Victoria Park Collegiate Institute
Encyclopedia
Collegiate institute
A collegiate institute is a term that can refer to a school either of secondary education or of higher education. It has a complex definition that varies regionally, and has been largely unused outside of Canada since the early 20th century.-Canada:...
located south of York Mills Road
York Mills Road
York Mills Road is an east-west route in Toronto, Ontario, Canada named for the community of York Mills or Hoggs Hollow. "York" refers to York Township and "Mills" refers to the gristmill and sawmills in the Don River valley during 1804–1926. It is the former 10th concession road.York Mills runs...
and west of Victoria Park Ave.
Victoria Park Avenue
Victoria Park Avenue is a major north-south route in eastern Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It marks the border between the Old City of Toronto and Scarborough.-History:Victoria Park Avenue was originally a pioneer road for settlement of Scarborough...
at 15 Wallingford Rd. in the North York area of Toronto, Canada. It is the first publicly-funded school in Ontario to host the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
IB Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year educational programme for students aged 16–19that provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education, and is recognised by universities worldwide. It was developed in the early to mid-1960s in Geneva by...
. Authorized to offer the IB Diploma Programme since July 1987, the programme is taught in English. The school is open to male and female students. In 2006-07, 193 grade 12 students and 77 IB students will be graduating from 12 classes. Some feeder schools include Milne Valley Middle School and Donview Middle School.
History
Victoria Park Collegiate Institute was officially opened to students in 1960. Approximately two decades after its founding, Victoria Park C.I. became the first public school within OntarioOntario
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....
to offer the International Baccalaureate Program.
Provincial assessment
In 2005/2006,- 15% of Victoria Park's academic students scored level 4 (80% or above) in EQAO Math Assessment (only 7% of all students in Ontario achieved this standard).
- 80% of Victoria Park's students passed the Ontario Secondary School Literacy TestOntario Secondary School Literacy TestThe Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test is a compulsory standardized test for high school students in Ontario who wish to obtain the Ontario Secondary School Diploma. It was established in 2001 by the Conservative government...
, which is one of the requirements for achieving the high school diploma, compared at 71% of students from the Toronto District School Board.
Contests
Victoria Park has participated in numerous competitions throughout its years. These include various fields of mathematics, the sciences, as well as the social services; some of which take place beyond school walls.International Baccalaureate program
Offered since 1987, Victoria Park C.I. was the first public school in Ontario to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. Graduates consistently score within the top 5% of all students enrolled in the IB Program. Grade nine and ten students are admitted into a pre-IB program at Victoria Park where they are given the opportunity to gauge the IB curriculum. Individuals who wish to apply for the pre-IB program must write a student application essay of 400-500 words. The applicant then must attend an interview with the IB Coordinator in order to complete the application process.Sports
Sports offered at Victoria Park C.I. include:- Baseball
- The Varsity Boys' Baseball offered again in the 2006-2007 school year
- Volleyball
- Archery
- The archery team was started in 2002 and has won a medal every year since 2003.
- Girls' Field Hockey
- Tennis
- Rugby
- Resumed in the fall of 2010 after a 15 year hiatus
- Ice Hockey
- Chess
- The Senior chess team placed first at the city championships and 2nd overall at the provincial championships in 2009-2010
Library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
. The library offers over 20 workstations, two computer labs, independent study areas, printing services, and photocopying services. The library is also the home to over a thousand books of all genres. The library occasionally holds fundraisers for the Hospital for Sick Children
Hospital for Sick Children
The Hospital for Sick Children – is a major paediatric centre for the Greater Toronto Area, serving patients up to age 18. Located on University Avenue in Downtown Toronto, SickKids is part of the city’s Discovery District, a critical mass of scientists and entrepreneurs who are focused on...
and much more.
Some programs on the over 150 computers (which run on Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
) are Turing programming software, Microsoft Office 2003
Microsoft Office 2003
Microsoft Office 2003 is a productivity suite written and distributed by Microsoft for their Windows operating system. Released on October 21, 2003, it was the successor to Office XP and the predecessor to Office 2007.- Overview :...
