LHSS Guest Speakers 2025-2026
Date and Time | Course, Dept, or Group | Name(s) of Presenters, Performers, Guest Speakers OR the Organization they represent | Topic/Focus | Curriculum Connection and/or purpose | Details of any handout materials or literature that will be provided |
Tuesday Sept 23 | ACE | National service dogs | presentation | Information about guide dogs for our students | |
Thurs. Oct. 2 | Guidance | U of Waterloo Recruitment (Jay Smith, others) | Lunch visit and presentation | Info sharing with students about UW programs, admissions, etc. | Viewbooks, buttons, stickers, program/admissions flyers |
Wed. Oct. 8 | Guidance | Conestoga College Recruitment CANCELLED | Lunch visit and presentation | Admissions and program updates for students | Viewbooks, buttons, stickers, program/admissions flyers |
Wed Oct 8 | Vet Club | Conestoga College | Vet Tech Program | ||
Thurs Oct 9 | Phys Ed | Sheri Armstrong - Public Health Nurse | Public Health Services Available to youth | ||
Tues. Oct. 21 | Guidance | Wilfrid Laurier University Recruitment | Presentation (per B - library) | Admissions and program updates for students | Viewbooks, buttons, stickers, program/admissions flyers |
Wed. Oct. 22 | Guidance | McMaster University Recruitment (per D) | Presentation (per D - library) | Admissions and program updates for students | Viewbooks, buttons, stickers, program/admissions flyers |
Wed Oct 22 | Vet Club | Dr. Siera Florindo - Career Speaker | Becoming a vet | ||
Mon. Oct. 27 | Guidance | OUAC University Fair (15-20 universities represented) | Ontario University Programs (1-3:30pm, LHSS library) | Admissions and program updates for students | Viewbooks, buttons, stickers, program/admissions flyers |
Wed Oct 29 | Music | KW Symphony | Concert, Workshop, Q+A | Music as a profession, performance skills, musical interpretation of repertoire | |
Nov. 5 | Phys Ed | Sheri Armstrong - Public Health Nurse | Public Health Services Available to youth | ||
Mon. Nov. 10 | Guidance | Conestoga College Visit - lunch | Info Booth - programs | Admissions and program updates for students | Viewbooks, buttons, stickers, program/admissions flyers |
Wed Nov 12 | Vet Club | Toronto Zoo Ed Program (Online) | Intro to Zoo Keeping | ||
Wed. Nov. 19 | Guidance | Toronto Met University Lunch Visit | Info Booth - programs | Admissions and program updates for students | Viewbooks, buttons, stickers, program/admissions flyers |
Thurs. Nov. 20 | Guidance | Fanshawe College Visit - Lunch | Info Booth - programs | Admissions and program updates for students | Viewbooks, buttons, stickers, program/admissions flyers |
Wed Nov 26 | Vet Club | Career Speaker | Canine Rehabilitation & Physio | ||
Wed Nov 26 | History | Catherine Gitzel, Dr. Karen Morris | Holocaust Survivor Testimony | Exploring Canadian Holocaust connections, the importance of survivor testimonies in History, focus on the Historical Thinking Concepts | |
Tues December 2 | SHSM Arts + Culture SHSM Tech (Commtech) | Amit Mehta + Adrian Eitzen GoodCompany Productions | Music Industry Curating Live Events Tech, Sound and Visual | Exploring Career Opportunities in the realm of Music and Tech - with a focus on creating community through live events. | |
Wed Dec 10 | Vet Club | Jean Flanagan - Career Speaker | Animal health researcher | ||
Wed Dec 10 | SHAD Canada | Lunch Visit - recruitment (Leila Stevens) | Info Table | Promotion of SHAD summer leadership and enrichment program for grade 10/11 students | Flyers, buttons, etc. |
Mon. Oct. 27 | TGJ2/3/4 | Kara Judge Professor/Coordinator - Broadcast Radio Program School of Creative Industries Conestoga College | Informational session about media programs at Conestoga College and career opportunities that exist like podcaster, radio announcer, content creator, sports reporter, etc | identify careers in communications technology for which postsecondary education is required or advantageous, and describe college and university programs that prepare students for entry into these occupations. | |
Friday Oct 3 | HSP3UI | Haylea Hempel -oneROOF Youth Services | Youth Homelessness in Waterloo Region | This presentation aims to educate and inform students of the risks of homelessness. There is a lot of stigma attached to homelessness and shame that comes along with accessing services, which we want to eliminate. I will be defining what youth homelessness is, what it looks like, how it happens, etc and will share a bit about oneROOF. I will also provide a resource package for social services that students may not be aware of. | A resource package for social services that students may not be aware of in Waterloo Region will be provided. |
