Don Mills Collegiate Institute
Encyclopedia
Don Mills Collegiate Institute (DMCI) is a high school
in the community of Don Mills
in Toronto
. It serves an ethnically diverse student population of approximately 1000. As of 2006, 66% of students speak a first language
other than English. The school opened in 1959.
in a land swap with Chuck Norris
's Don Mills Development Company. The school board had owned a similarly-sized plot of land on Don Mills Road, which it exchanged for the property at Lawrence Avenue and The Donway East.
Initially, the board planned to build two separate schools on the site with a shared heating plant, but in October 1957, trustee Dorothy Bishop prepared a report which raised the possibility of saving money by placing the two schools under one roof, as had previously been done in Vancouver
and Calgary
.
DMCI shares its building with Don Mills Middle School
(formerly Don Mills Junior High). They have different street addresses and the interior is designed in a way that keeps the schools separated except for a common library. The auditorium in DMCI is also used by all schools.
. The program was moved to DMCI in 1997 from Earl Haig Secondary School
and has increased the number of students in the school.
The school also houses CyberARTS
, a multi-disciplinary arts and technology program. It also offers computer technology and communications technology courses, as well as a comprehensive technological design (shop) program.
English language
classes are available to assist newcomers from all over the world.
s, and the DECA
International Career Development Conference. In addition, the school has also performed well in chemistry
competitions, including the University of Waterloo
's Avogadro and Chem 13 competitions, as well as the Canadian Chemistry Olympiad. Recently, Don Mills has also performed to a respectable degree in biology
competitions, including the Canadian Biology Olympiad and the University of Toronto
National Biology Competition, with students moving to national finals for the past two years.
DMCI's student-run newspaper, The Bulldog, is one of the few weekly high school publications in Ontario
, and has been honoured at the Toronto Star
High School Newspaper Awards.
DMCI's Reach for the Top
team placed seventh at the Ontario Provincials in the 2010-2011 season, their best achievement in the competition.
In 1998, DMCI was asked by the Toronto District School Board
to represent Canada at the inaugural Young People's Summit (YPS), held in conjunction with the annual meeting of G8
countries in Birmingham
, England
.
Don Mills is also home of the award-winning Northern Lights Show Choir. "Northern Lights", co-founded by Musical Director Cathy Whiteside and Choreographer Heather Moffat, is the only Ontario high school show choir
. This group performs throughout the community and attends performances and competitions in the US. The music department was also a recipient of a $10,000 grant to purchase new band instruments from the CARAS
Musicounts Band Aid Grants Program in October of 2010.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in the community of Don Mills
Don Mills
Don Mills is a mixed-use neighbourhood in the North York district of Toronto, Canada. It was developed to be a self-supporting "new town" and was at the time located outside of Toronto proper. Consisting of residential, commercial and industrial sub-districts, it was planned and developed by...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. It serves an ethnically diverse student population of approximately 1000. As of 2006, 66% of students speak a first language
First language
A first language is the language a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for sociolinguistic identity...
other than English. The school opened in 1959.
Location
Land for a high school and junior high school to serve residents of Don Mills was acquired in 1957 by the Chuck NorrisChuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
in a land swap with Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
's Don Mills Development Company. The school board had owned a similarly-sized plot of land on Don Mills Road, which it exchanged for the property at Lawrence Avenue and The Donway East.
Initially, the board planned to build two separate schools on the site with a shared heating plant, but in October 1957, trustee Dorothy Bishop prepared a report which raised the possibility of saving money by placing the two schools under one roof, as had previously been done in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
and Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
.
DMCI shares its building with Don Mills Middle School
Don Mills Middle School
Don Mills Middle School is a middle school in Toronto, Ontario. It is located near the intersection Don Mills Road and Lawrence Avenue. The school was known as Don Mills Junior High until 1986....
(formerly Don Mills Junior High). They have different street addresses and the interior is designed in a way that keeps the schools separated except for a common library. The auditorium in DMCI is also used by all schools.
Special programs
Don Mills Collegiate has a gifted program for studentsGifted education
Gifted education is a broad term for special practices, procedures and theories used in the education of children who have been identified as gifted or talented...
. The program was moved to DMCI in 1997 from Earl Haig Secondary School
Earl Haig Secondary School
Earl Haig Secondary School is a public high school with a student body of about 2,300 students in Willowdale, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school's principal is Renata Gonsalves.-History:...
and has increased the number of students in the school.
