BY N. JAFFARY

What is different about this year from others? Any stand out events that happened?

We’ve had an amazing semester so far, we have celebrated a number of wonderful things! We had a great start to the year with Excellence Night when alumnus Mark Saunders, the Toronto Chief of Police,  returned to the school and gave an inspirational speech. MDHS was also fortunate to host its very first Citizenship Ceremony, and I feel blessed to have been part of this emotional and eye opening event. It was surreal to shake hands with the new Canadian Citizens and see first hand the joy in their eyes. Hosting the citizenship ceremony also speaks well to the Milton community since we are all about promoting inclusivity and giving back to the community. Moreover it was a great time to reflect on what it truly means to be a Canadian, MD is honoured to have been part of such a prestigious knight!

Our trip to Wilderness North in October was once again a huge success and this year was the highest number of students participating from Grade 10; this is very encouraging because Wilderness North is about building a large collaborative community of learners who can work effectively with each other inside and outside of the classroom.

Which team or club are you particularly proud of?

We have an amazing extra-curricular community at MDHS and I think it is essential to support all of the clubs because every time a student steps out to be involved in the school it means that they are willing to be a part of the herd and do more to build a strong community outside the walls of a classroom. It is commendable the number of students involved in teams and clubs because of the dedication  required to be a part of something amazing!

If there is one thing you would like to change about our school what would it be?

We accomplish a number of great feats inside the building every day, so it would be amazing if we could fix some of the basic physical comforts in our school. Improving the heating system in the building would be a great step!

What is the goal you would like the “herd” to be working towards this semester?

We are always striving to improve in every aspect: academics, art and athletics so I hope that the herd will continue to work hard and reach their potential!

I would also like to impress on parents and students that sometimes one gets so fixated on university as the next step that they forget to consider other pathways. Each pathway is there to engage students and in secondary institutes our goal is to help students be better prepared for life. I myself changed my plan after high school and would advise students to consider all their options before choosing one!

Any special trips you would like to mention?

The trip to California with the Social Justice SHSM was very powerful; The Simon Weisenthal Museum really put things in perspective and showed us our place in the world. It is absolutely essential for us to study history and look at our mistakes and work on them to move forward in life.

The Wilderness North Trip as I talked about before is always a pleasure to run because of the wonderful bonding experience it provides the students with!

MD is one of the few schools that offers Native and Indigenous Studies courses for students and the Peterborough trip really helped the students understand and connect with the history and culture of the people of this land. Equity and Inclusivity is the fabric and theme of what we do here and what we wish to instill in our students; field trips are a fun and educational way of getting this message across to the students.

Any advice for students at this point in the semester?

First semester always seems longer, and Winter Break is just a month away, however I would advise that all students to remain strong and committed to their school work. Without uncompromised commitment and dedication from all members of the herd, MDHS would not have the wonderful learning and collaborative atmosphere that it has! It’s not about the horse, it’s about the herd!