Western Technical-Commercial School

Western Technical-Commercial School (WTCS) is a high school in the Bloor-West Village of Toronto, Canada. It shares the same building with Ursula Franklin Academy and The Student School. Originally two schools when it was opened, Western Technical and Western Commercial, the present school is now the product of the merger between the two schools. The main building was constructed in 1927, with the addition being constructed in 1967-1970.

Education

Western, commonly referred to as WTCS or Western Tech, offers courses from grade 9 through 12 in Applied, Academic, or Gifted/Enriched levels. There is also a "post graduate" year. The gifted/enriched department is one of many highlights, taken by students who have been identified as gifted or applied as enriched. The tech department has been part of the school since the beginning, and it accounts for much of the male population at the school which hover at around 70%. In 2005, Western was the third school to be designated as a CyberArts School by the Toronto District School Board to serve the southwest quadrant of Toronto.

School ID card

Students and staff were required to wear a school ID card (also known as lanyard) while in the school or on WTCS property to ensure the safety and security of students and staff who belong to Western Tech. Effective September 4th, 2007, this policy has been lifted, and students, although requiring a card, do not have to wear a lanyard.

2007 lockdown procedure

As a result of the Virginia Tech school shooting in the United States that took place on April 16 2007, the school was practically locked down on April 30 2007 during Period 1 between 9:30 and 9:50 a.m for a practice. The School is planning for a full lockdown drill next year.

Special Education (SES) to move to West Toronto CI

It was announced that the non-credited Special Education Class "School of Environmental Studies" program will be relocated to West Toronto CI for the upcoming 2007-2008 School year, reasoning for the move is that West Toronto CI offers more Special Education courses than Western Tech. An Open House Party is scheduled to take place on June 15 2007.

Trivia

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• Western also had the distinction of having the biggest building in the TDSB until Ursula Franklin Academy and The Student School moved in. However, the building (All three schools) still holds this distinction.
• Former student Gregory Chambers graduated in 2005 with the distinction of having the highest average mark in the TDSB. His average was 99.7%.
• Every February during exam break, gifted/enriched students run an event called "Fellowship" where students from feeder schools visit and take part in activities that showcase the program. The day consists of morning teacher-run activities. After that, lunch consists of a free pizza lunch with a Jeopardy game, which pitches schools against schools. After that, there are the student-run activities, and then to finish the day, a stock market activity. The average cost of Fellowship is about $600.
• The popular movie Billy Madison starring Adam Sandler was filmed at Western Tech for the Nibb High scenes
• WTCS was used as the set for the fictional school attended by "Justin" in the American televsion series Queer as Folk.

Media

• The Hidden Agenda, the school's newspaper.

External links

• WTCS official website
• WTCS Profile on TDSB website
• WTCS Gifted/Enriched Sub-Site
• WTCS Music Department