William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute

William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute
Address
20 Tillplain Road[1]
Toronto, Ontario, M3H 5R2
Canada
Coordinates 43°45′13″N 79°27′42″W / 43.753581°N 79.461649°W / 43.753581; -79.461649Coordinates: 43°45′13″N 79°27′42″W / 43.753581°N 79.461649°W / 43.753581; -79.461649
Information
School type High school
Mottoes Merit Has its own Reward
School board Toronto District School Board
Principal Marcia Diakun[1]
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 1236 [1]
Language English
Area Toronto
Mascot Lion (The Lyon)
Website www.wlmac.ca

William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute is a semestered secondary school located in Toronto, Ontario.[1] It was built in 1960 to accommodate the skyrocketing number of new students in what was then known as North York, and to ease overcrowding at Northview Heights Secondary School.[2] Being located near another high school, Northview Heights Institute of Technology, the school is rumoured to have been called "Southview Heights Institute of Technology", because of the provocative initials. However, it was called Southview Heights Secondary School. Ultimately, William Lyon Mackenzie, the first mayor of Toronto and leader of the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837, was selected.[3]

Students

Mackenzie is known for the high academic standards of its students. The Fraser Institute ranks it the best TDSB secondary school.[4] Over 95% of its graduating students are accepted into a post-secondary institutions.[1] Additionally, 50% of graduating students earn an 80% average in all of their subjects (down from 66% in 2006, when the average was based on the top three subjects), qualifying them to become Ontario Scholars.[1] In 2013, the students with the highest averages in the whole of the TDSB were Mackenzie students Geoffrey Yu and Ryan Gotesman, with averages of 99.7%.[5] Students often perform well in academic competitions, such as the Leonardo da Vinci competition, International Chemistry Olympiad, and International Olympiad in Informatics.

The school is also known for the student-run organization, SWITCH (Solar and Wind Initiatives Towards CHange). Founded in 2006, SWITCH's goal is to make Canada more environmentally friendly through various environmental initiatives—the most prominent of which is the installation of solar panels and wind turbines on school grounds. Through this organization, Mackenzie has gained national media attention due to events featuring David Suzuki, Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies, MuchMusic and members of Sum 41.[6] The group was also lauded by 2007 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Specialty Programs

Mackenzie offers a wide variety of programs, clubs, teams, and courses to meet a number of student needs.

MaCS Program

The MaCS Program commenced in 1985 and offers enriched English, Mathematics, Science and Technology courses for advanced students.[7] Students applying for the MaCS Program must undertake an entrance exam and complete a comprehensive application package. The MaCS Program begins at grade nine and runs until grade twelve. A quantifiable segment of the William Lyon Mackenzie's student population are part of the MaCS Program - there are 90 positions for students joining the MaCS program in grade nine, though the actual number of students in the MaCS program may be slightly lower. The students in the MaCS program can take AP exams and start computer science courses in grade nine, which is a field that is normally not available until grade ten. The MaCS program was one of the first enriched math, science and technology programs created for secondary school students. Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute's own Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute#TOPS is similar. Bloor Collegiate Institute also developed a similar TOPS program in recent years.

Gifted Program

The Gifted Program is an enriched program available to gifted students. The program begins at Grade Nine and runs until Grade Twelve (TDSB gifted program ends at grade ten). Five to Ten Percent of William Lyon Mackenzie's student population are part of the Gifted Program.

Advanced Placement (AP) Program

The Advanced Placement Program has been active at the school since 2002 with the AP Computer Science course (ICS 4U0).[8] AP Calculus and Chemistry has also been added to the school's Advanced Placement Program. The AP Biology and AP French will be implemented for students who wish to pursue enriched learning in 2011.[9]

FIT Program

W. L. Mackenzie Collegiate Institute offers a national certification program known as the FIT Program that will enable students to earn industry standard certifications in programming and engineering, and in Media & Communications Arts . This great opportunity for high school students is made possible through the Information and Communications Technology Council of Canada as part of the Education/Sector Council Partnership Project. Usually, it is the students in the MaCS program that attain the FIT certification.[10] Students who completed all the required courses are eligible for the FIT Plus Certificate if they do a Cooperative component or summer internship in a field related to Engineering, Programming or Media Communication & Arts.[10]

The following courses must be completed to receive the FIT Certificate:[10] Computer Science (ICS 3U + ICS 4U) CISCO IT Essentials (TEJ 3M + TEJ 4M) Business component (part of ICS courses) Media Arts (TGJ 3M + TGJ 4M) Business component (part of TGJ courses) Co-operative Education component (for FIT Plus Certificate)

Sports

Mackenzie is known for its competitive sports teams, including Badminton, Wrestling, Rugby, Boys and Girls Transgender Field Hockey, Boys and Girls Volleyball, Boys and Girls Soccer and Varsity Boys Baseball.

Notable alumni

See also

References

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