Churchill Heights Public School
Encyclopedia
Churchill Heights Public School is an elementary school
on Brimorton Drive in the Scarborough
district of Toronto
, Canada.
The school has been the home for Scarborough's gifted programme
for exceptional students since 1971, when classes for gifted students were created, which made Churchill Heights a dual-track school. Churchill Heights is closely aligned with Woburn Collegiate Institute
, as Churchill Heights is where the majority of the students in Woburn originate from, and there is therefore a strong partnership between the two schools. Some examples of the partnership of these two schools are the Robotics and PEG programs, which have Churchill Heights students participating on Woburn teams, and Woburn mentors helping Churchill teams.
PEG students meet after school typically two nights per week to prepare for competitions in programming. Every year, members take part in competitions at provincial, national, and international levels. Since its formation in the early 1990s, PEG has competed successfully in a large number of competitions.
PEG members who "make the cut" and remain in the program until the end of the year in Grade 8 are given an additional elective option for Grade 9, if they intend to study at Woburn. This extra elective, not mentioned on the course selection sheet, is the Grade 10 Computer Science course; PEG members are permitted to take this course (and all successive Computer Science courses) a year early, and can take the Grade 12 Enriched course twice.
band, a Senior Band, and the new Grade 7 Band, also consisting of Grade 6's (Grade 7 band is not needed for 2008-2009 year due to lower grade 7/8 student population-created specifically for year 2007/2008). The music programme in Churchill Heights only consists of students in grade 8 and below, which means that they had to face older students in every competition that they competed in. The Senior Band has won numerous awards and prizes every year in the Ontario Band Association Festival, in which they have received the Silver medal or above for the last four years. This year at the OBA, the Senior Band has once again achieved a Bronze award.
In addition, the Churchill Heights music programme also has a yearly Christmas
concert and another yearly spring concert. These concerts occur in the auditorium at Woburn, (It used to be in the gym at Churchill, but due to overflow, they started using it in the year 2007/2008) and the students who are not performing are all in attendance when the Bands and Choir have their dress rehearsal at Woburn. The Senior Band, dubbed "Junior Band" because of the excessive amount of 6th graders, consists of the flute
section, the clarinet
section, the trumpet
section, the trombone
section, the alto saxophone
section, some baritones, two tenor saxophones, a tuba
, a bass clarinet, and too many junior percussionists
.
The Stage Band is more of a jazz band. Currently it consists of a two trumpets, three alto saxes, three trombones, one guitarist
, two tenor saxes, a baritone sax, one pianist, and one percussionists. The most special part about this year's Stage Band is that we introduce two clarinetists, who play alongside the shrunken trumpet section.
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
on Brimorton Drive in the Scarborough
Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough is a dissolved municipality within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the eastern part of Toronto. It is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River...
district of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada.
Overview
As of spring 2007, 507 students are in attendance at Churchill Heights. Of these, 213 (43%) are female and 289 (57%) are male. 319 (63%) have a primary language other than English, and 14% have been living in Canada for less than five years. Most students live in the western side of Toronto, while some of the students live on the eastern side of Toronto. Some students come by a car, while many others come by bus or walking. Bus tickets are given out, if the school recognizes that the place where some students live are farther than a standard (3.2 kilometers for grades 6 to 8). Child and Student tickets are given out.The school has been the home for Scarborough's gifted programme
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
for exceptional students since 1971, when classes for gifted students were created, which made Churchill Heights a dual-track school. Churchill Heights is closely aligned with Woburn Collegiate Institute
Woburn Collegiate Institute
Woburn Collegiate Institute is a non-semestered secondary school on Ellesmere Road in the Scarborough district of Toronto. Its motto is Let the Zeal for Learning Flourish.- History :...
, as Churchill Heights is where the majority of the students in Woburn originate from, and there is therefore a strong partnership between the two schools. Some examples of the partnership of these two schools are the Robotics and PEG programs, which have Churchill Heights students participating on Woburn teams, and Woburn mentors helping Churchill teams.
