Dark Matter and The AP Community By Diego Rojas
SENATOR O’CONNOR COLLEGE SCHOOL GIFTED/AP NEWSLETTER Winter Snapshot
T C D S B
Volume 4, Issue 1
February 2016
Trip to Harvard Model UN
2
Not Afraid To Be Silly
5
Engineering Design Competition
6
Aga Khan Museum with Grade 9’s
7
OCS Robotics Team 8
Brownian Motion 9
AP Family Values 11
Inside this issue:
On Friday evening, December 11th, 2015, numerous
O’Connor students made the trek to the Toronto
Reference Library to attend a lecture by renowned
author and Harvard physicist Lisa Randall concerning
her latest book. The book and lecture shared the
intriguing title of Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The
Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe. Randall
spoke at length about the properties of dark matter,
explaining both the concept and her theories on the
matter. Her theoretical proposition suggests the large-
scale gravitational effects of dark matter could have
knocked an asteroid off course and towards the earth,
causing one of the most publicized extinctions in our
history. She also spoke of the ways we discovered the
substance dubbed “dark matter” due to our lack of
comprehension on the topic (although apparently “dark
matter” is definitely a misnomer, according to Lisa). This
nigh-intangible matter is also believed to play a large
part in the way our galaxies orbit, as the speed of rotation does not correspond with the
mass inside. While an article like this is not the place to delve into the matters of physics
too deeply, the panel discussion that ensued also featured some very interesting
questions. The three panelists were amicable in their responses, and it is fair to say that
everyone learned something that day. The AP/Gifted group that went to the lecture had
quite a lot of fun, connecting with some students from
other schools and each other. The lecture itself was
dynamic and intriguing, and the people were equally so.
Lisa Randall’s book presents an interesting read while
discussing some common questions from a new
perspective. All in all, yet another entertainingly
educational excursion for O’Connor.
Thank you Ms. Pavliv for
all your hard work
preparing for our NEW
AP Psychology course!
Follow our NEW Twitter
account to keep up with eve-
rything our family’s doing!
@ocs_ap
Thank you Patrick Stogianou for
managing the account.
On January 27th, 16 students flew to “Bahston”, Massachusetts,
USA, along with teacher supervisors Ms. McCarvell and Mrs. Devitt –
Tremblay for Harvard Model United Nations (HMUN). Once landing in
Bahston, the group arrived at the Sheraton Bahston Hotel and were
immediately greeted by the sight of many teens from around the
world mingling in the hotel lobby, so naturally we joined in. Our first
full day started with a trolley tour to MIT where we had a tour of ro-
botics labs, the world-renowned MIT media lab and the Infinite Corri-
dor. We were kindly shown around by Sepehr Eshani, a post-doctoral
fellow working in the field of Computational Biology at the Institute.
The tour was then followed by lunch at Quincy Market, where various
food stalls and shops were located. We then hopped on the trolley
tour again and returned to the hotel to get ready for opening ceremo-
nies and the first session of HMUN. Our group looked very dapper,
donning our Algerian Flag pins and waving our Algerian flags (we
formed the delegation of Algeria at this conference). The topics de-
bated in the various committee sessions were all interesting and very
serious. Finishing our first committee sessions at around 11pm, we all
headed up to our rooms and excitedly talked about our day; we made
so many new friends! Day Two brought us to “Hahvahd” University to
meet former OCS student and Harvard freshman, Lyndon Hanrahan,
who (with snow pants just picked up at the post office in hand) gave
us a detailed tour of the campus and school that he now attends. The
campus is absolutely beautiful. Many other MUN student-tourists
were clustered around a certain famous statue purported to be John
Harvard. We were warned not to touch this statue for biohazard rea-
sons (thanks Lyndon). On Saturday evening, HMUN put on an extraor-
dinary cultural extravaganza that showcased songs and dances that
blew us all away. The Delegate Dance followed, with the DJ playing
mostly American and Latin American dance music. We indulged at
the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and we could barely finish our
super large portions, but it was totally worth it. Roses were sent and
received, superlatives were voted on, international friendships were
forged, and memories were made. If only we could do it all over
again. Motion to repeat HMUN 2016?
OCS Delegation Off to Harvard
Personalized Tours of
MIT and Harvard
Page 2
Inside Story Headline Motion for a Moderated Caucus on HMUN 2016 By Gabriella Bunag
Left:
Cheesecake
Factory
take-out -
OCS family
meal al fres-
co!
