
these Grad Awards.
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Student
Services Amrita Mulchand & Martin
Gorman, Teachers
Thanks to a $1,000
through Metro Green
Apple Grant and a gen-
erous donation of over
800 cans of soup from
local business, Key-
stone Studios, for Se-
mester two we have
expanded PLENTY - Trudeau’s
Breakfast Program. We are very
pleased that as a result our Com-
munity Classes from Rooms 104 &
105 will be further included in this
initiative.
This allows our students to gain
important life skills in the kitchen
as well as being the catalyst for
improved social skills as they greet
the students coming to the PLEN-
TY counter. We are looking for-
ward to the next few months of
this year and into next year as we
expand the menu of items being
offered by PLENTY and the role
our students will play in their prep-
aration. We would also like to
thank the mainstream students
who take the time to engage with
our students at PLENTY and we
encourage others to take the time
to do so.
With the help of these students
and the amazing staff members, we
have been serving over 100 stu-
dents daily, helping support their
academic success and well-being.
If you would like to know how you
can support our Breakfast Pro-
gram, please contact John Shep at
Tech Studies Tara Antle, Subject Head
After a very busy and successful
first semester, we were excited to
welcome our semester two stu-
dents into our new classroom and
workshop spaces in Tech Studies.
As always, there is a lot going on in
all of our classes. From Computer
Engineering and Communications
Technology, to the projects being
designed and constructed by our
Tech Design students, it is no
wonder why time seems to be fly-
ing by so quickly.
Our newest classes, Hairstyling and
Aesthetics, have been very interest-
ing and exciting for students. On
March 8, stu-
dents were
busy with the
ManiCURE for
Cancer fund-
raiser, provid-
ing manicures,
hand and arm
massages, tem-
porary tattoos
and nail de-
signs, with all
money raised
going to the Canadian Cancer Soci-
ety. We are so proud of our stu-
dents for sharing their skills and
getting involved in this cause. Al-
so, we would like to congratulate
Bethany Mark from Ms. Meleca’s
class who entered the York Region
Skills Competition in Hair Styling
(pictured below). Bethany compet-
ed on March 3 at Seneca College,
winning a 2nd place medal for her
styling creations. Congratulations,
Bethany!
As always, we are looking forward
to learning with all of our students
and sharing their many successes
throughout the remainder of the
semester.
Department News
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Department News
Computers Lori Young, Department Head
During the week of December 7-13,
all of our Grade 9 students had the
opportunity to participate in the
Hour of Code which is a global
movement reaching tens of millions
of students in 180+ countries. We
believe that every student should
have the opportunity to learn com-
puter science. It helps nurture prob-
lem-solving skills, logic and creativity.
By starting early, students will have a
f o u n d a -
tion for
success in
any 21st
c e n t u r y
c a r e e r
path.
In Janu-
ary, six of
our Grade 10 students presented the
Hour of Code to some of our ele-
mentary partner schools (pictured on
right).
On February 17, 32 students from all
grades wrote the three hour Canadian
Computing Competition program-
ming contest from the University of
Waterloo, with one of our students,
Jason Yuen, receiving a perfect score
on the senior contest. On March 8,
the successful students wrote the
Canadian Computing competition
Olympiad Qualifying Round.
On March 30, we will be sending
four teams to represent our school at
the York Region Programming con-
test at Huron Heights. And, for the
second time, we will be sending an all
-female team.
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Department News
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Department News
Drama & Dance Shannon Mann, Department Head
This has been another amazing year
for the Drama and Dance depart-
ment, which culminates this semes-
ter with the Grade 12 Senior Show
May 12 & 13 and the full depart-
ment showcase “Mosaic” in June.
Our first semester Grade 11 pro-
duction students began with their
Remembrance Day performance at
the grade assemblies and culminat-
ed in a performance tour of their
show about the DOs and
DON’Ts of High School. The
students along with their teach-
ers, Mr. Keval and Ms. Boyd-
Navazo toured their shows to
Castlemore P.S. and Beckett
Farm P.S. Milliken Mills P.S.
also came for a visit to watch
this performance and stayed to
view the Grade 11 performance
class’ “Romeo and Juliet.”
