From the principal…

As the old adage goes, “Time flies when you are having fun”. Quite often success leads to having fun. The end of another outstanding year at Milton District High School has very rapidly come upon us, thanks to the great successes of our students through their efforts in the classroom, in co-curricular activities and in the broader community. We should all be very proud of our Mustang students as they continue to demonstrate their outstanding abilities and talents.

Our Grade 10 students wrote the provincial Literacy test and over 90% of our students were successful this year. This places MD as leaders in Halton and in the province. Congratulations to our students and to the awesome team of staff who support the many literacy initiatives that enhance our students’ success. While on the topic of writing, this was the inaugural year for MDHS Scene and Herd, our amazing online newspaper that showcases some of the great writing talents in our students.

Our Social Justice students had a wonderful trip to Ottawa as they showed amazing insight and leadership as active participants at the Holocaust Remembrance Day in April. Internationally, our students were excellent ambassadors of our community during a trip to Italy and Greece in March. Our incredibly awesome Improv Team once again qualified for the national championships in Ottawa and performed very well on the big stage. Wherever MD students travel, they are highly praised and have a great reputation as outstanding humanitarians.

The spring athletics season had a very high level of participation in soccer, baseball, softball, track and field, and new to MD this year, ultimate frisbee and rugby.. Once again we are very proud of our mountain biking team that went on to win OFSAA , Michael Foley in Junior and Reg Pay in Senior. Collectively we had 12 individual and team champions in regional and provincial athletics from MD this year. Way to go Mustangs!

Looking ahead to next year, we are excited to be starting new Specialist High Skills Major programs  in “Health Care” and “Construction”. Health Care gives our grade 11 and 12 students the opportunity to connect their studies in science with the medical sector. Our Construction SHSM will feature our senior students gaining excellent learning experience at residential and commercial construction projects in our community. Milton District is also a leader in Halton with course offerings in First Nations, Metis and Inuit Studies (FNMI) at the grade 9 level in the Arts and the grade 11 level in English studies. These courses help students broaden their understanding and appreciation of aboriginal cultures in our communities. Should you wish to find out more information about any of our courses, please contact our Guidance department at the school.

Every year at this time we say goodbye to our graduating class.  I want to thank them for the contributions they have made to our school’s history and show appreciation of their excellence, perseverance and dedication in reaching their graduation goal. I am proud to be the principal of such a fine school with outstanding young people such as this graduating class.

The end of the school year is a time when some of our staff members will be moving on to new chapters in their careers. Mr. Hamilton, Mrs. McGuffie and Mr. Macaulay are retiring. Their amazing contributions and teaching expertise which they have shared with the MD learning community over the years has been greatly appreciated and their knowledge and experience in helping our students be successful will be deeply missed.  Mr.Templeton, Ms Podio, Mr. Sauve and  Mr. Riggs will be moving on to new locations for September. These folks will be missed and we wish them all the best.

I would like to especially thank our Parent Council, chaired by Lynn Trevisan and Amir Shehzad, who continue to develop the important partnership between home and school that helps our students be successful. We need you to be involved to make this a successful initiative. If you are interested in supporting the Parent (School) Council, please contact Amir at shehzad.amir@gmail.com

Have a safe and enjoyable summer everyone and we look forward to seeing you in September.

Kevin Caughlin,

Principal