Right: OCS
graduate
Lyndon
shows us his
new school.
In our
business
attire at
Opening
Ceremonies
at the Pru-
dential Cen-
ter
Sepehr
shows us
around
MIT
“Alright, for this part here, you’ve got to sell yourself to the best of your abilities.”
Though a helpful piece of advice for someone prior to a job interview, it may not be the best for a group of pre-teens in front
of their parents.
It was three years ago that Mrs. Devitt-Tremblay flagged me down in the hallway after school and tried to get me to help
her out with this thing she called an “AP Application Writing Workshop.” After a moment of clarification, it turned out that she
just wanted to stuff me in a room with a few prospective AP students and help them with their applications. Seemed simple
enough, and it was, at first. At most, we were expecting no more than a dozen students, amounting to about 3 or 4 kids per
volunteer, but suddenly, the number of students almost tripled. After an hour of struggling to keep my head above water
while helping nine kids, it was over.
Being the school we are, we made the workshop an annual event, with a bigger turnout every year. More than a hundred
enthusiastic parents and students turned out for this event in October of this year. Those who attended as guests in years prior
were suddenly in charge of the workshop, and those of us who helped since the beginning couldn’t help but stand in awe at
the event’s growth. The AP program at O’Connor had long been in place prior to my arrival and will hopefully remain long
after but, in the short time that I have been a part of this wonderful community, I can’t help but say that I am thrilled to have
watched it grow.
Annual AP Application Writing Workshop
By: Matthew Gene
An Evening at The Opera : La Traviata by Amanda Yokingco
Page 3 SENATOR O’CONNOR COLLEGE SCHOOL
Community Building Snapshot
The gowns! The romance! The tragedy! When everything is for sale, what would you
give for love? On the crisp autumn evening of October 5th, the entire AP/Gifted family
was invited to attend a BMO Financial Group Student Dress Rehearsal of Giuseppe Ver-
di’s La Traviata. We all dressed in our finest and gathered at the Four Seasons Centre:
home of the Canadian Opera Company. La Traviata is an opera filled with the passion
and pathos music theatre is famous for, as well as riveting drama, superb sets and
pretty props, stunning scores, mesmerizing music, and complex costumes. The play
also boasts an intricate heroine named Violetta who unequivocally emanates change
and growth in her time, making her not only one of the best-loved heroines of opera,
but one of the most real and complete as well. Though set in Paris during the 1850s, it
was sung entirely in Italian (except for SURTITLES™; they were in English). As always,
it was an amazing night of opera as well as an excellent opportunity to socialize that we
all enjoyed very much. We are certainly looking forward to attending the next opera
which will be April 25th for Gioachino Rossini’s Maometto II. Hope to see you all there!
Duke of Ed Silver Award By Patrick Stogianou
Duke of Ed Breakfast By Grace Lang
In October, a dozen OCS students attended a Duke of
Edinburgh's Award breakfast to support the Duke of Ed
program that involved almost 38,000 young people in 2015.
The objective of the internationally recognized Duke of
Edinburgh program is to challenge young people between
the ages of 14 to 25. Wide varieties of interests are em-
braced and provide for training, achieving, and recognition
in physical activities, skills, outdoor expeditions, and ser-
vice to the community. The award program is designed to
advance the physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritu-
al welfare of young people. Throughout the breakfast we
got to talk and listen to past and present Duke of Ed partici-
pants, and enjoy a delicious breakfast. At Senator O'Con-
nor, we hope to work toward achieving our bronze, silver
and gold levels of achievement in this program. This expe-
rience has motivated and fully informed us about the bene-
fits and amazing experiences that come from participating
in the Duke of Edinburgh Award program.
OCS Students out in the Community
Page 4 SENATOR O’CONNOR COLLEGE SCHOOL
I've always been someone with strong
opinions, so when Mrs. Parish kindly
forwarded an email from the Toronto City
Youth Council about an open position, I
eagerly jumped at the opportunity! The
process required me to apply for a vacant
post in my ward - Ward 32 - submit my
resume, and await an interview. After
successfully completing those stages, I was
selected on January 31st. Now for my role
In early December, five students from Senator O'Connor
received their Silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards at Queen's
Park. The Duke of Edinburgh Award is a self-guided award
with components of physical activity, skill development,
volunteer service and an adventurous journey. The Silver level
is the second of three stages, after Bronze and before Gold.
