Semester one has passed by quickly. Looking back, ARTS Mackenzie con-tinues to thrive and nurture the growth of our ARTS students in drama, dance, visual arts, and music (vocal, strings and band). On pages 11 to 17, you will read about guest artists, field trips, and amazing performances. In Decem-ber, Cinderella, our school musical, performed to sold out shows! Congratu-lations to all of the students who participated in it, and to the many staff and parent volunteers who supported this outstanding production!

Numerous sports teams have been running such as rugby, cross-country, volleyball, girls and boys basketball, soccer, and new this year, table tennis. Active student leadership groups have included Student Activity Council, The Presidents’ Council, Arts & Culture Council, Athletic Council, Music Council, Dance Council, Drama Council, the Leadership class, the Ambassa-dors Group, GSA, Yearbook, DECA, Eco-Team, Math Club, Science Olym-pics and our school newspaper, The Mustang. The Hospitality Club has been very busy supporting a daily breakfast program throughout the semes-ter. Thank you to the many teachers and staff members who have volun-teered their time to provide these valuable opportunities for our students.

On the curriculum front, The Advanced Placement Program (AP) is growing at AMHS. AP exams in Psychology and Biology will be written in the early May. For more information about our AP program for 2016-17, please con-tact Ms. Gurfinkel in Guidance Services. Students in our Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) programs for Health and Wellness, Transportation or Business have completed many certifications ranging from First Aid & CPR and WHIMS to Fraud Detection and Customer Service. The Health & Well-ness students visited the University of Toronto for workshops on fitness and team building. The Transportation and Business SHSM students visited Georgian College to explore the business side of the automotive industry.

In November, our grade 9 students were introduced to Resilience, the ability to bounce back when faced with difficulties. We know that from time to time students may experience feelings of uncertainty, unhappiness, worry, anxiety, etc.. Nine lessons, written by AMHS staff, explained brain neuroscience, the power of breathing to help reduce feelings of anxiety and calm the brain for learning, plus the benefits of optimism and gratitude to help students move forward in their lives. Many grade 12 students have asked to learn about Re-silience, and we have planned two mini-lessons and a workshop for the end of February.

There is no doubt that AMHS is a vibrant place, full of diverse opportunities. If you are interested in getting more involved, please join us for our next School Council meeting on February 16, 2016 at 7 p.m. To stay informed about our school and upcoming events, please check our website at www.yrdsb.ca/schools/alexandermackenzie.hs

Debra Conrad-Knight

A Message from Your Principal

February 2016

Administration

Debra Conrad-Knight, Principal Ext. 407

Otilia Olteanu, VP Ext. 406

Jay Perri, VP Ext. 405

Tel: 905-884-0554

Fax: 905-884-4694

Website:

www.yrdsb.ca/schools/alexandermackenzie.hs

A l e x a n d e r M a c k e n z i e H i g h S c h o o l

Looking Ahead...

Feb. 5 Sem. 1 Report Card Distribution

Feb. 9 Photo Retake Day

Feb. 11 16/17 Course Selection Due Date

Feb. 15 Family Day Holiday

Feb. 16 School Council Meeting 7pm

Mar. 7 Interim Report Distribution

Mar. 24 Black History Month Assemblies

Mar. 25&28 Good Friday & Easter Monday

Mar. 29 Course Verifications Due

Mar. 31 OSSLT (Modified School Day)

Apr. 7 Parents’ Night

Apr. 18 School Council Meeting 7pm

Apr. 22 Report Card Distribution

May 6 PA Day

May 16 School Council Meeting 7pm

June 1 Carnival

June 3 PA Day

June14-15 EQAO—Gr. 9 Math

June 20-27 Exams

June 28 Exam Review Day

June 28 Graduation 7 pm—The Terrace

Mar. 8 AMAC Fights Back

Mar. 14-18 March Break

June 29-30 PA Days

P a g e 2 A l e x a n d e r M a c k e n z i e H i g h S c h o o l

Library / Resource Centre Yes! Students can do research in their pajamas. All they need is a username and password to access our expanding collection of ebooks and subscription databases. All students need to do is drop by the resource

centre for a free bookmark with all the access information.

Do you know someone who is looking for a job? The resource centre has resume templates both for people seeking a job for the first time and for those who already have job experience. We are happy to help students become gainfully employed!

Of course, we continue to offer full support to students at all stages of the research process, from deciding on a topic and finding a workable focus to finding reliable sources of information and citing them properly. It’s great if students come to us in the early stages of a project. We can save them tonnes of time and energy.

Exciting opportunities continue for the Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) Programs at Alexander Mackenzie High School.

On October 30th, many of our Health & Wellness and Business students attended a Career Symposium hosted by the Toronto Argonauts Football Organization. The Symposium pro-vided opportunities for our students to hear from leading professionals in the Sports, Marketing, and Health/Fitness fields, includ-ing the renowned motivational speaker, Michael “Pinball” Clemons. Students also had an opportunity to ask these professionals questions about their potential future careers. The event was capped-off by dinner and tickets to watch a thrilling football game at the Rogers Centre.

