News and Announcements
Wellness Activities for Mental Health Week
For mental health week, Mackenzie’s Wellness@Mac club hosted daily lunch sessions on stress reduction, substance abuse and healthy eating. Students had the opportunity to create stress balls, try a variety of healthy snacks and test out their knowledge on the risks of smoking and drinking. Thanks to the student team who created and led the lunch-time activities.
Speaking to Children About Tragic Events
All of us experience tragedy at some point in our lives. Visit the following link for suggestions on how to address tragedy with your children:
Social Media Safety Presentation – Toronto Police Services
Toronto Police Services is delivering a Social Media Safety presentation at Sir William Osler High School on April 19, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. This presentation is open to all members of the public. For more information please visit:
April 17: Earl Haig SS Presentation – Adolescent Mental Health & Well Being
The Mackenzie community is invited to attend a special presentation at Earl Haig Secondary School. Learn how to recognize youth
mental illness, how to help, what resources are available and how to navigate the system. Please visit the following link for more information:
Saturday, April 28th – Parents as Partners – TDSB Parent Conference – Beanfield Centre
Parents as Partners Conference 2018 is a FREE conference. Whether your child is just beginning on their educational journey in elementary school or closer to graduation and planning for the future, there are informative and empowering sessions for parents/guardians and caregivers of students of all ages and all stages of education.
For more information and to register, visit
ParentsAsPartners.ca
Multi-Year Strategic Plan Consultation
The Toronto District School Board is working on a Multi-Year Strategic Plan and wants to hear from you!
The Multi-Year Strategic Plan will act as a high level statement of intent for the TDSB for the next three or more school years, set direction and identify system goals to support its 246,000 students and 583 schools. We value input from parents/guardians, families, students and staff and invite you to provide feedback on the draft Multi-Year Strategic Plan documents. To learn more and provide input online, please visit: www.tdsb.on.ca/MYSP.
Congratulations to Wm. Lyon Mackenzie Students for their ExploraVision Projects in partnership with Baycrest!
The ExploraVision competition for K-12 students engages the next generation in real world problem solving with a strong emphasis on STEM. ExploraVision challenges students to envision and communicate new technology 20 years in the future through collaborative brainstorming and research of current science and technology. There is one project chosen to be the Regional winner. Our region includes the entire Canada as well as 9 states (Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, South Dakota and North Dakota). Our students have been chosen as a Regional Winner for their robotic pet D.A.I.S.Y.
- D.A.I.S.Y (Depression Assistance In Senior Years): Rachel Kingstone, Danielle Wellen, Bianca Stern (Baycrest mentor)
- Each member wins a Toshiba hard drive. The school wins a laptop.
- You can read the team’s abstract below:
D.A.I.S.Y (Depression Assistance In Senior Years)
Many older adults suffer from depression due to the changes that accompany growing older. Taking care of a dog can negate feelings of isolation and loneliness, which are a trigger for geriatric depression. Studies show that older adults who own pets have lower blood pressure, higher levels of serotonin and dopamine, decreased risk of heart attacks and don’t need to see their doctors as often. Despite these benefits, many older adults worry that they will not be able to take care of a pet, and this deters them from adopting a dog. We propose a robotic pet, named D.A.I.S.Y, which stands for Depression Assistance In Senior Years, that will simulate the companionship of a live pet by responding to human emotions and independently interacting with its owner. Our robotic pet will benefit the mental and physical health of elderly people without the cost and care of a living pet.
The Honorable Mention awards are given to the top 10% of all ExploraVision projects. The Mackenzie projects that received honorable mention are:
- Motor Nerve Replacement Chip: Elizabeth Shim, Sarah Kang, Andrew Kim, Spencer Giffin (mentor)
- Hearing Aid Technology: Oscar Chong, Jordan Epstein, Simona Poroshenko, Yi Deng, Rosanna Olsen (mentor)
- HealthBots: Emma Lam, Esha Mahabir, Lina Patrick, Simon Cheesman (mentor)
Congratulations to all students who participated and thank you to Ms. Law for her tremendous support!
Wellness@Mac Presents: 10 Ways to Take a Break
Wellness@Mac has created a list of activities that can help students de-stress in the classroom.
March 22: Parent Teacher Interview Day
Please visit the following link for more information:
How to Talk to Teenagers about Mental Health – Parent Resource
Follow the link https://youtu.be/LxLiJKDqNMo to view a short video by Dr. Ian Manion on how to talk to your child about Mental Health.