A Horrifying Hallowe'en Horoscope

Hallowe'en Horoscopes
by Koji Umezawa

Aries March 21 - April 19

Your adventurous attitude makes you try new experiences to broaden your mind. You will make it your life goal to witness something majestic, so you decide to climb mount everest. You make it to the top, But you manage to lose all your supplies in an avalanche on the way down and you freeze to death. Good job.

Taurus April 20 - May 20

You like to stay isolated from the pack. So much so that one day when you see a person you have a crush on approach you, you panic and try to run across the street. But run into the path of a bus and get run over. Your crush moves on.

Gemini May 21 - June 20

You have a very adventurous attitude. One day, you decide to take a shortcut through an alley on the way home. You witness the mafia killing a man, and before you can escape, they get a look at your face. They break into your house as you try to pack up your things, and then strap cement you your feet and throw you in the river. They then use their influence to get the police to close the case.

Cancer June 21 - July 22

You are always kind to your friends and family, but cannot deal with betrayal. One day, you see your significant other cheating on you. This drives you insane and you go on a murderous rampage, killing students from your school, until you get to your adulterous lover, who is backed into a corner. You lift your chainsaw above your head, but as you take a step forward you slip and the chainsaw cuts you in half.

Leo June 23 - August 22

You are very fortunate to have the life you have. You are very polite to others, but you become very shy around people you have feelings for. One day, you ask your crush out on a date, but you get shot down. You are so depressed that you start walking alone at night, in the rain. You approach some cement stairs and, not prepared for how slippery they are, slip and break your neck. You get a full page in the yearbook.

Virgo August 23 - September 22

You can be very mean to others if you are not in a good mood. On one of such bad days, You bump into a kid holding a balloon, causing him to let go. As the balloon floats away, you tell the kid to get over it and to stop crying like a sissy. Later that day you are driving along with your friends when you get hit by a truck. You are pinned, upside down in the car and can smell gasoline, you see that same kid whose balloon you lost and beg for help, but he tells you to stop crying like a sissy. The kid walks away as your car goes up in flames.

Libra September 23 - October 22

You believe in true love, much to the chagrin of your peers. One day, they decide to play a prank on you, by waiting for you to present a love poem to the class, and then drop a can of red paint on you. Unfortunately, one of them did not have a good hold of the paint can, and it drops straight on your head. You fumble around with a massive gash on your head until you lose your balance next to an open window and fall to your death.

Scorpio October 23 - November 21

You are a natural born leader, but have a problem with authority. One day, you are doing some gardening work in a park when you get into an argument with your boss. It turns violent and you shove him. He gets angry and shoves you back harder, but you slip and fall backwards into a woodchipper, spreading small bits of you all over a field. The city decides to wait until it rains to wash your remains away.

Sagittarius November 22 - December 21

You are very adventurous and decide to take a vacation to south america. You are lucky enough to get an emergency exit seat so you enjoy the extra leg room. Suddenly, the planes engines cut out and the plane starts falling; a fire also starts and the plane is ready to blow. Once the plane lands in the water, you are too scared to uphold your responsibility of opening the emergency exit door, and the plane blows up with everyone inside. You make the front page.

Capricorn December 22 - January 19

You are a very hard worker but like to play around too. One day during winter break, after finishing up at school, you decide to head into a forest with a bunch of friends to see who can cut down the biggest pine tree. You all find your own trees and start cutting them down. Unfortunately, you weren’t paying attention to your surroundings, and someone was cutting down a tree directly behind you. You turn around just in time to see the tree crush you.

Aquarius January 20 - February 18

You are always looking to find your own way in life. One day, you decide to start making some crystals to sell as paper weights at school. You have your chemistry set all lined up, but you accidently used the wrong chemicals and end up producing some toxic gas. Tragically, your room isn’t ventilated resulting in you choking to death.