On December 3rd and 4th, our Grade 11 SHSM students received two days of CPR/First Aid/AED training and everyone received their certification. Our Business students received Counterfeit Detection Certification through the Business Department, and Transportation students will be receiving training for their Boating License. In semester two, our Grade 11 Health & Wellness stu-dents will be receiving certifications in Infection Control, Lab Practices and Specialized Care.

This past semester, our Grade 11 and Grade 12 Health & Wellness students visited the University of Toronto, Scarborough Cam-pus, which involved various workshops, a sample university lecture on Health Management, and a campus tour. The Automotive Business School of Canada at Georgian College, in Barrie, hosted our Business and Transportation students. They participated in an interactive Business seminar presented by a Georgian College Business Professor, and had an interesting tour of the entire campus. Next semester, our students will have many more exciting learning opportunities explore the world around them, such as visiting Laurier University, the Ontario Institute of Technology, and receiving other industry recognized certifications as well!

If your son or daughter is currently in grade 10, and is interested in applying to the Health & Wellness, Business or Transporta-tion/Engineering Program at our school, please visit the link here to apply:

http://bit.lyAMHS-SHSM-StudentApplication .

If you have any questions about the SHSM Program, please contact Mr. Petrone in the Co-operative Education Department.

Message from our Trustee Corrie McBain

Although winter still feels far from over some days, we are now halfway through the school year. With report cards coming home, this is a good time to review progress and celebrate what your children have learned both inside and outside of the classroom. This is also a good time to set goals for the months ahead.

One of our goals set out in the Board of Trustees’ Multi-Year Plan is to “continuously increase student achievement and well-being through a culture of caring and learning.” Developing this supportive culture includes engaging parents/guardians and other members of the school community in public education and working together to create safe and supportive school environments that enable students to thrive.

As parents/guardians, there are many ways you can get engaged in your child’s education and support their learning, including talking with them about school, communicating with teachers, attending school events or school council meetings, and volunteer-ing in the school. However you get involved, know that you are making a difference.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I wish you all the best an enjoyable and successful second term.

Department Head: D. Wilson

P a g e 3

Greetings from the Business Studies Department. We had an exciting Semester One. We welcomed Mrs. Varinderjeet Sarao to the Business Studies Department. We learned in the classrooms, we ex-perienced business in action outside our school, we competed with our fellow students at the DECA Regional competition and we continue to celebrate student achievement in our classrooms.

This is our second year for the Specialist High Skills Major in Business. We welcome Zainab Jafri, Eric Pan, Aida Ta-vana, David Ussher, Burhan Ranalawala, Jesse Amdur, Sofi Guliyeva and Dylan Shukster who joined in our Business SHSM program this semester. In working towards their SHSM certification, they had great learning opportunities and experiences. To name a few: Cadbury Chocolate Factory and Eaton Centre (Production and Marketing), Toyota Plant (Production, Economics, Total Quality Management), Fraud Certification, CPR and First Aid Certification. They also visit-ed the Georgian College and went for a Toronto Argonaut Marketing Event and a game. The SHSM students were certi-fied, trained and exposed to multiple “Reach Aheads” that would help them to better understand and be successful in their chosen field of Business Studies SHSM.

We welcomed YRP Constable Tony Cedrone to our classrooms. In Grade 9 Business Technology he helped to educate us on cyber bullying, and online safety. In the Grade 11 Law class, he covered many topics: Police Career information, Arrest and Search procedures and shared his experiences and answered the many questions that stu-dents posed. Both classes enjoyed his visit.

Our Grade 11 Law students went on a field trip to the Superior Court House of Ontario. Our students were able to visit a number of court rooms that were in session. They were able to observe court pro-ceedings at various stages such as cross examination, sentencing and final summation. It was exciting to see what we learn in the textbooks in action.

The Grade 10 BBI201 students and the Grade 11 Marketing students participated in a field trip to Eaton Centre and the Cadbury factory. At the mall, they interviewed sales people to better understand the retail businesses, investigated career paths available to those who work in retail and analyzed retail displays and promotional material for their project. The Cadbury factory tour gave them an opportunity to witness people and machines working together on the production line. They also listened to the his-tory of Cadbury and their various Corporate Social Responsibility practices.

Our grade 11 Accounting students had a guest speaker - Ms. Kim Tran from CPA. She widened the students horizon on different career opportunities in Accounting. She also told them about the opportunity for them to participate in an Accounting Contest run by them in Spring 2016. This was of interest to some of our students.

We are looking forward to another exciting semester. We wish our Semester One students every success in their next semes-ter.

Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day. Jim Rohn

Business Studies Department Interim Department Head: M. Chinniah

Special Education Department In Learning Strategies, our students enjoyed a topic-filled semester. Many students completed grade 9 Learning Strategies with the focus on making a successful transition to high school. Students learned about time management, organizational strategies, study skills, social skills, and resilience.

Students enrolled in grade 12 Learning Strategies focused on starting the transition to post-secondary education. They attended the university fair in September, the college fair in October, and visited Seneca@York. These were fabulous opportunities to gather information and tour the campus of York University.

For semester 2, grade 10 Learning Strategies will focus on course selection and getting ready for the literacy test. Grade 11 Learning Strategies will focus on self advocacy and skills for finding a part-time job.

Parent communication is very important. If you have any concerns please contact the Special Education Department so that we may support the student.

Department Head: T. Brake

P a g e 4 A l e x a n d e r M a c k e n z i e H i g h S c h o o l

Community Based Education (A.K.A. Cooperative Education) Department Head: C. Smith

This has been an amazing year so far for Alex Mack’s co-op program!

Students have had extraordinary learning experiences in diverse work placements in-cluding: marketing, pharmacies, retail, veterinary clinics, elementary schools, nursing homes, fitness clubs, Mackenzie Health Hospital, Rogers Cable TV, physiotherapy clin-ics, animal care, dental offices, the Automotive, Construction and Electric trades and more.

Many of our students have been offered part-time or permanent jobs at their co-op placements! Real-life learning and career-specific skills provide our co-op students with a significant advantage in the pursuit of competitive educa-tional and career goals.

Have a look at some of Alex Mack’s co-op students in action!

Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love.

~~Elbert Hubbard~~

P a g e 5

Family Studies Department Interim Department Head: J. Toshakovski

The Family Studies Department at AMHS has been busy introducing and further enhancing our students’ knowledge in general life skills and experiences! In first semester, the Family Studies Department ran Grade 12 AP Psychology, Grade 11 Parenting and Gr 12 Families in Canada. Each of these classes focused on human development from individ-ual, family and societal perspectives. Our senior students in the Families in Canada class were challenged to develop and work through the Social Science Research Process where they investigated a topic of interest and completed sec-ondary research using academic literature. They then developed formal questionnaires in addition to a formal data anal-ysis. Students reported their findings in a formal paper as well as a senior seminar where they presented their findings to their peers. Congratulations to all of the students who focused and worked very hard to complete this task.

Grade 11 Parenting (HPC 301) had the privilege of creating Children's Story books as part of their exploration in Raising Healthy Children. Students spent 4 weeks, creating, editing and illustrating either an online or hard copy of their 10 page story. After completion, our students partnered with the Gr. 1 & 2 classes at Pleasantville P.S and spent a morning reading their stories to two of the classes there. It was a wonderful day of sharing, collaboration, teamwork and community!

In the upcoming winter semester, the Family Studies Department is looking forward to running Grade 9 Individual and Family Living (HIF101), Grade 12 Human Growth and Development (HHG4U) and Challenge and Change in Society (HSB4U). These courses will continue to provide students with the opportunity to learn about some of the most critical topics that pertain to us as humans, who we are, how we got here, where we are going and who are we going with! Family Studies provide life skills at their very best!

Semester 1 has been very busy in Guidance. Counsellors have been working hard to pro-vide academic counselling, career counselling and personal counselling.

College / University Application Process started earlier this year with an assembly on November 9th where PIN numbers were distributed to potential graduates. Students have completed their application process through the Ontario Colleges Application Service (OCAS) and Ontario University Application Centre (OUAC). Responses from individual universi-ties and colleges will take place over the next few months.

Students in grades 9 ~ 11 explored their future options through Career Cruising completing their IPP (Individual Pathway Plan). Students are reminded that this plan is fluid and are encouraged to revisit their plan on a regular basis to change or update their plans through Career Cruising.

Course selection process for next year has already begun and Career Cruising is now open for submission as of February 1st, 2016. Counsellors visited grade 10 classes and students have been provided information about the three SHSM programs available for Grade 11 and 12. The three sectors are Business, Health & Wellness and Transportation. On Friday, January 15th, grades 9, 11 and 12 had assemblies on the course selection process. Course selections will be due to hom-eroom teachers on Thursday, February 11th, 2016. If there are any questions regarding course selection please have your child see their Guidance Counsellor.

All students are reminded to complete their forty hours of community service. Volunteer opportunities are posted outside Guidance Services or students should speak to a counsellor for more information.

Congratulations to all our semester one graduates!

Guidance Department Department Head: C. Bredin

P a g e 6 A l e x a n d e r M a c k e n z i e H i g h S c h o o l

History Department Department Head: W. Shaw

The Alexander Mackenzie High School History Department is off to a flying start for the 2015/2016 aca-demic year. A variety of activities and field trips have enhanced the learning experience of our students

and made history come alive!

Mr. Shaw’s and Ms. Hatzifotis’ grade 10 Canadian History students were deeply moved by a field trip to the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre, in which a Holocaust survivor provided a moving account of his experiences during that dreadful period of time.

