Donald A Wilson Secondary School

Donald A. Wilson Secondary School
Address
681 Rossland Road West Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates	43°53′38″N 78°57′54″W / 43.894°N 78.965°W / 43.894; -78.965
Information
School board	Durham District School Board
Principal	Warren Palmer
Vice principal	Andrea Pemberton David Sasseville
School type	High school
Grades	9-12
Mascot	Gators
Colours	Orange, Blue and Silver
Founded	2004
Enrolment	1250 (2009)
Homepage	Donald A. Wilson Secondary School

Donald A. Wilson Secondary School is a high school located in Whitby, Ontario, Canada. It was opened in 2004, has students in grades 9 to 12 and offers a wide range of academic and extra-curricular activities. The school mascot is the Gator, and the school colours are orange, blue, and silver.

Facility

The school building consists of two main floors, with two gyms, a cafeteria which is also used as an auditorium, and a resource centre which includes numerous computers, and a wide range of books and magazines. The school is located adjacent to All Saints Catholic Secondary School.

The school is divided into subject areas. In the second floor: south wing - is the English Department, north west wing - History/geography Department, North east wing - science Department, Main Floor: North side - Art Department, East side - Tech Department, south wing - Math Department, west side - guidance department.

There are 2 gyms: 1 full sized and 1 half sized. There is one field where the sport teams play on. There is also a trail run which is a little more than 1 km.

The school expanded to portables in 2009 to accommodate the growing student population.

Athletics

Donald A. Wilson Secondary School offers a fairly wide range of athletic teams including basketball, volleyball, rugby, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, dance, badminton, Ski, swimming and SnowBoarding.

Reach for the Top

The Reach for the Top team is currently the 2010 Regional Champions, and provincial finalist.

Relay for Life

Donald A. Wilson organizes the only Relay For Life in Whitby. It has been a major participant since the opening of the school, and has raised about $200 000 to date. The school in recent years has allowed local high school, Henry Street High School, to also be part of the fundraiser.

Fights

Recently,^[when?] Donald A. Wilson Secondary school has had many fights break out. The majority of the fights have been taking place in change rooms. An article by The Globe and Mail has been published regarding the fights.^{[1][dead link]}

'Jack Christie Talks to Children' Controversy

In May 2011, Jack Christie, a 12th grade student was suspended for posting a series of three short films under the banner 'Jack Christie Talks to Children' on YouTube. The films had been presentations for his economics and politics classes over the course of the school year and had been previously encouraged by professors in those classes. The school administration found the films on YouTube and were offended by the cartoon violence and foul language. They threatened Christie to remove them, or face a lengthy suspension and a police investigation. Believing his constitutional rights were being violated, he chose not to remove the films. He was ultimately suspended for a period of twenty days, and the police were contacted. Christie has argued that the school has overstepped their bounds, punishing him for something he did outside of the jurisdiction of the administration, and infringing on his right to freedom of speech.

As the Prime Minister of the student government started collecting signatures in support of Christie, he was warned by staff that he could also face punishment for doing so. ^[2][3]

Following a brief investigation into the matter, Durham Regional Police concluded that there was no reasonable cause for concern. Despite this, Christie remained suspended for twenty days. The suspension, including the means by which the student was suspended, have drawn a considerable amount of criticism from students and parents alike, and many have rallied in support of Christie, making frequent calls to the Durham District School Board, and Donald A. Wilson Secondary School, asking for a full apology. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has also spoken up against both the school administration, and the board, suggesting that the administration has blatantly infringed on Christie's fundamental rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The films have remained online in their original format throughout and since the suspension. Christie has mentioned that he is currently working on a fourth film in the series, which will deal with the controversy that has surrounded him.

References

1. ^ Theglobeandmail.com
2. ^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/student-cites-freedom-of-speech-after-suspension-for-online-videos/article2043954/
3. ^ http://forums.theregister.co.uk/post/submit/2011/06/03/canadian_student_suspended_for_youtube_videos/

External links

• Donald A. Wilson Secondary School website