The school also houses CyberARTS
CyberARTS
CyberARTS is a multi-disciplinary, integrated six-year arts and technology specialized program which is offered in a number of schools in Toronto for grade 7 to 12 students in Ontario, Canada. The CyberARTS program has been honoured by Maclean's magazine as one of the best programs in Canada...
, a multi-disciplinary arts and technology program. It also offers computer technology and communications technology courses, as well as a comprehensive technological design (shop) program.
English language
English language learning and teaching
English as a second language , English for speakers of other languages and English as a foreign language all refer to the use or study of English by speakers with different native languages. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is...
classes are available to assist newcomers from all over the world.
Competitions and extracurriculars
For several years, Don Mills has been consistently represented in the International Math Olympiads, International Physics OlympiadInternational Physics Olympiad
The International Physics Olympiad is an annual physics competition for high school students. It is one of the International Science Olympiads. The first IPhO was held in Warsaw, Poland in 1967....
s, and the DECA
DECA (organization)
DECA, also known as Collegiate DECA on the college level) is an international association of students and teachers of marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and service . DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing,...
International Career Development Conference. In addition, the school has also performed well in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
competitions, including the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
's Avogadro and Chem 13 competitions, as well as the Canadian Chemistry Olympiad. Recently, Don Mills has also performed to a respectable degree in biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
competitions, including the Canadian Biology Olympiad and the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
National Biology Competition, with students moving to national finals for the past two years.
DMCI's student-run newspaper, The Bulldog, is one of the few weekly high school publications in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, and has been honoured at the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
High School Newspaper Awards.
DMCI's Reach for the Top
Reach for the Top
Reach for the Top is a Canadian game show in which teams of high school students participate in local, provincial and eventually national trivia tournaments...
team placed seventh at the Ontario Provincials in the 2010-2011 season, their best achievement in the competition.
In 1998, DMCI was asked by the Toronto District School Board
Toronto District School Board
Toronto District School Board, also known by the acronym TDSB, is the English-language public school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
to represent Canada at the inaugural Young People's Summit (YPS), held in conjunction with the annual meeting of G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
countries in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Don Mills is also home of the award-winning Northern Lights Show Choir. "Northern Lights", co-founded by Musical Director Cathy Whiteside and Choreographer Heather Moffat, is the only Ontario high school show choir
Show choir
A show choir is a group of people who combine choral singing with dance movements, sometimes within the context of a specific idea or story.-History:...
. This group performs throughout the community and attends performances and competitions in the US. The music department was also a recipient of a $10,000 grant to purchase new band instruments from the CARAS
Caras
Caras may refer to:* Caraş River in Europe.* Caras, an indigenous tribe living in coastal Ecuador * Caras, a Brazilian gossip magazine.* Caras, a Portuguese gossip magazine.* Caras, an Argentine gossip magazine....
Musicounts Band Aid Grants Program in October of 2010.
Notable facts and controversies
- Cult horror movie Prom Night (1980) was filmed at DMCI.
- DMCI had the first brick-dust track in Canada (1960).
- Sue JohansonSue JohansonSue Johanson, CM is a Canadian writer, public speaker, registered nurse, sex educator, and media personality.-Early life:...
, from the Sunday Night Sex ShowSunday Night Sex ShowThe Sunday Night Sex Show was a live call-in Canadian television show which ran from 1996 to 2005. It aired on the W Network and was one of their most popular programs...
, opened the area's first high school-based birth control clinic at DMCI in November 1972. Called the Don Mills Birth Control Clinic, it used the school's health room every Monday night (expanded to two nights a week in 1980). The school principal said DMCI was "completely uninvolved" with the clinic, except for providing space. - In March 1981, the school allowed the Canadian executive director of the Ku Klux KlanKu Klux KlanKu Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
to speak to a Grade 12 history class. The principal later said it would never happen again. - A 25-year-old English teacher at DMCI was suspended in 1971 after police seized 16 marijuana plants from the garden at his home. He was convicted of possession. It was a huge news story in the Toronto area at the time, triggering discussions for months in the media about DMCI.
- In October 1969 DMCI suspended 19 football players for drinking beer on a bus ride back from a game. The school pulled the team from the league for the remainder of the season.
