2011-2012 Issue #1

“Zion News” Logo

Table of Contents  Title Page  ……………………………....1 Table of Contents & Credits ……..………..2 Student Council Announced ………………3 Curriculum Night’s Prefects ….…………...4 & 5 Harmony Movement ..……………………..5 Mono Cliffs Trip  ...…………………….6 We Day     Change 4 Change Coin Drive ..……………..7 Ally Week, Spirit day  ………………………8 Senior Girls Soccer Cross Country             .……………………….9 EcoSpark  ..…………………………......10 Pumpkin Carving Contest  Lunch’n Learn   ………………………11 Classical Theatre Project   ………………….12  Take Our Kids to Work Day ………………..13 & 14  Math Contest :  Dates and Topics  …………15 

By: Ulani Dutlall (Grade 9)

CREDITS

Cover Page by Liv Sun (Grade 8) and Jinyi Han (Grade 9) Zion News Team Ms. Farrington - Organizer, Editor, Formatter Kevin Kang, Martin Ho, Rainy Shi - Formatters, Technical Support Liv Sun, Jinyi Han , Ulani Dutlall - Artists Article Authors - Special thanks to the following teachers and students: Ms. Leventis, Ms. Cattell, Ms. Gerstnerova, Ms. Aziz, Miss Tang, Miss Kang Shirley Jiang, Linnet Guan, Nada Radonjic, Annie Li, Emma Middlestadt, Ziyan Chen, Grace Yin Some of the images in this issue of Zion News were taken from Google at www.google.ca.

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By: Nada Radonjic (Grade 9)

The 2011/2012 Student Council has been

elected! Samantha Tai as President, Judy Luo as Vice-

President, Shirley Jiang as Treasurer, and Nada Radon-

jic as Secretary. With their ideas, commitments, and

efforts, as well as several events already planned, these

four students have promised to make this year at Zion

a blast!

The nomination speeches took place on Friday,

September 30th, in the cafeteria. Several brave and

hardworking council nominees took turns to present their speeches in front of the en-

tire school. All the speeches were very amusing and wonderfully written. The nomi-

nees talked about everything they had planned for the students throughout the year .

However, with only four categories and only one person per position, the choices

were limited.

After the presentations, the students in the school each received a voting pam-

phlet to indicate their top choices. The elected were announced shortly before the end

of the day.

We, the Student Council executive members, are very honoured and want to

thank all of the students and teachers who voted for us. Congratulations also go to all

the nominees who gave fantastic speeches. It was truly a job well done.

Please remember that even if you were not elected, it is never too late

to offer your creative ideas to the council. We gladly welcome your

contributions. The council has several things planned and we are put-

ting our greatest efforts to make Zion a fun place.

2011/2012 Student Council Announced

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By: Shirley Jiang & Linnet Guan (Grade 9) The shrill cry of a bell pealed through the air, indi-cating the end of the period. The screech of chairs scraping against the floor resounded through the room as they were pushed back by their occupants. Teachers opened their doors to make way for the crowd of exiting parents. These parents rushed to their next destination in a frantic attempt to avoid being late and …… Wait... Parents! In a clever twist, the administration of Zion Heights J.H.S.’s Curriculum Night 2011 (which occurred on September 21st) asked the parents to follow their children's schedules for interviews and sessions with the various teachers. To ensure smooth transition for the parents to go from one room to another around the school…... That’s where the prefects came in. A group of grade nine students who volunteered to be prefects stayed at Zion for the en-tire evening of the Curriculum Night, helping the parents to find their way through the twists and turns of our many corridors to their proper destinations. These grade 9s sported a black vests and semi-formal attire. All the prefects arrived at school at 5:45 p.m. that day. We immediately donned our vests and began organizing pamphlets to hand out to the parents, who by now were rapidly streaming in through our front doors. A few of the Grade 9s stood near the front entrance to welcome them, while others lined themselves up along the corridor to the cafeteria, handing out papers to all those attending. After most of the parents gathered in the cafeteria, the assembly began, with the Junior Concert Band performing two pieces, led and conducted by our grade 8 and 9 band teacher, Mrs. McArton. This was shortly followed by a speech from our principal, Mrs. Lamb, before it was time for the parents to head off to class. So off they went. In a rush, the prefects spread out into groups around the school and helped those parents within their designated area. After a hectic three minutes, the hallways were clear once again and the prefects were free, that is, until the bell rang again and the cycle was repeated.

