March 8th, 2024

Lillian Li

After hunting for themes and annotating cryptic short stories like “Kustuka” and “Risk,” the TOPS Grade 11 English class began writing short stories from the perspective of a side character in a song or image of their choice. There were stories about broken relationships, people on fire, infections, car rides—you get the point. As March Break begins, the students are conferencing with Ms. Lajeunesse, hurriedly wrapping up their editing, and identifying craft moves they used.

February 23rd, 2024

Nevetha Arullinkam

This week, the Grade 10 TOPS class balanced quizzes, labs, and equations as they transitioned further into chemistry and different types of reactions. They combined their knowledge and broke down reactants to perform the classic vinegar and baking soda experiment, balance various chemical equations, and determine the states of different compounds before ending the week with a solid game of lab equipment bingo.

February 14th, 2024

Paul Shur

With the end of the first semester giving rise to the start of a new one, the TOPS Grade 12 Biology class tackled their first unit in the field of biochemistry - just in time for Valentines Day, making the unit more important than ever. Instead of others' hearts, students dove into the world of isomers, hydrocarbons, and electronegativity. Additionally, they performed labs to demonstrate the properties of water. 

November 31st, 2023

Lillian Li

To wrap up the solutions unit and begin learning about gas laws, the TOPS Grade 11 Chemistry class performed experiment after experiment for a full week. They did multiple titrations to find the molarity of various acids, including calculating the percent of acetic acid in vinegar. Most recently, they worked on experiments such as weighing air and measuring pressure that investigated gas laws.

November 3rd, 2023

Nevetha Arullinkam

This week, the Grade 10 TOPS English class, currently immersed in the Inform and Explain unit, began to craft their media projects. Delving into topics of rising interest including the Cost-of-Living Crisis and the use of AI in Education, students battled bias and synthesized their deep learning to present un-inflated facts in the form of a blog post, short video, or comic. 

October 22nd, 2023

Lillian Li

After being tossed into assignment after test after quiz for over a month, the entire TOPS family took an annual two-day trip to Stratford, where they watched 3 shows: King Lear, Rent, and Frankenstein Revived. They also had the opportunity to explore the restaurants and shops in downtown Stratford as well as enjoy a Scavenger Hunt. Although hotel room lights were meant to dim at 11:30 PM, did the TOPS students sleep?

October 6th, 2023

Shiloh Zheng

After a lesson on subatomic particles and the Bohr model of atoms, the TOPS Grade 11 chemistry class split off into their lab stations to conduct tests on different salts. The compounds were heated above a bunsen burner, and the light released by electrons moving energy levels turned the experiments into a colorful display of flames. Students then used their observations to identify ions in mystery compounds. 

October 6th, 2023

Nevetha Arullinkam

This week, the Grade 10s stepped out of line and into the region of linear programming. They plotted inequalities to answer pressing questions including, "How much chocolate and raisins can one pack to minimize a backpack’s weight?" The objective answer: all chocolate, of course. Sometimes the optimal solution is none. Sometimes everything points to one. Others extend forever. The possibilities are unbounded!