Last week, Grade 5 students had the opportunity to visit Crawford Lake and learn about the life of the First Nations peoples and the property itself which is connected to their unit studied in Social Studies.

It was a fun and educational trip filled with exploring longhouses and artifacts, playing lacrosse, grinding corn, learning about the "three sisters", getting to know some facts about the geography of the area and hiking through the grounds.

The students were also able to participate in a ceremony by tieing a red ribbon around a tree on the grounds to commemorate the survivors and victims of the residential school system, followed by a moment of silence. A truly inspiring and educational trip.

This morning in French class, Grade 2 students learned that computers will always do what you tell them to do, but not necessarily what you want them to do. By working with Bee-Bots (robots that introduce children to coding and computational thinking), the students practiced newly-learned vocabulary while coding! French teacher Mme Wertman would call out where the Bee Bot should go next. The students would find the corresponding picture and then take turns coding Bee Bot to get him to the correct image.

On Saturday, members of the High School Athletic Association raked leaves at 15 houses in the school community! The event was an effort to raise money for the Woodland Cultural Centre's Save the Evidence campaign - which "raises awareness and support for the restoration of the former Mohawk Institute Residential School, and to develop the building into an Interpreted Historic Site and Educational Resource." 

In addition to raising awareness of how a simple action of raking leaves can support Truth and Reconciliation, the students also raised $380. By keeping the memories alive of the harmful impact that residential schools had on many Indigenous children, we are hopeful that the same mistakes will never be made again.

Special thanks to our friends at Back Road Coffee Roasters - who donated free hot chocolate for the event!

With yesterday's field trip to the Toronto Zoo still fresh in their memories, students in Mrs. Leung's Grade 1 class worked on their journal entries this morning. The children took this opportunity to reflect on their first field trip of the year as they continued with their unit on "African Animals".

Intermediate Division student council elections were held this week. We are pleased to announce the winners! 

2021/2022 Intermediate Division Student Council:

Prime Ministers: Luke Hogan & Nayha Gill
Deputy Prime Minister: Michael Kis
Grade 6 Ministers: Taiga Bartram & Andrew Gornall
Grade 5 Ministers: Ronav Sharma & Ezaan Jessani

Congratulations winners! Thank you to everyone who took part!

Pictured (from left): Ronav, Ezaan, Luke, Michael, Nayha, Taiga, Andrew

The Mentor College High School Senior Tie Award recognizes the outstanding students who strive for academic excellence, take part in many of the extracurricular opportunities, lead by example, and exemplify life as a student in our school community.

The recipients of this award are students who have attended Mentor College for Grades 9 through 11 and who have normally earned 100 points. Points must be earned in each of the four categories: Academic Honours, Cultural Involvement, Volunteer/Leadership, and Athletics. The students pictured above were presented with the prestigious school tie November 1st, and are permitted to wear this distinction throughout the year in lieu of the standard Black Watch tie.

As Mr. Whyte always says about this tie award, “the students who win this prestigious award are those who you will see earn top scholarships and admissions to outstanding universities. Those universities are forever searching for aspiring academics who show well-roundedness in contributions to the school, arts, athletics and community”.

Pictured (from left): Yulu Jiang, Sarah Rabie, Simrit Sekhon, Vikesh Mistry, Julia King, Jessie Yang, Livia Whynott, Romina Sedighy, Michael Antoniadis, Ayana Nathakumar, Yeraz Tahtadjian, Andrew Feng, Sydney Gutelius, (absent: Chloe Attard)

Congratulations to the Tie Award Winners of 2021!

For the past two weeks, Grade 11 Healthy Active Living students have been learning about the sport of wheelchair basketball. In addition to the upper-body training, students have also gained a deeper respect for the daily experience of those who use a wheelchair every day. 

To help introduce the subject, Mr. Miller invited ONPARA athlete ambassador Shawn Courchesne to speak to the classes. Mr. Courchesne taught the students the rules of wheelchair basketball and shared his story about a snowmobile accident that broke his back when he was 17 years old. He now plays/coaches with Team Ontario and is involved in other wheelchair sports such as tennis.

Classes continue their wheelchair basketball practice this week.

Many of us started projects at the beginning of the pandemic and didn't stick with it but Class of 2016 grads Emily Crowe, Marissa Parker, and Tracy Wu have kept a wonderful project alive. "Sending You Sunshine" is a project that sends handwritten cards of support to seniors in care homes. These amazing grads were featured on CityTV this morning!

We are so pleased to see our students on the rink! This morning, Mr. Sweeney had the boys in his PPL2O class on the ice - with several of the students on skates for the first time! Well done! Scheduled class skates continue through the week. 

We are celebrating our 40th anniversary this year by sharing memories and telling our story. We are proud to share with you the first instalment in this series of videos that looks back on Mentor College & TEAM School.

Watch the first instalment of the video!

With the return of extracurriculars, the high school Junior Band was able to assemble for a full band practice Thursday after school. Mr. D'Aguilar impressed upon the band members what a privelege it was that they were finally able to get back to playing music together before the band broke right into "Star Wars", followed by "Frogs"! 

Congratulations alpine skiers for a clean sweep!

The team brought home four trophies and seven medals after competing at the 2022 ROPSSAA Championships. The athletes are skilled, the team has bonded perfectly, and the results are fantastic. The Mentor Level 1 Girls', Level 1 Boys', Level 1 Combined, and Level 2 Boys' teams won first place in their respective categories.

Individual performances were outstanding with three gold medal finishes from Ashley Gillis, Daniel Merkley, and Sohan Rasul. There were also two silver medal finishes from Alexander Hamblin and Elliot Botelho, and two bronze medals from Steven Wang and Avery Palleschi.

The team had an extraordinary season. Beyond the trophies and medals, the coaches are extremely proud of the sportsmanship and positive attitude shown by every athlete; they all helped, cheered, and supported each other.

Well done, skiers!

We are celebrating our 40th anniversary this year by sharing memories and telling our story. We are happy to share episode 2 with you! In this instalment, we hear about the connections formed between staff and students and the beginning of a school community!

Watch the video!

We love the creativity and spirit our High School students and staff have shown today for Anything But A Backpack Day!

Almost 70 students attended archery practices this spring and Mr. Whyte was desperately seeking assistance. With the help of Mr. Starkey, a post was made in the Alumni Facebook group and 10 past archers offered to help at Saturday morning practices.

This past Saturday our team was coached by past Mentor archers, some of which were ROPSSAA and OFSAA Champions!

Mr. Whyte and the current team are very grateful to this group of alumni who are "giving back" to a sport they love.

Pictured left to right: Mr. Whyte, Ashley Whyte (2016), Alex Dow (2013), Carsen Cormier (2019), Azim Naqvi (2021), and Kaitlin McDowell (2018)

We leave you this week with a video recap of last Friday's Relay For Life event. We are so proud of our Grade 11 Leadership students for organizing this event - which surpassed all expectations by raising over $50,000 for cancer research. Great job, Ms. Young and students! Thank you to all students who participated! Lastly, thank you to all of the sponsors for their generous support! Video editor: Mr. Brewster, Cinematography: Andrew Feng, Aisha Biabani, Hilary Wong, and Mr. Brewster

We wish you an enjoyable and restful long weekend!

Watch the Relay For Life video!

Grade 4s took a trip across the field this morning to visit the Main Campus. The Grade 5 tour guides welcomed the Grade 4s and showed them around the school - introducing them to the people and places that will be part of their daily life next year in Grade 5!

Grade 11 Leadership classes are heading north for the weekend! The students and their teachers will be spending the weekend at the Outdoor Education Centre in Gravenhurst - where they will have the opportunity to apply the skills they have been learning in class. We wish them a successful trip!