Curriculum Night's Prefects

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This happened several times throughout the evening, so that parents could experi-ence their children's Day 1 and part of Day 2’s schedules. Amusingly, some parents thought that the Day 2 schedule meant that they had to come back the next evening. Each period lasted for fifteen minutes. Within that time, the teachers explained the course outlines of their subjects and classroom expectations, as well as answer any questions the parents might have. In the corridors, a number of prefects visited the refreshment table. They proceeded to hand out food and drinks to their peers stationed throughout the building. Finally, after all the "classes" were attended to and the evening ended with a crowd of satisfied parents exiting our front doors, the tales of how parents praised both students and staff of the school were passed from teacher to teacher. Many thanks to the grade nine prefects and the teachers and staff who helped in making this spectacular Curriculum Night a success!

Gr. 8 and 9 students are currently participating in Harmony Movement, the Diversity Leadership Certificate program, an extra-curricular leadership course that challenges youth to recognize and strengthen their leadership skills while positively affecting social and attitudinal change in their school and community. The program is an opportunity to gain respect for others

from diverse backgrounds, understand the complex issues of in-clusive schooling, and critically analyze the stereotypes of youth culture. The aim of the program is to build upon participants’ own values of diversity and self-esteem in order to help combat discrimination. The program consists of eight one-hour weekly sessions of intensive training administered by Harmony Move-ment staff, ending in presentations to our Gr. 7 students.

Harmony Movement

BY: Ms. Gerstnerova

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“The change starts within each one of us.” This is just one memorable line out of the countless lines that were spoken by Craig Kielburger, founder of the organization “Free the Children” and co-founder of “Me-to-We”, at “We Day 2011” (on September 27th.) As a grade 9 student of Zion Heights Junior High School, I had the privilege of being a part of the small group of seventh, eighth and ninth graders who attended the fifth annual “We Day” hosted at the Air Canada Centre. “We Day” is a day in which students, educators, per-formers and speakers gather to inspire and celebrate the youth movement for global change – and how inspiring it has turned out to be! Guest speakers such as Spencer West, Dr. Patch Ad-ams the lovable clown, well-known Canadian Paralympian Rick Hansen and many more ap-peared and spoke alongside Craig and Mark Kielburger, the brothers who started “Me-to-We”. Musicians such as City & Colour, Nelly Furtado, Nevereast, Shawn Desman and Joe Jonas per-formed. The full stadium laughed, cheered and shed many tears together. As humans, we are struggling in many ways, shapes and forms – some of us more than others. We are all survivors of our own battles. “We Day” touched upon some of the world’s greatest social issues such as world hunger, racial and sexual discrimination, and the after-effects of natural disasters. It showed us that anyone can accomplish awesome feats and help others in their fights if we put our minds to it. With the “power of We”, no one is alone in their journey to make a difference.

Change 4 Change Coin Drive

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 Congratulations to all staff and students for partici-pating in our annual “Change 4 Change” Coin Drive. We raised $1,128.48, an incredible amount for one school! This money will provide over 1,100 breakfasts to TDSB students in need. Everyone's help, no matter how small, is appreciated. Well done, Zion! BY: Ms. Gerstnerova

WE DAY BY: Annie Li (Grade 9)

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Ally Week October 17 – 21 was Ally Week! A week that serves to identify, support, and celebrate allies against all types of bullying, harassment, and discrimination including homo-phobia. All students deserve to feel safe, accepted, and supported. Bullying is unacceptable. Bullying hurts. Throughout the week, through announcements, class dis-

cussions and homeroom activities, students have been exposed to many suggestions on how they can safely help to stop bullying. Students know that by being an ally to those that are bullied is a key element in stopping bullying.

Change Attitudes.

Change Behaviours. Change Directions.

Change Voices. Change Lives.

Be the Change.

Be an Ally

On October 20th,

Zion staff and students, along with many people throughout North America, wore purple to remember those whose lives are affected by bullying, discrimination, and intolerance. Purple ribbons were distributed and Ms. Horvath’s homeroom painted purple symbols on faces in exchange for a small donation to Kids Help Phone. Zion wore purple to show our support and solidarity. Zion wore purple to let others know they are not alone. Zion wore purple to show that so many of us are allies. By: Ms. Leventis

