# William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute

William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute is a semestered high school located in Toronto, Canada. The school was opened in 1960 by the North York Board of Education. It is located near Sheppard Avenue West and Allen Road, close to Sheppard West subway station.

## History

The school, originally called Southview Heights Secondary School, was built in 1959. The purpose of the school was twofold: to accommodate the skyrocketing number of new students in the area, and to ease overcrowding at Northview Heights Secondary School. The school opened in September 1960. It was originally slated to be a junior high school.
A contest for the school's name was held and William Lyon Mackenzie, the first mayor of Toronto and leader of the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837, was selected.
The school, in its inception, had 90% of the Jewish student population that lived in the Bathurst Manor neighborhood.

## Students

The school is known for the high academic standards of its students. The Fraser Institute ranks it as the best TDSB secondary school. Over 95% of its graduating students are accepted into a post-secondary institution. Additionally, 50% of graduating students earn an 80% average in all of their subjects (down from 66% in 2006, when the average was based on the top three subjects), qualifying them to become Ontario Scholars. In 2013, the students with the highest averages in the entire TDSB were Mackenzie students.
The school is also known for its student-run organization, SWITCH (Solar and Wind Initiatives Towards CHange). Founded in 2006, SWITCH's goal is to make Canada more environmentally friendly through various environmental initiatives — the most prominent of which is the installation of solar panels and wind turbines on school grounds. Through this organization, Mackenzie has gained national media attention due to events featuring David Suzuki, Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies, MuchMusic and members of Sum 41.

## Specialty programs
### MaCS Program

The MaCS Program began in 1985; it offers enriched English, Mathematics, Science and Technology courses for advanced students. Students applying for the MaCS Program must undertake an entrance exam and complete a comprehensive application package. The MaCS Program begins at grade nine and runs until grade twelve. Students may apply in grade 8 for a spot in the grade 9 class. Students may also apply in grade 9 for a spot in the grade 10 class, although for a reduced number of spots. A significant number of the school's students are part of the MaCS Program - there are 90 positions for students joining the MaCS program in grade nine. The acceptance rate for the MaCS program was 12.8% for the 2018–2019 school year. Students in the MaCS program can take Advanced Placement exams and start computer science courses in grade nine, which is a field that is normally not available until grade ten. The MaCS program was one of the first enriched math, science and technology programs created for secondary school students. Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute's TOPS program is similar, as well as the TOPS program at Bloor Collegiate Institute.

### Gifted Program

The Gifted Program is an enriched program available to gifted students. The program begins at Grade Nine and runs until Grade Twelve. Five to ten percent of William Lyon Mackenzie's student population is part of the Gifted Program.

### Advanced Placement (AP) Program

The Advanced Placement Program has been active at the school since 2002 with the AP Computer Science course (ICS 4U0). Since then, AP Calculus and Chemistry have also been added to the school's Advanced Placement Program. As of 2018 the only available AP classes were Calculus, Economics, and Computer Science

### FIT Program

The school offers a national certification program known as the FIT Program that will enable students to earn industry standard certifications in programming and engineering, and in Media & Communications Arts. The program is made possible through the Information and Communications Technology Council of Canada as part of the Education/Sector Council Partnership Project. Usually, it is the students in the MaCS program that attain the FIT certification. Students who completed all the required courses are eligible for the FIT Plus Certificate if they do a Cooperative component or summer internship in a field related to Engineering, Programming or Media Communication & Arts.
The following courses must be completed to receive the FIT Certificate: Computer Science (ICS 3U + ICS 4U), Cisco IT Essentials (TEJ 3M + TEJ 4M), Media Arts (TGJ 3M + TGJ 4M), and (for the FIT Plus certificate only) a co-operative education component.

## Sports

The school's sports teams include: badminton, wrestling, rugby, boys' and girls' field hockey, boys' and girls' volleyball, boys' and girls' soccer, and boys' varsity baseball.

## Clubs and Councils

* Animanga Club
* Athletic Council
* Baycrest-Mackenzie Partnership
* Biology Club
* Black Student Alliance Council
* Book Club
* Business Council (FBLA and Target Alpha)
* Central Arts Council
* Chemistry Club
* Choir
* Composing Club
* Debate Club
* DECA
* DND Club
* Gardening Club
* History Club
* HOSA
* Jewish Culture Club
* Linguistics Club
* Mackenzie Chess Club
* Mackenzie Computer Programming Team
* Mackenzie Creative Writing Club
* Mackenzie Engineering Club
* Mackenzie Science Club
* Mac Radio Announcers
* Math Club
* MEDLIFE
* Model United Nations
* Physics Club
* Project Metropolis (school website)
* Rainbow Club
* Smash Club
* Student Council
* TED Club
* The Flounder (school satirical newspaper)
* The Lyon (school newspaper)
* Tree Huggers (ecology and Eco-activism)
* Yearbook Team
* Wellness @ MAC
* Women in Stem

## Notable alumni

* Honey Sherman - billionaire, wife of Apotex founder Barry Sherman
* Mark S. Fox - University of Toronto computer science professor
* Howie Mandel - comedian, actor, and host of Deal or No Deal. (Expelled, did not graduate)
* Mark Adler - Member of Parliament (2011–2015) for the Toronto riding of York Centre
* Roman Baber - Member of Provincial Parliament (2018–Present) for the Toronto riding of York Centre
* Chin Injeti - musician, music producer, member of Juno Award-winning 1990s R&B group Bass Is Base
* Avery Saltzman - actor, co-artistic director of the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company
* Lorne Rubenstein - golf writer / expert
* Jack Newman - pædiatrician and breastfeeding advocate
* Karen Mock - human rights activist
* Lorne Lofsky - jazz musician and professor
* DerHova - music producer, founder of the group Temperance
* Jerry Levitan - Emmy-winning producer
* Matti Friedman - journalist and author
* Mel Cappe - Officer of the Order of Canada (2002–2006)
* David Bloom - former CEO, Shoppers Drug Mart
* Yank Azman - actor
* Jeanne Beker - Canadian television personality and magazine editor
* Herbert L. Becker - actor, author, magician, TV producer
* Tinsel Korey - actress in the Twilight series
* Ben Mink - musician and composer
* Alice Panikian - Miss Universe Canada 2006
* Alex Shnaider - billionaire and philanthropist
* Rayne Fisher-Quann - sex education activist