Thornlea Secondary School
Encyclopedia
Thornlea Secondary School is a public high school that opened in 1968 and is located in Thornhill
, Ontario
, Canada
, on the north east corner Bayview Avenue and Willowbrook Road, just south of Highway 407.
The school began in the late 1960s as an educational experiment. The curriculum was unique, varied and highly specialised, following a trimester system, and students were encouraged to address their teachers by their first names and focus on independent learning. The school attracted innovative teachers and self-directed students. Around 1980, with the introduction of a school Disciplinarian, this model gave way to a more traditional, but still high-achieving academic environment.
During the late 1970s, the school mascot, Pharley J Cumquat adorned in purple and white brought the student body together. Many alumni remember fondly the 'purple passion pit' which was later turned into the dramatic arts classroom.
, as well as the Walk Against Male Violence.
Generally, the school is known externally for its support for social causes
. The school, which in the mid-1990s had an enrolment of over 2300 students and a staff of perhaps 150, was once known for its Grade 9 and 10 Gifted Program, Talented Athlete Program, musicals and other arts programs, all of which were cut or starved in the late 1990s as a result of political pressures in the Board, and ostensibly an effort to lower the student population. This era saw the retirement or transfer of many dedicated teachers, the firing and hiring of new department heads, frequent curriculum changes, and the discontinuing of many specialty courses as the OAC program (Grade 13) was eliminated.
Thornlea also boasts a thriving artistic community, with many prominent Canadian musicians among its alumni, including the groups The Philosopher Kings
, Prozzak
, Courtesy Blush
, By Divine Right
, Kick Butt! Stop Smoking, hHead
, Flutterboard, Closed For Tonight, Hayden
, and Moxy Früvous
. Some of its more active extracurricular organizations are arts-oriented
, in addition to other influential athletics-oriented organizations, two prominent ones being the Drama Club and the Music Council. The two organizations have been known to collaborate on intra-scholastic events and concerts. Notable quasi-annual examples of such events are known as Thornstock, and An Evening of the Arts. The Thornlea Lights Sets Sound (TLSS) committee also plays an instrumental role in the organization and orchestration of the school's extracurricular activities, as it is accountable for the technical
work that many of the aforementioned events necessitate: for instance, the operation of audio-visual
equipment, stage set-ups, mechanical labour and assistance, and so on.
Thornlea's Drama Department conducted a weekly show called Maxwell's House that the OAC students put together in 2001-2002 as their collective graduating project. Sets, scripts, direction, stage managing, and acting were all undertaken by the students, and their show was free every week. It was a popular event that drew not only students either skipping or on a spare, but also field trips from other schools.
Another prominent group at Thornlea is Thornlea's Athletic Council (TAC), which annually organizes an auction, athletics-related charity fundraisers, and a year-end Athletic Banquet, one of the school's best-attended events, and also participates in the administration of Thornlea's many successful sports teams. Other clubs include a yearbook
committee, an anime
club, an environment
club, art
and film
clubs, a prom
committee, and a local chapter of the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA)
. The school has a tradition of student and teacher activism on certain humanitarian-related issues. In January 2005, after the Tsunami Disaster in South-East Asia, a group of students quickly got together and organized a fundraising drive that collected over $5000 in less than a week.
Thornlea has recently become a dominant power in York Region Basketball and with a strong senior coaching staff. .
Most student events at Thornlea are organized by Thornlea Student Association Council (TSAC). TSAC consists of six executive members and three appointed directors as well as three representatives from each grade. TSAC's major events include Thornstock, an end of year music festival, Some Wonderful Entertainment (SWE), and Hip Hop Away From Violence, a charity hip hop concert.
In the late 1990s, Thornlea students published a newspaper
called Deadline. This paper, unfortunately, was discontinued the year after its editor-in-chief graduated. During the 2001-2002 school year the Music Council funded the publication of an arts-oriented paper called Volume, which again was discontinued after the graduation of its entire editorial
staff at the end of that year. A new publication known as Ka-boom has recently been founded, the latest in Thornlea's turbulent but prolific tradition of student journalism. Other past student publications included Shonen Knife and Thornlea RAW.
For a short time, in the early 1980s, Thornlea was the hub of a student-driven journalism movement that published a newspaper called "The Underground." The paper only published a handful of editions before school administrators discovered the identities of those involved, and shut it down.