Pisces February 19 - March 20

You have trouble making tough decisions. One day you are driving along on a small, one lane country road, when suddenly, you see a drunk driver in a pickup truck heading in the opposite direction. Your family is screaming at you to get out of the way, but you can’t decide whether to turn left or right. By the time you make up your mind, the truck is already pummeling your car, and you get crushed. The correct answer was left.

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN EVERYONE - HAVE FUN, BE SAFE AND BE CAREFUL!!

We Create Change at Western!

WE CREATE CHANGE CAMPAIGN


Did you know that $25 will provide a person with clean water for life?

Did you know that 1,000,000,000 live without access to clean water worldwide?

That is why WTCS had decided to join the Free the Children campaign to collect pennies. Each home form has a bag that will hold $25. Imagine how many people we could provide with clean water! Please contribute whatever pennies you have sitting around in piggy banks, in drawers or on the floor. If you can fill a bag yourself that is even better! This is the largest penny drive to ever be held in Canada so let’s make it the largest ever to be held at Western Technical Commercial School! Bring those pennies Western!

A Commencement Ceremony to Cherish and Remember

The The room was packed and an expectant hush fell over the auditorium as over 150 graduates entered to start  their graduation ceremony. This was the moment that so many parents, teachers, administrators and especially  students were waiting for - commencement.

The ceremony was graciously hosted by Vice Principal Ross Edmunds with new Principal,  Virginia Pang, offering the opening address. The graduates were also warmly welcomed by Superintendent Curtis Ennes. Thusarshan Vikneswaran a well-loved , highly committed and involved Western graduate,  gave a thoughtful and inspiring Valedictory Address.

What was amazing (as always) with these WTCS graduates, was the career paths they have chosen.  Almost every field was represented. There were future plumbers, Linguists, Engineers, Computer Scientists, Car Detailers, Graphic Designers, Food Technologists, and students of Business, Japanese and Astro-physics. Western grads are attending some of the best colleges and universities in the country. Many were at the University of Toronto, McGill, Queens, Ryerson, Humber College, George Brown, and Centennial College. This is a budding generation of entrepreneurs, academics and tradesmen, and the ceremony was meant to highlight their  achievements as well as their future goals.  

Like many of the older high schools in the city, Western Tech has one of the most generous scholarship funds in the City of Toronto. This is partly due to the school’s age - the interest on fifty dollars donated 100 years ago turns into a lot of money in 2012.  

The winner of the award for highest academic achievement went to Kaelan Doyle-Myerscough who is currently at McGill University pursuing studies in Astro-physics and Japanese. The newest scholarship was awarded to student Matthew Masa. This was the Peter Cram Memorial Scholarship donated in honour of Peter Cram. Mr. Cram  was one of Western’s most beloved and inspiring new teachers who passed away tragically at the beginning of the school year in a bicycle accident.  In presenting the award, Mr. Neil Langley, the current Curriculum Leader of English, ELL, and Moderns noted that Mr. Cram’s time at Western encompassed the exact period of this year’s graduating class - in essence, he too was graduating with them.  

The ceremony finished with the graduates and parents celebrating their achievements in a much more informal way in the cafeteria where the Food Studies Department headed up by student volunteers with the guidance of teachers Lisa De Rosa, John Kilmartin, and  Tony Pegg served delicious cakes and coffee.

For those of you who were unable to attend the event in person, you may look for elements of it on the Net. In fact, the whole ceremony was broadcast live over the Internet by Western’s very own Tech Department.

Once again the staff and students of Western Technical-Commercial School have demonstrated just what an exceptional school it truly is. Bravo graduates, bravo Western!

Western Library News

The TDSB has a reading incentive program for all students and staff called ‘Just Read It’.   It is accessed from our website.  When you review a book you get entered in a draw for free books.  Many of our students are participating.  When they do, they get a lolly-pop. Send in your reviews.




The TDSB Virtual Library has many rich, subscription based resources for students in all grades. Within the TDSB firewall, these automatically load from the Virtual Library Homepage. However, at home and in the community, passwords are required.  

Virtual Library Learnmarks are book-marks that provide passwords for all digital products subscribed to on the Virtual Library site.They are designed to be kept near home computers, on refrigerators, bulletin boards and other easily accessible places, in order to be available when students are engaged in learning at home.  Learnmarks are available for all TDSB students, staff and parents from the library.
 

Reminder: The Halloween Book Mark Contest closes Friday October 26^th.

Co-op Students in the Library

Sukriti and Vonique – afternoons October 1 - 19

Library Assistant – Monday and Tuesdays through out the year

Courtney Lee Mann from Humber College’s ‘Community and Justice Services’ Program

Library Assistant – October 22 – November 4

Lilnus D’rozario from Seneca College’s Library Technician Program

Quick Links for your convenience: 

Western Tech Library 

WTCSLibrary Twitter 

WTCSlibrary Facebook

A Place for Leaders And Joiners: Western Tech’s Annual Club Fair

The cafeteria was packed. The room was laid out with tables in a large square and at each table sat a representative of one of the scores of clubs and societies that run at Western Tech. There was the Band club, the Manga club, the Prom committee, The Knitting Club,The Grad Committee, Save the Children Fund, the Ping Pong Club, Robotic Engineering club, and many many more. 

Western’s Annual Club Fair is the place for leaders and joiners to meet. If you have an idea for a new club, you’re a leader, and you’re always welcome at Western. If you want to join a club, then the Annual Club Fair is the place to be. Western also welcomes anyone from the community interested in contributing to our clubs. We’re always open to new ideas, and new possibilities. So if you’re a member of the community and you think you can help out a WTCS club,  give us a shout. Contact our office at 393-0500 with your ideas.  We’ll be more than happy to hear from you!

The Answer May Be “Blowin’ In The Wind!”

Congratulations to the following leadership students: Adrian Davies, Sir McMullen, Jenny Vuong and Oliver Whitfield-Smith. They’re part of a special group of Western students who took part in a video montage that will highlight the social, economic and environmental benefits of wind energy in Canada.  The group was filmed and directed by an Ottawa crew from the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CWEA).  The CWAE wanted to get students’ input on why young people think wind energy should be a part of our future energy mix and what the environmental benefits of wind energy might be.  Each of these students participated in the Kids World Youth Energy Festival, hosted at the Brick Works last spring. The video is just another example of Western trying to care for Mother Earth.  The answer may just be,  “Blowin’ In The Wind.”

Leadership News - It's A New Day On "Moving On Up Day"

Graduating from elementary school to high school is often filled with excitement, happiness, and sometimes fear. On August 28th, incoming grade nine students had their first experience as grade nines on our “Moving on Up Day” at Western Technical Commercial School.  After receiving their timetables, new grade nine students were paired up with senior leaders and student council members who took the students on tours of the school, walked them through their timetables, showed them their lockers and finally led them on an exciting school scavenger hunt.

The morning ended with a pizza lunch that grade nine students shared with their senior mentors, some of their teachers and guidance counselors. It was an exciting way to begin the year. “This is just the type of day I needed,” commented one newly-minted grade nine student. “This school is so huge, that I would have been totally confused.  At least I found out where my classes are going to be on the first day.”

A New Sherwood Forest?

Just exactly where is Sherwood Forest? For Western Tech’s incoming grade nine students it was at “Camp Robin Hood” in Markham, Ontario. This was an all day event held on September 14, 2012 to encourage team building and interactions among grade nine students - basically, to make new friends and have fun. Over 175 grade nine students participated. Students from the Leadership class and eight members from the staff and school leadership team led many of the activities and joined in the exercises. Thanks to all those who helped out with the organization of the day and a special thanks to our grade nine students for their cooperation and enthusiasm. We are all looking forward to a great year at Western Tech. Now, back to the forest...