Thriving at DSC

 

Your Future in Your Hands!

By Dhwani Anand

March 4th, 2015

 

Deciding on a career is one of the most crucial decisions one would have to make in their entire lifetime and making sure that it is the right choice would be an even more crucial one. Now that the course selection day is approaching by the 9th of March, it is time to refresh back on your future goals, plans, and desires for the coming years. To ensure that you select the appropriate courses, it is vital that you choose the subjects of your interest where you know you can excel well, especially Grade 10 students who will now have to choose their field of interest for Grade 11. Here are a few tips that will help you prepare and succeed in making the right course selections as well as strengthen your university applications:

 

 

 

• Make Mandatory Choices First- When making course selections, it is important that you select the ones that are mandatory first, as these are the subjects whose credits are necessary for you in order to graduate. Also, watch out for prerequisites! Certain courses require you to have a previous course taken to ensure that you have attained the foundational knowledge required to complete the respective course.

• Community Hours- One of the criteria to graduate is to gain a minimum of 40 community hours. In my advice, it would be best if you have all your community hours earned by Grade 12, as this final year will be the most busy and hectic one in terms of studies and university applications. Moreover, having gained more than 40 hours would be even more beneficial when applying for universities than just meeting the basic requirements.

• Participating in Clubs and Sports- Universities want to see you excel not only in academics but in extra-curricular activities as well. Joining a variety of clubs and sports of your interest can help you achieve them. The school gives a numerous opportunities, so take advantage of that!

• All in all, by following these three simple tips, you will be able to make the right course choices and build a strong portfolio of yourself for university applications. Think Wise, Choose Right! Wishing you all a very happy and successful high school year!

 

 

 

 

The Inventions and Innovations Club Bridge Building Competition

By James Kim

March 4, 2015

 

The 12th Infrastructure Building Competition for Secondary School has been opened. With more than 150 schools participating, the rivalry is high. On the other hand, the determined Inventions and Innovations (IAI) team knows their business. This was the 5th year of participation in the competition. The goal is simple. Make a strong bridge out of the wood and glue provided. In the first round of testing, bridges that bent the least with a 5 kg load move on to the finals.  In the final round of testing, a small truck is driven across the bridge with more and more weight added until the  breaking point. The bridge that holds the most weight wins. There are other side-prizes too, such as the most beautiful, or the bridge with the least amount of wood.

 

The Inventions and Innovations club is run by Mrs. Comeau and Dr. Comeau. The Bridge Building team was divided into 2 groups to plan and build the bridge:

 

Team 1: Jin Young Park, Kyo Hyun Koo, Yoohee Jeung, Apurva Sawhney, Taiga Oikawa

Team 2: Stephane Jin, Kenta Iwasaki, Mahian Maksud, Arthur lee, Arlyn Serafica

 

The groups had 5 consecutive meetings to plan, innovate, and correct their very own foundation of bridge making plans and tactics. Team 1 discussed and planned about having side supports by wood, and generated the planning on computer. Team 2 mostly focused on the support of the track the load will go on.

 

The bridge builders have done a very good job in planning and building the bridge. They were given 8 hours of work, limited amount of wood, and limited amount of glue. Despite the hot day and hungriness among the members, the IAI team completed their bridges. By the end of the bridge competition, the bridges were submitted, and IAI team returned home with their tired bodies.

 

The first round of testing took place one month following the building of the bridges. Team 1 has made it to the final round, while Team 2 just missed out. Good luck, and huge applause to the IAI club!