Ms. Hatzifotis’ Introduction to Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology class undertook student driven ‘documentaries’ reflecting course objectives, made replicas of various hominids and crafted human brains.

Ms. Raia’s Canadian and International Politics class explored numerous NGO’s and focused on various social justice issues around the world.

Mr. Mathieson’s Philosophy class enjoyed seminars which provided an opportunity for students to explore thoughtful topics ranging from ethics to aesthetics.

Health & Physical Education Department Department Head: C. Butler

Lots of exciting things to report about from our department. Students are wrapping up their fitness portfolios, perform-ing their semester end conferences and gearing up for our movement practicals. It has been a great se-mester! Our girls only fitness class has been a great success and we hope that this is a sign for the future as more and more girls are putting fitness into their school life. Our open fit-ness class is taking training to a new level - our dynamic/functional training is on the cusp of cutting edge. We have made radical changes to our fitness experience, which has inspired many more students to leave our classes core stronger and full body fit to handle perfor-

mance in life, sports and recreation. Our open classes are still enjoying the massive opportunity to be active in games, sport having a lot of fun along the way. Fitness blasts are helping everyone get fitter over the semester.

Our Kinesiology class (grade 12 university bound), formally know as exercise science have displayed enormous amounts of leadership within our school. Not only have they displayed a massive amount of commit-ment to the course work, but they took on an incredible task for their ISU. They started by learning about the concept of SPARK and the effects of exercise on the brain and emotional health. Secondly, they presented their findings to the teaching staff during PD, which led to the group converting our school into a SPARK school. Our SPARK week included putting exercise kits into classrooms, placing “hubs” in the hallways (spin bikes and activity cards), open gyms and the fitness room up all week, all to teach the students of our school, about what a little bit of activity inside the school can do for the brain and for emotional health. The are currently putting the finishing touches on a “paper” which illustrates the find-ings of their research question: The effects of rigorous exercise on the brain and on one’s mental health.

Mustang Athle cs We had an exciting fall and winter season so far. Our fall season included Sr. Boys Volleyball, Sr. Girls Basketball, Jr/Sr Boys and Girls 7’s Rugby, Cross-Country, Sr. Boys Soccer and Tennis. With

a fantastic group of Mustangs representing our school, we are as proud as ever of our great accomplishments. Thanks to all the coaches that dedicated their time to make Mackenzie Athletics an amazing program to be a part of! Our Athletic Council put on a stellar Terry Fox Run and have been selling great Mustang Spirit wear. Great stuff!

History Department cont... Department Head: W. Shaw

The History Department is looking forward to being a part of the “In Their Footsteps” international field trip in which AMHS students will participate in the 100th anniversary cel-ebration of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. In addition, we will visit Juno beach and other important sites where Canadian sol-diers fought bravely through both world wars. The nine day trip begins in London and finishes in Paris where students will take part in guided tours and then be able to enjoy the old world atmosphere of these great European cities. The experiences and knowledge gained from a trip such as this will provide a lifetime of memories.

The History Department looks forward to a successful academic year based upon the quality and commitment made by our students to the understanding of our world and by the support of their par-

P a g e 7

Math Department Department Head: L. Bredin

We have finished another successful semester. In the last week of the semester, our students have written summative assessments and reviewed for the exams.

Contests University of Waterloo contests- Pascal contest (grade 9), Cayley contest (10) and Fermat contest (11) will be written this year on Wednesday, February 24th, 2016.

The Euclid Math grade 12 contest will be written on Tuesday, April 16th, 2016.

Problem solving contests for grade 9, 10 and 11 will be written on Wednesday, April 13th, 2016.

Sample problems and solutions can be found at http://cemc.uwaterloo.ca/

Extra Help Just a reminder to all our students that extra help is available through your classroom teacher during the lunch hour. Please speak to your teacher ahead of time to arrange a time and classroom location and then come with prepared questions.

EQAO The provincial Grade 9 math EQAO test, was written in math classes on Janu-ary 19th and 20th , 2016. Preparation for the EQAO test started a week earlier and also prepared our students for the Math exams in January. Part of this test was marked and counted 5% toward final mark in the grade 9 math applied and academic courses.

We are very pleased to share with you our last year’s results of the EQAO test.

The % of all our students in math classes at or above or above provincial standard :

AMHS applied classes 60% vs. 55% for the board and

AMHS academic classes 91% vs.90% for the board.

Thank you to the math teachers.

We wish success to all our students in the next semester.

P a g e 8 A l e x a n d e r M a c k e n z i e H i g h S c h o o l

Science Department

The Science department was definitely booming last semester with Grade 9 students doing electrical circuit simulations and Grade 10 students making vari-ous optical devices such as microscopes, overhead projectors and even a Rochester clock!

Our Grade 11 Physics students made musical instruments including xylophones. There was even one made out of wrenches!

