Manitoulin Secondary School tied for third place at the Provincial Mock Trial Competition held in Toronto on Thursday, April 19, 2007. Janelle Proulx, Vincent Clarke, Alasha Brown, Marcus Stephens, Meagan O'Hare and Tiffany Doucet won the honour of competing provincially after winning the Regional Mock Trial Competition in March and the Sudbury Mock Trial Competition in January.
Manitoulin Island Assistant Crown Stacy Haner, Gore Bay Defence Lawyer James Weppler and Grade 12 Law teacher Bruce Laidley coached the team to victory. This is Manitoulin Secondary School's first year in the competition.
"There were eight teams competing at this event. Four
teams were eliminated on Wednesday, April 18 in four
trials," said Manitoulin Secondary School teacher Bruce
Laidley.  "Manitoulin Secondary School defeated Holy
Names High School from Windsor in the
role of Defence."
He added: "On Thursday morning, (April 19), Manitoulin Secondary School competed against Assumption Catholic Secondary School from Burlington. Manitoulin acted as Crown and lost on points in what the judges said was an extremely close result."
Rainbow District School Board Trustee Larry Killens congratulated the students on their impressive showing at the provincial level. "This is a tribute to the dedicated efforts of their teacher and the support of their coaches in the local legal community. We are certainly proud of our students for their outstanding achievement."
Dena Morrison, Chair of Rainbow District School Board, thanked the local legal community for their ongoing support of student success through their generous contribution of time and expertise.
"Mock trials bring learning to life. What better place to learn about the justice system than in a courtroom prosecuting and defending a case before a judge," she says. "Our local legal community is helping to mentor the next generation of lawyers, enhancing what's taught in the classroom."
The Mock Trial process, now in its fifth year, is very closely aligned with the Grade 12 Law curriculum. In addition to meeting curriculum expectations, mock trials develop other skills in students, including public speaking, teamwork, presentation, preparation and critical thinking skills.
