Hey MAC!!
Before we dive into the warmer weather and spring season, SAC wants to highlight the incredibly fun, spirited and community-building hockey buyout we hosted on February 27th. Our very own Mackenzie Lyons took on Earl Haig Secondary School in an exciting matchup. Over 100 WLMAC students and teachers showed up to support our LYON athletes on the ice and we raised over $1000 for the Right to Play charity organization ❄️🏒
It was a highly thrilling and competitive match, full of cheering, face paint and an undeniable amount of school spirit. The energy and spirit throughout the community was truly infectious. We are proud to share that our LYONS emerged victorious after showcasing an incredible sense of talent, teamwork, grit and dedication. 🙌🦁
The hockey buyout was a true reflection of the high calibre of our LYON coaches and athletes and an incredible celebration of the spirit and sportsmanship throughout our community. 🥅Ⓜ️🏒
SAC is looking forward to our upcoming MAC’s Got Talent event and May spirit week, so make sure to stay tuned for what’s to come as we enter Spring! 💝🌼💐🌟🌙

Photo credits to Kikkoman
When my sister was first learning to read, my parents incentivized her with a trip to IKEA every time she completed a level of Ladybird books. For a four-year-old who had just barely learned to say “hi,” the promise of one hour’s worth of playtime in the ballroom, followed by meatballs, followed by ice cream, served well in quelling learning frustrations. I can’t say it didn’t please me too at all, every time my mother proudly announced that another three Ladybird books had been mastered and as a reward, the Friday upcoming, we would go to IKEA.
“Mashed potatoes or fries?” My sister nudged me from below as the server held up a plate of Swedish meatballs, already swathed in gravy. “You get the mashed potatoes, I get the French fries, and then we can share,” she whispered, eyes wide and nose twitching at the warm smell of meatballs, gravy, and potatoes that would never lose warmth. “If you can read this label for me,” I whispered, holding out my plastic packaged apple slices. She frowned, “Washed and ready to eat.” So she was learning. “Mashed potatoes please,” I called.
The rest of the evening was spent in complete enjoyment. Over delightful bites of meatballs and over the cooperative trading of fries for potatoes, I recounted my school day to my parents, my parents reminded my sister they were proud of her, and my sister reaffirmed my love for her, “Do you love me, Adai?”
Love her? In these carefree moments shared after careful toiling, I adored her and the world. Looking back at how we happily placed our trays on the rack before rushing off to play on the colourful abacuses, and how each night out ended so sweetly with an ice cream swirl savoured in the library, those Friday nights were not magical because of IKEA alone. I don’t think I could ever play so long and often with an abacus today - only as children did my sister and I find fun and freedom in even the most simple things.
For all the times we mounted back into the car and drove away from those red, yellow, and blue flags, it took me years to realize family moments like those made more than memories. As the taste of meatballs remains forever fresh on my tongue, so does the significance of our IKEA childhood routine. It was more than reading that was learned, more than my sister whose world was brightened, and more than the present that was celebrated.
Project Metropolis will be selling meatballs on Food Day. Come support us and buy a bowl, 5 warm meatballs for $3!

Hey guys, new blog dude here. First post of the year so whether you’ll be seeing more of me later on or not will highly depend on how this one goes.
Recently I’ve been hired to produce a piece of writing about bubble tea for Project Metropolis. That's all they told me, “Just write something about bubble tea.” This is possibly more agonisingly open ended than those university application questions that are all essentially variations of, “Tell me about yourself.” But I digress, back to bubble tea.
Bubble tea is pretty awesome. As with most East Asian things, it comes in about fifty million different flavours. Now, as with many things, when you have way too many flavours, there’s going to be more that are not so good than ones that are actually good. In fact, that’s probably why bubble tea shops tend to have a maximum of five drinks that have images and 90-pt font descriptions, and then there’s the rest of the menu that's written in 3-pt font and you have no idea what any items are gonna look like. It’s basically their version of realising that they have to extend their one paragraph into a 3000 word essay.
Personally, I’m a pretty big fan of bubble tea. If this was supposed to be a promo for selling bubble tea, this is where I would start talking about how awesome it is and why everyone should try it. But I don't feel like doing that. What I will tell you is that I have tried at least five drinks from every bubble tea shop on Yonge Street (other than Machi Machi because I am not paying $20 for a bubble tea), and I have made a mental tier list that includes every single one. Is that concerning? Probably. Am I going to stop? Probably not. Yes, I know it’s not extremely healthy for me or my wallet, but what better experience could one ask for when commissioning another to “just write something about bubble tea”? With that in mind, I’m going to start talking about some notable bubble tea shops and my opinion on them. Before I begin, I would like to make clear that this is purely my personal opinion without intent to offend or shame anyone and especially everyone who is not in agreement.