The five students, myself, Natalie Alvares, Kaitlin Wiens, Micah
de Lara and Christopher Knight received our Silver awards
from Heather Smith, the Chief Justice of the Superior Court of
Ontario, with our friends and family watching. Afterwards, we
were invited to the Lieutenant Governor's apartment for some
refreshments and picture taking. Overall, it was a long-
awaited fun day!
synopsis; I'm a volunteer Youth Councillor
chosen to represent the young people of my
community at City Hall. I will bring forth
innovative ideas and address local concerns
to the 43 other voting delegates. Another
interesting component of the job is to remain
in correspondence with my City Councillor,
meaning that I will shadow her at municipal
meetings. As the first member of government
in my family, this experience will be
phenomenal. I cannot wait to get started
and keep you all posted on all things
political!
Student Politician By Anna Khouzam
December 10th was an interesting day – to say the
least – for the AP/Gifted students at Senator O’Connor. The
first semester was past its mid-point and anxiety levels
caused by ISUs and major assignments started to increase.
However, it was this huge, loud, and incredibly over-
crowded moment for which Mrs. Devitt-Tremblay had
prepped us a week in advance that really acted as a de-
stressor in all of our academic lives: the AP dance to Hotline
Bling. Nicole Lorencez choreographed the routine and, with
the help of many willing Grade ten volunteers, Mrs. Devitt-
Tremblay sent out a video of the dance which she made sure
everyone not only saw, but practiced as well. When Decem-
ber 10th arrived, AP students in all grades came together in
the cafeteria to dance to Drake’s song. It was so hectic that it
took us 30 minutes to record 60 seconds of choreography!
However, it all paid off when Mrs. Devitt-Tremblay sent out
the final video because what we saw wasn’t a bunch of kids
dancing sloppily, we saw our AP family having fun and re-
lieving stress in our own O’Connor way!
Not Afraid To Be Silly
To see the video:
https://vimeo.com/150821700
Password: AP
Page 5
The “Hotline Bling” Dance By Ednah Negatu
3, 2, 1, Liftoff! by Alexa Bautista
On October 6, 2015, honour roll students gathered together
during first period to be rewarded with a wonderful breakfast for their
amazing accomplishments. The cafeteria was decorated with bright
decorations and filled with smiling students, happily eating their meals.
However, rather than actually eating their food, a few Grade eleven
students decided to experiment with it instead. Students Andrei
Andreica, Chris Gawrylczyk, Darie Roman and Patrick Stogianou worked
together in an effort to make a pancake float in the air. After many trials
resulting in broken pancakes and lost utensils, they managed to create a
contraption consisting of multiple plastic knives and colourful helium-
filled balloons in order to lift up one pancake - a special little pancake; a
pancake that will soon be an inspiration to all other members of the
breakfast-food family and AP community.
Excited students followed these four outside in order to witness
the first-ever AP Pancake Launch. While gathered around the pancake
contraption, the countdown begun, “3....2...1... LIFTOFF!” The
pancake was released and soared, slowly but surely, up into
the clouds to an estimated altitude of 10,000 feet. The crowd
stood in awe and watched the pancake disappear into the sky
- except for fellow creator Patrick, who stared at it with a
disgruntled look on his face. “That was my pancake.” he said,
slightly dejected. Well, it’s too late to get it back now.
This pancake now serves as a reminder for all AP
students to shoot for the stars and follow their dreams.
Pancake, you will never be forgotten.
attendees on a positive note, most of whom
were filled with the renewed desire to make
a difference within this world.As mentioned
in a speech given by Spencer Ki and Matthew
Gene:
“The only limitation upon humans that
really prevents the creation of a perfect and
harmonious world, are those we unnecessarily
impose upon ourselves.”
Later, we donned our metaphorical
aprons and made AP Pancakes for all during
both lunches.
There was no better way to top off the
2015 year than with a gathering amongst the
AP community.
On December 15th, many students (and
staff) gathered in the chapel to take part in
Senator O’Connor’s annual AP Christmas
Paraliturgy. The paraliturgy unified the AP
community –featuring various reflections,
which mainly focused on our purpose as
human beings, supporting one another, and
making a difference within our society –
leaving many with a sense of empowerment.
It is safe to say that the gathering left all
Winter Snapshot
Page 6 SENATOR O’CONNOR COLLEGE SCHOOL
Have you ever wondered if the students at Sena-
tor O'Connor are smarter than the American stu-
dents preparing for university? Well wonder no
more, as on the 14th of October 2015, many AP stu-
dents had the chance to test their skills against
American schools on the Preliminary SAT exam.
