December 6th marks the observance of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. This occasion unites communities throughout Canada to commemorate the tragic event of December 6, 1989. On this day, we remember the 14 women who lost their lives, and the other 14 injured, in a violent act of misogyny and hatred at the engineering school of Montreal's École Polytechnique.
The horrific events of the Montreal Massacre forced Canada to address the issue of gender-based violence. In the perpetrator’s suicide note, he attributed the downhill spiral of his life to feminists and outlined a list of 19 notable Quebec feminists to be targeted, showing that this event stemmed from a larger social issue—violence against women.
December 6 is part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, a global initiative aiming to put an end to gender-based violence. The campaign starts on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and continues until December 10.
As a school community, we must take a stand against all forms of gender-based violence. This occasion not only serves as a reminder but as a call to action that prompts us all to reflect and continue to push for change and improvements. This issue shouldn’t be a polarizing one, but an opportunity for us all to move forward together and join the collective fight against gender-based violence.
Bearing all this in mind, make sure to wear your white and don your white ribbons on Wednesday, December 6th to show your support and support the cause.
How to show your support:
-> Wear a white ribbon. You can make one or get one from SAC from your first-period teacher!
-> Check out local vigils and other commemorative programming in your community
-> Take some time to educate yourself on the causes and impacts of gender-based violence
-> Learn more about the 16 Days of Activism Against GBV campaign and how to get involved
-> Check out the White Ribbon Campaign website for more information
-> Spread the word and encourage your friends and family to take part in the movement
-> If you ever feel like you need any support, there is help available!
-> Government of Canada Support Resources

“Gender equality is critical to the development and peace of every nation.” - Qingrong Ma

In Canada, education is a right that we are granted, allowing us to discover and pursue our passions and interests. We have a collective right to have a voice and be equitably represented in education. As this month comes to a close, it is pertinent that we realize the importance of Indigenous education, and more specifically, the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation .
On Saturday, September 30th, people across the nation will be clad in orange to recognize the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. This day acknowledges the residential schools in Canada, honours the countless young lives taken and serves to uplift the voices of survivors, families and their communities. As a school community, we will recognize this important day on Friday, September 29th.
How can you participate?



Stay tuned to Student Council Instagram stories for a chance to win a free orange shirt to show your support!




Wear orange on Friday, September 29th, to commemorate the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation with the TDSB!




Click here to access resources to learn more and get involved!




WLMAC will be hosting an Indigenous author, Karen Chaboyer. Click here to learn more about her and her story!



Wear your ORANGE Mac!

Recently, I did some investigating into the most popular and research-backed study techniques to help make this exam transition a little smoother for us all. I present the fruits of this labour through the lengthy chart below. If you want to read more about any of the following strategies in detail, check out my previous few blog posts!



Additional resources:
https://maclyonsden.com/resources/ , @wlmac.guidance , @wlmac.wellness
Just a few more days until we end this short chapter of our lives and start again in a new semester. Good luck Mac, I'll see you on the other side :)

Welcome back Lyons, to “Study, Set… Go!!,” a Metropolis mini-series where we dissect the very intimidating world of studying by simplifying study strategies. Whether you’re looking to conquer this exam season or just brush up on your skills, you’ve found just the post! We’ll be tackling some personal favourites this time around so get your favourite notebook, lots of coffee, and settle in!
Feynman Technique
The Feynman technique, named after Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist Richard Feynman, is about confirming your understanding of the words and phrasing that you’re using. You take on the role of a teacher and try to teach the information you’re studying. Sometimes, we can get so caught up in all the big words and fancy phrasing used that we forget the actual mechanics of the content we’re studying. With the Feynman technique, you need to be able to explain the details of what you’ve learned without using complicated terminology as a crutch. Imagine that you’re explaining the concept to somebody with no prior knowledge of the subject such as a child. You try to teach the content at a highly simplified level and fill in any gaps that you find along the way.
Elaborative Interrogation
The elaborative interrogation technique is a very big name for what is really a return to our curious toddler roots in a constant barrage of “why?” Similar to the Feynman technique, asking ourselves why the things that we’re studying are actually occurring helps us to understand the words, phrases, and processes that we’re learning beyond pure semantics. With everything you learn, just ask yourself why and how things are the way that they are, and if you can’t answer that then you either don’t know the content well enough or it may be out of the scope of your curriculum.
Classical Conditioning
Yup, turns out that Pavlov’s dogs have some influence on our study habits! Behaviourist Ivan Pavlov used the sound of a bell and a bowl of food to condition several dogs to drool at just the sound of a bell. The logic of this is that the introduction of a neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus together will incite a conditioned response at later introductions of the neutral stimulus alone. We can use this knowledge to our advantage as students by introducing certain elements into our environment or routine that we’ll eventually associate with studying. This could be using a specific pencil/pen, studying in one spot every time, listening to a specific kind of music, or even consuming the same food/drink when and only when you’re studying. Over time, you’re able to slip into a state of focus much easier when doing these behaviours because you immediately associate them with studying.
Exam season brings a universal sense of anxiety to us all and the post-pandemic nature of it this year does little to alleviate that. “[It’s a] fear of the unknown I think definitely for the grade 9s, 10s, and 11s… [and there have been] so many uncertainties and pivots for the grade 12s…” Says Ms. McDowell, when asked about the expected difficulties for students this year. However, she reiterates the importance of planning out study sessions to ease yourself into the process. “It’s scary, but as long as you’ve put into place the methods that are available, that's the most important thing.” By creating study aids (cheat sheets, flow charts, summaries) and finding the techniques that work best for you, you can greatly ward off some of that stress. Of course, it’s great to build your skills and confidence with studying and exam-taking, but each of these techniques can only be effective if they’re balanced with proper eating, sleeping, socializing, and relaxing! If you’re looking for more information on achieving that balance, contact your guidance counsellor or check out some of the other resources below. Good luck Lyons, see you next sem!
P.S. Keep an eye out for our final post of the season, there just might be some extra tips to look forward to :)
Additional resources:
https://maclyonsden.com/resources/ , @wlmac.guidance , @wlmac.wellness

