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Senior Soccer team reaches tournament final
- May 27, 2009
Linden's Senior Soccer team did themselves
- and their coaches - proud on Thursday, May 21, reaching
the finals of the Small Schools Athletic Federation's tournament
in Markham.
After only seven practices, the girls came
out strong in the first round, winning two of four games with
dominant play and relentless goal-scoring by several players.
Round-robin results left Linden third out of seven teams,
meaning they advanced to the semi-finals against Mississauga
Private School (MPS), one of the two teams to defeat them
in the first round.
Though slightly intimidated by the play
of MPS in their round-robin match, Linden regrouped for the
semi-final, realizing that they could compete with the best
teams in the tournament if they brought forth their best effort.
Following a hard-fought forty minutes of regulation time and
two, five-minute overtime periods, the score remained knotted
at 1-1, meaning the teams were headed for a penalty shootout.
Nerves ran high during the shootout (especially
among Linden's coaching staff), but the girls used the adrenaline
to their advantage and put on a truly spectacular display.
Four of five shooters put their shots away, and netminder
Mina stood firm in goal, holding MPS to only two scores to
send Linden to the final.
From the excitement of the semi-final team,
the girls went straight to the championship match against
the formidable Town Centre, who had a half-hour of rest before
this last game. Linden emptied their last reserves of energy
after an exhausting, scorching-hot day, but unfortunately
went down 4-1 to a very worthy opponent.
Coaches Kate and Radhika are thrilled
with the fabulous effort, skill and sportsmanship the girls
displayed at the tournament, and thank them all for an amazing
season!
The Importance of Being Earnest, and other
lessons - May 25, 2009
On Tuesday, May 22, Linden's senior drama
classes and Senior Drama Club hosted the year's second Senior
Drama Night.
The evening's programme began with the Senior
Drama Club's presentation of John Murray's A Case for Two
Detectives, a comedy in which two sleuths with two very
different styles endeavour to solve the same bizarre murder.
Later in the evening, the club also presented Four Women
And Their Men, an original play by grade 10 student Alannah;
her script explores what happens when four women, with personalities
and histories based on three tragic Shakespearean characters
(Lady Macbeth, Desdemona and Cleopatra) and on Shakespeare's
own wife, Anne, meet the recently engaged and deliriously
happy Julie (Juliet) at a nail salon. Embittered by their
own experiences, the women try to convince Julie that love
isn't worth her time or effort, and Julie must decide whether
to buy in to their jaded views.
Grade 9 drama students presented plays
they wrote themselves. The girls focused on a wide range of
ideas and themes, taking us behind the scenes of American
Idol, showing us how the fashion industry can negatively
affect self-esteem and exploring the moral struggles of a
group deciding whether to end the world for the good of humanity.
The second portion of the evening explored
Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, with
students in grades 10, 11 and 12 performing three interpretations
of this classic work. The first, Earnest in Ten Minutes,
was the most faithful to the original play. Staying true
to the original 19th-century, English setting, this short
play compressed the lengthy Earnest into a rapid-fire
ten minutes of deceit and hilarity.
The next two interpretations strayed a bit
farther from the original. The second group performed a scene
from playwright Tom Stoppard's Travesties, in which
the main character, Henry Carr, begins to confuse events in
his life with those of Earnest as a result of his starring
role in the play. In a different approach, the final group
decided to modernize Earnest, setting it in a 21st-century
high school and pitting two fake Ernests against each other
in their pursuit of a prom date.
Congratulations to the Senior Drama Club
and senior drama classes for a wonderful night of drama, and
thanks to drama teacher Jenn for all the hard work she put
into this event.
Teachers add bite to Literary Night - May
15, 2009
On Tuesday, May 12,The Linden school hosted
its very first Literary Night - and the fare on offer received
rave reviews.
The event, organized and hosted by Linden's
grade 12 Writer's Craft class, provided an opportunity for
senior students to showcase their essays, short stories, poetry,
songs and any other literary work they wanted to share with
the audience of staff, parents and students. The readings
were hosted in a number of classrooms, with tablecloths and
candles creating a comfortable coffee-house atmosphere.
After an hour of very enjoyable performances
the evening shifted gears, with attendees assembling in the
gym to view the grade 10 class's satirical adaptation of Stephenie
Meyer's vampire novel Twilight, starring Linden faculty
and staff. Given the popularity of the book - and the hype
generally surrounding teachers showing off their acting chops
- it was standing room only by the time the play began.
Though they had less (much less) rehearsal
time than they would have liked, the faculty really enjoyed
pulling together to put on this performance, and had a lot
of fun working with the very talented and dedicated grade
10 class. And judging by the side-splitting laughter of the
audience, the satire was not lost on anyone in attendance.
Congratulations to the Writer's Craft class
all of their work in putting on a great event, and to teacher
Jeanette for her central role in making Literary Night a reality
(and for taking on the meaty role of Bella at a busy time
of year).
Archived in: Events
Linden's Science Olympics - May
14, 2009
On Friday, May 8, Linden students in grades
9-12 hosted the school's annual Science Olympics, taking over
the entire building for an afternoon of fun and learning.
The Olympics began with an interactive presentation
by Mad Science, in
which the girls learned all about the behaviour of air molecules
through levitating ping pong balls, seeing a hovercraft in
action and trying out different methods of inflating a balloon.
At the conclusion of the presentation, the senior students
took over to begin the day's activities in earnest.
