Once again, the
Transitions Committee from WR9 put on a spectacular Skilled Trades Showcase for
the 6th straight year in order to grow awareness of Tech programs
across the TDSB. This year’s event was
held at Central Commerce Collegiate Institute on May 22-23, 2013, and was
specially geared for Grade 7 students.
And, boy did they have a lot of fun!
Four TDSB high
schools (Western Tech, Central Tech, Central Commerce and Eastdale) provided 20
exciting hands-on workshops for the students to sink their teeth into. Literally, in some cases, because there were Culinary
seminars where the students created some tasty treats for themselves. They also
had a chance to fly Robot helicopters, play Space Invaders using their own
dance moves to control the game, and in general participate in activities from
Technology areas like Automotive, Architectural Design, Bike Repair, Carpentry,
Communication Tech, Construction, Cosmetology, the aforementioned Culinary, CyberARTS,
Electrical, Fashion, Plumbing, Robotics and Welding.
Eric Halling, the Curriculum Leader of Robotics at Western Tech, said the Showcase was “a great experience for both our student presenters as well as the grade 7 guests. It's hard to believe that our students come with more impressive and innovative engineering feats each year."
Each of the high
schools informed, entertained, and amazed over 500 Grade 7 Students and the
students came away completely energized about the possibilities that Technology
programs bring to their experience, whether as a focus area (like one of the
Trades) or as a valuable practical addition to their academic studies (especially
in a field like Engineering). They have
a lot more information to consider now as they make decisions about high school
next year in Grade 8. Kudos to Sandra
Brombal and her team from WR9 (Gabrielle Boudreau, Allison Conroy, Robin
Holmes-Smith, Effi Kapoulis, Harry Quon and Tony Rende) for doing a great job
and a special thanks to the folks at Central Commerce for hosting the event
this year.