Wed, Oct 29 | BDI3C | Robert Maxwell, Entrepreneur and Start Up Consultant | Career talk - Entrepreneur |
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Fri, Nov. 14 | CPW 4UI (Grade 12 Politics) | Catherine Fife, MPP Waterloo | Ontario Politics | MPP Catherine Fife will speak to the Grade 12 Politics class about her role as a Member of Provincial Parliament and how she represents her community at Queen’s Park. She will explain how provincial laws are made and discuss key issues currently facing Ontario, including education, housing, healthcare, and the environment. Fife will describe how advocacy works in government and how MPPs bring local voices into political decision-making. She will also share her experiences as a woman in leadership and the realities of working across party lines. In addition, she will encourage students to get involved in politics through voting, volunteering, and civic participation. Finally, she will answer students’ questions and provide insight into what it’s really like to work in government. | |
Mon., Nov. 18 | HSP 3UI & HSB 4UI | Alice Maguire & Kasia (Sanguen Health Centre) | Harm reduction presentation | Substance use disorder and harm reduction (part of psychology and sociology units) | |
Thursday Nov. 13 | SCH 3UI & SCH 4UI | Lylah, Abigale (Science Outreach Team, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo) uwaterloo.ca/science/outreach | Operation Ozone: Climate Chemistry | Students take the roles of climate scientists using their problem-solving skills to save the world. Students will review atmospheric gas chemistry and learn about the atmospheric chemistry experiment; a Canadian space mission! | |
Thurs Jan 8 | Business SHSM & BEP 2OI class | Jonathan Rietberg & Sandeep Chaudhari & Rishabh Sharma - Mr. Chaudhari will discuss his 15 franchises that he owns for Dominos and his journey | Domino's franchise opportunities | Students will learn about the challenges and opportunities of owning so many franchises and how he gives back to our community | |
Tuesday, Jan 13 | SNC 2DI - 02 & 03 | Sonja Teichert- Relay Education Climate Change and Renewables' workshop | Climate Change and Renewables' workshop | D1.2 assess, on the basis of research, the effectiveness of some current individual, regional, national, or international initiatives that address the issue of climate change (e.g., Drive Clean, ENERGY STAR, federal and provincial government rebates for retrofitting older buildings to be more energy efficient, carbon offset programs, community tree-planting programs, municipal recycling programs, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC]), and propose a further course of action related to one of these initiatives [PR, AI, C] | |
Wednesday, January 21 | Phys Ed | Girls Flag Football | Flag football workshops | ||
Fri Feb 13 | SHSM | Teena Paul & Melissa Schiedel from Camino Mental Health | Workshop about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion | Train students in the area of DEI which is an applicable SHSM certificate for all of our SHSM students | |
Friday Feb 20, 2026 | Sr Concert Band | David Leach (University of Michigan Lecturer and renowned Band Director) | Band Clinic | Workshop Festival Repertoire with the Sr Band | |
Fri Feb 20 | SHSM (all) | Dr. Lan Guo (prof from WLU) and alumni to come to speak to our SHSM students | Reach Ahead event for SHSM students | Dr. Guo and alumni to come to speak to our SHSM students | |
Thur Feb 26 2026 | BSU | Vicki Olatundun | Black Brilliance / Joy | Continuing to educate and empower students regarding anti Black racism and celebrating Black Brilliance and Black Joy | none |
Wed March 4, 2026 | Jr Concert Band | Doug Friesen (WLU) | Arranging Music - Creativity. | ||
Tuesday March 10th, | CHY4UI & HSP 3UI | Salem Witch Museum | History of the Salem Witch Trials | Examining the intersection of feminism, identity, culture and heritage during the late 1600s. | N/A |
Thursday, February 26th | Muslim Students Association - Iftar night event | Ameen Hussain | Why Fearmongering in Religion isn’t Working | Examining archetypes and determining the ideal path between two opposing perspectives | N/A |
Thursday April 2nd | Sr Concert Band Jr Concert Band | Colin Clarke | Band Festival Preparation Workshop | Colin is a multi-award-winning Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra (TYWO) director. For three decades this ensemble has earned a reputation nationwide as one of the leading performance ensembles of its kind in Canada and made its Carnegie Hall debut in 2006. | N/A |
