Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute
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| Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute | |
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| Address | |
| 135 Overlea Blvd Toronto, Ontario, M3C 1B3, Canada |
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| Information | |
| School board | Toronto District School Board |
| Superintendent | Michael Smith |
| Area trustee | Gerri Gershon |
| Principal | Ms. Deborah Blair |
| Vice principal | Mr. Paul Wragett Ms. Suelyn Chong Ms. Brown |
| Administrator | Christine Smith |
| School type | Public high school |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Language | English |
| Area | East York |
| Mascot | Cougar |
| Founded | 1973 |
| Enrollment | 1753 (Spring 2005) |
| Communities served | Thorncliffe Park, Flemingdon Park, Gateway Blvd |
| Feeder schools | Valley Park Middle School |
| Homepage | http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/marcgarneau/ |
Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, under the TDSB. The school's multicultural environment combined with its large size enables it to have a varying student body along with varying student activities. The school is best known for the TOPS program apart from its award-winning teachers and excellence in education.
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[edit] History
Originally named Overlea Secondary School, MGCI opened its doors in 1972 as one of the first open concept schools in Canada. On October 16, 1987 it was rechristened Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute after Canada's first astronaut Marc Garneau. It is host school to the TOPS program and from time to time has offered pilot courses in Earth and Space Science, Science Journalism and Cisco Networking. It is only high school in Canada dedicated to helping students with careers in the space sciences.[1]
In 1993, MGCI was honoured with the Roberta Bondar Science and Technology Award in recognition of the school's achievements in numerous student programs, particularly its SEDS chapter(no longer exists). Renovations to the school in 1998 removed many of the open concept elements of the school's design.
[edit] Student Life
There are numerous extra curricular activities at Marc Garneau. Some of the clubs include chapters of DECA, Amnesty International and Key Club. Marc Garneau also has many cultural associations such as Muslim Girls Club, French Club, Samovar Club (Russian), Afghan Youth Club, Pakistani Student Association, Tamil Student Association, and Hellenic Club (Greek).
[edit] Sports
Garneau provides students with a wide variety of sports teams including: Football, Baseball, Soccer, Volley Ball, Basketball, Field Hockey, Ultimate Frisbee, Cricket and the annual hockey tournament. The official mascot for the school is the Cougar.
[edit] Vibes
The school's official newspaper is Vibes whose slogan is "We Write Out Loud".
[edit] Yearbook
The MGCI Yearbook is the work of the Yearbook course and committee. It is distributed in June of the academic year.
[edit] Music
Offered extracurricular activities include the Concert Band, Choir, Steel Pan Ensemble, Guitar Club, Music Council, and Stage Band. Although there is no official strings program offered by the school, students play in the completely student-run String Orchestra.
[edit] Drama
Since 2006, the school puts on a musical every year.The school also hosts a play every year. Drama students also participate in numerous activities, such as the Sears Festival.
[edit] Technology
Extra curricular activities include the Web Club, the Tech Club, the TOPS Webteam, and the Web Tech Club.
[edit] Major School Events
Marc Garneau is a host to many school events due its student diversity. Alternating annually, International Night (to celebrate many cultural backgrounds that students belong to) and a Fashion Show is hosted by the student community. Every December, it plays host to the Holiday Show which is presented by Student Council members and School Choir.
[edit] School Recognition
Marc Garneau is widely recognized as one of the best schools in TDSB due to its high academic standards and a wide range of extracurricular activities.
[edit] Competitions
In 2007, Marc Garneau was evaluated as an eco school through EcoTeam (an extracurricular activity) and was awarded the Gold Medal for its initiatives.
In 2007, Skills Canada Competition was hosted by Marc Garneau C. I.
[edit] TOPS Program
Marc Garneau has been noted by many schools across Canada and has been ranked very highly. The TOPS (Talented Offerings for Programs in the Sciences) program is a program only for the school and is highly recognizable. This program is exceptional for the studies of Science, Math and Computers.
In 2004, Maclean's ranked highly of MGCI, noting it as the number one school for students pursuing science or technology in their later studies. Students from the program have been consistently awarded scholarships of over $1,000,000 each year.
[edit] Application and entrance
To gain acceptance into the program, a grade 8 student must apply online or at the school in November; a written exam follows. Based on entrance exam results, the students' first term marks, a student portfolio, and teacher referrals, 60 students will be selected for the program. Some grade 9 students may also be accepted if there is space in the program. A student is permitted to drop out of the program should they find it unsuitable to their needs, or hard to keep up with the workload, and attend another school at any point once they are selected. The higher grades generally have around 50 students per grade.
[edit] The Program
The students who are part of this program will attend Marc Garneau as their high school. Large percentages of their courses will be considered enriched (for example, the course code will be ENG2D3 for grade 10 English as opposed to ENG2D1 which is regular grade 10 academic English). Also, many things learned in their grade 9 math course are beyond the Ontario curriculum including set theory and logarithms. For most of these courses the TOPS students will be working together, separated from their other peers at MGCI. However for optional courses such as Drama, Health and Physical Education, etc, they will have the opportunity to mingle with the other students of Marc Garneau.
[edit] Recognition
TOPS students have received a numerous scholarships and science fair awards. Five of the teachers at Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute who teach courses in the TOPS program have also received the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence. In June 2004, Maclean's magazine stated that Marc Garneau was the best high school in Canada, and credited the TOPS program for it.[2] The September 2006 issue of Toronto Life also stated that Marc Garneau was the best high school in Toronto for math and science, once again largely crediting the TOPS program.
[edit] References
- ^ CBC Digital Archives: Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute
- ^ Macleans.ca - Spot Stories - Education - A-Plus Learning. Macleans.ca. Retrieved on September 17, 2006
[edit] External links
- TOPS Program
- School Website
- School Library Website
- Overlea/Marc Garneau Alumni Website
- Marc Garneau Newsletter (April)