Our first semester Grade 12
production class started out on a
retreat to YMCA Cedar Glen
(pictured on left), where students
and teacher, Mrs. Mann, spent
some time developing their compa-
ny and participating in team build-
ing activities. Their show “The
Struggles,” written by Kendra
Pearson, is about a student who
struggles with her
ADHD and dyslexia
and takes the audience
on a journey which
teaches us that we are
all unique and to em-
brace our struggles as
they are a part of us –
just because one is dif-
ferent does not make
them stupid or insignif-
icant. These students
took their strong mes-
sage on a two day tour to Bur Oak
S.S, Markham District H.S., Ash-
ton Meadows P.S and Castlemore
P.S. The students also performed
in a buy in which had almost 200
Trudeau staff and students support
their show! “The Struggles” com-
peted on March 3 in the Sears On-
tario Drama Festival hosted at Tru-
deau (pictured below) which start-
ed in a day of workshops by thea-
tre professionals and ended in a
final performance of their incredi-
ble show. All students on and off
stage performed with excellence.
However, this class became more
than a touring group, they became
a family and their teacher Mrs.
Mann could not be more proud of
all their accomplishments.
Our junior students also worked
hard in semester one and continue
to work hard in semester two. Our
Grade 9s performed the show
“Skin” by Dennis Foon and we
look forward to the large cast of
over 60 students performing this in
June, as well as our Grade 10s put-
ting together a show that focuses
on wacky Canadian laws from past
and present. The junior program
also hosted four co-op teacher as-
sistant students this year: Erin Un-
derhill, Andy Chang, Raemyn
Cheema and Kwame Brown.
Our Dance program is also busy
preparing for their dance show in
June, organized by their teacher
Ms. Twiddy. They have even been
learning some tap dancing from
Mrs. Mann! They have been hav-
ing a blast and are looking forward
to doing their own choreography.
Trudeau Theatrics hosted Cabaret
in December that had over 180
performers and an audience of
over 650 students, parents,
friends and teachers - our larg-
est Cabaret yet. There was
singing, dancing, teacher acts,
comedy acts. Overall, it was a
great time had by all. Special
thanks to Trudeau Theatrics
and our tech team for all their
hard work in making it a prob-
lem free evening.
For more information on what
is happening in the Drama and
Dance department follow us on
twitter @PETHS_theatrics or feel
free to contact Mrs. Mann, depart-
ment head at any time, shan-
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Department News
ESL Department hosts
international students from
Sir William Mulock SS for its
annual Chinese New Year
celebration on February 17
ESL
A shining example of staff and
student collaboration in modern
learning, mathematics and
mental health through
innovation, leadership and equity
For more info or to contribute,
contact [email protected]
BUILD
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PETHS is... Athletics
Volleyball Dave Weber, Coach
The senior boys volleyball team
(pictured below, left) travelled to
Windsor, ON, from November 25-
28, 2015, to play in the AAA OF-
SAA championships. It was the
first time a boys’ volleyball team
from our school qualified and we
were up for the challenge.
Despite being seeded #18 out of 20
teams and being the lowest seed in
our pool, our team made every
match competitive and became an
exciting team to watch. Some high-
lights from pool play included los-
ing a game to Agincourt Collegiate,
the eventual gold medal winners, by
a 27-25 score. We also took the
#12 seed, Christ the King from
Hamilton, to a third set despite
losing 17-15. We did win a match
over #15 seed, St. Peters from Pe-
terborough, in two games straight
and fought hard in a 28-26 loss to
the #5 seed from Eastview in Bar-
rie.
We now found ourselves in a spot
in the consolation quarter final
against the #7 seed, Chatham
Kent. This proved to be the best
volleyball match I have been a part
of in 20 years of coaching. Our
team played their hearts out and
never gave up for a moment. The
quality of defence we played was
incredible and many coaches and
players alike commented on what a
talented
team we
had. In
t h i s
m a t c h ,
we lost
the first
set 25-
13, but
r a l l i e d
to win
the next
t w o
with 25-
21 and
2 8 - 2 6
scores. We just needed
to win a third set to ad-
vance to play the next
day. The fourth set was
our biggest battle yet,
but we couldn’t finish
off our opponents and
lost 25-20. In the final
set, we put everything
we had into it with great
passing by Zhang Chen,
attacks by Benny Young,
incredible middle play by Tyler
Simcoe and Richard Sun, solid set-
ting by Chris Louie and all-around
awesome play by Adrian and Reid
Johnston. The final set was tied at
13 points apiece and it was any-
one’s game. Unfortunately, a
tough block and a big hit later and
we lost 15-13.
Despite the loss, OFSAA was a
great experience for all players and
coaches and our team was an amaz-
ing success. A few weeks after re-
turning home, we received a letter
and banner in the mail that we had
won the OFSAA Sportsmanship in
Sport Award for our amazing char-
acter and determination during the
provincial championships. This
award is voted on by the coaches,
officials and organizers of the tour-
nament. Although not a champi-
onship, this banner is displayed
proudly in our gym (pictured be-
low, right) as a testament to the
talent and integrity of this year’s
team.