The junior boys' badminton team dominated in their ROPSSAA Finals game Friday, ending a perfect winning season with a 7-0 victory against Harold Brathwaite Secondary School. The team clinched ROPSSAA badminton gold for the first time in Mentor history!

The boys improved steadily over the course of the year and were dedicated to their craft, waking up early for 7:00 am training sessions at least twice per week. Special shout out goes to David Ding, who went a perfect 15-0 in his matches this season. Coaches Simpson and Robbins are proud of the squad and wish them all the best next season!

Top Row (left to right): Mr. Simpson, Oliver Cormier, Dilan Patel, Eric Christiansen, William Zhao, Jeffrey Liu, Herman Saini

Bottom Row (left to right): Kibo Nagasaki, Shiven Taneja, David Ding, Zeu Kim, Andy Chen, Matthew Guo

We are proud to announce that Grade 10 student Raad Khan placed 7th in Ontario at the HOSA Spring Leadership Conference. HOSA (Future Health Professionals, formerly Health Occupations Students of America) is a global student-led organization, whose mission is to promote career opportunities in the health industry.

Raad competed in the sports medicine event - which involved both a written component and a practical component. This was his second year as a member of our HOSA group and are excited to see what next year will bring.

The HS Chess Club meets Thursdays during lunch in room 119. Whether you are interested in standard chess or Chinese chess, players of all skill levels are welcome to join! 

Students in Ms. Vieira, Ms. Brennan, and Ms. Sarna's Grade 6 classes spent the day learning about the adaptations and biodiversity of the different types of life that exist in Ontario. While exploring the forests and fields throughout Mounstberg Conservation Park, students learned how to identify different species and classify them based on their features. In addition, a game of "Toxin Tag" helped students understand how foreign substances can infiltrate the food chain. Finally, students were able to meet "Cuddles," an endangered Black Rat Snake to see firsthand the importance of protecting all species in the ecosystem.

The Primary Division would like to congratulate its first Rock Paper Scissors School Champion: Talia Bahrani!

Over the course of the past few weeks, students have taken part in a school wide RPS Tournament with class winners, a grade-level winners, and eventually a schoolwide champion!

Special mention to our grade level winners: JK - Evie Smith, SK - Leah Flint, Grade 1 - Quinn Brown, Grade 2 - Talia Bahrani, Grade 3 - Iain Cheung, and Grade 4 - Maeve Cabel.

The Grades 5-8 Art Club had a lot of fun exploring Pop Art this term. Students experimented with a variety of media such as oil pastels and acrylic paints. The bright colours in their paintings made their modern landscapes really pop! Paintings will be on display outside the office for all to enjoy.

This Sunday, Mentor's DECA team participated in the regional competition, in Whitby. The hard work helped the team reach new heights in achievement. Overall, the 47 students won 63 ribbons and a Mentor record of twelve medals for the top three overall results.

This is a huge achievement for the team as well as for our school. Mr. Lee and Mrs. Alb are very proud of you. Congratulations to all participants! We wish them good luck at the provincial competition in February.

Entering its 24th year, the Mentor College/TEAM School Fashion Show has contributed to the over $1,000,000 raised by the school for local hospitals and charities. This student-run event brings together students from all divisions of Mentor/TEAM – with the result being a world-class gala event that makes a difference in the community.

The students are proud to present TIMELESS on Saturday, April 15, 2023.  This charity event involves the entire school and is produced by our high school students with the help and support of parents and faculty for an audience of more than 1000 guests.  

Our last in-person event in 2019 raised $40,000 and this year, our goal is to generate $60,000. Proceeds raised from this event will support the redevelopment of Trillium Health Partners Mississauga Hospital site, specifically supporting the Women’s and Children’s Unit.

🎥 🎥 🎥 Watch the promo video! 🎬 🎬 🎬

The Primary Division's annual concert Songs of the Season made its return to the stage last night. The Primary Choir, Grade 4 Recorder Club, and all of the grade-level groups were in top form as they performed holiday numbers like I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas, Bless Us All, and Walking In The Air. 

