Heart Lake Secondary School


Heart Lake Secondary School, commonly known as HLSS or Heart Lake, is a public secondary school in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the corner of Conestoga Drive and Wexford Road. The school was founded in 1988 and is a part of the Peel District School Board. The school has 1150 students enrolled as of September 2019.
Heart Lake has two SHSM programs in Arts & Culture and Information & Communication technology, as well as both extra curricular band, drama and athletics programs.
The school has a strong relationship with its many feeder schools, including Robert H. Lagerquist Senior Public School, Alloa Public School and Cheyne Public School, working together for annual events and other activities throughout the year.

History

Heart Lake Secondary School was founded in 1988. The school is named after the nearby Heart Lake Conservation Area which the school backs onto.

Timeline of School History

Carnival

Most years towards the end of the school year the Student Activity Council holds the school's annual Carnival. The event generally contains large inflatables, games, popcorn, cotton candy, music, and other fun activities. During the 2018/2019 school year the Student Activity Council was able to offer the Carnival free of charge to the entire student body.

Semi-Formal

Since 2010 Heart Lake's Student Activity Council has held its annual Semi-Formal with varying themes each year. The only exception was the 2018/2019 school year when sales were too low and the Semi-Formal had to be canceled.

Talent Show

Annual Heart Lake Talent Show occurs every April, and tryouts happen two months before in February. Students may pay $2 to attend, which also allows them to miss their period 4 class on that day. Unlike buyouts, even those students who have paid cannot leave the school property and must attend the talent show. Students who have teachers who are helping out with the talent show as their period 4 teachers may attend the show for free, if the seats are still available. In 2008, there were 6 performances: martial arts, juggling, rapping, two singing performances, and modern Indian dance. Students have amateurly videotaped the performances with the school's permission and uploaded onto YouTube for 2007 and 2008 talent shows.

School Drama Production

Heart Lake's Drama production occurs annually in May, based on various classical novels and plays. 2009's You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown was Heart Lake's first ever musical production. As of 2019, two school productions are typically put on, a Drama Showcase

School Programs

Link Crew program

In the 2008-2009 school year, Heart Lake began the Link Crew program that is offered to all high schools and secondary schools in North America. Link Crew allows the school to choose one hundred Grade 11s and 12s to be linked with freshmen throughout the year. The "Link Leaders" help the freshman get involved by informing them about the activities put on by the school and local communities. These students also help to bridge the gap between freshmen and the rest of the school, when the younger students may feel like they don't belong. The leaders are a positive role model for the freshman students during the important transition from middle school to high school.

Regional Enhanced learning program

Heart Lake's Regional Enhanced Learning Program is designed for exceptional intellectual-gifted students who require extensive modification of the regular school program. To enter the program, you must have already been designated exceptional intellectual-gifted/ The program strives to maximize each student's potential, develops their capacity for self-directed learning, and encourages interaction among gifted peers. Only specific coursers are offered at this level, which includes Grade 9-12 English, Grade 9-12 Math, Grade 9 -12 Sciences, Grade 10 History, Grade 9 Geography, Grade 9-12 French and a few others. For these courses the gifted students are placed into a single class, going at around the same pace as the regular academic students, with some modifications. Several schools offered this program but in 2005, it was made available only to Heart Lake Secondary School in the northern Peel District School Board area.

Notable alumni

In 2003, grade nine student Eric Levack, 14, was murdered in the wooded area behind the school during lunch break. The perpetrator was classmate Justin Morton, also 14. Morton pleaded guilty to first degree murder and in 2004 was sentenced as an adult to life in prison, with no eligibility of parole for seven years. Morton was the first person in Canada charged with first degree murder under the newly enacted Youth Criminal Justice Act, which came into force on April 1, 2003, the day of the murder. Morton appeared in the 2007 documentary film In the Shadow of Feeling, which focused on psychopathic personalities, and spoke about the murder. A lilac tree, planted in memory of Levack, stands on the lawn in front of Heart Lake Secondary School.