Zion Heights Middle School

"The school where people go to school" - Derrick dune

Zion Heights Middle School
School entrance
Address
5900 Leslie Street Toronto , Ontario , M2J 1J9 Canada
Coordinates	43°47′53″N 79°22′16″W
Information
School type	Public, Middle School
Founded	1968
School board	TDSB
Superintendent	Elizabeth Addo
Area trustee	Alexander Brown (Ward 12)
School number	3348
Principal	C. Le
Grades	Grade 6, 7 & 8
Enrollment	542 (Spring 2008)
Language	English, French as a second language, and supports Chinese through a Chinese ESL teacher.
Area	Leslie Street and Cummer Avenue, North York
Colour(s)	Purple, Black
Mascot	Lion
Team name	Zion Lions
Website	schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/zionheights/

Zion Heights Middle School is an intermediate school for students in Grade 6 to Grade 8 in the north end (Bayview Woods-Steeles area of Willowdale) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was opened in 1969 by the North York Board of Education, and is currently owned and operated by its successor, the Toronto District School Board.

Student body

In January 2013, Zion Heights had a student population of 461, with 74% of Zion students speaking a primary language other than English. Many of the students are chinese people, some of them are recent immigrants. The result of having a huge population of chinese students led to the creation of the extensive ESL program. Predominant non-English language groups include Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, and [[Persian language|Persian]].

Academics

Zion Heights is home to many specialized programs. One of them is a gifted program for specially identified students. Another special academic feature is the "Spirit of Mathematics" program, a unique approach to math that has enabled the school to be a winner of many distinguished math awards(both nationally and internationally). Other programs include Basketball Beginnings, Harmony Movement, Kids Now Program, and Junior Achievement.

In 2002, Zion placed second in the Exploravision competition, with their theoretical innovation on the prosthetic arm.

Between 2010 – 2012, 95% of the students enrolled in Grade 9 Academic Mathematics at Zion scored at or above the provincial standard (Level 3) in EQAO. Three grade nine students obtained perfect scores on the University of Waterloo's 2008 Pascal Contest, contributing to a perfect team score. In 2008, 4 students achieved a perfect score on the Grade 7 Gauss Contest and 5 students achieved a perfect score on the Grade 8 Gauss Contest. In 2014 ten students achieved a perfect score on the Grade 7 Gauss contest. In 2012, the strings program won gold at a national contest.

Arts

Zion has maintained an extensive and recognized arts program. Students involved in the string orchestras, concert bands, jazz bands, and choir at Zion participate in many musical events and competitions around the city. The orchestra has participated and won first place in the Kiwanis music festival several times in the past few years. In 2009, Zion's senior stage band won gold at MusicFest Canada and was invited to play in the national competition in May. In 2012, Zion's Junior stage band won gold at Musicfest Canada in the national competition. In 2013, Zion's Senior stage band will win another gold at the upcoming Musicfest Canada. On April 11, 2014, the Senior Orchestra received gold at the Ontario Strings Association competition. Annual school events to celebrate and demonstrate Zion's arts program include concerts, art shows, and dramatic productions.

Athletics

Zion Heights has several athletic teams, such as a basketball, soccer, cross-country and volleyball team for both girls and boys. The teams are split by gender and grade, junior (Grade 7 and 8) and senior (Grade 9). Zion also has many indoor house leagues, including volleyball, soccer, ping pong, and floor hockey.

Related schools

Usually, students from Cresthaven, Seneca Hill gifted program , Pineway, Hillmount, and Steelesview public schools may attend Zion Heights. It is considered a feeder school for A. Y. Jackson Secondary School. Gifted students could choose to attend Don Mills Collegiate Institute. However, the relocation initiative of the TDSB has allowed gifted students to attend A. Y. Jackson Secondary School for the gifted special education program. The school shows their students' abilities through multiple school-wide competitions and contests, both provincial, and throughout Canada.

Notable alumni

• Corey Haim- Movie actor, for Gr. 8, Graduated 1986
• Henry Lau - A Taiwanese-Hong Kong Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and actor. He is a member of Super Junior's Chinese sub-group, Super Junior-M.
• Andreas Vaikla - Footballer for IFK Mariehamn