Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute
Encyclopedia
Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute is a high school in Toronto
, Ontario
, and part of the Toronto District School Board
. Best known for being the host school of the TOPS program, a selective math and science enrichment program. It is the only high school in Canada dedicated to helping students with careers in the space sciences.
schools in Canada. On October 16, 1987 it was rechristened Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute after Canada's
first astronaut
Marc Garneau
. It is host school to the TOPS program and has offered pilot courses in Earth and Space Science, Science Journalism and Cisco Networking. It is the only high school in Canada dedicated to helping students with careers in the space sciences.
In 1993, MGCI was honoured with the Roberta Bondar
Science and Technology Award in recognition of the school's achievements in numerous student programs, particularly its SEDS chapter, which no longer exists. Renovations to the school in 1998 removed many of the open concept elements of the school's design.
, Student Council
, Amnesty International
and Key Club
. The MGCI Yearbook is the work of the Yearbook course and committee. It is distributed in June of the academic year.
There were few bands came out from this school, which includes 'NUM' the most popular school rock band.
Drama students at Marc Garneau not only perform musicals and plays, but also participate in many activities, such as the Canadian Improv Games and the Sears Festival. The drama department has won numerous awards: an Award of Merit for the ensemble of 'Hit the Ground Running', and for the play’s Original sound-scape. Their second entry 'Truth or Dare', another original play written by students and under teacher direction, also won gold, and various students received awards for lighting, performance, and production. Also it should be noted that Marc Garneau entered another student created play called "Burn" in 2009 Sears Drama Festival. It has then gone on to win Award of Excellence and came out on top of district finals. It went on to perform at U of T Hart House to compete for regional entry.
also stated that MGCI was the best high school in Toronto for math and science, once again largely crediting the TOPS program.
TOPS students have received a numerous scholarships: in recent years the graduating class of about 55 students has won over $1.3 million in scholarships. The class of 2011 won over $1.6 million in scholarships. Many of the graduating students have also continued studies at prestigious universities around the world, including Harvard, Yale
, Wellesley
, Princeton
, Oxford
, University of Toronto
, and McGill
. TOPS students are known for getting into extremely competitive university programs (such as Engineering Science at UofT) in droves. They have also enjoyed success in city-wide, provincial, national, and even international Science Fairs.
Five of the teachers at Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute who teach courses in the TOPS program have received the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence.
Currently, the TOPS Parent Council and the student-led Marc Garneau Student Council continue to advocate moving the program.
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...
, 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....
, and part of the Toronto District School Board
Toronto District School Board
Toronto District School Board, also known by the acronym TDSB, is the English-language public school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
. Best known for being the host school of the TOPS program, a selective math and science enrichment program. It is the only high school in Canada dedicated to helping students with careers in the space sciences.
History
Originally named Overlea Secondary School, MGCI opened its doors in 1987 as one of the first open conceptOpenconcept
Openconcept is a term generally used to describe a type of architecture which provides a lot of flexible space. There are a few general spaces that are defined using open-concept, see restroom, stairway and changeroom....
schools in Canada. On October 16, 1987 it was rechristened Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute after Canada's
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...
first astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
Marc Garneau
Marc Garneau
Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau, CC CD FCASI MP is a Canadian retired military officer, former astronaut, engineer and politician.Garneau was the first Canadian in space taking part in three flights aboard NASA Space shuttles...
. It is host school to the TOPS program and has offered pilot courses in Earth and Space Science, Science Journalism and Cisco Networking. It is the only high school in Canada dedicated to helping students with careers in the space sciences.
In 1993, MGCI was honoured with the Roberta Bondar
Roberta Bondar
Roberta Bondar,is OC, O.Ont, FRCP, FRSC is Canada's first female astronaut and the first neurologist in space. Following more than a decade as NASA's head of space medicine, Bondar became a consultant and speaker in the business, scientific and medical communities.-Education:Roberta Bondar had...
Science and Technology Award in recognition of the school's achievements in numerous student programs, particularly its SEDS chapter, which no longer exists. Renovations to the school in 1998 removed many of the open concept elements of the school's design.
Student life
There are numerous extra curricular activities at Marc Garneau. Some of the clubs include chapters of DECADECA (organization)
DECA, also known as Collegiate DECA on the college level) is an international association of students and teachers of marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and service . DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing,...
, Student Council
Student council
Student council is a curricular or extra-curricular activity for students within elementary and secondary schools around the world. Present in most public and private K-12 school systems across the United States, Canada and Australia these bodies are alternatively entitled student council, student...
, Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
and Key Club
Key Club
Key Club International is the oldest and largest service program for high school students. It is a student-led organization whose goal is to teach leadership through serving others. Key Club International is a part of the Kiwanis International family of service-leadership programs...
. The MGCI Yearbook is the work of the Yearbook course and committee. It is distributed in June of the academic year.
The Reckoner
In 2011, a group of students launched Marc Garneau C.I.'s unofficial online newspaper. Called The Reckoner, the student-run news site also publishes creative writing pieces, original student art, and editorial pieces. The Reckoner is updated several times a week to keep up with MGCI. Contributors to The Reckoner consist of staff contributors (who apply for a regular position) as well as guest contributors. The site's authors come from all grades and from both within and outside of TOPS. The site is located at http://thereckoner.ca.Sports
Garneau provides students with a wide variety of sports teams including: Football, junior and senior Rugby, junior and senior Basketball, Soccer, Volley Ball, Baseball, Field Hockey, Ultimate Frisbee, Cricket, Tennis and an annual hockey tournament. The school has thriving sports teams; the Cricket team advanced to the city finals in 2009, and the Girl's Field Hockey team won first place across the TDSB in 2010. The official mascot for the school is the Cougar.Music and Drama
Offered extracurricular activities include the Concert Band, Choir, Steel Pan Ensemble, Guitar Club, Music Council, and Stage Band. Although there is no official strings program offered by the school, students play in the completely student-run String Orchestra.There were few bands came out from this school, which includes 'NUM' the most popular school rock band.
Drama students at Marc Garneau not only perform musicals and plays, but also participate in many activities, such as the Canadian Improv Games and the Sears Festival. The drama department has won numerous awards: an Award of Merit for the ensemble of 'Hit the Ground Running', and for the play’s Original sound-scape. Their second entry 'Truth or Dare', another original play written by students and under teacher direction, also won gold, and various students received awards for lighting, performance, and production. Also it should be noted that Marc Garneau entered another student created play called "Burn" in 2009 Sears Drama Festival. It has then gone on to win Award of Excellence and came out on top of district finals. It went on to perform at U of T Hart House to compete for regional entry.
TOPS Program
The Talented Offerings for Programs in the Sciences (TOPS) Program is a merit-based specialized program open to students from across Ontario, housed at MGCI. The program offers enriched courses for its students in its core subjects of Science, Math and English, as well as courses in History and Computer Programming. TOPS accepts about 60 students each year through a competitive application process (involving supplementary applications and an exam), the vast majority of whom are residents of the Toronto area. A primary claim to the program's fame is that all or nearly all of its graduating students go on to university studies, both domestically and abroad. The program also features a much stronger sense of community than one usually experiences in the high school environment, mostly because of its small size and emphasis on community-building projects, events, and field trips.Recognition and Awards
In 2004, Maclean's magazine ranked the TOPS program at MGCI as among the best schools in Canada, suggesting it was the number-one program for students pursuing science or math in their later studies. The September 2006 issue of Toronto LifeToronto Life
Toronto Life is a monthly Canadian magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto Life also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including Home Decor, Stylebook, Eating & Drinking, Real Estate and Weddings. Established in 1966,...
also stated that MGCI was the best high school in Toronto for math and science, once again largely crediting the TOPS program.
TOPS students have received a numerous scholarships: in recent years the graduating class of about 55 students has won over $1.3 million in scholarships. The class of 2011 won over $1.6 million in scholarships. Many of the graduating students have also continued studies at prestigious universities around the world, including Harvard, Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, Wellesley
Wellesley
- People :* Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , Irish soldier, statesman, and Prime Minister of the UK* Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington , British politician* Arthur Wellesley, 4th Duke of Wellington , British soldier...
, Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, and McGill
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
. TOPS students are known for getting into extremely competitive university programs (such as Engineering Science at UofT) in droves. They have also enjoyed success in city-wide, provincial, national, and even international Science Fairs.
Five of the teachers at Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute who teach courses in the TOPS program have received the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence.
Moving the Program
In recent years, there has been an ongoing discussion about moving the TOPS Program out of MGCI. Advocates point to the overcrowding (estimated at 144% in 2009) of the school, and the need for the program to admit more students and hire more specialized teachers if it is to retain its current teaching model. In 2009, a presentation was made to the TDSB Trustees by parents, teachers, and students, and an external audit of the situation was commissioned. The council responded by creating a satellite program at another location in an attempt to alleviate the overcrowding issue.Currently, the TOPS Parent Council and the student-led Marc Garneau Student Council continue to advocate moving the program.