55 Malvern Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4E 3E4
Telephone: (416) 393-1480 http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/malvern Fax: (416)393-1493
June 2008 Newsletter
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
C
an June really be upon us? It seems like yesterday when students
were streaming into the cafeteria for August registration.
Looking back on the school year we can see that
once again Malvern staff and students have
continued with their tremendous
accomplishments each and every day. Our
students continue to demonstrate they are of the
highest calibre in their athletic, academic,
dramatic, artistic and musical skills. This year
Malvern students did us proud in their superb performances in The
Laramie Project, The Crucible, Massey Hall, Malvern Idol,
Boardwalk Ball, Fashion Show and the Library Art Exhibit. In May
we had a very memorable Early Malvernites Reunion day organized
by our alumni group The Malvern Red and Black Society. It was an
incredible reunion of over 80 alumni who attended Malvern in the
1930’s, 40’s and 50’s. It was truly a beautiful get together with our
students playing music, helping them with lunch and interviewing
them about their past history at our great school.
Once again Malvern athletes were a force to be reckoned with in
hockey, baseball, tennis, volleyball, track and field and cross country.
We were city champs in football, swimming, synchro, rugby 15’s and
7’s and lacrosse, just to name a few! Well done! Our students had
many excursion and travel opportunities again this year. In addition
to local sights they were able to journey to France, Italy, Spain,
Scotland, England, Costa Rica, Boston and Ottawa. These wonderful
opportunities take place because Malvern staff members give up a
huge amount of time and energy to make sure our students get
tremendous educational experiences outside the classroom as well as
inside. A sincere thank you goes out to all our wonderful teachers
and support staff for all that they do for our students.
Our parents continue to show outstanding support in making Malvern
a better place to learn. Many members of our Home & School
Council have been instrumental in fighting to save our pool and raise
funds for scholarships as well as for our new wellness and fitness
facility. They continue to work with many Board officials and
elected representatives to ensure that our building becomes a better
place for all of us to teach, learn and play. Your efforts on our behalf
are much appreciated.
As the school year ends we are already preparing for the next one.
We will again have early registration dates for
picking up timetables, student agendas and
having student photo ID’s taken. We are
requesting that students bring $50.00 with them
to cover the cost of activity cards, agendas and
yearbooks. Please see the enclosed Registration
Bulletin for more details. Please note that changes
to
timetables in September may only be considered due
to conflicts, summer school results or graduation requirements.
Students are expected to carry their courses through June once course
programs have been settled in September. Withdrawal from a course
will only be considered if the student has made a sincere effort in the
course.
This year no staff members are retiring but I would like to extend my
best wishes to the following teachers who will be on leave next year:
Catherine Hunnisett, Jane Fontes, Luke Hartley and Bénédicte
Wiggett. A fond farewell to teachers Saverina Allevato and Louis
Foulidis who will be pursuing teaching opportunities in new schools
next year. We will miss you! Congratulations to the following
individuals who have achieved 25 years or more of service with the
Toronto District School Board: Leesa Blake, Sherie Bradbeer, Kim
Broadley, Alan Brodie, Val Copeland, Wesley Dolphin, Janine
Geddes, Elaine Joly, Holly Kee, Dany Lamontagne, Erich Lehrer,
Janet Lou-Hing, Bill Mighton and Steve Wood. A sincere thank you
for your many years of service to the staff, students and parents at
Malvern Collegiate.
Classes for the fall term will begin with a special schedule on
Tuesday, September 2nd. Grade 9 students will report to the
auditorium at 9:00 a.m. and will be dismissed by 11:30 a.m. Students
in Grades 10 to 12 should report to the school at 1:00 p.m. Master
lists of home form classrooms will be posted in several locations on
the first floor of the building. Students should locate their home form
classes, be in attendance by 1:00 p.m. and will be dismissed by 2:00
p.m. School will resume with a regular schedule on Wednesday,
September 3rd.
This year our Respect Committee worked very hard on a number of
initiatives such as Anti-Bullying, Peace Week and many community
service projects which included guest speakers, workshops, and
surveys. All Malvern students are responsible for contributing to a
safe and enjoyable environment at our school. It is expected that our
senior students will demonstrate this and welcome our junior students
appropriately in September.
Finally, I want to thank all of you in the Malvern community for your
tremendous support throughout the year and wish you a restful and
enjoyable summer.