The PSAT is a two-hour test comprised of separate
math and verbal sections and a third section testing
English grammar. For many, this was the first time
they'd faced such a diabolical exam, but as for the
others, they'd already done this in their sophomore
years. It's really not THAT bad though, as more than
3.5 million high school students take this test each
year. It's not just a test. It's something that could
really benefit you both in high school and in univer-
sity/college, as there is a scholarship competition
(the National Merit Scholarship competition) which
awards approximately 8,200 scholarships annually.
Also, many take the PSAT exam as a great oppor-
tunity to receive feedback on their strengths and
weaknesses. So if you're ever in the mood for cruel
and unusual punishment, or as Ms. Devitt-Tremblay
likes to call it, "brain food", have a try at this excel-
lent and fun learning opportunity.
(Added note from Mrs. DT: FYI: Our O’Connor stu-
dents placed in the very highest percentiles in Lan-
guage and Mathematics categories. Needless to
say, we also sailed well above the newly designed
College Board benchmarks. )
A Sense Of Belonging by Ashley Rivera
PSAT by Kevin Maruthananth and Justin Pymento
In November 2015, four sophomores
assembled the first “Dream Team” at Senator
O’Connor and signed up for the University of
Toronto Engineering Competition, competing
against freshmen and sophomore teams from
other schools. The group consisted of: Miguel
Rosales the designer; Stephanie DeGuzman the
dreamer; Fynn Schmitt-Ulms the thinker, and
Andrea Bancod, the person who keeps track of
things.
The aim was to build a contraption
that could lift 200g off of the ground and reach
the top of two desks, one stacked on the other.
In a realistic scenario, the team would be deliv-
ering resources from the bottom of a cliff to a
Bolivian village above. Each team was assigned
one of the four categories: speed, affordability,
effectiveness, or assembly. Within each catego-
ry were three different awards: overall catego-
ry winner, environmental award, and innova-
tion award. The Dream Team was assigned
speed.
In a few days, the four gathered the
materials (going to different hardware stores at
untimely moments) and finished building the
prototype. By the end of the final preparation
night, they carefully took it apart.
Finally, it was November 28th – the day of
the competition. The device successfully lifted
just enough weight. The final timing for the
Dream Team was 2.5 seconds, beating another
group by 0.11 seconds and winning the speed
category!
The senior teams had fun too, creat-
ing well-thought out construction projects,
Spencer Ki, David Rolko, Thomas Rolko, Mat-
thew Gene, Chris Gusz , Nicole Lorencez and
Reshan Rex did a wonderful job as well!
THE UOFT ENGINEERING COMPETITION – We came home with a medal!
By: Andrea Bancod
Growing Our Hearts and Minds
On January 13th, Grade 9 AP/Gifted
students were invited to participate in a
trip to the Aga Khan Museum. Depart-
ing from school, the students traveled
to the museum in a group, and upon
arrival, spent some time admiring the
architectural design of the building.
The outer walls were built to be diago-
nal, and gave the museum the appear-
ance of a large ship. It had an open
space in the centre of the main hall,
which served as a garden in warmer
weather. The students took time to listen
to how this design element was incorpo-
rated in many homes in the Middle East,
where houses are often built around a
central garden. Students learned what an
important part geometry and symmetry
Advanced Placement News Page 7
Grade Nines Go to the Aga Khan Museum by Anikó Gruber
CSUNA by Jessica Mahadeo
The air was crisp at the Catholic Education Centre
on the mornings of November 26th and 27th as hun-
dreds of Toronto Catholic District School Board students
made their way inside the building. Many gathered to
participate in the 2015 Catholic Schools United Nations
Assembly, organized every year by St Joseph Morrow
Park Catholic School. O'Connor's AP community had the
chance to join in on this exciting event with twenty-five
students representing various countries in different
committees!
In the General Assembly, students dealt with issues
such as refugees, mental health, and women’s rights. In
the WHO organization, delegates discussed and passed
several resolutions regarding topics such as: mental
health, clean water, malnutrition, and whether or not
toilet paper is a necessity of life.
Aside from the resolutions, the delegates let loose
and participated in karaoke, dance competitions, and
rap battles. It was a great way to end the conference.
The Senator O'Connor students had a blast, making
new friends, arguing different topics and laughing with
their peers. A lot was learned from this event and it was
a great experience for all! The AP community cannot
wait to attend CSUNA next November to see what the
conference brings!
played in the decorations and pictures.