, mathematics
, science
(chemistry
, physics
, and biology
), and social science (divided evenly between history
and geography
), Thornlea also offers courses in the fine arts, music
(vocal, choral
, orchestra
l, wind ensemble and jazz
), drama
, and design and technology
. A survey course in philosophy
that is generally popular among Thornlea seniors has also been offered inconsistently over the years, depending upon the availability of a qualified instructor. A variety of popular creative writing
courses have also been offered over the years, again, the existence of which has typically been a function of instructor interest and availability.
Students from Thornlea have been known to perform extremely well in provincial competitions in the sciences, such as the Ontario Biology
Competition, hosted by the University of Toronto
, and various mathematics
and engineering
competitions hosted by the University of Waterloo
. Business students have also done extremely well, with Thornlea sending many to the DECA
international finals over the years, as well as having many students achieve high scores on the ¢OIN CA Challenge accounting contest, run by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. In addition, Thornlea has been recognized as claiming the top prize for several years in Wilfrid Laurier University's Stock Market Competition. Thornlea also has an excellent Modern Languages department, as evidenced by its students' consistently high scores in regional and provincial French
competitions over the past decade.
The acceptance rate of Thornlea graduates into post-secondary institutions, in general, is quite high. Whether this is due to rigorous academic standards at Thornlea itself, Thornlea students' own peculiar diligence, or the overall socio-economic privilege
of the community is largely a matter of speculation.
Wilfrid Laurier University's Stock Market Competition Winnings:
and urban sprawl
. The rapidly expanding middle-class towns of Richmond Hill
, Markham
and Vaughan
have led to a corresponding increase in wealthy students, while emigration from Milliken Mills, Scarborough
and other peripheral areas in the former Metropolitan Toronto
has led to a somewhat smaller demographic increase of substantially less privileged students.
The physical structure of the building itself has been the target of many complaints, notably due to its poor internal ventilation, and its noticeable lack of exterior windows
(there are windows inside the school). This architectural peculiarity is accounted for by the fact that Thornlea was originally intended to be a prototype
for an educational model where extrinsic stimuli
(such as vegetation, the sky, wildlife) are minimized, while intrinsic stimuli (such as bookshelves, other students in class, computer terminals) are maximized. The idea was that students would then be less distracted and more psychologically conditioned to focus on their studies during the day. However, some classrooms and staff rooms are located in the middle of the school surrounded by walls. This leads to overheating and poor ventilation in summer. At some point the experiment
was abandoned, and finally, to the delight of students and staff alike, a new southern wing was built during the 2000-2001 school year, complete with windows for every classroom that has an externally facing wall. Except it is not permitted to open the windows, there are risks said by custodians.
Thornhill, Ontario
Thornhill is a community in the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada, located on the northern border of the city of Toronto. Once a municipal village, Thornhill is now a community and postal designation geographically split into two municipalities along Yonge Street, the city of...
, 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...
, on the north east corner Bayview Avenue and Willowbrook Road, just south of Highway 407.
The school began in the late 1960s as an educational experiment. The curriculum was unique, varied and highly specialised, following a trimester system, and students were encouraged to address their teachers by their first names and focus on independent learning. The school attracted innovative teachers and self-directed students. Around 1980, with the introduction of a school Disciplinarian, this model gave way to a more traditional, but still high-achieving academic environment.
During the late 1970s, the school mascot, Pharley J Cumquat adorned in purple and white brought the student body together. Many alumni remember fondly the 'purple passion pit' which was later turned into the dramatic arts classroom.
Extracurricular activities
Thornlea students often play key roles in the social activist life of Thornhill, and have, in the past, helped organize the Terry Fox RunTerry Fox Run
The Terry Fox Run is an annual non-competitive charity event held in numerous regions around the world in commemoration of Canadian cancer activist Terry Fox, and his Marathon of Hope, and to raise money for cancer research....
, as well as the Walk Against Male Violence.
Generally, the school is known externally for its support for social causes
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
. The school, which in the mid-1990s had an enrolment of over 2300 students and a staff of perhaps 150, was once known for its Grade 9 and 10 Gifted Program, Talented Athlete Program, musicals and other arts programs, all of which were cut or starved in the late 1990s as a result of political pressures in the Board, and ostensibly an effort to lower the student population. This era saw the retirement or transfer of many dedicated teachers, the firing and hiring of new department heads, frequent curriculum changes, and the discontinuing of many specialty courses as the OAC program (Grade 13) was eliminated.
Thornlea also boasts a thriving artistic community, with many prominent Canadian musicians among its alumni, including the groups The Philosopher Kings
The Philosopher Kings
The Philosopher Kings are a Canadian rhythm and blues band who were most commercially successful in the late 1990s. The name of the band is derived from Plato's Republic, in which he outlines the design of an idealistic government, ruled by philosopher-kings...
