50th Annual Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair

HSC students demonstrate ingenuity and creativity at Regional Science Fair

The hard work paid off in a big way for participants of the 50th Annual Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair (BASEF) where more than 370 student exhibitors competed for cash, prizes and scholarships amounting to more than $140,000. The Fair, hosted this year by McMaster University, came to a close on March 27, 2010 after three days of monumental effort by participants, organizers, judges and volunteers.

For the second year in a row, the College was awarded The Herb Gildea Award for top High School. The College also placed second in the Junior Division.

HSC students Alexander Smith and Tim Schiappa had a strong showing with their project Hydrogels - A “Shamwow” for Africa. Through their project work, the boys determined that hydrogels can swallow 90-times their size in water. Why is that significant? Consider this -- if it only rains once in a drought-plagued area, hydrogels could help absorb more water that would usually be wasted because of soil saturation. They found the compound increased yields with four types of test seeds by 10 per cent. “That could mean the difference between an extra meal or two on the table for an Ethiopian family,” said Tim. READ MORE

In Memoriam
Mr. Doug Moore (1948-2010)
HSC Faculty

On Sunday, March 21st, Douglas Eric Moore (b. 1948) died as a result of a skiing accident in Whistler, B.C. Notwithstanding the incredible shock and sadness of this misadventure, for those of us who knew Doug, either as family, life partner, student, colleagues, fellow artist, or friend, the terms of his passing – “died as a result of a skiing accident” – constitute a peculiarly fitting epitaph, one this seasoned traveller and adventurer would have appreciated.  In an article he wrote for the Globe & Mail several years ago, recounting his pilgrimage to India’s holy city of Varanasi in 2001, Doug offered three reasons for his visit:

As a teacher of art, philosophy and religion, I felt I owed it to my students to go to India’s holiest place.  Moreover, I am infected occasionally with what one 19th-century author called “the perverse obstinacy of the crippled.” And finally, I went to Varanasi to see for myself.

Though rendered paraplegic at the age of 25 as a result of a car accident, throughout what remained of his life Doug drew on spectacular reserves of what he refers to above as “perverse obstinacy.”  That obstinacy, coupled with an enormous appetite “to see for[him]self,” managed to transform what might have amounted to a life sentence of restricted mobility into a life rich in travel.   And not merely travel of the physical kind (though he circumnavigated the planet no less than three times).  Few lives have been lived closer to the edge of the known than Doug’s.  There was no place on earth this wonderfully gifted artist and teacher wouldn’t visit, no realm of philosophy, expression in art, or emphasis in religion that didn’t interest him.  His was a life truly lived all ‘over the map,’ in the strongest possible sense.

Whenever Doug listened, looked carefully, or thought deeply, his mouth went through this series of odd expressions, as if the passing moment was a large sourball with a sugared, mysterious heart he believed in but could never quite bite down upon. Wherever Doug is now – apart, that is, from the life he’s now living in our hearts and memories – he’s no doubt only half-listening while the rules are explained, his mouth trying to secure some purchase on the moment, his eyes already drifting to the horizons of the already-known, imagining the adventures that must be waiting just beyond the vanishing point.

Dr. Matthews paid tribute to Mr. Moore in his recent Chapel Address. “As a teacher, one of his greatest gifts was his ability to encourage his students to see things, to see life, from different perspectives.  He challenged all of us to see things differently and to make the most of ourselves”, said Dr. Matthews. Click here to read the entire text.

The Memorial Service for Mr. Moore was held in the Artsplex Theatre at HSC on Saturday, March 27, 2010. At the request of the family, in lieu of flowers, donations to honour Doug can be made to HSC’s visual arts program. For more information, please contact Laurie Lewis in the Advancement Office at lewis@hsc.on.ca

Transformation HSC gifts top $20 million!

The major gift campaign in support of the Transformation HSC project continues to gather momentum in the quest to raise $34 million for a new Senior School and College-wide Community & Athletic complex.  Last week three new $1 million donations were pledged to the campaign, which was a phenomenal boost to us all!  Donations, pledges and other expressions of support are now well over the $20 million mark.  Last summer you may recall that we also were privileged to announce Mr. Michael G. DeGroote's record-breaking gift of $10.5 million to the project.  In January 2010 we launched the Family Campaign in support of the Transformation HSC project, asking for our family of HSC supporters to consider pledging their support for the campaign at the $25,000 level and up.  This campaign is co-chaired by Agnes Kuskowski ’82 and Jeff Paikin ’80, ably supported by the four Heads of School, (Bob Neibert, Rob Reiner, Adam Carswell and Dianne DeFreitas), the Advancement team (Sheriann Heath-Johnston, Kim Shippey, Laurie Lewis and Director, Adrienne Davidson) and a terrific team of additional volunteers from the parent and alumni groups.  Our goal is to raise an additional $3 million from the  Family Campaign, which has already raised more than $600,000 - congratulations all!  

Retired & Veteran Faculty Committee
Also in January a group of faculty (current and retired) came together to support Transformation HSC, chaired by Barbara Lazier ’67.  This very supportive group are lending their voices to the campaign to encourage support from the wider community of alumni, parents and faculty.  Please click here to view the members of the committee, as well as a selection of quotations from three of them.

To find out more
Please click here to learn more about the most exciting transformation of the College in our 109-year history.  Or contact Adrienne Davidson, Director of College Advancement, at 905-389-1367, ext 162 or adrienne.davidson@hsc.on.ca

Exciting Sound Field Amplification System Pilot Project underway in the Junior School

A variety of factors impact student learning, and at the forefront of that list is teacher pedagogy.  That being said, it is also paramount as educators to optimize other influences on student learning, including classroom environment.  With that in mind, some exciting new technology is currently being piloted in Mrs. Lisa Mitchell’s Grade 2 classroom where a Sound Field Amplification System was recently installed. This system consists of four wall-mounted speakers, a receiver/amplifier and a wireless microphone worn around the teacher’s neck like a pendant.  The system is tied into the SMART Board and all other audio/visual components within the classroom.

This technology was initially introduced in classrooms for the benefit of students with hearing loss or central auditory processing disorders (CAPD).  It didn’t take long, however, before classroom teachers and administrators took notice that all students benefited immensely from the introduction of this new tool.  Balanced distribution of sound along with consistent volume is crucial to successful delivery of verbal classroom instruction. 

Studies have shown that young children have more difficulty hearing in noisy environments than adults, and that the ability to listen in noise is not completely developed until a child reaches adolescence.  Enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio in early education classrooms provides obvious benefits to those children in “at risk” categories – hearing loss and/or CAPD. However, it is also proven to enhance the learning of all children. Research demonstrates significant academic improvement in vocabulary, reading comprehension, listening and attention skills, mathematics, phonological awareness and spelling.  Teachers consistently report improvement of classroom behaviours such as the ability to maintain attention, increased student cooperation, better understanding of directions, improved student involvement, and reduced student fatigue. 

Mrs. Mitchell reports marked improvement in students’ overall level of engagement: “Students no longer have to visually track me as I move about the classroom supporting and checking progress of individual students.  This has resulted in students being able to sustain their focus more effectively.”  Parents have also reported back to Mrs. Mitchell that their children are sharing with them at home how much easier it is to ‘pay attention and listen better in class.’