If you want success and innovation, we can provide both.

Let's start with the successes. Since 1986, four students at the OAC level have placed first in the nationwide Royal Canadian Geographical Society's High School Essay Writing Contest. Each student won $1000. Two other students were awarded honourable mentions.

We've twice represented Peterborough County at the provincial Stratagem competition - an economic simulation game.

A student in the Environmental Geography course won a trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming from the Sarari Club International.

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation presented us with the Earth Day Environmental Education Award. In 2000, a student won $1500 from the Ontario Corn Producers for a paper about the future of agriculture.

A grade 9 student placed third in the Trent University Map Making Competition.

And a staff member was awarded a Certificate of Achievement from the Prime Minister of Canada.

The department has been a leader in integrating computer technology with the Geography curriculum. We have been using geographic information systems (GIS) since 1990 and have introduced not only the vector-based ArcView GIS to our students, but also the Spatial Analyst, Network Analyst and 3D Analyst extensions. Our Grade 11 Physical Geography course is taught in a computer lab.

We participated in the Kids from Kanata project for several years. exchanging email with students in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The innovative four-course environmental studies package, that has operated as "a school within a school" for many years, was the brainchild of the TAS Geography and Science Departments.

Innovation and success go hand-in-hand. With a wide range of novel learning opportunities comes the potential for success, as students explore the world in new and exciting ways.