, Prozzak
Prozzäk
Prozzäk was a Canadian pop music virtual band that consisted of Simon and Milo . The name Prozzäk was inspired by the drug Prozac. In an interview with the New York Times, McCollum mentions that their music makes people feel good and happy which is an effect of the drug Prozac...
, Courtesy Blush
Courtesy Blush
Courtesy Blush is a rock band from Thornhill, Ontario, Canada, which has been together since 2002. Courtesy Blush has toured Europe twice since forming, and sold some of their albums there, and is currently planning to tour the United States. The band has also toured parts of Ontario. They also...
, By Divine Right
By Divine Right
By Divine Right is a Canadian indie rock band, led by guitarist and vocalist José Miguel Contreras.-History:The band was formed in 1989 by high school friends Contreras, drummer Mark Goldstein, bassist Liz Teear and guitarist Steve Berman. They put out a number of independent releases before...
, Kick Butt! Stop Smoking, hHead
HHead
hHead were a Canadian alternative rock band in the 1990s. The band consisted of Noah Mintz, Brendan Canning and a succession of drummers. They were originally known as Head, but added the second h after discovering that another band was already recording as Head.The band's first album, Fireman, was...
, Flutterboard, Closed For Tonight, Hayden
Hayden (musician)
Paul Hayden Desser who records as Hayden, is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Thornhill, Ontario.His early works are a largely eclectic mix of genres from grunge rock to alt country, as demonstrated by his first full album, Everything I Long For, released in 1995. Since then his work has become...
, and Moxy Früvous
Moxy Früvous
Moxy Früvous was a politically satirical folk-pop band from Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. The band was founded in 1989, and was active throughout the 1990s...
. Some of its more active extracurricular organizations are arts-oriented
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
, in addition to other influential athletics-oriented organizations, two prominent ones being the Drama Club and the Music Council. The two organizations have been known to collaborate on intra-scholastic events and concerts. Notable quasi-annual examples of such events are known as Thornstock, and An Evening of the Arts. The Thornlea Lights Sets Sound (TLSS) committee also plays an instrumental role in the organization and orchestration of the school's extracurricular activities, as it is accountable for the technical
Technician
A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skills and techniques, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Experienced technicians in a specific tool domain typically have intermediate understanding of theory and expert...
work that many of the aforementioned events necessitate: for instance, the operation of audio-visual
Audio-visual
The term Audio-Visual may refer to works with both a sound and a visual component, the production or use of such works, or to equipment used to create and present such works...
equipment, stage set-ups, mechanical labour and assistance, and so on.
Thornlea's Drama Department conducted a weekly show called Maxwell's House that the OAC students put together in 2001-2002 as their collective graduating project. Sets, scripts, direction, stage managing, and acting were all undertaken by the students, and their show was free every week. It was a popular event that drew not only students either skipping or on a spare, but also field trips from other schools.
Another prominent group at Thornlea is Thornlea's Athletic Council (TAC), which annually organizes an auction, athletics-related charity fundraisers, and a year-end Athletic Banquet, one of the school's best-attended events, and also participates in the administration of Thornlea's many successful sports teams. Other clubs include a yearbook
Yearbook
A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a book to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school or a book published annually. Virtually all American, Australian and Canadian high schools, most colleges and many elementary and middle schools publish yearbooks...
committee, an anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
club, an environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
club, art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
clubs, a prom
Prom
In the United States and Canada, a prom, short for promenade, is a formal dance, or gathering of high school students. It is typically held near the end of the senior year. It figures greatly in popular culture and is a major event among high school students...
committee, and a local chapter of the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA)
DECA (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,...
. The school has a tradition of student and teacher activism on certain humanitarian-related issues. In January 2005, after the Tsunami Disaster in South-East Asia, a group of students quickly got together and organized a fundraising drive that collected over $5000 in less than a week.
Thornlea has recently become a dominant power in York Region Basketball and with a strong senior coaching staff. .
Most student events at Thornlea are organized by Thornlea Student Association Council (TSAC). TSAC consists of six executive members and three appointed directors as well as three representatives from each grade. TSAC's major events include Thornstock, an end of year music festival, Some Wonderful Entertainment (SWE), and Hip Hop Away From Violence, a charity hip hop concert.
In the late 1990s, Thornlea students published a newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
called Deadline. This paper, unfortunately, was discontinued the year after its editor-in-chief graduated. During the 2001-2002 school year the Music Council funded the publication of an arts-oriented paper called Volume, which again was discontinued after the graduation of its entire editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
staff at the end of that year. A new publication known as Ka-boom has recently been founded, the latest in Thornlea's turbulent but prolific tradition of student journalism. Other past student publications included Shonen Knife and Thornlea RAW.
