Heart Lake Secondary School

Infobox Education in Canada
name= Heart Lake Secondary School

---

streetaddress= 296 Conestoga Road
city= Brampton
province= Ontario
postalcode= L6Z 3M1
areacode= 905
phone= 840-2328
fax= 840-6289
email=
website= http://heartlake.peelschools.org/
schoolnumber= 916269
schoolboard= Peel District School Board
affiliation= Public
superintendent=Tony Pontes
trustee= Valerie Arnold-Judge
David Green
Steve Kavanagh
Suzanne Nurse
principal=Jamie Robertsonciteweb|url=http://qps.peelschools.org/QuickPlace/heartlake_ss/|title=Heart Lake Secondary School website|accessdate=2008-08-30]
viceprincipal= Craig Caslick
Julia D'Amico
Moveta Nanton
schooltype= High school
grades= 9-12+
language= English
mascot= JD
teamname= Hurricanes
colours=Blue and red
newspaper=Hurricane Express
founded= 1989
enrollment= 1,650
enrollment_as_of=September 2007

Heart Lake Secondary School is a high school in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the corner of Conestoga Drive and Wexford Road. Heart Lake has a great bond with Robert H. Lagerquist Senior Public School, one of the feeder schools of Heart Lake, doing collaborations with school bands and other school activities often throughout the year.

Brief history

*1989 - School founded
*2005 - Changed from yearbooks to "yeardisks"
*2005 - "Character Counts" program starts
*2006 - "ABC lunch system" is brought in, minimizing students' lunch hours
*2006 - Graduating students create "Underground Yearbooks" showing their anger towards the school's decision of "yeardisks"; continues till present
*February 2008 - School Code of Conduct was modified and is now being applied
*May 2008 - $4300 SMART Board interactive whiteboard was placed in one of the math rooms, replacing the normal white board, making Heart Lake the first school in the Peel District School Board to have one [cite speech|title=SMART Boards for science room|author=Penner, Stephen|date=02/2008|location=Brampton, Ontario]
*June 2008 - One of the science rooms will have the second SMART board

Recent years

Tragic event

On April 1 2003, a grade nine student was killed in the wooded area behind the school. Police charged a 14-year-old boy with first degree murder. According to police, the victim and accused knew each other, and they believe the alleged assailant acted alone. A Tree was planted outside of the school commenorating his memory. [citeweb|url=http://www.peel.edu.on.ca/facts/heart-parentletter.htm|title=Tragic Death of a Student|author=Moreash, Scott|date=2003-04-02|accessdate=2008-02-28]

Yearbook

Heart Lake used to have yearbooks on a traditional hard-cover book style. In 2005, the school adapted to change its format on the way the yearbook would be made. Yearbooks are now on a DVD disk. Many students do not like the idea of these yeardisks, because there is no room for personal comments. Yeardisks come in two disks with a booklet that is meant for signatures that students may receive from their friends and teachers.

Talent Show

Annual Heart Lake Talent Show occurs every April, and tryouts happen two months before in February. Usually the number of performances are low, around 5 or 6, with not many people trying out for the show. Students may pay $2 to attend, which also allows them to skip their period 4 class on that day. Unlike buyouts, even those students who have paid cannot leave the school property and must attend the talent show. Students who have teachers who are helping out with the talent show as their period 4 teachers may attend the show for free, if the seats are still available. In 2008, there were 6 performances: martial arts, juggling, rapping, two singing performances, and modern Indian dance. Students have amateurly videotaped the performances with the school's permission and uploaded onto YouTube for 2007 and 2008 talent shows (refer to section below for the playlist link).

Timetable changes

School runs on four day cycle, following the above timetable schedule.

Source: Page 5 of 2007-2008 School Agenda

Lunch system

In 2006, Heart Lake's lunch system was put into three 45 minute lunch periods, rather than the usual 75 minute lunch. Because of this change, more students will access the cafetorium, coming to the conclusion of students buying their food from the cafeteria resulting in a high profit for the school. It is thought that bullying will decrease with the lunches shorter as well, although it is a rare occurrence at the school. At the end of February 2008, the cost of wraps were once again raised by a dollar. This system is usually refer to as the 'ABC program'.

DEAR

Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) program is a silent reading program that goes on for the first 15 minutes of classes. It used to be at 8:15 am for 5 days each semester for the past few years but now they have changed that. Since February 2008, the beginning of semester two of 2007-2008 year, DEAR is taking place from 9:30 am every day rather than just for a week. Although DEAR should be done daily, most teachers, including the English department, ignore the announcement and get on with their lessons.