Thursday, April 16 | CHC 2DI-08 & 12 | Steven Schwinghamer -a historian from the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 | Ethical museum curation | In this virtual session, Steven will demonstrate how museums and historians make decisions about what stories to tell by analyzing sources, assessing reliability, and considering perspective, helping students understand how historical significance and interpretation are shaped. He will also highlight the practical use of Historical Thinking Principles in museum work, while emphasizing the importance of elevating underrepresented voices and addressing gaps in the historical record to foster deeper discussions about inclusion and storytelling in Canada. | |
Monday, April 20th | Guidance | Ontario Colleges Info Panel (period B, library) | Post-secondary pathways presentations/fair | 6 colleges attending (Conestoga, Fanshawe, Lambton, Mohawk, Niagara, University of Guelph/Ridgetown) - short presentations for each college/programs, followed by short fair | viewbooks and college materials available |
Friday, May 1 | CHC 2DI-08 & 12 | Sean Cambell -a curator from Dienfenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum | Ethical museum curation | In this virtual session, Sean will demonstrate how museums and historians make decisions about what stories to tell by analyzing sources, assessing reliability, and considering perspective, helping students understand how historical significance and interpretation are shaped. He will also highlight the practical use of Historical Thinking Principles in museum work, while emphasizing the importance of elevating underrepresented voices and addressing gaps in the historical record to foster deeper discussions about inclusion and storytelling in Canada. | |
Thursday, April 9 | SNC 4MI | Let’s Talk Science - Viral Vaccines | Viral Spread and Development of Vaccines | Students simulate a zombie apocalypse scenario from the perspective of scientists working for the World Health Organization. Students learn that vaccines are effective at preventing and protecting against the spread of infectious disease. C3.2 Describe the mode of transmission of various diseases C3.4 Describe the role of vaccines in the control of pathogenesis | |
Thursday, April 9 | SBI 3UI | Let’s Talk Science - Monster Meisosis | Explore the processes of Meiosis and sexual reproduction in the creation of new organisms. | A fun intro or wrap-up to your meiosis unit, this workshop has students sort parental chromosomes, select new offspring chromosomes, and decode the new chromosomes to construct their unique baby monsters. D2.1 use appropriate terminology related to genetic processes D2.2 investigate the process of meiosis D3.1 explain the phases in the process of meiosis in terms of cell division, the movement of chromosomes, and crossing over of genetic material D3.2 explain the concepts of DNA, genes, chromosomes, alleles, mitosis, and meiosis, and how they account for the transmission of hereditary characteristics according to Mendelian laws of inheritance | |
Wed, April 22 | Science Club | Kianna Cabral - Masters Student at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics | Quantum Computers: Information at the Atomic Level | N/A | |
Wed. May 13 | Guidance | Business Education Partnership - Career Conversations with Professionals (grade 9 and 10 period C/D classes) | Career professionals share info about potential local pathways for students | 4-6 career reps will speak to grade 9 and 10 students (period C or D) to share info about future pathways, opportunities, etc. - chance for students to ask questions and make valuable pathways connections | |
Wed, May 20 | Science Club | Benjamin Zhang - Researcher and Science Communicator at the Bell Multimedia Lab, University of Toronto | Ontario Student Computational Pathology (OSCP) - an outreach program introducing high-school students to the rapidly evolving field of digital and computational pathology, where medicine meets artificial intelligence | ||
April 30, 2026 | Phys. Ed | The Period Purse | Period 101 | Menstrual cycle and puberty/ preventing pregnancy | An introductory workshop developed with medical experts, covering basic anatomy, the menstrual cycle, and period products. Designed to help younger audiences learn with comfort and confidence. |
April 6, 2026 | SCH 3UI-09 SCH 3UI -10 | Science Outreach Team, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo uwaterloo.ca/science/outreach | Operation Ozone: Climate Chemistry | Students take the roles of climate scientists using their problem-solving skills to save the world. Students will review atmospheric gas chemistry and learn about the atmospheric chemistry experiment; a Canadian space mission! | |