Line Pinard
ENVIRONMENT CLUB
S
ummer is here, and we are all energized with our growth during these
last few weeks and throughout the year. At this time I would like to
thank the members of the Environment Club who have
worked for months to help make Malvern Collegiate
an EcoSchool. Beau, Sara, Kristie, Emma, Meaghan,
Mikaele, Sam, Shannon, Anika, Liam, Stephanie and
others have helped create a dynamic group ready for
new initiatives next year.
This year, these people volunteered time and energy for several bake
sales. We had two very successful trips to Taylor Creek Park to help
clean up the litter. During our last visit in April we even found a sink.
The staff of Taylor Creek Park were really impressed with the energy of
our Malvern students. Several students attended training workshops with
other TDSB groups. These workshops started late in the year, and helped
the team come up with ideas for Waste Reduction Week. Thank you to
everyone who wore a sweater. I look forward to new ideas next year,
especially for energy savings. Along with the new blinds, we hope for
more savings next year. Thank you to everyone who helped with the 20
Minute Makeover. We have a certificate from Mayor David Miller. This
was a great way for everyone at the school to show that you care. We
had two guest speakers meet with interested students about how our food
choices affect the planet. Next year we hope to do more to build
awareness about the environmental impact of what we choose to eat.
One of our first September actions … gardening – planting bulbs for
spring flowers.
Leesa Blake
interesting speech in beautiful French on the topic of Expressive
Therapy.
Although she didn’t make it to the provincial finals (and to a chance
of winning a $500 prize), I am very proud of Carina’s terrific effort
and performance. Writing and learning the speech by heart required
hours of hard work and dedication, which shone through during her
speech. Please join me in congratulating Carina on her fine
performance!
Bénédicte Wiggett
NOTE: We are pleased to announce that Malvern CI has just been
awarded a Silver level of certification from EcoSchools.
Congratulations to Leesa Blake and all our staff and students who
helped earn the award. Next year we are going for Gold!
EARLY MALVERNITES GATHER ONCE AGAIN
“T
ART STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL BEAUTIFICATION
PROJECT
R
ecently, a group known as the Beach Business Improvement
Area requested submissions for a local beautification project that
involved painting small murals on Bell telephone junction boxes that
are scattered throughout the neighbourhood. These usually
unassuming boxes, which range in size and shape,
have in recent year’s fallen victim to unsightly graffiti
and tagging. It was the BBIA’s thinking that by
having students contribute artwork, the boxes would
improve the local aesthetic and hopefully be less
likely to suffer defacement. An impressive seven
designs were chosen from Malvern and have since
been applied to their designated boxes. Congratulations to the
following students for contributing to this great project: Alex
Beriault, Kristie Cairns, Sarah Cordeaux & Tasmin Dunkin, Justine
Daniels, Kabriel Lilly, Suzie Losee and Samantha Read. Also thank
you to Debrah Etsten, the Chair of the BBIA for putting the project
together.
Sean Matthews
… AND MALVERN GETS A NEW MURAL
A
spectacular new mural now graces the hall outside the Music
Room. Robyn Cheung and Erin Yamazaki chose to work
together to create and paint the mural as their major studio piece for
Grade 12 Art. It depicts images of musical greats such as Ella
Fitzgerald and Ray Charles as well as our very own Mr. Mighton!
Drop by some time and take a look. Thank you, Robyn and Erin.
Sean Matthews
CONCOURS ORATOIRE FRANÇAIS
n Monday, April 7th Carina Raymond (Grade 9) took part in the
Concours oratoire français (French Speech Contest) hosted by
Leaside HS. It has been years since Malvern CI has taken part in this
annual competition in which students, from all levels and years of
French learning, present a 5-minute memorized speech in French on
the topic of their choice. A panel of 5 judges then asks the candidate
questions based on their chosen topic.
O
Carina, our only candidate from Malvern, was the youngest to
compete in her category of Grade 9 & 10 French Immersion. Despite
lots of nervousness, she performed tremendously well, delivering an
his was the best party I have been to in years!” was a
comment overheard at Malvern’s Early Malvernites Reunion,
on Thursday, May 15th. The Malvern Red and Black Society
(MRBS) organized the reunion to honour its earliest members and to
give current students a sense of their high school and its people’s
history. By all accounts, the day was a huge success. Approximately
80 alumni attended, and greetings and best wishes were received
from Malvernites as far away as England and the United States.
Current students participated in a variety of ways. They directed
parking, escorted alumni into the building, provided entertainment,
served lunch, interviewed alumni as primary sources for history
projects, and taped and photographed the proceedings. The principal
and staff and the MRBS Committee members organized the sequence
of activities and made sure that everyone was taken care of all the
time.