They saw multiple everyday objects
that were beautifully painted, such as
books and plates. A tapestry made with
gold pins, multiple pieces of jewelry,
and religious texts were all part of the
experience. The tour was both educa-
tional and interesting, and every stu-
dent left with a deeper understanding
of a culture.
Exploring The World
Ingenuity and Experimentation
Winter Snapshot
Page 8 SENATOR O’CONNOR COLLEGE SCHOOL
Robotics by Ben Creasy
This 2015-2016 school year marks the first time
that there has been a Robotics Club at Senator
O’Connor. The club has been meeting every day
after school since late October, completing plan-
ning, designing, and building tasks each day. The
group is currently building a robot that functions
like an excavator, meant to complete a variety of
tasks in a competition later this year. Our school’s
first robotics club has done an excellent job so far,
learning the ropes of what robot-building entails,
as they are the guinea pigs for this competition
preparation process. Along with the help of Mr.
Hill and Mr. Christian, the students involved have
designed, programmed, and built a functioning
robot (controlled with an Xbox controller and joy
stick)! It is under continuous development and im-
provement each day. The final product will have a
total of six functioning wheels, a metal frame, ply-
wood body, side bumpers, and plywood excavator
arm. All of these attributes are necessary to be suc-
cessful in competition. The goal of the club is to
complete and polish off the finished robot in time
for the first competition early in March. We wish
our team the best in the inter-school competition!
The Egg Bungee Jump by David and Thomas Rolko
The Grade 12 AP Physics class was split into
groups to take part in a challenge, using the con-
cepts learned in class from the amazing teacher
Mrs. Price. They took a long chain of elastics and
calculated the length required to extend it so that
an egg dropped would get as close to the floor as
possible without cracking. The teams dropped the
eggs from the second floor of the school and
watched, hoping their egg would not be the one
that would smash into a thousand pieces. Some
groups were successful, while others made scram-
bled eggs instead.
THANK YOU MR. HILL AND MR. CHRISTIAN FOR WIN-
NING THE $23,000 GRANT FROM FIRST ROBOTICS.
This past October, members of O’Connor’s AP-Gifted community had the enrich-
ing opportunity to attend a mathematical symposium presented by Dr. Stanislav
Smirnov at the University of Toronto. The brilliant Dr. Smirnov is one of the more
recent recipients of the prestigious Fields Medal, commonly called the mathemati-
cian’s Nobel Prize, and the symposium was held in honour of his award. One of his
many areas of expertise is that of dynamical systems, the mathematical modeling of
the movement of a point in geometric space as a function of time, and his lecture
was on exactly that, featuring an explanation of Brownian motion and answering the
question “what exactly is a random walk?” Brownian motion describes the seeming-
ly random path a particle takes in a suspension when acted upon by numerous
smaller particles.
Dr. Smirnov expounded upon his modeling of such scenarios using square and
hexagonal-based lattices, and went into further detail by describing his efforts at
calculating the probability of a particle traveling along each path; in effect his re-
search strove to order randomness.
The address took a captivating turn when Dr. Smirnov explained how he at-
tempted to apply his research to areas encompassing more than three-spatial di-
mensions, and one could tell that the audience was totally enraptured. Upon conclu-
sion, the professor was simply swamped by questions posed by the inquisitive
minds in the room, and O’Connor’s students were lucky enough to be able to take a
group photo with the genius at the end. We all left the lecture with our minds ex-
panded, fascinated by the mathematical possibilities presented that day.
Page 9
Ordering Randomness: The Fields Medal Symposium by Spencer Ki
Something Fishy at the ROM by Vlad Sandu
In November, our intrepid O’Connor histori-
ans boldly went where no student has gone before;
into the fiery depths of knowledge at the Royal Ontario
Museum’s Pompeii exhibit. There, they were treated
to an enlightening tour of Pompeii’s cultural exhibition
which featured many interesting artefacts and never
before seen information on Pompeii’s most revered
figure; the mighty fish. The people of Pompeii sure did
love their fish: big fish, small fish, all kinds of fish, end-
lessly devouring them meal after meal along with
some of their traditional black bread. Yum, just like
grandma used to make! After having been greatly illu-
minated by the sheer mind-blowing awe of the exhib-
it, O’Connor’s amazing students sat in on a relaxing,
yet enlightening historical lecture by award-winning
Professor Kenneth Bartlett at the University of Toronto,
concerning the scientific revolution of the 17th centu-
ry. Thank you Eryk Brol, OCS grad, for inviting us to
your U of T class! Our AP family finished the day in a
state of great elation looking forward to passing on
stories of Pompeii’s aquatic friends for generations to
come.
Out In The City
Fields Institute
ROM
University of Toronto
By Adenieke Lewis-Gibbs
Page 10 SENATOR O’CONNOR COLLEGE SCHOOL
The Fixings for a Hearty AP Soup In September, Senator O’Connor cordially
welcomed countless prospective Advanced
Placement students from across Toronto, along
with our own students and parents in the AP/
Gifted program to a special community even-
ing. The keenest of kids began filtering their
way in as early as 6:30 p.m. and by 7:00, the Pat
Gravelle Hallway was inundated with zealous,
challenge-seeking students and their parents.
Jason He added ambiance with piano playing.
For the Grade 8 students, that day marked the
first towards an enriching high school career.
For the O’Connor family, it was a chance to
boast and brag about how phenomenal the
school truly is.
In the time between entering the school and
opening the auditorium, students and parents
alike were able to socialize with multi-coloured
brochures in one hand, and cups of student-
made soup in the other. Mrs. Price, Ms. Kopria-
niuk and a dash of students worked together to
make enough soup for the 300-plus visitors that
night.
Once the anxious small talk ceased, the audi-
ence gathered in the auditorium. They were
greeted with AP student Natalia Santilli and her
rendition of Coldplay’s “Fix You.” Also O’Con-
nor alumnus and current University of Toronto
student Justin Wiens was presented with the AP
National Scholar award, a testament to his cog-
nitive caliber, hard work and the rigorous edu-
cation he received at Senator O’Connor.
Somewhere in the academic mix was AP
Chicken Soup, the underlying theme of that
night. A new addition to the Advanced Place-
ment mindset, the so-called ingredients for the
metaphorical soup boasted both witty and wise
words from students such as, “Per augusta ad
angusta," “everyone learns at a different pace,"
or Dawn's thoughtful input, “sleep.”
The night progressed in this fun and informa-
tive manner. Students were both enticed and
overwhelmed with the prospect of a new learn-
ing environment.
Mix a handful of education enthusiasts, pro-
spective parents, and academic aces and what
do you get? A warm, hearty bowl of AP chicken
soup.
Advanced Placement Values Page 11
Sentiments shared by OCS AP/Gifted students, parents and teachers
Slide Creation by Emily Panousis
Regional Congregated Advanced Placement Centre
Senator O’Connor College School
60 Rowena Dr.
Toronto, ON
M3A 3R2
GIFTED FACILITATOR/AP COORDINATOR:
Nan Devitt-Tremblay
Phone: 416 393 5505 Ext: 6009
Voicemail: 80025
Newsletter Editors:
Erin de Ridder/ Lily O’Connor Clarke
Editorial Team: Miguel Rosales, Ashley Rivera,
Christopher Knight, Samuel McGouran
Special Event Photography : Alexa Bautista
Audax et Fidelis
This fall, the OCS Debating Society
expanded yet again, gaining several
new members who all contributed in
their own unique way to the Society’s
success. Along with each team mem-
ber’s contributions at the monthly
debates and weekly meetings, eve-
ryone spoke with respect towards
their opponents - and acted like true
sportsmen. These last few months
alone, the Senior team placed Sec-
Debaters Off To A Great Start By Kayla Paciocco
More than a hundred students from Catholic, public, private
schools came to Senator O’Connor College School for an after-
school debating workshop in November.
O’Connor Hosts The Ontario Pro-Con Workshop
ond at the Agnes MacPhail Tournament while
Junior team member Mitchell MacDonald
earned an individual second place award at the
Sir John A. MacDonald Tournament. In addition
to a successful debate season, Senator O’Con-
nor was able to host “The Ontario Pro Con De-
bating Workshop” where various schools
across the TDSB and TCDSB gathered to hone
their debating skills. The student facilitators of
the workshop were able to show their strengths,
and share tips and techniques with other stu-
dents. They taught these tips through work-
shops that were hosted in designated
classrooms throughout the first floor. Not
only were they able to access workshops
in the classrooms, but students were also
able to attend a mock debate where they
observed experienced senior debaters
argue their resolution with skillful oration.
Overall, the members of the Debating
Society have had an eventful and reward-
ing year, and are now eager and ready to
start the new season.