For a short time, in the early 1980s, Thornlea was the hub of a student-driven journalism movement that published a newspaper called "The Underground." The paper only published a handful of editions before school administrators discovered the identities of those involved, and shut it down.
Academic life
For all of its extracurricular idiosyncrasies, Thornlea is by all accounts a reasonably paradigmatic Canadian high school with departments in a fairly standard set of subject areas. Alongside traditional disciplinary staples such as EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
(chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, and biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
), and social science (divided evenly between history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
), Thornlea also offers courses in the fine arts, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
(vocal, choral
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l, wind ensemble and jazz
Jazz
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...
), drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, and design and technology
Industrial arts
Industrial Arts is an umbrella term originally conceived in the late 19th century to describe educational programs which featured fabrication of objects in wood and/or metal using a variety of hand, power, or machine tools...
. A survey course in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
that is generally popular among Thornlea seniors has also been offered inconsistently over the years, depending upon the availability of a qualified instructor. A variety of popular creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
courses have also been offered over the years, again, the existence of which has typically been a function of instructor interest and availability.
Students from Thornlea have been known to perform extremely well in provincial competitions in the sciences, such as the Ontario Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
Competition, hosted by the 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 various mathematics
Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing
The Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing , has become Canada's largest and most recognized outreach organization for promoting and creating activities and materials in mathematics and computer science. The CEMC is housed within the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo...
and engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
competitions hosted by the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
. Business students have also done extremely well, with Thornlea sending many to the DECA
DECA (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,...
international finals over the years, as well as having many students achieve high scores on the ¢OIN CA Challenge accounting contest, run by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. In addition, Thornlea has been recognized as claiming the top prize for several years in Wilfrid Laurier University's Stock Market Competition. Thornlea also has an excellent Modern Languages department, as evidenced by its students' consistently high scores in regional and provincial French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
competitions over the past decade.
The acceptance rate of Thornlea graduates into post-secondary institutions, in general, is quite high. Whether this is due to rigorous academic standards at Thornlea itself, Thornlea students' own peculiar diligence, or the overall socio-economic privilege
Upper middle class
The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...
of the community is largely a matter of speculation.
Wilfrid Laurier University's Stock Market Competition Winnings:
- Fall 2005 - Jason Snow (National Champions)
- Winter 2005 - Liran Tal and Richard Srour (National Champions)
- Winter 2005 - Jon Fishman, Jason Snow and Jaynie Rovet (Ontario Regional Awards, Ontario - Greater Toronto Area)
- Fall 2004 - Sarah Bleiwas, Turbo Kwok and Phillip Keung (National Champions)
- Fall 2004 - Andrew Linzon, Jaclyn Weintraub, Daniel Modarres, John Hu and Natasha Fernandes (Ontario Regional Awarads, Ontario - Greater Toronto Area)
Criticisms
Overpopulation is yet another serious challenge faced by the Thornlea community. Since the school's construction in the late 1960s, the population of the surrounding municipality has ballooned due to both immigrationImmigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
and urban sprawl
Urban sprawl
Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...
. The rapidly expanding middle-class towns of Richmond Hill
Richmond Hill, Ontario
Richmond Hill is a town located in Southern Ontario, Canada in the central portion of York Region, Ontario. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, being located about halfway between Toronto and Lake Simcoe...
, Markham
Markham, Ontario
Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...
and Vaughan
Vaughan, Ontario
Vaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada achieving a population growth rate of 80.2% between 1996–2006, according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern...
have led to a corresponding increase in wealthy students, while emigration from Milliken Mills, 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...
and other peripheral areas in the former Metropolitan Toronto
Metropolitan Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
has led to a somewhat smaller demographic increase of substantially less privileged students.
The physical structure of the building itself has been the target of many complaints, notably due to its poor internal ventilation, and its noticeable lack of exterior windows
Window
A window is a transparent or translucent opening in a wall or door that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material like float glass. Windows are held in place by frames, which...
(there are windows inside the school). This architectural peculiarity is accounted for by the fact that Thornlea was originally intended to be a prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
for an educational model where extrinsic stimuli
Stimulation
Stimulation is the action of various agents on nerves, muscles, or a sensory end organ, by which activity is evoked; especially, the nervous impulse produced by various agents on nerves, or a sensory end organ, by which the part connected with the nerve is thrown into a state of activity.The word...