And, our Grade 12 Physics students designed and built a cart powered purely by elastic potential ener-gy. The carts were tested for speed and distance and the fastest one went 25m in 3.05 seconds! Our

Grade 12 Chemistry students made fruit-smelling esters. We also offered Grade 12 Advanced Placement Biology last semester. This was a very lab intensive course which included a variety of labs. Some examples of these labs included students making hypotonic, hypertonic and isotonic solutions as well as studying the process of cellular respiration, fer-mentation and photosynthesis in plants! And finally, our Grade 10 science, Grade 11 Biology and Grade 12 Biology stu-dents participated in a frog dissection!

Preparation for the annual academic competitions will begin later in February. Students in Physics will have an opportunity to test their skills in the University of Toronto Leonardo da Vinci and the University of Water-loo Sir Isaac Newton contests at the Grade 12 level and the Physics Teachers Association of Ontario com-petition at the Grade 11 level. Senior biology students will compete in the University of Toronto National Bi-ology contest. The chemistry challenges are offered by the University of Waterloo’s Avogadro competition in Grade 11 and Chem 13 News contest in Grade 12. Please see your subject teacher if you would like to find out more about these competitions.

The York Region Science Olympics will be held on March 2, 2016 at York University. In 2013, we won first prize for the school having the most team spirit and we are looking forward to giving some fierce competi-tion again this year! We have 2 very enthusiastic senior teams who will be competing in the areas of sen-ior chemistry, biology and physics.

Department Head: S. Sadacharan

Moderns Department Department Head: S. Juma

During the month of November, students explored a unit which included topics on food and nutrition. Students learned much about nutrition by observing their own eating patterns

through the use of a journal. This was followed by a Food Fair where students showcased their healthy masterpieces by way of nutritious recipes, nutritious samples, cooking demonstrations and much more. This was an exciting way to discover new and healthy eating recipes while learn-ing French. Très bien!

VIVE LE FRANÇAIS!

During the month of December, students began a virtual museum project. In groups, stu-dents explored virtual museums and shared their discovery with peers through innovative ways by engaging in virtual museum tours, the invention of three dimensional

models and the creation of a virtual museum video. As students explored the world of virtual museums, they learned how to communicate about the arts in French. Bravo!

P a g e 9 A l e x a n d e r M a c k e n z i e H i g h S c h o o l

Technological Education = Experiential Learning Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remem-ber. Involve me and I learn. Teach me to do it and I learn best.

It has been a very busy and rewarding first semester with many authentic, real-life opportunities for our students. The Grade 11 Architectural Design students have designed and drawn by Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) a full set of blueprints for a dream waterfront residence. The Grade 12 Architectural Design students have designed a full set of plans and built an architectural model for a student residence building for the University of Waterloo and have drawn a floor plan for a Fire Hall.

The students in the Grade 11 Construction Technology classes have been very busy designing and building full scale wall sections that includes the pouring of a concrete footing, the floor, wall and roof framing, the in-stallation of the plumbing and electrical systems and the interior and exterior finishing and have learned more about the high demand for the skilled trades. The Grade 12 students have improved their skilled trades by de-signing and building a full scale bathroom.

The Grade 9 Exploring Technologies classes experienced researching, brainstorming, designing and building pro-jects such as a CO2 Powered Dragster and a gravity powered marble Roller Coaster.

In Hospitality & Baking, the Grade 11 classes provided the staff with eleven themed lunches that were served in The Mac-kenzie Room every Thursday. In addition they also created delicious treats for the staff to purchase for the holidays. The Grade 10 classes prepared a variety of breakfast items for our Breakfast Club Program that runs daily throughout the semester. They also had the opportunity to create a variety of cupcakes for our Halloween Baking Sale. Fun times!

The Hair Styling and Aesthetics course preparing for the sixth annual "Manicure for Cure for Cancer" this amazing event involves the whole school. AMAC Fights Back takes place on March 8th at lunch all for an amazing cause!! The gr. 11/12 students also enjoyed an authentic experience by providing all hair and makeup for the school musical, Cinderella.

The Grade 11 Technological Design students designed and developed technical drawings by using Computer Aided Drafting (Auto CAD) and built scaled models of a modern table and chair. They have also learned Mechanical, Civil and Structural Engi-neering drawing methods.

The Transportation Technology students were very busy once again servicing and repairing students’ and teach-ers’ cars all semester and learning more about the skill set needed to be successful in this trade.

The Woodworking Technology students learned about the fine craft of manual drafting, how to safely use the machines in the woodshop and how to build small woodworking projects such as a trinket box, toy and table. The grade 12 students built all of the large props for our school musical, Cinderella, including the carriage!