After registration, the alumni were escorted to the auditorium, where
they watched a Power Point presentation of 1930s and 40s material
drawn from the Malvern Archives while listening to musical
selections from the Big Band era played by the Malvern Dance Band.
Its members were more than a little short on sleep, having traveled all
night from Ottawa, where they had played in a competition and had
won several awards. The ceremonies began with the entrance of the
Colour Party, three students, one female and two male, who were
dressed in World War II uniforms and carried flags from the period.
The guests were welcomed by the principal, the president of the
MRBS, and two student representatives. The
keynote address on Life in the 1930s and
40s was delivered by Dr. David Hayne,
one of Malvern’s most distinguished
alumni, who had also delivered the 1938
valedictory address in the same auditorium.
One of the highlights of the events was the presentation of honorary
diplomas to those alumni who did not receive them because they
were called upon to serve their country either overseas or on the
home front and missed their graduation ceremony as a result. This
was the first time that Malvernites had ever received honorary
diplomas. Certificates of appreciation were also given out.
After closing remarks, a musical interlude followed with what for
many was the highlight: three young female students sang an a
capella performance of the iconic World War II song sung by the
Andrews Sisters, Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy. It brought the roof
down as five generations of Malvernites rocked! One alumna who
had sung the song herself noted that the harmonies were perfect.
Guests were then treated to a catered lunch in the library, which was
filled with 20s, 30s, and 40s archival materials, including rugby
sweaters, Malvern Muses, commencement programmes and many
photographs.
Members of the MRBS who had organized the event were immensely
gratified by the success of the day and are taking a short break before
beginning work on the 50s/60s reunion to take place on the afternoon
of September 27th at the Balmy Beach Club. See the MRBS website
for registration details: www.malverncollegiate.com .
GALAPAGOS! GALAPAGOS!
Adele Ashby
EUROPE TRIP – MARCH 2009
W
ould you like to: climb the Mt. Pylatus in Zurich on a gondola;
“cruise” along Venice canals on a gondola; see Florence and
it’s “hold bridge”; see the Leaning Tower of Pisa; see the Coliseum
in Rome and the Sistine Chapel; walk along la Promenade des
Anglais in Nice; visit la Provence and the French Riviera; see Paris
from the top of the Eiffel Tower? If you’ve answered YES to one or
two of these options, then see M. Beaudry for more information.
Everyone from Grade 10 to 12 is welcome!
Richard Beaudry
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT NEWS
tudents in Writer’s Craft have been very busy this year, and have
earned several distinctions. In the winter term, eleven students
from Grades 11 and 12 entered the Toronto Council of Teachers of
English Short Fiction Contest. Students wrote
original short stories between 1000 and 2500
words long, which were judged anonymously
by three TDSB teachers. Seven of our
students were selected to proceed to the
second round of judging: Kate Sprung (Grade
11), and Madeline Embree, Claire GagnonKing, Pamela MacMillan, Mia Manns, Kaitlin
Montgomery, and Ashley Thomas (Grade 12). All of these students
were invited to a half-day workshop on “Authors’ Day” the afternoon
of May 8th at Historic Spadina House to meet with published
Canadian authors, and other student writers. At the end of the
afternoon, we discovered that Kaitlin Montgomery’s story “Patience”
was a contest winner, and was published in the Contest Booklet.
Congratulations to Kaitlin (who is a very fine writer, indeed!) and to
all our student participants. Over 90 stories were entered in the
contest from across the TDSB, and we are very proud of our
students’ fine showing.
T
here are still spaces available for new members of this tour. We
will explore some of the vulnerable ecosystems of the Galapagos
Islands and Ecuador. This exciting trip is an opportunity for students
to visit this World Heritage site with a guide available to help at all
times. We plan some fund raising activities in the fall to help
students with the cost of the trip. This really is a remarkable
opportunity. Don’t miss out. If you are interested in joining us, go to:
http://www.eftours.ca/Student/ click the “enroll in your teacher’s
tour” and plug in Tour number 434457-G1.
INTERESTED IN A PREVIEW? Try the Darwin Exhibit until
August 4, 2008 at the Royal Ontario Museum. Entrance to the
museum is free the last hour of every Wednesday from 4:30 pm to
5:30 pm. Admission charges apply for all other dates and times.
Enjoy half-price admission on Fridays from 4:30 pm to 9:30 pm.