Thank you to all of the families who attended! Thank you to Ms. Arosemena for all of her work in organizing the event. Great job, students!

The Culture Show is back! On Wednesday February 15, students from all divisions of Mentor and TEAM will join together in one of the schools’ largest school-wide events! The double gym at the Main Campus will transformed into a multicultural extravaganza – including music, dance, food, and celebration! Led by the students in the high school division, all students in the school partake in the event, either as performers, pavilion guides, executive members, or visitors.

Watch the promo video!

The event started in 2004 with twelve countries sharing their cultures and traditions with students, teachers, and parents. In the following years, the show quickly gained popularity with students – so much that the event now regularly features over 40 pavilions – with three spectacular concerts taking place throughout the day.

What makes the Celebration of Cultural Diversity so special is that it is entirely student-run. Of course, staff support is ever-present, but when it comes to scheduling, logistics, concerts, and everything else, it is all up to the student organizing committee!

This Friday, the HS mock trial team heads to the Peel Mock Trial Tournament to compete for the Davis Cup - where they will face off against John Cabot. While the team members continue working on case details and their best Suits faces, join coaches Solovieff and Rendeiro in wishing the students the best of luck!

For the past 3 months, the Grades 7 & 8 students had been working hard on their Science Fair projects. On Wednesday and Thursday last week, students presented their projects to a panel of judges. The science fair concluded on Friday with an awards assembly. We are proud of each one of our Grades 7 & grade 8 students for this accomplishment. Thank you to all participants and congratulations to the award winners! 

The students in the photo will represent Mentor College at the Peel Region Science Fair on April 14 & 15: Anika Panda, Maya Chen, Madhav Marthi, Lukas Chang, Jaya Lomaga, Valerie Yin, Preet Bhalla, Sloane Cottrell

Enviro-Sciences

1st: Sydney Kwong, Rajan Deol, Jaya Lomaga; 2nd: Selina Fee, Kate Sproule, Gian Luca Bleta; 3rd: Nathan Gonzalez-Atkinson, Brooke Kosar & Scarlett Gidge

Social Sciences

1st: Valerie Yin, Ayesha Jafri, Josefine Mandl; 2nd: Zunaira Wasi, Taylor Sikora & Hayden Dorian; 3rd: Lily Cooke & Uma Patel, Sara Henderson

Life Sciences

1st: Preet Bhalla, Madhav Marthi, Lukas Chang; 2nd: Natalie Bahman, Salahaddin Poonah, Julia Morris; 3rd: Mia Parmar, Paulina Golias & Sofia

Physical Sciences

1st: Annika Panda, Maya Chen, Sloane Cottrell; 2nd: Caleb Isaacson, Michael Gagliardi, Luka Stefanko; 3rd: Kai Keller & Justin Tsakias

To commemorate the beginning of Pride month, Mentor’s Pride Club ran a celebratory event on the front lawn at lunch yesterday. Students were invited to grab some free food and temporary tattoos and visit the photo and pin booths as well as the rainbow handprint station. The event wrapped up with a flag-raising, where the club’s founding member, Alice Tokareva, raised the Progress Pride Flag in the front of the school.

The purpose of the event was to raise awareness about the month and create a safe, welcoming environment for Mentor’s LGBTQ+ community and allies.

The proceeds of the event will go towards Toronto’s LGBT Youthline, a local charity dedicated to providing support and resources for LGBTQ+ youth. 

This morning, HS principal (and AP Program Coordinator) Mr. Whyte received an email from Trevor Packer, the College Board’s head of the Advanced Placement Program. In it, Mr. Packer congratulates Mentor College Grade 12 student Konrad Gebura on his performance on the AP Chemistry Exam in May 2023.

Advanced Placement scores are between 1 and 5. Konrad not only received the top score of 5, “but also was one of only 23 students in the world to earn every point possible on the AP Chemistry Exam.” In other words, Konrad achieved a perfect score. For further context, note that Konrad was one of 112,554 students worldwide who wrote the AP Chemistry Exam.