Technological Studies Department Department Head: J. Fabrikis

There are many opportunities for students to get involved in the Science Department. We have a Lab Assistants Club that meets on Fridays after school. Lab assistants have the opportunity to set-up labs, organize and clean science equipment, make solutions and carry out various chemical reactions. It is an excellent way to learn some chemistry and have fun at the same time! All students will receive volunteer hours for their time. If you are interested, please speak to Mrs. Sadacharan. We also offer peer tutoring or extra-help sessions every Tuesday and Thursday at lunch from 11:45 – 12:15 p.m. in Room 260.

Finally, the Advanced Placement exam writing dates are fast approaching. Our AP Biology students will prepare to write their exams in May 2016. If you are interested in writing an Advanced Placement exam for a first year University Chemis-try, Biology and/or Physics course, please speak to a member of the science department as soon as possible. We wish you much success as you begin a new semester!

Science Department cont... Department Head: S. Sadacharan

P a g e 1 0 A l e x a n d e r M a c k e n z i e H i g h S c h o o l

Literacy at AMHS!

The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) is a requirement for all students who wish to graduate with a secondary school diploma. The test is written by all grade 10 students across the province. This year’s test will take place on Thursday, March 31st.

As a school, we are taking many steps to assist our students in completing the test successfully. We are currently run-ning an after-school literary program to reinforce reading and writing skills. Beginning the week of February 16th, all students writing the test will attend an information assembly where they will receive a workbook containing a series of tasks and skills and practice tests from EQAO. Students will bring these workbooks to class where they will begin an intensive application and review of these skills needed to be successful on the test.

We encourage you to review this workbook with your child/guardian and discuss the strategies in the workbook togeth-er. More information about the test, help for parents and guardians and example tests and answers are available on www.EQAO.com.

Further details about the test, the schedule of these lessons and tips will be forthcoming in the school e-bulletin. For any questions or concerns, contact Adele Pantusa, (Literacy Teacher) at 905-884-0554 ext. 427 or by email at ade-le.pantusa@yrdsb.ca.

AMAC FIGHTS BACK – Tuesday, March 8th, 2016

On Tuesday March 8, AMHS will we once again rally together to support an outstanding cause--cancer awareness and a donor drive. For the 5th year, AMAC FIGHTS BACK will be partnering with One Match, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to help Canadians who are in search of bone marrow donor matches. We will be holding a swabbing donor drive at lunch for students who are 17 years and older. All Grade 11 and 12 classes will attend a Donor Infor-mation Session in the cafeteria during the first half of Period 4 on Tuesday, March 1st. Getting “swabbed” and becom-ing a part of the bone marrow registry is voluntary. Further information on One Match and the donor drive is available on the school website.

AMAC FIGHTS BACK will take place on March 8th during an extended lunch period. Some of the fundraising activities include:

Our fabulous ManiCure for the Cure run by Ms. Marchisello and her Cosmetology program.

Delicious goodies and a chili cookoff run by Ms. Bolinger’s Hospitality students. An Arts and Crafts sale of uniquely created items by our Visual Arts students.

a Ping Pong tournament

a Badminton Challenge

Students and staff are invited to bring their toonies and loonies so they can purchase and participate in some, if not all, of these awesome events during our extended lunch on March 8. All proceeds will go to One Match, the Princess Mar-garet Foundation and/or the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The goal of AMAC FIGHTS BACK is to bring the AMHS family together to support a cause very close to our hearts, and work towards a world where blood cancers and all cancers are a thing of the past. On March 8, show your support by wearing ORANGE, bring along your toonies and loonies, and participating in this wonderful event.

For further information, please contact Jenn Alexander, Student Success Teacher, Debra Conrad-Knight, Principal, or Elaine St. Pierre of One Match (elaine.stpierre@blood.ca).

P a g e 1 1 A l e x a n d e r M a c k e n z i e H i g h S c h o o l

The Performing ARTS students had a busy, successful semester working in various studio spaces. Highlights include: Creative Process/Felt Making Workshop, ARTS Night Performances, Halloween, Boal Image Theatre, Laban Movement Work, Re-membrance Day assembly (Dance Council), Rogers TV York Region Remembrance Day Broadcast, performing on the Stratford Festival Studio Stage for the Student Players’ Festival, Cinderella, embracing inner Disney mascots, Winterfest Assem-bly, Junior Showcase and Graduate Showcase.

Semester two will bring multiple performance opportunities for the Performing Arts Students, including Dance Expressions, Sears Drama Festival, and spring perfor-mances from Theatre ARTS in April and May.