Charity events in 2008

On the week of March 24 2008 to March 28 2008, there were daily challenges that students were able to win a prize by contributing a dollar to cancer research. These challenges differed from each day to prevent students from practicing at home for a higher chance of receiving the prize. Then on the next week, the week of March 31 2008 to April 4 2008, there was a charity called "The Wii Challenge", where the students contributed two dollars to cancer research to play "Wii Sports" on Nintendo Wii. Two days later, Xbox 360 with "Guitar Hero 3" was made available to the choice. Both Wii and Xbox 360 is the courtesy of Best Buy. [Retrieved information from Heart Lake Secondary School homepage on April 10, 2008. ] On May 16 2008, "Lunch for Sick Kids" was held throughout period three lunches. Students volunteered to help sell popcorn and tickets (50 cents per one ticket), as well as to be in charge of the Nintendo Wii ("Wii Sports" and "Guitar Hero 3"), which was in demand by students after the last charity event. All teachers took turns selling other items such as hamburgers, hotdogs, samosas, cotton candy, and chips. On this day, school had raised an approximate amount of $4000 going to the Sick Kids Foundation.

Programs

"Character Counts" program

"Character Counts" program, which started in the 2005-2006 school year, promoted the attributes necessary to graduate as responsible citizens. Also it is the school's primary mission to have an inclusive community fostering academic success and character development. Since then, there are a special "Character Counts" Day" every year to promote the program to the Grade 9s entering the highschool's program. [citeweb|url=http://qps.peel.edu.on.ca/QuickPlace/heartlake_ss/Main.nsf/h_61FAB23259472405852573C6005F78D1/035BB501801381B7852571EC0050C3FA/?OpenDocument|title=School Success|publisher=Heart Lake Secondary School|accessdate=2008-02-14]

Heart Lake's Character Attributes
*Accountability
*Compassion
*Courage
*Empathy
*Fairness
*Honesty
*Inclusiveness
*Initiative
*Integrity
*Optimism
*Perseverance
*Respect
*Responsibility
*Trustworthiness

Source: Page 11-12 of 2007-2008 Agenda

Link Crew program

In the 2009-2010 school year, Heart Lake is going to include a Link Crew program that is offered to all high schools and secondary schools in North America. Link Crew allows the school to choose one hundred Grade 11s and 12s to be linked with freshmen throughout the year. The "Link Leaders" help the freshman get involved by informing them about the activities put on by the school and local communities. These students also help to bridge the gap between freshmen and the rest of the school, when the younger students may feel like they don't belong. The leaders are a positive role model for the freshman students during the important transition from middle school to high school.

To become a Link Leader, students will first fill out the Link Leader application form. The teachers in charge will read and assess each applicant carefully. After students are chosen to be a Link Leader, students must attend sessions such as Group Interview, May Development Day, and Link Leader Training before becoming a leader to the freshmen.

On May 7 2008, the Group Interview day, 135 students chosen by teachers went to the gymnasium and did some activities like the one on the "Character Counts" day. Later that week, 100 students were given a note by their teachers announcing they are the Link Leaders.

Regional Enhanced learning program

Heart Lake's Regional Enhanced Learning Program is designed for exceptional intellectual-gifted students who require extensive modification of the regular school program. The program strives to maximize each student's potentional, develops their capacity for self-directed learning, and encourages interaction among gifted peers. Several schools offered this program but in 2005, it was made available only to Heart Lake Secondary School. [citeweb|url=http://qps.peelschools.org/QuickPlace/heartlake_ss/PageLibrary85256FB9005534B8.nsf/h_5655DFFE0BEE228C85256FB90055445F/394D8E8378570F2E85256FB9005581C4/?OpenDocument|title=Enhanced Learning|publisher=Heart Lake Secondary School|accessdate=2008-02-14]

Clubs and Organizations

*Academic Competitions
*Anti-Discrimination Club
*Challenge
*Chamber Ensemble
*Christian Student Fellowship
*Drama Club
*Environmental Club
*Formal Committee
*Game Crew
*Grad Committee
*Grad Picnic Committee
*Grade 9 Band
*Great Canadian Geography
*Hurricane Athletic Association
*Intermediate Band
*Intramural Sports
*Jazz Band
*Model United Nations
*Mountain Biking Club
*Peer Helpers
*Prefects
*Reach for the Top
*Senior Concert Band
*Spirit Committee
*Student Academic Council
*Student Announcers
*Student Improvement Club
*Thirty Hour Famine
*World Issues Club
*Yearbook Committee

Source: Page 4 of 2007-2008 School Agenda

Notable Alumni

*Michael Cera, actor

References

External links

* [http://qps.peelschools.org/QuickPlace/heartlake_ss/ Heart Lake Secondary School website]
* [http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C10FE231008DE5FF Heart Lake Talent Show 2008 playlist on YouTube]