Sabina Wex<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI literally feel like I\u2019m in a prison,\u201d says Sasha Potter, a grade 10 student at CHAT, a Jewish Toronto high school. \u201cThe windows are boarded up and have bars over them, and the faded blue and grey walls are just\u2026depressing.\u201d<\/p>\n
This prison-like state of CHAT may have to do with the lack of spirit at the school, which Potter rates as 25 out of 100. Here at NT, even with our own depressing set of grey walls, we still have, at the least, a score of 80. The reason for this is probably
\nbecause every NT student is so involved and passionate about the clubs they
\nbelong to. So when Red and Grey Day or Club Fair comes along, we have no
\nproblem supporting other people promoting the things they love. In contrast,
\nCHAT only really has student council or sports team to be a part of.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if you aren\u2019t good at sports, or aren\u2019t really into the whole student council thing, you\u2019re kind of stuck,\u201d says Potter. \u201cThe extra-curricular activity I\u2019m in involved in, which
\nis dance, is outside of school.\u201d<\/p>\n
I asked a couple more CHAT students about their extra-curricular activities and found out that they, too, were usually only involved in things outside of school. However, for NT students, the majority spend at least 8 hours a week doing extra-curriculars,
\nvolunteering, and workings.<\/p>\n
\u201cI probably spend 5 hours a week on dance,\u201d Potter added. \u201cBut that\u2019s my only extra-curricular activity. I don\u2019t work and I only volunteer once in a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another thing that really differentiates NT from CHAT is that 99% of the students at CHAT have never had a part-time job during the year, whereas many NT students begin to work in grade ten or eleven.<\/p>\n
To be fair, CHAT does start at 8:30AM and go until 4PM, and they do have four extra Hebrew subjects to juggle on top of their eight core subjects. So it would be hard to volunteer three times a week, work on the weekends, and still have a social life.<\/p>\n
All in all, NT and CHAT are similar to each other, especially in our academic standings, which both have a high rate of graduates moving on to universities. The main difference is just our involvement levels. But, as everyone knows, NT students are incredibly
\ninvolved, and that probably would be a big difference in comparison to any
\nother Toronto high school\u2014public or private.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sabina Wex \u201cI literally feel like I\u2019m in a prison,\u201d says Sasha Potter, a grade 10 student at CHAT, a Jewish Toronto high school. \u201cThe windows are boarded up and have bars over them, and the faded blue and … Continue reading