A Semester Full of Inspiration! Performances, professional workshops, and field trips support a semester of creative activity in the

Performing ARTS Department

Performing Arts Department (Theatre ARTS, Drama and Dance)

NotesfromtheStudiosDepartment Head: C.Clarke

P a g e 1 2 A l e x a n d e r M a c k e n z i e H i g h S c h o o l

Fun From the Yellow

School Bus We love field trips and workshops! Highlights include:

Ash Knight playwriting and narra-

tive story elements workshop

Julie Tepperman acting workshop

Aaron Wills Shakespeare and

directing workshop

Bailey Woodman movement and

staging workshop

Melanie Siegel Creative Process

workshop (with Visual ARTS Mac-

kenzie)

Trip to Stratford Festival To See

Camelot, Hamlet

Participation in Stratford Student

Player Festival

Rogers TV York Region Remem-

brance Day Ceremony and Stu-

dent Interview: http://bit.ly/

RogersRemembranceDay2015

Performing Arts Department (Theatre ARTS, Drama and Dance)

NotesfromtheStudiosDepartment Head: C.Clarke

P a g e 1 3 A l e x a n d e r M a c k e n z i e H i g h S c h o o l

Grade 9/10 Dramatic Arts

This semester, our grade 9 and 10 Drama students explored what collaboration, creativity, and empathy really mean by ap-plying these skills to their development and interpretation of dramatic work. In this general survey course, where we utilize the basics of image, movement, and voice to create living characters and stories, students learned how to work inclusively and supportively with their peers. Drama provides students with an authentic opportunity to develop collaborative skills while fostering a greater sense of personal responsibility as they learn how to work with a team in order to develop powerful and entertaining performances for their classmates.

In our first unit, students learned how to isolate key elements of a story and summarize them using meaningful and carefully-crafted stage images. In our second unit, students learned that performance is about much more than speaking on stage in front of an audience, and that we are performing each and every day just by using our body language and facial expression to communicate who we, what we want, and what we value. After that, students develop their script-writing and vocalization techniques to help support their literacy and presentation skills. Finally, students work in small ensembles to put image, movement, dialogue, and a little bit of technical magic together while creating uniquely inspired productions for their peers.

ESL Drama

This semester saw our ESL Drama students using drama as a medium to aid in the acquisition and development of new English language skills. The class has had multiple opportunities to perform a varying number of different types of perfor-mances in class, utilizing their developing language abilities. With students new to English, and even many new to the country, the class explored much of the fundamentals of creating performances and working collectively and cooperatively with peers from various cultural and language backgrounds.

From unscripted movement pieces, to mask and ritual performances, to even language-level appropriate monologues, our students were able to experiment with different styles of dramatic presentations. Students completed fairytale tableau story-telling, as well as performances of short scripts of school-based situations. They ended the semester by preparing and memorizing short group-scene performances on the subject of ESL students coming to terms with life in a new and foreign social and school system. The class performed admirably, and were a pleasure to work with throughout the semester – they came a long way, metaphorically and literally.

Performing Arts Department (Theatre ARTS, Drama and Dance)

NotesfromtheStudiosDepartment Head: C.Clarke

P a g e 1 4 A l e x a n d e r M a c k e n z i e H i g h S c h o o l

Alexander Mackenzie High School Presentation of Cinderella

Cinderella

On December 10th and 11th, the musical theatre grade 10, 11 and 12 classes presented Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing

Arts. This full-scale, spectacular featured an outstanding orchestra, stellar cast, and incredi-ble technical elements. The production included over a hundred students from across mul-

tiple departments, creating a magical, creative and innovative student-driven experience enjoyed by audience members both young and young at heart.

P a g e 1 5

As we complete the first semester of the 2015-2016 school year, it is evident that the dance depart-ment has been quite busy! The students in the department have put on some outstanding perfor-mances with their own original pieces of choreography, participated in workshops with major contrib-utors to the world of Canadian dance and continue to put dance on the map as a legitimate art form within the Alexander Mackenzie school community. In the first few months of the school year all grades worked on solidifying their technique in both ballet and modern dance. Students were chal-lenged with both practical and theoretical assignments and consistently went above and beyond ex-

pectations. In October, the students in the grade 10, 11 and 12 classes represented the dance department during our annual ARTS Information Night. These three classes also did an outstanding job performing at the ARTS Information Night for poten-tial grade 8 students at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. The dance students demonstrated outstanding lev-els of organization and professionalism and for that the teachers of the dance program are so very proud of them. In Novem-ber, students had the opportunity to complete a workshop with the artists of TOES for Dance. The contemporary workshops were lead by Toronto-based dancer Scott MacCabe. Later on in the month, students went on a fieldtrip to see critically ac-claimed Toronto Dance Theatre’s performance of Echo at the Fleck Dance Theatre in the Harbourfront Centre. AMHS’ dance students also participated in a modern dance workshop with members from the company. The grade 11 dance class also completed an African dance unit that culminated in a three-day workshop with African dance specialist Sharon Harvey.

The AMHS Dance Council has also been working very hard and has contributed to the dance program in many ways. This council has been a part of many school initiatives encouraging school spirit as well as giving back to the local community. The students have held weekly meetings and social gatherings to continue and solidify the bond between the students within the program. The Dance Council’s mission is to increase the presence of dance within the hall of AMHS and this was definite-ly the case when they choreographed and presented a piece for the school’s Remembrance Day assembly. Dance Council members have contributed to AMHS’ Spirit Days such as the Halloween Festivities that included line dancing in the front foy-er. More significantly, the Dance Council started the initiative and raised OVER $450.00 that will be donated to Dancers for Cancer which is an organization helping to build an Arts Therapy Room at Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital. When the dancers reached their fundraising goal, they choreographed a holiday dance for staff members that was then performed at AMHS’ Winterfest Assembly. It was a performance many will soon not forget!

