Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Grads Return Assembly

The PLC Transitions held a Grads Return Assembly on May 17th for grade 11
Western students. Grads shared the ups and downs of making the move from
high school to apprenticeships, college, university, or directly into the
world of work. .
Given the positive student feedback for this very successful event, we plan to host another Grads Return Assembly next year

New Scholarship For WTCS Students

Western Tech has always had an ample scholarship fund. Notably, the school is one of most well-endowed in the TDSB for awards and bursaries in the Technical Studies area. Students in academic studies are also well-rewarded for their outstanding efforts and that pot of money has just increased with a new bursary to be funded in part by the Toronto media company “Back Alley Productions”. The scholarship will be called The Barry Duncan Media Literacy Scholarship/Bursary and is in honor of Barry Duncan a longtime teacher and proponent of Media Studies at the Toronto Board of Education, and within the province.

Media studies are an integral part of the English Curriculum at WTCS and are a vibrant and inspirational way to challenge and tap into students' creative and academic abilities. Working with film, video, sound production, script-writing and graphical texts is a core and essential component of the English curriculum and it is one that draws in a wide range of students and abilities.

Adrienne Mitchell a producer and director for Back Alley wanted to recognize the importance of media studies to the high school curriculum and to developing the future of Canadian film, TV, and radio production. “Media studies is very important to Canadian society,” says Mitchell, “ and we’re seeing how influential the media can be all across the Middle East in promoting and democracy and holding governments accountable. That’s partly why I believe Media Studies is so important to support at the high school level.”

This graduating scholarship will be used to support Mitchell’s aims. The bursary will be awarded to grade 12 students who show strong commitment and skill in the use of media in regular English classes. “It’s an exciting development,” says Ian Esquivel, the media studies teacher at WTCS. “Western’s a school that can proudly support and develop students and develop with these gifts. The scholarship gives us another reason to keep on encouraging students to explore media and to consider it in their future plans after graduation. We’re delighted with the support that the film industry is giving us.”

The first winner of the scholarship is grade 12 student Chelsea Viray, who has made a range of videos, collages, installations, and soundscapes at Western Tech, her latest shown at Western’s most recent Prom.

If you are interested in donating to the Barry Duncan Media Literacy Bursary Scholarship, please contact Tina Morrison in Guidance or Ian Esquivel in Media Studies. We’d be delighted to have your support.