, and graphic editors such as Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
. The Accelerated Reader
Accelerated Reader
Accelerated Reader is a daily progress monitoring software assessment in wide use by primary and secondary schools for monitoring the practice of reading. It was created by Renaissance Learning, Inc...
software is offered, with which grade nine students are encouraged to read and are tested afterwards on the content of the novel they chose.
White Pine at VP
The White Pine high school reading program started in Victoria Park C.I. in the spring of 2003. Every year at the beginning of semester two, a meeting is held in the school library to gather students who are interested in participating in this reading program. All books nominated for White Pine are young adult fictions written by Canadian authors. The ten nominated books are introduced to the students who will have to read at least seven out of the ten selections to be eligible to vote for their favourite book.A meeting takes place every three weeks in the library where students get an opportunity to discuss, with their peers as well as other teachers, about the books they have read. The voting for the favourite book takes place in mid May at the school. After all the votes from across Ontario have been accounted for, teachers and students of Victoria Park CI who have participated in the White Pine reading program are then invited to the ceremony where the winning author of the nominated books is announced.
Clubs
List of clubs running as of the 2010-2011 school year:
- Ads Team
- AIDS Awareness
- Anime Club
- Anti-Homophobia Alliance
- Archery
- Arts Committee
- Beautification Club
- Because I am a Girl
- Best Buddies
- Biology Club
- Books to Know Club
- Breakfast Club
- Business Club
- Canadian Cancer Society (CCS)
- Cardistry
- Chamber Orchestra
- Chess Club
- Children Aid Society
- Christians in Action (CIA)
- Classic English Literature Appreciation
- Dance Club
- Debate Club
- DECA
- Duke of Edinburgh's Award Club
- Empowered Student Leadership (ESP)
- Environmental Club
- F1 in Schools
- Fashion Club
- Flash Programming Club
- Free the Children
- French Tutoring
- Gii Sports (Girls Sports Club)
- Glee Club
- Global Youth Conference
- Hip-hop Dance Club
- Hockey Appreciation Club (HAC)
- Ismaili Students Association
- Journalists for Human Rights
- Just Read It
- Kids Help Phone
- Knitting Club
- Math Club
- Middle Eastern Club
- Model United Nations (Model UN)
- Multicultural Council for Ontario Seniors (MCOS)
- Muslim Student Association (MSA)
- Ontario Model Parliament
- Orchestra
- Organic Farm Team
- Origami Club
- Oxfam
- Panther Press
- Peer Tutoring
- Ping Pong Club
- Programming
- Prom Committee
- RAK Club
- Reach for the Top
- Robotics
- Science Club
- Science Olympics Club
- SPEAK (Poetry Jam)
- Stage Crew
- Stock Market Challenge (SMaC)
- Stop Animal Deprivation
- Tamil Student Association (TSA)
- Ultimate Frisbee Club
- Useless/Useful Physics (UP)
- Victoria Park Athletic Council (VPAC)
- Volunteer Committee
- VPLAY
- Web Team
- World Issues & Politics Club
- World Partnership Walk (WPW)
- Writer's Club
- X-treme Fitness Club
- Yearbook
- Youth Action Network
Notable alumni
- Brian MaxwellBrian MaxwellBrian Leigh Maxwell was a Canadian athlete, track coach, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He founded PowerBar, a maker of energy and nutritional products for athletes....
, athlete, founder of PowerBar - Pierre BrownePierre BrownePierre Browne is a Canadian sprinter of Barbadian descent. He represented Canada for the 100 and the 200 meters dash in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, 2002 Commonwealth Games, and the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics.-Biography:...
, sprinter - Bruce BoudreauBruce BoudreauBruce Allan Boudreau is a Canadian professional ice hockey head coach and current head coach of the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League . As a player, Boudreau played professionally for 20 seasons, logging 141 games in the NHL and 30 games in the World Hockey Association...
, Coach of the Washington CapitalsWashington CapitalsThe Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup... - Paul QuarringtonPaul QuarringtonPaul Lewis Quarrington was a Canadian novelist, playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, musician and educator.-Background:...
, authour and musician - Dan HillDan HillDaniel Grafton "Dan" Hill IV is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter. He had two major hits with his songs, "Sometimes When We Touch" and "Can't We Try," a duet with Vonda Shepard.-Early life and career:...
, singer and songwriter