After dividing them into teams, our
grade 9-12 students sent girls in grades 1-8 off to a number
of different activities, including:
- Egg Drop (where teams use household materials to cushion
an egg such that it won't break when dropped);
- Boat Race (where each team constructs a boat, which is
then timed in a race across a shallow pool); and
- Laser Relay (where teams have to aim a laser at a target
using stationary mirrors, hand-held mirrors and other reflective
surfaces to add difficulty).
After completing several events each, the
teams convened back in the gym, where event organizers added
up each group's points. Once the scores were tallied, the
winning groups from each grade level got to collect their
prizes from the Magical Prize Well (constructed by grade 12
students).
As always, the Science Olympics were fun
for participants and organizers alike - and they proved a
great way to kick off the weekend!
Grade 11 math class reflects on learning
with parabolic mirrors- May 14, 2009
Linden's Grade 11 Functions class put their
math skills to the test in May, using the knowledge gained
in their studies to build working parabolic mirrors.
The girls, who have been learning all about
parabolic functions in recent weeks,put theory into practice
by breaking into teams and constructing large parabolae, covered
in aluminum foil, out of cardboard. Each team then determined
the focal point of their parabola - the central point where
any incoming rays of sunlight, reflected by the foil, will
converge. If constructed properly, the focal point should
become very hot when exposed to the sun.
To test their creations, the class took
their mirrors up to the roof of the school on a sunny May
morning. Each group positioned a marshmallow at the focal
point of their mirror, held it up to the sun and waited to
see the results. Though none of the marshmallows were thoroughly
cooked by the end of the class, several had melted noticeably,
and the focal point of each mirror was clearly much warmer
than the rest of the structure.
The principle the girls applied with their
parabolic mirrors has a wide variety of applications, and
they aren't limited to reflecting sunlight; satellite dishes,
reflecting telescopes, microscopes and car headlights all
employ the technique of focusing energy, such as light, sound
waves or radio waves, at a common point. Parabolic mirrors
focused on generating heat, such as the girls created, are
beginning to be used more and more in developing countries
as solar cookers or water heaters; as one of our grade 9 students
discovered with her Science and Technology Fair project this
year, they are proving to be effective as anti-rape devices
in many developing countries as well.
An evening of drama en français
- May 7, 2009
On Tuesday, May 5, Linden students in grades
3-8 showed off their French language skills at the school's
annual Junior French Drama Night.
The evening's MCs, grade 5 students Nishina,
Kathryn and Melissa, took the audience through six wonderful
plays performed entirely in French, beginning with Grade 3/4.
This class presented the play Chat Angora, a story
about a world-famous detective who is trying to track down
the evil Madame Rat, but unfortunately is not quite as bright
as he believes himself to be.
After a strong start by the 3/4 class,
it was grade 6's turn. Grade 6B performed an updated version
of the classic fairy tale Rumplestiltskin; in the modernized
story, Rumplestilskinny, it is not a miller's daughter
but a lawyer's daughter who is asked to spin straw into iPods
by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Unable to do so, she turns
to the help of the two-headed Rumplestilskinny. Grade 6R also
put a fairy-tale spin on the evening; in their L'échange
de femme de contes de fées, an adaptation of the
reality show Wife Swap, Goldilocks and Sleeping Beauty
are forced to change places - and neither finds herself at
home in the other's story.
The two grade 7 classes then took the stage
with their productions. Grade 7C wrote and performed Veux-tu
aller au Carnaval?, in which the hapless François
tries to impress his dream girl, Suzie, only to find out she
prefers it when he doesn't try so hard. Grade 7E followed
with L'Habit de L'Empereur, their adaptation of The
Emperor's New Clothes; the naive emperor unwittingly finds
himself wearing an invisible suit out in public - and with
the full support of the fashion police!
The evening closed with Grade 8's La
Belle au Bois Dormant, again continuing the fairy-tale
theme. The girls wrote and performed their own version of
Charles Perrault's lesser-known ending to Sleeping Beauty,
in which Sleeping Beauty is forced to remain in hiding
long after she wakes, along with her two children, because
her husband the Prince's mother is an ogress.
Students in grades 6, 7 and 8 adapted and
wrote the scripts for their plays, and did a great job bringing
their works to life. The girls sincerely thank Anne Van Burek
and Lindsay Hastings, the two French teachers who worked with
junior students on their plays, for working tirelessly to
make this evening a reality.
Linden a force to be reckoned with at Classics
Conference - May 7, 2009
Last week, several Linden students attended
the Ontario Classics Conference at Brock University. If your
daughter went to the conference, you may have already heard
how well Linden did there; in case you haven't, here's Classics
teacher Jenn with some details on how it went:
"The girls were fantastic and represented
Linden extremely well at this year's event. By the end of
the conference, everyone knew the name The Linden School and
knew it meant they'd be up against fierce competition. The
awards ceremony proved we're a force to be reckoned with,
especially when we tied for first place per capita athletic
points with a 40-person team that included boys, giving them
almost twice as many possible events to compete in! I received
many compliments on our girls for their sportsmanship, energy,
courtesy, and intelligence. We improved our standing across
the board from last year, and the girls are already thinking
of how to improve even more next year!"
Here are some overall results (out of 18
schools and 396 students competing):
Overall Rankings:
- Overall Athlete (girls and boys) - Amelia, 3rd
- Overall Aquatic Events - 3rd
- Overall Field Events - 5th
- Overall Athletics Events - 5th (most teams have at least
twice as many people as we do!)
- Overall Conference Points - 12th
Per Capita Rankings:
- Athletic - 1st
- Creative - 9th
- Academic - 10th
- Overall - 8th
Congratulations to Jenn and all the
girls for a great conference!
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