Overall, we had a great season with
a tournament win in Unionville and
several runner up appearances.
This team had a 10-2 regular season
record and was the runner up in the
YRAA Championship. A big con-
gratulations goes out to our gradu-
ating players Dawson Li, Abel
Shen, Tommy Peng, Chris Louie,
Richard Sun, Wilfred Zhang and,
our captain, Tyler Simcoe. All of
you have done your school very
proud.
15
PETHS is… Athletics
Rugby
John Shep, Coach
We have been rebuilding the Rug-
by program here at Trudeau over
the last year. What you may not
know is that this rebuilding was a
student-led initiative. Ms. Young,
Mr. McCumber and I had a group
of Grade 11s and 12s come to us
last year with a plan, a committed
group of 30 students and the assis-
tance of a local Community
Coach. They showed a great deal
of leadership and did it all with the
utmost respect. Those who re-
mained at the school this year have
been continuing to build the pro-
gram, running a 7s team and inspir-
ing the Juniors and Girls to organ-
ize teams as well. In the weeks
leading up to the March Break,
they volunteered on their lunches
to go into Phys. Ed. classes to
teach the non-contact fundamen-
tals of Rugby and took interested
students on a Field Trip on March
8 to the Markham Sports Dome to
work with our Community Coach,
Martin Coe. Now, with the help of
Mr. Weber, tryouts will be held
when students return from March
Break, open to Boys and Girls of
all skill levels and grades.
These are the types of students that
prove there is great value in sport
beyond the physical. They demon-
strate the camara-
derie, leadership
and character that
we hope all stu-
dents will aspire to.
Senior Boys
Basketball
Dave Kroetsch, Coach
2015-2016 season highlights:
27 wins and 8 losses
YRAA Sr.
Boys Tier 1
semi-finalists
St. Br.
Andre Rick
Maloney Car-
dinal Classic champions
Fr. Michael McGivney
Prestige Holiday Clash
tournament champions
George Brown Col-
lege Frankie Gyamfi Me-
morial tournament 4th
place
All Spring 2016 sports will begin
after March Break!
For all Trudeau Athletics news
and updates, on Twitter, follow
@PETHSAthletics
16
Just LISTEN, NOTICE AND
CONNECT
From the YRDSB:
It is never too early to learn how to recognize the
signs of mental health problems and indicators of
stress that can contribute to mental health prob-
lems. Both adults and kids can learn how to rec-
ognize the signs of stress and ways to stay men-
tally well.
If you are worried about your child's moods
or behaviours, talk to your child about it. You
might say something like:
"I've noticed lately that __________, and I'm
worried because that's not normal for you."
"How are you doing?"
"How have you been feeling? You seem really
down lately?"
"What's been bugging you these days?" or
"What's been stressing you out these days?"
Talk to the staff at your child's school. Talk to
your child's teacher, who is able to see your child
at school and compare how your child is doing
compared to other children. You might ask:
How your child is doing in school
How your child is getting along with teachers or
classmates
Any concerns the teacher has
Take your child to see a family physician or
pediatrician or have your child seen by a
mental health professional, like a psycholo-
gist, social worker, or psychiatrist.
Encourage them to visit anonymous supports
like KidsHelpPhone.ca
From Anonymous
I am a staff member who has experienced mental health issues
on and off for almost ten years. Stats show that one in five staff
members, one in five students, one in five parents and guardians
will be like me.
At different times in my journey, I have sought therapy, needed
medication and have continued to use coping strategies to allow
myself to stay resilient through it. But more than any of these,
this ability to make it through these struggles has been because
of those who have just noticed, listened and connected.
The details, the sordid specifics are not for here; neither is this
about those who have made feeling anonymous the norm. This
is for those who have helped along the way, those who have
made me feel valued and not anonymous:
For ___ who encouraged me to get help, to take care of myself
so I could take care of others, and then became a source of that
help;
For ___ who asked me why “I ain’t flashed a smile in a long
while”;
For ___ who was brave enough to not hide behind “it’s none of
my business;”
For ___ who took an unknown for coffee to become known;
For ___ who showed me that an act of caring can come in many
forms: it can be honesty, it can be a cookie.
This is also for anon, for tomorrow. This is a bold step forward,
to bring mental health issues out of the darkness and into the
light, to raise awareness and reduce the stigma associated with
mental health.
The next bold step of tomorrow is ours. We all have the power
to make it so our students, our colleagues, our children and
loved ones do not have to remain anonymous. We just have to
notice, listen and connect.
Mental Health and Well-Being
For up-to-date Trudeau event
information, visit our website:
www.trudeau.hs.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/
And find us on Twitter: @trudeauhs