- In October 2008 DMCI was placed under lockdown for about four hours after police received a call about a possible stabbing. Police arrived to find a grade 9 student going into shock from stab wounds to the abdomen. A 17 year old boy was arrested and taken into custody about half an hour later. The victim was taken to Sunnybrook Hospital, and survived.
Notable alumni
- Paul ChatoPaul ChatoPaul Chato is a comedian and World Wide Web media executive. He was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1954 to Hungarian parents. Paul grew up in the first planned community in North America, Don Mills...
(comedian), and Rick GreenRick GreenRick Green is a Canadian comedian, satirist, and writer. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Waterloo. From 1975 until 1979, he worked as a presenter at the Ontario Science Centre. In 1979, he helped found the Toronto-based comedy troupe The Frantics...
(comedian, satirist, and writer), members of The FranticsFrantics (comedy)The Frantics is a Canadian comedy troupe consisting of Paul Chato, Rick Green, Dan Redican and Peter Wildman.The group formed in 1979. In 1981, they were given a weekly radio slot on the CBC Radio show Variety Tonight, then hosted by Vicki Gabereau. In the summer of 1982 they were the summer... - John Craig & Paul Craig, twin brothers who became champion runners and members of Canadian Summer Olympic team in 1976.
- Cam Crosby, hockey player for Toronto MarlborosToronto MarlborosThe Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association and Ontario Hockey League from 1904 to 1989...
and University of WaterlooUniversity of WaterlooThe University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
hall-of-famer in hockey, track, and football; selected by Toronto Maple LeafsToronto Maple LeafsThe Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
in 1966 NHL Amateur Draft1966 NHL Amateur DraftThe 1966 NHL Amateur Draft was held at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Selections by round:Listed below are the selections in the 1966 NHL Amateur Draft.-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-External links:* *... - Steve PodborskiSteve PodborskiStephen Gregory Podborski, is a Canadian former World Cup and Olympic downhill ski racer with Ukrainian ancestry.-Racing career:...
, World Cup and Olympic downhill skier - Brit SelbyBrit SelbyRobert Briton Selby is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues. He also played in the World Hockey Association for the Quebec Nordiques, New England Whalers and Toronto...
, NHLNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
and WHAWorld Hockey AssociationThe World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
hockey player - Neil Smith, President and General Manager, New York Rangers 1989-2000
- Robert DevenyiRobert DevenyiRobert G. Devenyi, MD, MBA, FRCSC, FACS. is a vitreoretinal surgeon and Professor of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences at the University of Toronto. He is also the team ophthalmologist for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League...
, Vitreoretinal Surgeon, Ophthalmologist-in-Chief, University Health Network, Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Toronto, Team Ophthalmologist, The Toronto Maple Leafs - Anna WallnerAnna WallnerAnna Wallner is currently the host, alongside Kristina Matisic, of The Shopping Bags, Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag, and Anna & Kristina's Beauty Call. She is originally from Toronto, Ontario...
, co-host of W NetworkW NetworkW Network is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. W Network broadcasts lifestyle and entertainment programming aimed at women....
's The Shopping BagsThe Shopping BagsThe Shopping Bags was a Canadian television series that aired on the W Network in Canada and on Fine Living in the United States. Launched in 2002, the series focused on consumer affairs and better shopping. Each week the program looked at several goods and services to discover which one was the best... - Brian Glennie, hockey player for Toronto Marlboros and long-time NHL player with Toronto Maple Leafs
- David WiddicombeDavid WiddicombeDavid Widdicombe is a Canadian filmmaker and playwright. His most successful work is Santa Baby , which he directed and wrote....
, playwright, director - Shawn GoreShawn GoreShawn Vere Gore is a professional Canadian football wide receiver for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted tenth overall by the Lions in the 2010 CFL Draft, but signed with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League on the day after the draft as a free agent...
, Wide Receiver for the B.C. Lions - Joe Opatowski, Public Speaker, Free The Children Me To We Campaign Free The ChildrenFree The ChildrenFree The Children is an international charity and youth movement founded in 1995 by children's rights advocate Craig Kielburger. The organization is largely youth-funded, based on the concept of "children helping children." It specializes in sustainable development in countries of Kenya, Ecuador,...
- H-wow