SPiriT Day

Wear PURPLE on Octo-ber 20

Spirit Day— Wear Purple

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This year’s senior girls’ soccer tournament was fantastic! All the girls were su-per pumped and excited to play the other schools. During the first game, our team faced Pleasantview JHS, and even though the second half started with our team down by one, not once did we give up! Instead, we powered through it, working even harder than before, and we came out on top winning 2-1. The second game was tough, as we competed against Windfields JHS. We certainly put up a fight and sup-ported each other throughout, but even though we tried our best and never gave up, we lost the game. We finished second in our division to make it to the semi-finals against Woodbine JHS and because of our strong determination and effort, we pow-ered through the game defeating them 5-1. We were so proud of ourselves and ex-cited to have made it to the finals that we weren’t intimidated or scared about having to play against Windfields again. In the end we were defeated 5-2, but we knew that we had tried our best and that our spirits had never been broken. Even during the last few seconds of the game, our team was cheering loudly with smiles on our faces. Great job girls on the Silver Medal at the Regional Championships. We would like to thank Mrs. Cattell for coaching our team!

Senior Girls’ Soccer

BY: Emma Middlestadt (Grade 9)

Cross Country 2011 During the month of September and October, the Cross-county team, made up of grade 7 & 8 students,

practiced running 3 kilometers. The team practiced throughout the weeks leading up to their meets.

Their first meet was on October 6th, the second was on the 12th while the final city championships was

on the 20th. Congratulations to the team for all their hard work and effort! And a huge thank you goes

out to Ms. MacArthur for giving up her time to organize the team this year.

BY: Lucia Sun (Grade 9)

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Grade 8 Science students of Mr. Wevers, Ms. Cattell, Ms. Wong and Ms. Kang had an opportunity to conduct an outdoor study at German Mills Creek - a stream that flows into the Don River. Students collected samples of living organisms directly from the creek as data for determining the cleanliness of the water. It was a great outdoor experience. Special thank you to Mr. Wevers for organizing this study with EcoSpark! EcoSpark works with communities and with schools, provid-ing them with the knowledge and tools to monitor their environ-ment and take action for positive environmental change. For more information visit: www.ecospark.ca BY: Miss Kang

EcoSpark

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Pumpkin Carving Contest Zion Celebrated Halloween this year by hosting its very own Pumpkin Carving Contest! There were nine teams with a whooping total of twenty-seven participants. After a long morn-ing of creating and carving funky pumpkin faces on the pumpkins, the final products were just astounding! Everyone did an amazing job decorating their pumpkins. Over 100 students voted and the top three winners are: 1. The Pumpkin Team - Daniel Khan, Shayan Takand, and Mark Li 2. The Purple Ponies - Anna Shannon, Sarah Hakimi, and Vicky Wang 3. Super Junior - Jinyi Han, Joy Wu, and Sarina Choi Congratulations to the winners. A big thank you to Ms. Cattell, Ms. Aziz, and the student or-ganizers Zili Zhou, Michelle Lu, and Ziyan Chen. BY: Ziyan Chan (Grade 9)

The Winners

Other interesting entries

1st 2nd 3rd

Lunch’n Learn Since September, 2011, Zion Teachers have had professional de-velopment (PD) sessions at lunch time on a variety of topics that are meant to enhance their teaching and student learning. The present-ers so far were from Surrey Place and the Special Education Depart-ment, TDSB. More sessions will be scheduled throughout the school year.

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“O Romeo, Romeo! Where art thou Romeo?” The famous line from the Shakespearean play has enchanted the minds of readers from all around the globe. On October 27, it captivated the hearts of many students from Zion. The two gifted classes in grades eight and nine took part in “The Classical Theater Project” in a two-component program at St. Michael’s College in downtown Toronto. The first featured a “Romeo and Juliet” workshop which enabled us to explore different elements of the dramatic arts such as pitch, dynamics, tones, facial expressions and levels of move-ment. This also included a behind-the-scenes special from the actors – we were treated to a demonstration of fictitious stage combat which engaged many eager eyes and minds! The second component put the spotlight on the play itself. Forty-eight ecstatic Zion students were entranced as they were brought back in time to the era of Capulets and Montagues “where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. Whose misadventured piteous overthrows; do with their death bury their parents’ strife”. Our hearts followed the two lovers in Ve-rona, Italy, where at last, the “pair of star-crossed lovers takes their life.” Travelling back to school, the air was buzzing about the magic we’ve encountered that day. “For never was a story of more woe; than this of Juliet and her Romeo”.