Most recently, our graduating grade 12 class just completed with a final culminating project known as The Graduate Show-case 2016. The senior students were each responsible to choreograph a piece of modern contemporary dance using student volunteers from the grade 9, 10 and 11 classes. All of the students’ hard work culminated in a truly successful evening at the Vaughan City Playhouse. Congratulations to the grade 12 students on all of your hard work. Your choreography was absolute-ly beautiful and was a true testament to all of the hard work that you have completed over the last few years. A special thank you and congratulations goes out to all of the student performers who volunteered their time to make the performance what it was. As we look towards the upcoming second semester, we are sure that it will also be filled with excitement. Students can expect to work on original pieces of choreography with their teachers as well as working with guest choreographers for the 6th annual Dance Expressions on Monday May 10, 2016 at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. Students will also be participating in other inter-disciplinary workshops as well as going to see a professional ballet performance by the National Ballet of Canada in downtown Toronto. Congratulations and thank you to all of the dance students as well as their parents for all of their hard work and support. It has been a wonderful semester and we are sure that 2016 will bring the same successes!

Performing Arts Department (Theatre ARTS, Drama and Dance)

DanceARTSMackenzieDepartment Head: C.Clarke

P a g e 1 6 A l e x a n d e r M a c k e n z i e H i g h S c h o o l

The AMHS Music Department would like to congratulate all of the music students who have worked so hard this semester and taken part in many different concerts and events.

We started off the semester in October with multiple performances at the Arts Information Night. In November, our violin, cello, and piano trio along with members of the Chamber Choir were in the Rogers TV stu-dio, recording a segment for their Remembrance Day show. Later the same month “Showcase 2015” featured 250 music students performing in concert bands, choirs, orchestras, and jazz ensembles at the Rich-mond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. The Music Department’s annu-al musical, “Cinderella” was a huge success in December (with more details on a separate page). Finally, our Music Council hosted success-ful events for the music students, including a grade nine barbeque, a movie night, and the, always popular, Holiday Party.

In second semester, we would like to welcome Ms .C. Alexander back from maternity leave. We are looking forward to another busy perfor-mance schedule including concerts, music festivals, and our annual ex-tended trip (this year to Chicago, Illinois).

Upcoming Confirmed Dates:

April 15-18, 2016 – Extended trip to Chicago, Illinois

May 11, 2016 – Fanfare 2016 at Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts (Band, Jazz, small ensembles)

May 19, 2016 – Spring Celebration 2016 at Richmond Hill United Church (Strings, Vocal, small ensembles)

June 2, 2016 – Music Banquet

June 16, 2016 – Pops Concert

Music Department

MusicDepartment Head: E. Hudspith

P a g e 1 7

The Here and Now….

Our art students have been very busy exploring their creative ideas and technical skills. Their accomplishments can be viewed throughout the school on the walls and in the Foyer. Our grade 9 students embellished their masks with hand made felt under the direction of Melanie Siegel, a local artist who uses fabric to make art pieces. A team of grade 11 stu-dents went outside the classroom to make art with other students from York Region at ‘Artonomy’ at the Quest Internation-al Education Conference. An interactive piece was completed and is now on show in the Markham library. The grade 11 Arts students spent most of November and December designing and painting the set of our school’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. What a task! It was worth the time and effort as the sets looked fantastic on-stage at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. In the fall, Mother Nature cooperated with our outdoor sketching endeav-ours. Mill Pond was a favourite spot for our students to draw. A highlight for many students was our trips to the Art Gal-lery of Ontario to view the Camera Atomica and Turner exhibits. Students found the documentation of atomic energy and works made in response to it, very interesting. They enjoyed learning about the Turner’s technique and about his some-what unconventional approach to life.

What’s Next….

We look forward to seeing and selling what our students create for our annual AMAC Gives Back fundraiser for cancer that is held at school in March. Last year, sales of drawings, photography and prints were quite popular. In April, our Arts and Culture Council will be hosting our annual Java Night, which showcases a variety of multi-discipline performances. In May, our grade 12 Arts Mackenzie visual arts students will be curating our annual art show at Boynton House, located on the Richmond Green grounds. This art show will be a part of Doors Open Richmond Hill. In June, more Mackenzie Art will be on display on the walls of the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts as part of our annual Art Show. Here’s look-ing forward to an exciting semester!

VisualArts

Visual Arts Department

Department Head: A. Bhatia

Alexander Mackenzie High School

300 Major Mackenzie Drive West

Richmond Hill, Ontario

L4C 3S3