Anderson Collegiate Vocational Institute

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Anderson Collegiate Vocational Institute

Address
400 Anderson Street Whitby, Ontario, L1N 3V6, Canada
Information
School number	882025
School board	Durham District School Board
Religious affiliation	none
Principal	John Morrison
Vice principal	Tiffani Jodoin & Joanne Docherty
School type	High school
Grades	9-12
Mascot	Raiders
Colours	Red and Grey
Founded	1960
Enrollment	1050 (2008)
Homepage	http://www.acvi.ca/

Anderson Collegiate Vocational Institute is located in Whitby, Ontario with in the Durham District School Board. The school has students in grades 9-12 and offers a wide range of academic and extracurricular activities. Some of the unique features of this school are its Culture of Peace Committee and the Leadership Enrichment and Development (LEAD) Program. Anderson is well known for its robust Arts program, particularly Drama.

In 2007, current Anderson Principal John Morrison was named one of Canada's Outstanding Principals.^[1]

The Culture of Peace Committee works on a wide variety of social and humanitarian issues within the school and in the community. Sub-committees of this organization often work on things like Remembrance Day assemblies, Amnesty International efforts, and bringing in guest speakers like Eva Olsson, a Holocaust survivor, Roméo Dallaire, the former commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda, and James K. Bartleman, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.

The Leadership Enrichment and Development (LEAD) Program, is making its start in Durham Region at Anderson Collegiate, having already run successfully at Markham District High School in the York Region District School Board since 1991. This program selects a group of students who demonstrate leadership potential in Grade 9 to work with a group of teachers throughout their Grade 10 and 11 years to further develop their leadership skills. The program has now evolved into the regional certificate program known as the Global Leadership Program.

Anderson's Dramatic Arts program is well known throughout the region. Early teachers such as Mr. L. Kosurko set the standard for the inclusive nature of the department. The extracurricular program began to flourish in 1992 with a production of Macbeth. (The 2008 school production is rumoured to be the musical, Jesus Christ Superstar.) Performances became more and more ambitious, largely due to the close teacher team: Ms. K. Ennis, Mr. A. Epema, Mrs. M. Rodgers, Mr. M. Trites and Mr. D. Craven (the so-called "Big Five"). Productions include: Neil Simon's Rumors, James Reaney's Handcuffs, Romeo and Juliet, The Martian Chronicles, The Who's Tommy and Amadeus. Romeo and Juliet (dir: Epema), starred A. J. Cook as Juliet. Anderson was the first high school in the Durham Region of Ontario to produce The Laramie Project (dir: Rodgers), amid some controversy. Anderson's funnier students have aired their comic sensibilities at Lunchbag Theatre (dir: Trites), Stay Tuned (dir: Craven) and an Improv Team (which has been student lead for fifteen years). Anderson is a regular participant in the Sears Drama Festival. The success of the Drama Program has largely been due to the dedication of staff and students, and the strength of the community which has grown up around the Drama Room, 107.

In the Technology Department, a number of ambitious projects are underway. In 2005, two students constructed cedar strip canoes as their Independent Study Project under the tutelage of Mr. Mark Backman. Another project is pulling together skills from all the shops. It is the construction, from scratch, of a clone of the iconic 1960s Lotus 7 sports car. The project is based on the specifications for a Locost sports car design by British educator and engineer, Ron Champion. Project Co-ordinator is Mr.Austin Epema, automotive consultant is Mr. Dave Dickie, and Metal Fabrication consultant is Mr. Dave Clarke. Computer aided design and blueprinting is supervised by Mr. Stefan Stravato. The project is being built primarily by students. Generous financial aid has come from local businesses. The finished product will be raffled off with proceeds going to local charities.

Anderson partners with Donovan Collegiate to train students in martial arts: karate, iaido and kendo.