Programming Enrichment Group (PEG)
PEG is a group of dedicated students who meet on a yearly basis after school to study advanced computer science topics and discuss algorithms and approaches to difficult problems, often on the level of the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). Topics covered and types of problems approached vary depending on competition entries. Churchill Heights has always been involved in PEG, as Woburn has decided to allow Churchill students to be members of PEG and that is how they get their base for next year in Woburn's Computer Science courses one year early. The learning methods used vary as well: sometimes students meet in study groups with their leader teaching them and solving practice sheets or programming problems, sometimes they are taught by one of the senior students, sometimes they work on the problem as a team, and sometimes they are taught by their coaches.PEG students meet after school typically two nights per week to prepare for competitions in programming. Every year, members take part in competitions at provincial, national, and international levels. Since its formation in the early 1990s, PEG has competed successfully in a large number of competitions.
PEG members who "make the cut" and remain in the program until the end of the year in Grade 8 are given an additional elective option for Grade 9, if they intend to study at Woburn. This extra elective, not mentioned on the course selection sheet, is the Grade 10 Computer Science course; PEG members are permitted to take this course (and all successive Computer Science courses) a year early, and can take the Grade 12 Enriched course twice.
LEGO Robotics
The Churchill Heights Robotics has a long history as a successful team. It is a team of students who build and program robots to compete in the First Lego League, which is the largest robotics competition for those students not yet in high school. Churchill Heights is known for its success in these competitions, as it has routinely placed near the top at about every single competition that it has been in. Unfortunately, they were not able to qualify for the Provincial Championships in 2007, as they were eliminated due to three other teams receiving additional points for using the worse RCX robots, instead of the NXT robot that the Churchill Heights team used. In 2008, the Churchill Heights team won the teamwork award at a competition, which allowed them to qualify for the subsequent Provincial Championships, which they were unable to win. In 2009, for the first time ever, the Robotics team won the playoffs out of the 16 teams that qualified out of 33 that participated. They received the Champions (Director's) Award and 1st place robot performance award. The Churchill Heights Robotics has always been assisted by the mentors from Woburn, who are former members of the Churchill Robotics, and they pass on their useful experience, which is very useful. As an inside joke, the members of the Churchill Heights Robotics team sometimes refer to themselves as the "RoboNerds".Churchill Music
The school is known for its music programme, which consists of a couple hundred students in band classes, an Intermediate Choir, a Stage Band, which is like a jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
band, a Senior Band, and the new Grade 7 Band, also consisting of Grade 6's (Grade 7 band is not needed for 2008-2009 year due to lower grade 7/8 student population-created specifically for year 2007/2008). The music programme in Churchill Heights only consists of students in grade 8 and below, which means that they had to face older students in every competition that they competed in. The Senior Band has won numerous awards and prizes every year in the Ontario Band Association Festival, in which they have received the Silver medal or above for the last four years. This year at the OBA, the Senior Band has once again achieved a Bronze award.
In addition, the Churchill Heights music programme also has a yearly Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
concert and another yearly spring concert. These concerts occur in the auditorium at Woburn, (It used to be in the gym at Churchill, but due to overflow, they started using it in the year 2007/2008) and the students who are not performing are all in attendance when the Bands and Choir have their dress rehearsal at Woburn. The Senior Band, dubbed "Junior Band" because of the excessive amount of 6th graders, consists of the flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
section, the clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
section, the trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
section, the trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
section, the alto saxophone
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
section, some baritones, two tenor saxophones, a tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, a bass clarinet, and too many junior percussionists
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
.
The Stage Band is more of a jazz band. Currently it consists of a two trumpets, three alto saxes, three trombones, one guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, two tenor saxes, a baritone sax, one pianist, and one percussionists. The most special part about this year's Stage Band is that we introduce two clarinetists, who play alongside the shrunken trumpet section.
Alumni
- Ed RobertsonEd RobertsonLloyd Edward Elwyn Robertson , better known as Ed Robertson, is the Canadian lead singer, as well as a guitarist and songwriter in the band, Barenaked Ladies...
and Steven PageSteven PageSteven Jay Page , is a Canadian musician. Along with Ed Robertson, he was a founding member, lead singer, guitarist, and a primary songwriter of the music group Barenaked Ladies ; he left the band in 2009 to pursue a solo career.... - Christopher Jackson − awarded US Navy medal for action in the war in Afghanistan http://nppa.org/news_and_events/news/2009/03/jackson.htmlhttp://www.torontoobserver.ca/2009/03/05/local-hero-commended-by-us-navy/