User talk:Kiphist

Hello. I have a couple of questions:

• Do they not have Junior and Senior cricket teams anymore? The school's website does not say so.
• Have they cut back Switch On to only once a week?

If so, then your changes make sense, otherwise, the article should stay the way it is.

Also, I'm not sure why you object to the article stating it's the only academic semestered school in the area. Central Etobicoke only has workplace level courses. Martin Grove, Richview, Scarlett Heights, and Weston are all non-semestered, and are the only other high schools in the area. So I firmly believe that the text should stay.

Finally, I see no problem with saying that many of the students are Somalian refugees. It certainly is one of the school's claims to fame. --Pwnage8 (talk) 17:51, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

Reply.

To the best of my knowledge, Scarlett Heights is a semester school http://www.tdsb.on.ca/wwwdocuments/schools/schools/docs/semesteredschools.pdf along with Silverthorn, Thistletown and North Albion. Weston is not really in the region. The article implies that students from as far as Rexdale come to Kipling because of its semestered nature. However, such students would have several closer alternatives. Something else must be attracting such students.

The daily announcements used to be presented on Switch-On on a daily basis. Currently Switch-On is produced only on Thursdays. The rest of the week, the daily announcements are read by a student over the P.A. system. The Switch-On program may return to a daily production next year.

Varsity Outdoor cricket is the only official TDSB version of the sport. Indoor cricket is unique to the schools of the former boards of Etobicoke and York. Since it is not played in all districts, it is not officially sanctioned by the board. However, you are correct that the local indoor league is divided into JR and SR divisions.

I see no problem in stating that a significant number of the school’s students are of Somalian Origin, and that the school has made strong effort to work with and connect with the Somalian community. However, most of the Somalian students now in the school were born in Canada. Current refugees are more likely to be from Afghanistan. The demographic of schools like Kipling quickly changes, therefore it is difficult to keep specific statements like “200 Somalian refugees” current. Why not leave the article more general to better reflect the mosaic of cultures represented within the school.

The YOUCAN program is not an in-house program. It is run by a private, paid organization. Originally the program was delivered to small groups of students who showed interest and leadership potential. Roger Dale introduced the program first to small groups, then to all grades nines, then eventually participation became mandatory for all registered students. Kipling was the first school to require full participation within this program. With the apparent, impending requirement for all schools to offer “Character Education” YOUCAN may be positioning itself to become a provider for other TDSB schools. Perhaps this is why a link was suggested between the introduction of YOUCAN and the drop in the Kipling suspension rate. However, the prime reason for the drop in suspension rate is that Roger Dale does not believe in the value of suspensions and is a proponent of Progressive Discipline and Restorative Justice as alternatives and prerequisites to suspension. http://www.tdsb.on.ca/pandp/ppdocs/docs/P/P064%20SCH.pdf The suspension rate for Kipling and its neighbouring academic schools for 2006-2007: Kipling 2.2 % Martingrove 2.5% Richview 2.8% Scarlett Heights 9.7%. http://www.tdsb.on.ca/wwwdocuments/parents/safe_schools/docs/Schools%20by%20Alpha.pdf

Oh ok, I forgot about Scarlett Heights. But Silverthorn is much too far, and it's off on its own there, serving the area west of 427, south of Eglinton, and north of Dundas. North Albion is in the extreme north of Rexdale, so that too puts it too far away. The fact that these schools are semestered, like Kipling, would rule out the idea that area kids would be going there. Thistletown, is however, close enough for the Rexdale area, however, it was not unusual to have students from as far away as Kipling and Finch, and Keele and Eglinton attending. Weston is part of the area, unless you go by the archaic Metro Toronto city boundaries, in which case, it is arbitrarily outside of the "area" of Etobicoke. But we have a unified board now, so that's not even relevant. There were a sizable amount of students from Weston attending, because it just happens to be the closest one (that doesn't have uniforms, or a specialized program). So it's at least true that Rexdale has closer alternatives, but something else must be attracting students here. I'm not really sure what it is. Perhaps we should just mention the fact that it attracts students, and include semestered as one of many reasons.

That is a shame about Switch On. But it should be mentioned that it used to be presented everyday, and that it now is only on Thrusdays, but that it could return to every day next year. Just out of curiousity, why has it been scaled back?

On cricket, we should again mention details that indoor is exclusive to the former Etobicoke and York boards, and that they have JR/SR. That would make things so much easier.

We could leave the article more general, but I think the fact that the dominant group is Somalian should be noted. Wikipedia is ever-changing, and one particular revision is not likely to last very long, so the figure could be changed when the demographics change. I think it might be better to say "Currently, there are 200 students of Somalian origin, many of them refugees from the civil war". Such a statement is verifiable by sources, and the figure can be easily changed when it is necessary.

You're absolutely right about the YOUCAN thing. It wasn't them that turned the school around, it was Roger Dale, and his principles. But it should be noted, that he did recruit them. I didn't realize how one-sided the article was. Thanks for making that clear to me. --Pwnage8 (talk) 17:51, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

So Switch On was on everyday in Semester One? --Pwnage8 (talk) 05:01, 17 April 2008 (UTC)