Downsview Secondary School
Student of the Week
June 2, 2025
Christofer M. & Maria M-R.
Downsview, for the week of June 2nd, we celebrate two worthy individuals as our Students of the Week. They are Christofer M. of the twelfth grade and Maria M-R of the eleventh grade.
As always, when we honour two students for this award, it bears noting that each person has won in their own right. Both Christofer and Maria have earned this title. Let’s hear more about them, starting with this, from Mr Phillips: “Maria is a rising star at DSS. I have the pleasure of teaching her in my grade 11 chemistry class. Through dedication and perseverance, she is among the top students in the class. She is always attentive and has no end of questions. Some are even related to Chemistry! I was also uber impressed with her role in the High School Musical. She did an excellent job! Maria is also a part of the announcements crew! Like CP24, this girl is EVERYWHERE! Maria is so deserving of the student of the week and I know this is just the beginning for this superstar student!”
Mr Lam adds: “Maria is a conscientious student who works diligently in class and takes her work seriously. Maria exhibits independence and initiative in work habits. Outside of class, Maria is involved in school activities including the High School Musical, and is a peer tutor who works to support other students. Congratulations and keep up the excellent work, Maria!
Christofer is a student who is focused daily on his work during class time and completes assignments on time. Christopher has also earned the Honours / High Honours award at the Awards assembly. Christofer has contributed to our school environment through his dedication and hard work in our school garden. Congratulations on your great work, Christofer!”
And, from Ms Sonia, also known as Ms Sunshine: “Christofer has been an integral part of the garden space this year. Over the past few months Christopher has been punctual, hard working and nothing short of amazing. He has demonstrated incredible initiative when it comes to design projects. He is not afraid to get his hands dirty and has shown perseverance with regards to building a new garden bed. He has exceeded all of my expectations. Congratulations Christopher!”
Hear this, from Ms D’Andrea: “Maria was part of our school musical and seamlessly transitioned into her role on stage. She memorized her lines, adopted her character's personality and mannerisms, and dressed the part from head to toe for the show. Someone in the audience even whispered "wow she looks just like the real character Kelsi!"
Maria demonstrated kindness, enthusiasm and positivity during rehearsals and was a true asset to our cast. She even helped behind the scenes with hair and makeup applications for the actors.
As a student in our Arts & Culture SHSM, Maria has been extremely engaged in all of the certifications and workshops by asking thoughtful questions and actively participating in all activities. Her maturity and investment in the program does not go unnoticed. Congratulations Maria, you’re a star!”
From Ms McEyeson: “Maria, congratulations on your award as Student of the Week, you are an absolute gem! Your smile, energy, enthusiasm, and bubbly character are some of the few attributes that make you a joy to be around. Many of us have seen your talents playing the role of Kelsey in our school's musical or hearing your enthusiastic voice on the morning announcements. You are hardworking, talented, and have a bright future ahead of you. I hope you truly feel special and soak up every word written about you. Congratulations again!”
Ms Piro says: “Maria is a polite, dedicated and a very pleasant student. She is very focused during class and does her best to achieve high. Maria is part of the peer tutoring program and she tutors her peers with a great sense of responsibility and wants to make sure that her peers understand the material. Maria has great plans for the future and I’m confident she will do well wherever she goes. Her beautiful personality is her strength.”
From Ms Butuza: “I had the privilege of teaching Maria history last year, and she was always such a pleasure to have in class, consistently bringing a positive attitude, an infectious smile. What truly surprised me was seeing her shine in our high school musical production! I had no idea she had such a talent for acting, and her passion for it was truly captivating on stage! Maria's kindness and genuinely nice demeanour always makes her a joy to be around. It's truly wonderful to see her hard work and diverse talents recognized, and I look forward to working with her again in the future! Congratulations, Maria!”
And, hear this, from Mr Ros: :I have had the pleasure of having Christofer in my Co-Op class this semester. Christofer is quiet, but has an incredible work ethic. Quite simply, he knows how to get things done. In order to see this you need to look no further than our school garden. This semester, for his Co-Op placement, Christofer has been working with Ms. Sonia. Every afternoon, you can see Christofer in the courtyard, tools in hand and a smile on his face. The result speaks for itself.
In the garden, you can now see that the wooden walkway has been extended. There is a new flower box that is being built. Christofer wheelbarrowed all of the dirt he dug up for the walkway extension and leveled it off in the southeast corner in order to make way for another area that will have tables and benches for students to enjoy, and more. These are all the fruits of Christofer’s hard work and incredible skill.
Christofer’s legacy around Downsview Secondary School will be felt for years to come every time you step in the garden, or take a look into the courtyard. Congratulations Christofer on this well-deserved award! Your skills, your work ethic and your positive attitude will help you to succeed no matter where you go!”
And so, Christopher and Maria, it seems that there are some connections between the two of you. Hard work, dedication and positive outlooks are common threads, and these are woven into your characters. We, at Downsview, are better for this. Congratulations, Maria, and congratulations, Christopher on your wins as Students of the Week.