Classical Theatre Project - Shakespeare

BY: Grace Yin (Grade 9)

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Take Our Kids to Work Day 2011! By Ms. Leventis 

     On November 2, 2011 over 200,000 Grade 9 students across Canada participated in the 17th annual Take Our Kids to Work Day.  It was a very successful and exciting day for our Grade 9 students. Thanks to all the parents, guardians, family friends, community members, and em‐ployers who hosted students. Their commitment to young people has given many students unique learning experiences and valuable knowledge about the workplace. 

⇒ Upper Canada College ⇒ AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) ⇒ Sushi World ⇒ Tender Living Health Care ⇒ Ministry of Education ⇒ GO Transit ⇒ Cosmetics Laboratory ⇒ Sick Children’s Hospital ⇒ Century 21 ⇒ Makio Designs ⇒ Smith Monument Company 

⇒ TD Bank ⇒ North York General Hospital ⇒ The University of Toronto ⇒ FedEx Express ⇒ Ministry of the Attorney General ⇒ Chartered Accountants office ⇒ The Fairmount Royal York Hotel ⇒ Cresthaven Public School ⇒ Flight Safety International ⇒ St. Michael’s Hospital ⇒ IBM 

  We surveyed our students and here are just some of the survey responses from Zion’s Grade 9s:  

Where did you go for Take Our Kids to Work Day? 

What positive characteristics are employers looking for when hiring an  employee? 

♦ patient ♦ cooperative ♦ challenge themselves ♦ positive attitude ♦ responsible ♦ uses time well ♦ organized ♦ friendly ♦ perseveres ♦ eager ♦ helpful ♦ shows initiative ♦ determined ♦ respectful 

♦ dedicated ♦ curiosity ♦ enthusiastic ♦ energetic ♦ trustworthy ♦ kind ♦ polite ♦ careful ♦ punctual ♦ confidence ♦ efficient ♦ loyalty ♦ integrity ♦ logical 

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What was the highlight of your placement?  

◊ Sitting down and talking to clients... I got to learn about their lives ◊ Seeing production line of prototypes for graphic cards ◊ The tour of the “shop” where all the aircraft parts are manufactured ◊ Seeing the kids treat me like a stranger at first, then slowly accept me.  At the end, 

the kids hugged my legs and didn’t want me to leave! ◊ When the volunteers sang to the seniors ◊ Filling out delivery paperwork and pressing buttons to test lights ◊ Seeing liquid nitrogen, dry ice demonstrations, and getting to touch a placenta! ◊  It really opened my eyes to students that have difficulty processing properly ◊ Playing Bingo with the seniors ◊ Learning how plastic bottles are made ◊ They had a PS3 and Wii that everyone could play ◊ Dissecting a mouse! ◊ Seeing my dad deal with a client ◊ Multitasking on a triple monitor computer ◊ Going to the BMO branch vault and holding $10 000 in cash! ◊ Seeing what a teacher has to do to make the classroom a place where students 

want to be ◊ I saw the Lady Gaga lipstick ◊ Seeing the step by step process of making clothes ◊ Getting to work with my mom ◊ Hearing two speakers – they were very inspiring ◊ Seeing a real trial take place ◊ Going to the anatomy museum and seeing some cool stuff! ◊ A  professor of the university talked to us about manufacturing chips ◊ Sitting in the library reading to the kindergartens ◊ Calculating the loan and interest someone would need to know if they are able to 

buy a house ◊ Packing holiday gifts for families in need ◊ “flying” in the flight simulator ◊ Watching my mom do EEG testing on patients ◊ Listening to the Grade 3s practise singing for their winter concert  

Take Our Kids to Work Day 2011! (Continued)

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A&P Contest Dates and Topics (Revised) 2011-2012

Contest # Contest Date 1 Wednesday, November 16, 2011 2 Wednesday, December 14, 2011 3 Wednesday, January 11, 2012 4 Wednesday, February 8, 2012 5 Wednesday, March 21, 2012 6 Thursday, April 12, 2012

Topics - Middle/Junior: Contest 1: Percent, sequences, median, prime numbers, system of equations,

midpoint, prime factorization

Contest 2: Distance, slope, base notation, prisms, average

Contest 3: Powers, evaluating expressions, base notation, quadratics, distribu

tive property, geometric mean

Contest 4: Percent, acute triangles, supplementary angles, scientific notation,

mean

Contest 5: Probability, function notation, slope, square roots, interior/exterior

angles

Contest 6: Equation of circle, fractional exponents, diagonals, GCF monomials,

area

Other Dates: Grade 7 and 8 CNML Contest - February 21,2012 Grade 7 and 8 Gauss Contest - May 16, 2012 Grade 9 Pascal Contest - February 23, 2012

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