Shuyi: one of the better bubble tea shops I have ever had, and I will fight to a reasonable extent about it. At my peak I knew the cashier on a first name basis.


Chatime: easily one of the most questionable because their seriously overpriced drinks taste like watered down juices to my tastebuds.


Real Fruit: I don’t like this place very much because their idea of ‘bubble tea’ sometimes seems to be putting tapioca pearls into every drink they serve (No, I do not like tapioca in my Mango Slush). Not as huge of a red flag as Chatime and I’ll deal with it because their slushies and smoothies do taste nice.


Kung Fu Tea and Yi Fang: their fruit teas are so good that they are the sole (or duo?) reason that fruit tea is at the top of my drinks tier list.


Coco: easily the best bubble tea shop I have ever had - I believe that everyone should definitely give it a sip. Project Metropolis also happens to be selling it for Food Day this Friday.


Remember when I said I’m not following other promos’ tactics? I meant it. I am not being threatened. This is my own opinion. Project Metropolis works for and shares with our community with love, and here’s a way you can interact with them person to person, a refreshing drink for a resourceful cause. Please h̸̺̲̫̬̤̠͔͋̇e̶̡̞͎̼̭᷂̙᷂̞̾᷁͜l̸̰͇̂᷉̄̉͘p̴̡̞̰̟̀͠ buy.

**Winter break is officially here! Look forward to cozy days of sleeping in, relaxing time to enjoy time with family and friends, and most likely some assignments to put in the back of your mind. **
Some things that happened this week:

We hope you enjoyed three food days, where our school's marvellous clubs sold food in the main gym. Another thank you to the clubs!
Maclyonsden is hosting a new winter-themed doodle game! try the game yourself here.
MSC t-shirts were distributed today.
MCPT's third tower defence workshop was held on Thursday, December 16th.
MCPT is opening up club hoodie orders! get a hoodie today here.
Math club's Pascal, Cayley, and Fermat contests have opened. Find the registration form here.
Sounds of the Season by Mackenzie's Music Council has been released on YouTube! find their wonderful performances here.
Wednesday was a late start.
As of Wednesday, there will be no more guaranteed schoolwide wellness breaks. Wellness breaks will be decided on a class-by-class basis, and wellness breaks will not be permitted on late start days.
Rapid antigen tests were sent out this week to all students. These tests should be used if you are showing symptoms of COVID-19, or suspect you were a close contact with someone with COVID-19.
Creator's Joy Holiday E-card drive ends today. Make sure to get those e-cards in!
Mackenzie E-Sports club is hosting a competitive Minecraft Bedwards tournament! Find the registration link here.

Extra note:
Stay safe, everyone. As daily COVID cases increase this season, it is more important than ever to make sure you take appropriate safety measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Have a good winter break!

Today marks the end of Mackenzie's North York Harvest food drive! Congratulation to the winning class, and thank you to all who participated by donating non-perishable food.
Furthermore, grade 12 grad quote submissions are due on December 12th, 2021. All graduates, get your quotes into the yearbook committee form!
Some other things that happened this week:
- MCPT held their second Game Dev meeting, which taught how to create a tower defence game.
- The Arts Council is opening up their monthly art submissions again! This month, the theme is the winter/holidays. Find more through this link.
- SAC is beginning our winter candy gram sales! come to the front foyer at lunch to pick up a candy gram for a special someone, or just those who you want to send appreciation. Our raffle prize this season is an Apple Watch Series 3!
- Pascal, Cayley, and Fermat contest registration are now open. Sign up here before January 31st, 2022.
- The Music Council opened up the stage for performers who want to submit a performance to their Linktree (in their Instagram bio). The deadline for your submissions is December 8th, and you will be entered into SAC's holiday giveaway upon submission. Happy practicing!
- Mackenzie's Undergraduate Business Panel happened today at 4:00 pm.
Some things that are happening next week:
- MCPT's December LCC will be held on December 9th, 2021.
- The SAC holiday candy gram sale will continue to run until next Wednesday or December 8th.
- Arts Council submissions are open until the end of December.