Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute

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Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute
Address
Map
135 Overlea Boulevard

, ,
Canada
Coordinates43°42′37″N 79°20′09″W / 43.710266°N 79.335735°W / 43.710266; -79.335735
Information
School typePublic, high school
Founded1973
School boardToronto District School Board
SuperintendentAndrew Howard
LC1/LN5
Area trusteeRachel Chernos Lin
Ward 11
School number1950 / 933198
PrincipalGillian Evans
Grades9-12
Enrolment1800
LanguageEnglish
Campus size8.6 acres
AreaFlemingdon Park
Colour(s)Blue, Maroon and White    
MascotCougar
Team nameGarneau Cougars
NewspaperThe Reckoner of MGCI
Communities servedFlemingdon Park, Thorncliffe Park
Feeder schoolsValley Park Middle School
Websiteschoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/marcgarneau/

Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute, formerly known as Overlea Secondary School, is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and part of the Toronto District School Board. It is the host school of the Talented Offerings for Programs in the Sciences (TOPS) program, a math, science and English enrichment program.

History[edit]

Overlea Secondary School, the third high school in the former suburb of East York, opened its doors in 1972 with 250 students as one of the first open concept schools in Canada. On September 4, 1973 it had 400 pupils and 42 staff. On October 16, 1987, Overlea S.S. was renamed 'Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute' after Canada's first astronaut Marc Garneau, who regularly visits the school and its students. It hosts the TOPS program and has offered pilot courses in Earth and Space Science, Science Journalism, and Cisco Networking. The school was built in the jurisdiction within North York as opposed to East York. Before 1998, this school was part of the East York Board of Education.

Valley Park Middle School is the main school that feeds students into MGCI but there are other schools as well such as Cosburn Middle School.

In 1993, MGCI was honoured with the Roberta Bondar Science and Technology Award in recognition of the school's achievements in numerous student programs, particularly its Students for the Exploration and Development of Space chapter, which no longer exists. Renovations to the school in 1998 removed many of the open concept elements of the school's original design.

Student life[edit]

Some of the clubs include chapters of FBLA, DECA, Law Society, MGCI EcoTeam, MGCI Muslim Student Association, Student Council, The Reckoner of MGCI, and the Key Club. The school has had several first and second-place finishes in the International FBLA Competition and the International DECA Competition.[1]

The Reckoner of MGCI is the school's newspaper. The Reckoner was named "Best Volunteer Newspaper" at the "Toronto Star High School Newspaper Awards" in 2014 and "Best Electronic Newspaper" in 2011 and 2014.[2] In 2015, The Reckoner was named "Best Electronic Newspaper" once again by the Toronto Star.[3]

Recognition and awards[edit]

In 2004, Maclean's magazine ranked the TOPS program at MGCI as among the best schools in Canada, suggesting it was the top-ranked program for students pursuing science or mathematics in their later studies.[4] The September 2006 issue of Toronto Life also stated that MGCI was the best high school in Toronto for mathematics and science, largely crediting the TOPS program.[5]

MGCI also frequently places in the top 3 in various University of Waterloo math contests.[6]

Notable alumni[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "DECA Ontario - » ABOUT ICDC". Archived from the original on 2012-11-29. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  2. ^ Journalism's Future Best Honoured by The Star
  3. ^ Pelley, Lauren (21 May 2015). "Toronto Star High School Newspaper Awards honour student journalism". The Toronto Star.
  4. ^ Macleans.ca - Spot Stories - Education - A-Plus Learning[permanent dead link]. Macleans.ca. Retrieved on September 17, 2006
  5. ^ "Toronto Life Magazine - September 2006 |". Archived from the original on 2015-07-06. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  6. ^ "Past Contests, Solutions and Results". CEMC. University of Waterloo. Retrieved 5 October 2023.

External links[edit]