Forest Heights Collegiate Institute
Encyclopedia
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
located in Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
that was established in 1964. The school is often colloquially referred to as FHCI or Forest Heights by the students and other Kitchener locals. It was named after the Forest Heights neighbourhood in which it is located. The school draws many of its students from the adjacent neighbourhood of Forest Hill.
The school motto is "sit tuum tollere", meaning "Yours to hold high". The mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
is a Trojan. The official school colours are gold and brown, but black is used in the sports uniforms and school clothing because brown pigments are not regularly used for such products.
In recent years, Forest Heights has become a magnet school
Magnet school
In education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...
for English as a Second Language
English language learning and teaching
English as a second language , English for speakers of other languages and English as a foreign language all refer to the use or study of English by speakers with different native languages. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is...
(ESL) students, as a result of the restructuring of Waterloo Region District School Board
Waterloo Region District School Board
Waterloo Region District School Board is the public school board for the Region of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It operates 103 elementary schools, 16 secondary schools, and other facilities, serving 60,000 students in the Region of Waterloo. It has approximately 5500 staff and a budget of $675...
(WRDSB) schools. Each district school functions as a magnet for a specific aspect of schooling (ie. design & technology, ESL, creative arts).
Locally, Forest Heights is known for its annual variety show called Journey, which traditionally features music, dance, and dramatic sketch components. Journey has been produced annually at Forest Heights by staff and students, since near the school's inception. Each year's show features a specific theme which guides the song choices for both the musical and dance components. Recent years have had problems finding staff sponsors.
2006 Lockdown
On October 4, 2006, Forest Heights was put on a Code Red (lock down) when several students barged into the school wielding weapons. Six youths ran through the school, two with steel pipes. This started just about 20 mins. before 11. An adult saw the students and followed them into the school to notify the staff. The police were notified and responded immediately. It was broadcast live on CKCO-TVCKCO-TV
CKCO-DT is a television station broadcasting on channel 13 in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Owned and operated by Bell Media, it is a part of the CTV Television Network and has been branded CTV Southwestern Ontario since 2005.-History:...
, the local news station. It took police 3 and a half hours to search the school for any immediate threats, or dangers, and to evacuate any remaining staff and students. The footage of the cameras inside the school was viewed after the school was emptied, and from there the identities of the parties involved were obtained, resulting in charges against unidentified minors of uttering threats, assault with a weapon and possession of a dangerous weapon. A seventh student who did not appear on the video footage was charged, but the charges were subsequently dropped.
Activities
- Arts Banquet Committee
- Art Club
- Badminton Club
- Book Club
- Federal-Provincial Simulation Team
- Coffee Houses
- Chess Team
- Computer Science and Programming Contest Club (CSPCC)
- Dance Clubs
- Dance Pak
- Dance Team
- DECA
- Embers (Yearbook)
- Diversity Club
- Fed-Prov
- Free The Children / Save Darfur Club
- Friday Prayer Club ("Gotta get down on Jummah")
- Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA)
- Grad Club
- History Club
- Knitting Club ("Knit Happens")
- Magic: the Gathering Club
- Music Clubs
- Battle of the Bands (School musical talent show)
- DRUM (percussion ensemble)
- Junior/Senior Concert Band
- Junior Jazz Combo
- Junior/Senior Instrumental Bands
- Music Council
- Senior Stage Band
- Photography Club
- Poster Club
- Reach for the Top (RFTT)
- Run Club
- Rock Band
- Sparkplug (school newspaper)
- Sewing Club ("Sew What")
- Snowboard Club
- Student Activity Council
- Student Athletic Council
- Student Council Executive
- Sears Drama festival
- Ski Club
- Table Tennis Team
- Tech Crew
- Torch
- Vibe