Your Job Is To Joust!: A Coop Placement With A Twist

Jousting at Medieval Times


      Meet Alannah. She's one of Western Tech's many successful co-op students. Alannah was recently selected for the position of Events Co-ordinator Assistant at "Medieval Times" a dinner theatre in the West end of Toronto that tries to re-capture the complete experience of eating, drinking and jousting in the 15th century.

    The position of Events Co-ordinator Assistant was a very difficult one to win and Alannah had to compete against a  number of co-op students from other schools in Toronto. Through determination and hard work, she won. Now, she is gaining valuable experience in both preparation and execution of VIP nights and school matinee performances. Not only does she collect surveys, compile data, and prepare gift bags but she also greets guests in  medieval costume prompting many guests to ask to take their picture with her. It's an experience with a real twist of excitement and fun. How'd you like to start off your day dressing up as a medieval knight?

The Grand Tour of Learning At Western Tech

      "Welcome to the Grand Tour of learning at Western Tech," is how the Student Leader started off her grade eight orientation for prospective students to WTCS. "It's a pleasure to serve you, and I'm happy to be your guide."

     On Tuesday November 13th, over 800 grade 8s were in the building to investigate the programs and facilities that Western offers. Western receives students from many different elementary schools in the neighbourhood such as Runnymede, Swansea, Annette, Brock, Carlton Village, Essex, Parkdale and High Park Alternative School. In fact, almost any student from anywhere in the city can choose to study here, and many do.

      The tours are organized and run through Western's Guidance Department and Leadership classes and are meant to highlight all the possible options for courses and learning a student has at WTCS. Western has one of the widest program selections of any high school in the TDSB. We offer almost every type of program imaginable:  from ESL to Gifted/Enriched Learning; from Robotics, to Food Technologies; from Coop Education to French and Spanish.  And that's what makes it such a special place.

          The Robotics and Mechanical Engineering classes presented futuristic "quadracopters" that hovered over the eastern end of the cafeteria. The Food Technologies classes presented baked goods and cookies and discussed the importance of nutrition in maintaining health and weight, and the Physics Department showed how simple and ingenious Da Vinci's invention of the "camera obsura" really was.

     "We're proud of our building and we're proud of the students and teachers in it," said a beaming Principal Ms Virginia Pang. "We want to let the community and the whole city know that Western really is the place to be, and we'd be delighted if they chose to send their child to learn here. This is a very special place."
       Our Student Leader was right. The day really was "The Grand Tour of (Western) Learning."