Leesa Blake
S
The Tarragon Theatre runs a Young Playwrights Workshop, and this
year, Amber Reid applied and was selected to participate. Her play,
Perfect Pitch, was showcased with the other young playwrights’
offerings at the Tarragon’s upper space May 23-25th. The plays were
“workshopped” and roles performed by participants in the Young
Actors’ Workshop. In the midst of some fairly dark offerings,
Amber’s play provided some welcome comic relief, as well as
insights into the dynamics of high school friendships, as her
protagonist frets about her upcoming piano exam, that her best
friends just don’t seem to understand the importance of.
Congratulations to Amber!
Finally, three students from the two Writer’s Craft classes will have
scenes from their one-act plays (written as part of a class assignment
for the course performed at SoulPepper Theatre as part of the
Luminato Festival on June 15th. The creative drama of Shannon
Doyle, Samuel Edwards, and Heather Pierce will be featured, and we
are very proud of them, too! Thanks to Shannon for making us aware
of the opportunity to showcase Malvern writing talent—of which we
certainly have plenty!
Marlene Bourdon-King
MALVERN’S SYNCHRO TEAMS ARE CHAMPIONS AGAIN!
O
ur teams' future seems uncertain with the possible closing of our
pool, but our current synchronized swimming teams showed that
they are a great team this year. We competed in the A Level and the
B Level competitions, and came home with excellent results.
Our B (novice) team and duet both earned silver medals for their
routines. As well, our swimmers showed how well they had learned
the many skills required for the figure competition by earning more
good scores. The B team finished second in their overall
championship points. Congratulations to Kaitlyn Axelrod, Jennifer
Badley, Sara Baum, Alison Kinross, Colleen Kinross, Hannah
Materne, Nuala McKee, Ezima Nnabuogor, Kayla Seadon, and
Sophie Sher. Thanks also to Sarah Mikkelsen for returning after
graduation to coach the team.
Our A team and duet routines also earned silver medals, and again we
had a very strong showing in the individual figure competition,
including silver and gold medals. With all scores combined, the team
won the A Level Regional Championship for the fourth year running.
Congratulations to Flavia Asnaghi-Nicastro, Lisa Boutilier, Kate
Sprung, Saya Szparlo, Alison Tuer and Erin Yamazaki.
Results from both teams are put together to determine the Overall
Combined Championship for synchro, and this year, Malvern won
that championship, also for the fourth year in a row!! Thanks again
to our guards, Cristian and Katie, who came out to our early-morning
practices. Let's hope that Malvern can continue its incredible synchro
team next year! It's made up of an amazing group of students who
would like to keep swimming.
Janine Geddes
GUIDANCE & CAREER EDUCATION
APPLICATION PROCESS FOR ONTARIO COLLEGES
A
pplications can still be submitted. You are encouraged,
however, to submit your application as soon as possible,
especially in the case of oversubscribed programs, where there are
often enough qualified applications received by the Feb. 1 st equal
consideration date to fill the program.
If you haven’t applied to college but wish to do so or if you were not
accepted into your chosen program, you can find out which programs
are still accepting applications by using the Program Locator on the
web site (www.ontariocolleges.ca). You can also call OCAS,
Applicant Services - Program Vacancy Service at 1-888-892-2228
extension 391 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Ray Fallis
ONTARIO UNIVERSITIES ADMISSION INFORMATION SERVICE
JUNE 3 – AUGUST 22, 2008
Ontario secondary school students applying for
Qualified
admission to an Ontario university for September 2008 who do
not receive an offer of admission can inquire about possible openings
at other Ontario universities through the OUAC (Ontario Universities
Application Centre). Check their web site www.ouac.on.ca or call
(519) 823-1940 extension “10”, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and
Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Thursday: 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Val Copeland
PEER LEADERS
T
hank you to all of our Peer Leaders who were outstanding
ambassadors for Malvern. The Peer Leaders participate in many
activities throughout the year both during school hours and in the
evenings. Activities include Registration, Grade 9 Orientation &
Field Day, Grade 9 Home Form Activities, Grade 9 Parents’ Evening,
Grade 8 Parents’ Evening & Student Visits and Commencement.
This year our school initiative was on bullying and respect. Six of
our Peer Leaders, who attended a YOUCAN leadership conference,
planned a workshop to train the rest of the Peer Leaders on the issue
of respect. A presenter, Corey Atkinson, sent out a powerful message
to the students at the Respect Assembly and the Peer leaders led
follow-up activities in the Grade 9 home forms. A special thank you
to the Peer Leaders Hailey Cummings, Rebecca Tacoma, Kevin Tait,
Matt Wallis and our two super captains Amanda Attwood and Hanna
Wickstrom.
Ray Fallis & Holly Kee