23 out of 112,554.  

As Mr. Whyte points out, “we are all very proud of Konrad…this is a first for the school…keep in mind that Konrad is enrolled in two more AP courses this year.” Upon receiving the news from Mr. Whyte, Konrad was understandably overwhelmed. “I still can’t believe this is true”, was his response. One person who did believe the news was Konrad’s AP teacher Ms. Sharpe – who believes that his “high attention to detail was the difference between a score of 5 and perfect.” She adds, “Not only did Konrad strive for perfection on his own, he always championed others around him!”

In his letter to the school, the afore-mentioned Mr. Packer emphasized that “this outstanding accomplishment is likely a direct reflection of the top-quality education being offered at Mentor College. We applaud Konrad's hard work and the AP teacher responsible for engaging students and enabling them to excel in a college-level course.”

Please join us in congratulating Konrad on this incredible achievement.

Last night's Mentor College University Fair was a resounding success! We welcomed students and parents of all grades to the NS Gym to chat with 30 representatives from universities across Ontario. Following the open fair, over 110 students in Grades 11 and 12 attended 75 breakout sessions with individual schools. Thanks to all who attended!

The U10 girls' soccer team did a fantastic job at their tournament and remained undefeated! They displayed excellent teamwork, respect, and sportsmanship as they cheered each other on! Coach Perrow and Coach Catahan are so proud of the team. Way to go!

The U10 Boys' Soccer Team were undefeated at their tournament! They showcased excellent teamwork, sportsmanship, and immense talent! Both Mrs. Arango and Mr. Nasser are extremely proud of your dedication and hardwork. 

We extend a huge congratulations to our Intermediate Student Parliament representatives for the 2023-2024 school year! These students were elected amongst over 60 entries in this year. Their hard work proved effective, and we are looking forward to an exciting and productive year with them. Congratulations!

Top row: Lukas Gonsalves and James Cabel (Prime Ministers)
Bottom row: Daniel Kravchenko (Grade 6 Minister), Caleb Doiron (Grade 8 Minister), Ram Arora (Deputy Prime Minister), Sofie Ahmed (Grade 5 Minister)

Yesterday, members of the Habitat for Humanity Club travelled to Baltimore, Ontario to participate in a build with the Northumberland Affiliate of Habitat For Humanity. Our student volunteers helped carry lumber, build walls, and frame two main floors within a seven-unit condominium. The students look forward to helping build these homes again soon.

The Caribou Math Contest took place last week and there were some excellent results from Mentor students!

Results - Grades 7/8:

Karina Swaminath - Mentor's top student overall and in the top 3% worldwide
Ronav Sharma - top 4%
Chloe Mu - top 7%

Results - Grades 5/6:

Jenica Kalra - top 1%
Jayden He & James Simon - top 2%
William Lomaga - top 4%

Well done, everyone! The next contest will be held in January.

PHOTO - front row (from left): William Lomaga, Jenica Kalra, Jayden He; back row (from left): James Simon, Ronav Sharma, Chloe Mu; absent: Karina Swaminath

Last Friday, the Mentor College Mock Trial Team competed in the PJEN Mock Trial Tournament at the A Grenville and William Davis Courthouse in Brampton. The team secured wins in both trials as Crown and Defence. Congratulations to the team! Coaches Solovieff and Rendeiro couldn’t be prouder!
Congratulations, Mock Trial Team!

After the team's record-breaking results at the provincial competition in February, seven Mentor DECA international qualifiers are headed to the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Anaheim, California!

There will be over 23,000 competitors and advisors with chapters from the United States and abroad in what will truly be a memorable event.

This is the culmination of a journey that started last May and we are so proud of our ICDC team:

Ammar Adam
Mayada Abuhaleeqa
Chloe Dai
Millan Deol
Amare Getahun
Grace Ke
Brayden King

We wish them the best of luck!