Well, it’s time.
This year has brought back so many missed events and experiences for students. Semi-formals, longer lunches, maskless meetups and, of course, the one we’ve all collectively been dreading, exams. For Grade 11s and 12s especially, exams are a touchy subject right now, and understandably so. The skills that we were meant to build across our high school years have been lost to online classes and grade inflation. Now, as we come face-to-face with these 2-hour terrors, many of us feel lost on where to start — myself included. From the annoyingly aesthetic notes online to the vague terms often thrown around, it’s tough to get going with nothing to start with. To that end, I went on a deep dive into learning more about study methods the internet often swears to understand their practicality and the research backing them to give us all a bit of an edge with our exam prep.
Active Recall vs Spaced Repetition
Spaced repetition and active recall are the two terms I notice get thrown around the most when it comes to study tips. The problem with them is that they are very broad ideas that can be applied in a multitude of ways to the point that it can be hard to actually use them. By the end of this, you’ll hopefully understand more about these techniques and how to apply them!
Studies have shown that our brains tend to store information better the more we encounter it and that we can remember it for longer periods of time if we revisit the information often. This is highlighted through Hermann Ebbinghaus' famous “forgetting curve.” According to the book “How We Learn" by Benedict Carey, the reason for this is that our brain will generally forget information that is deemed unnecessary. The harder that we have to work to retain that information, the more likely it is to be integrated into our long-term memory. To study using spaced repetition, space your topics out with bigger and bigger gaps and study them consistently. The Leitner system, detailed later in this post, is one example of this.
Active recall is about actively challenging your grasp of the material you’ve studied. Rereading, summarizing, taking notes, and highlighting have been tested as key study methods 100 times over and have consistently been shown to be some of the least effective ways of studying. Watching videos, listening to lessons, highlighting the textbook - these are all easy to do, but if you don’t actively challenge yourself with the knowledge gained then you’re likely to forget it soon. To study using active recall, you can use practice tests and flashcards, form discussion groups, or try teaching yourself the content. Check out our next edition of "Study, Set...Go!!" for more information on that last one.
Pomodoro
The Pomodoro technique is one that many of us are likely familiar with. The basic procedure for this technique is to break up your studying into set blocks of “study time” with short breaks in between to prevent burnout. These study/break blocks can vary in length but the most used are usually 25/5, 35/7, or 50/10. Personally, I’ve found 50 minutes of studying and 10 minutes of break to work best for me, but you should make use of the flexibility of this technique to choose lengths that work best for you. Though it’s not a hard and fast rule, it’s recommended that you take a longer break after your last Pomodoro session and that you take a 20-30 minute break for every 100 minutes of studying to avoid burnout. Super versatile — test it out next time you study!
Leitner System
The Leitner system combines spaced repetition and active recall. It involves grouping specific subjects, units, or concepts into different sections based on how well you understand them. Each section will be studied for a different interval of time. Your first section may be studied every day, your second every other day, your third one every week, and so on. The concepts that are hardest should be studied more often. If you can’t understand a section well or you’re unable to answer a flashcard then the material is moved to an earlier section for review and is studied for the time of that section instead. If you’re effectively able to understand the information in a section then you move it to the next one. This system is often used with flashcards though you could modify it to have practice questions or even general concepts that you have to explain. It works best when you have at least a week in advance to begin your reviewing because you need at least a bit of a time gap between the sections. The great part about this method is that the movement of material between sessions forces you to repeat the information you struggle with most without wasting too much time on the things you already understand.
With just a short overview of some techniques, you now have the knowledge and opportunity to raise a mirror to your own study habits. Studying techniques are laid in logic and supported by extensive research, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t highly individualistic too! Look for similarities and differences, no matter how minute, and pick what works best for you. Check in later this week for a new round of study techniques as we wind down for the 2023 exam season - the grind is on Mac, and we’re in it together.
Additional resources:
https://maclyonsden.com/resources/ , @wlmac.guidance , @wlmac.wellness