INSPIRED STUDENTS

Grade 11 Biology students undertook a number of plant and animal dissections, including identifying the different parts of a flower and examining both the stem and pollen under a microscope. 

Grade 10 History students braved frigid temperatures to discover PC’s campus by snowshoe, experiencing traditional skills that First Nations, Métis and Inuit people of Turtle Island taught early settlers. The classes explored and analyzed our ongoing relations with Indigenous communities, reconciliation, the 94 Calls to Action and Canada’s shared history. 

Jessie Li, Victoria Zalewski, Shyam Subramanyam, Ava Gu and Emma Zhang participated in the Western Founders Network Product Design Sprint. The sprint combined elements of a case competition (which usually involves students coming together to solve a problem presented to them within a given timeframe) and a hackathon. The students had 24 hours to design and prototype a solution that tackled an emerging social impact issue, while competing against other high school and university students from across North America. 

Students in Grade 10 studied the First World War and played an alliance game called “War or Peace: A Simulation Game,” which highlighted the fundamental patterns of international relations and concepts of balance and power. 

Grade 11 Polikon Society members Shyam Subramanyam and Oscar Jiang competed in the National Public Speaking Championships as representatives of Team Ontario. Oscar and Shyam competed in two rounds of Parliamentary Debate, Impromptu Speaking and Persuasive Speaking. Both performed strongly across all four categories, with Oscar earning a 14th place finish in Parliamentary Debate and a 16th place finish in Persuasive Speaking. Shyam finished 10th in the Persuasive Speaking category and 20th overall with his cumulative score in all four categories. 

Several Senior School students competed in the Michael Smith Science Challenge, a bilingual national competition written by students currently enrolled in Grade 10 Science or lower. Sponsored by the UBC Faculty of Science, this competition emphasizes logical thinking and covers material in the science curriculum common to all provinces. 

Senior School Student Committee planned a variety of dress-down spirit days and activities. The theme week began with a Valentine’s Day-themed dress-down day on Monday, followed by pop culture Tuesday, Disney or Marvel character Wednesday, and fan day Thursday, where students wore a jersey from their favourite sports team over their uniform. 

Senior School Student Committee hosted a fun Winterfest event complete with bonfires, hot chocolate, BeaverTails and, of course, pizza! It was great to see so many students enjoying rides around campus in a horsedrawn wagon, racing each other (and their teachers!) in tubes down Memorial Field hill, and spending time bundled up against the cold while socializing and laughing. 

After nearly two years without inter-school competitive athletics, PC’s Pumas made a strong return. Fueled by excitement and pride in representing our school, Senior Girls’ Volleyball successfully defeated Bayview Glen in three straight sets. The following day, the team marked another milestone with a return to home court, hosting a tri-meet in Egan House. After coming up short in a dramatic first game against St. John’s-Kilmarnock School, PC responded with a victory against Toronto Montessori School. Senior Boys’ Basketball began their season with victories over The York School and Albert College. The same day, U14 Boys’ Basketball defeated Bayview Glen and U14 Girls’ Volleyball won their match against The Country Day School. 

Pickering College hosted its third TEDxYouth event, welcoming youth from schools from around the globe virtually to spread messages with a direct focus on “Voicing the Foundation of the Future.” PC student speakers included Thomas Bianco (Grade 10), Jessie Li (Grade 11) and Victoria Zalewski (Grade 11), who shared their thought-provoking and insightful ideas with us. Congratulations to Grade 11 students Shyam Subramanyam and Oscar Jiang for securing the TEDxYouth event license and bringing this event to life. 

Students in Grades 9 and 10 STEM Math classes participated in a virtual coding workshop where they explored the connection between wellness sectors and computer programming.