April 30, 2010

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Guidance Workshops for University Applicants

Next week the Guidance Office will be facilitating workshops for students applying to Ontario universities. All Grade 12 students will be completing the on-line application at that time. This is well in advance of the January deadline and parents should know that even though the application is submitted changes can still be made in the system. We encourage parents to go through the application with their daughter or son over the Christmas break.
 
Students applying to universities in the US should have those completed by the end of next week as well since their deadlines are January 1st. There applications require a great deal of time from the guidance counsellor and referees so it is essential that they be done soon.
 
Students applying to colleges in Ontario should make an appointment with their guidance counsellor if they require any assistance.
 
In recognition of this busy week for Grade 12s the Senior School teachers will be dressing up in their university colours and their will be fun competitions going on during the Morning Meeting between teachers. We do this to encourage all the staff to be aware of what the Grade 12s are working on, but also to give the Grade 12s an opportunity to speak to the teachers about the university that they attended. We did this last year and it was very successful.
 
Submitted to PC Connects by Gina Benvie, Senior School Guidance Counsellor

Shakespeare Day at Pickering College

Students from Grades 10 to 12 at Pickering College performed scenes from Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, King Lear, and Hamlet throughout the day. They were well-prepared and the audience was responsive and enthusiastic. One guest commented that he had expected to see an average high school English student performance but was pleasantly surprised to feel as though he were attending a play with real actors. It was clear that students had internalized the emotions of the characters and the themes of the plays in order to effectively communicate meaning to the audience through their scenes.

This year, students from French and Spanish classes also participated by performing two scenes. One scene was translated into French by teacher, Pina Viscomi, and one into Spanish, by student Ana Garrido. It was a challenge to perform in another language, but the students did phenomenally well.

During morning meeting Language teachers Dean Gessie, Pina Viscomi, Helen Coughlin, and Michelle O’Hara performed a scene from King Lear to kick off the day. Students were excited to see their teachers participate.

The emcee for the program, Grade 12 student  Matt Dunlop entertained the audience in between acts with Shakespeare-related jokes and trivia. We learned that when Hamlet wanted to do a sketch of Ophelia, he wondered which kind of pencil to use: “2B or not 2B; that is the question!”

Submitted to PC Connects by Michelle O’Hara, Senior School faculty.