(such as vegetation, the sky, wildlife) are minimized, while intrinsic stimuli (such as bookshelves, other students in class, computer terminals) are maximized. The idea was that students would then be less distracted and more psychologically conditioned to focus on their studies during the day. However, some classrooms and staff rooms are located in the middle of the school surrounded by walls. This leads to overheating and poor ventilation in summer. At some point the experiment
Experiment
An experiment is a methodical procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, falsifying, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis. Experiments vary greatly in their goal and scale, but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results...
was abandoned, and finally, to the delight of students and staff alike, a new southern wing was built during the 2000-2001 school year, complete with windows for every classroom that has an externally facing wall. Except it is not permitted to open the windows, there are risks said by custodians.
Notable alumni
- Lauren CollinsLauren CollinsLauren Felice Collins is a Canadian actress that is perhaps best known for portraying Paige Michalchuk on Degrassi: The Next Generation.-Life and career:...
- Actress, Degrassi: The Next GenerationDegrassi: The Next GenerationDegrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and... - Stu StoneStu StoneStuart Stone is a Canadian film, television, and voice-over actor as well as a producer of TV/film and music. Stone also has toured as a comedian and rapper...
- Actor/Musician - Cameron MathisonCameron MathisonCameron Arthur Mathison is a Canadian actor and television host, perhaps best known for his role as Ryan Lavery on the ABC soap opera All My Children — a role which he has played from December 15, 1997 to 2002, and from 2003 to 2011...
- Actor, All My ChildrenAll My ChildrenAll My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most... - Sheila McCarthySheila McCarthySheila McCarthy is a Canadian film, stage, television actress, and singer. She is one of the most honoured actors in Canada, having won two Genie Awards , two Gemini Awards , and two Dora Awards among multiple nominations. As of 2007, she can be seen on the Canadian television series Little...
- Actor - Jian GhomeshiJian GhomeshiJian Ghomeshi is a Canadian broadcaster, writer, musician and producer of Iranian descent who was raised in Thornhill, Ontario. Now based in Toronto, he is the host of the national daily cultural affairs talk program, Q, on CBC Radio One and Bold TV...
- Media Personality - ProzzakProzzäkProzzäk was a Canadian pop music virtual band that consisted of Simon and Milo . The name Prozzäk was inspired by the drug Prozac. In an interview with the New York Times, McCollum mentions that their music makes people feel good and happy which is an effect of the drug Prozac...
- Pop duo - The Philosopher KingsThe Philosopher KingsThe Philosopher Kings are a Canadian rhythm and blues band who were most commercially successful in the late 1990s. The name of the band is derived from Plato's Republic, in which he outlines the design of an idealistic government, ruled by philosopher-kings...
- Soft rock group - Parham AarabiParham Aarabi-Career:Aarabi is a professor at University of Toronto and Canada Research Chair in Internet Video, Audio, and Image Search. He has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He is the inventor of numerous patents and author of over 80 publications most of which focus on audio,...
- Professor (University of Toronto)/ entrepreneur - Gordon KormanGordon KormanGordon Korman is a Canadian author, primarily of novels for children and young adults. He lives in Long Island's Great Neck, New York, with his wife and three children....
- Youth Novel Writer - Bill WelychkaBill WelychkaBill Welychka is a Canadian television personality.Welychka joined CHUM Limited in 1988 as a video editor for MuchMusic...
- Weather Anchor for A-Channel in OttawaOttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, OntarioOntarioOntario 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.... - Daniel MagderDaniel MagderDaniel Magder is a Canadian Teen actor. He has appeared in such projects such as The Famous Jett Jackson, and X-Men. One of his most recent roles is on Life with Derek, where he portrays Edwin Venturi. He graduated Thornlea Secondary School in Thornhill, Ontario...
- Actor, Life With DerekLife with DerekLife with Derek is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on Family and VRAK.TV in Canada and on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on Family on September 18, 2005 and ran for four seasons ending on March 25, 2009. The series starred Michael Seater and Ashley Leggat as the... - Mike Ford - Musician
- Murray FosterMurray FosterMurray Foster is a Canadian musician, playing the electric bass and stand-up bass. The first concert he went to was a Peter Frampton concert at age 12 with Jian Ghomeshi in 1978. He attended Thornlea Secondary School, where he formed Moxy Früvous...
- Musician - Ernie GrunwaldErnie GrunwaldErnie Grunwald is a Canadian-born actor who has had made guest appearances in a number of notable television series. He has also had recurring roles on, One on One, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody , and Two of a Kind opposite Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen...
- Actor