Middlefield Collegiate Institute
Middlefield Collegiate Institute (MCI) is a semestered, public high school in the neighbourhood of East Milliken in the city of Markham, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the York Region District School Board. It is located in southeast Markham, bordered by the major arteries McCowan Road to the west, Steeles Avenue to the south, Markham Road to the east and 14th Avenue to the North. History. MCI was built in 1992 to relieve pressure from Milliken Mills High School because of the quickly expanding population of the newly developed East Milliken neighbourhood, which had been forest around  the Rouge River. Until 2000, the school was underused, with no more than 130 students graduating each year (compared to about 450 in 2010-2011). Because of a large development process and an even bigger immigrant influx, the school population almost doubled in the next five years and has been steadily climbing since then. In 2009, Middlefield had its first major expansion, building a tech wing with six new classrooms in the Southern Wing. It houses the Auto, Construction, Hairstyling tech classes, and some Applied English classes and Communication Tech classes. In 2013, factors such as a large exiting class  and small entering class caused a surplus in teachers, resulting in 17 of them being moved across the board to other schools. Programs. MCI has the widest array of Tech courses in South-east York Region. MCI offers Automotive Technology, Transportation Technology, Construction Technology, Design Technology, Computer Technology, Hairstyling and Aesthetic Technology, Communication Technology, Information Technology, Business Technology and Wood Shop. Other than that, the school also provides; MCI stopped offering Advanced Placement courses in 2016, which had been offered in Science, Math and Technology. Athletics. Athletic Council. Middlefield Athletic Council (MAC) coordinates and funds athletic events such as the  athletic banquet. This club allows the students to realize the importance of physical education by promoting healthy living through school events, with the help of the student council. Teams and sports clubs. Middlefield was the only York Region school to win the soccer championship two years in a row, which started with the junior boys of 2003-2004. Middlefield's Senior and Junior Boys Basketball teams both won the 2015 York Region Athletic Association Tier 2 Basketball championship. Intramural sports. In addition to competitive sports teams, Middlefield students have the opportunity to participate in in-school sporting events such as : Mock Trial Team. The Middlefield Mock Trial Team, led by Law teachers Mr. Glass and Ms. Mobilos and Mr. Draycott, have been the most successful team from this school. Over the past twelve years, it has made the Elite 8 in Ontario each time, including four silver medals, the last coming in the 2010-2011 year. Middlefield Collegiate Institute is one of the few public high schools which have made it this far in the championship and is the most successful mock trial team from a public high school in Ontario. Middlefield again made the Elite 8 in 2013, winning  the GTA South Regionals. Middlefield followed this up by winning the Ontario Bar Association Mock Trial Tournament and becoming Provincial Champions for the first time, defeating Cawthra Park Secondary School. Facilities. MCI has a large glass ceiling in the rotunda, which is renovated biennially, to check for possible hazards and risks, and to replace any cracked or possible dangerous glass. This glass ceiling can be seen from almost anywhere in the central section of the school, and is a staple of Middlefield culture. The ceiling also gives in light and provides it for the central wing as well, thus helping  reduce MCI's environmental impact, and is one of the reasons MCI was certified a Silver Eco School. MCI is atrium shaped, and from the first floor of the rotunda, can look up and see the third floor. There is also a glass elevator which provides travel between the three floors, but can only be used by staff or students who have disabilities. As the local community continued to grow, MCI required an extension of the building to accommodate for the growing student body. In June 2008, construction began to create an extended west wing to the school. The wing  is only one storey high, and consists of a hairstyling classroom, construction classroom, garage, two washrooms, and an emergency exit. Academics. Middlefield Collegiate is ranked 8 of 676 Ontario high schools on the 2014–2015 Fraser Institute school report, with an overall rating of 9.1 out of 10. The percentage of eligible students who passed their Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test on the first attempt was 93.6%. Feeder schools. The following elementary schools are part of the Middlefield Collegiate Institute family of schools. Every year, the Guidance Department visits each of these schools to talk to the Grade 8's about  courses and enrollment: