Megathon challenge: Rowing for 12 hours

YMCA Academy Beyond the Classroom, Events, YMCA of Greater Toronto No Comments

Students, teachers, staff, and supporters of The YMCA Academy will row for 12 hours straight on Saturday, March 5.

This challenge, part of the YMCA of Greater Toronto’s Megathon event, will also raise awareness about the role physical fitness plays in mental health. Being active reduces the effects of stress, anxiety, and depression — issues that impact many young people. In fact, the 12-hour row will serve as the kickoff of a long-term Academy initiative to promote this connection school-wide,

Best of all, group endurance events like this one are great proof that working as a team to meet a challenge makes you stronger and lets you reach even higher.

To support the Academy’s 12-hour rowing challenge, visit our Megathon fundraising page.

Governor General visits the Academy

YMCA Academy Academics, English and Humanities, Experiential Learning, YMCA of Greater Toronto No Comments

On Friday, The YMCA Academy welcomed a very special guest: Canada’s Governor-General, the Right Honourable David Johnston, visited the school while on a tour of the Toronto Central Grosvenor Street YMCA Centre.

The Governor-General visited a Civics class and chatted with the students about Canada’s government, his memories of school days, and a recent trip to Alert, Nunavut.

Unique experiences like these have a discernible impact on learning; the Civics students are still buzzing about the Governor-General’s visit, and Monday’s class was filled with insightful questions about the structure of Canada’s government.

Grade 9 English – Y News

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As part of their culminating assignment, the Academy’s Grade 9 Locally Developed English class created “Y News” — a student-created newscast.

Students used their research, planning, writing, editing, speaking, and collaboration skills to create the finished product. They were rightly proud of what they achieved; presenting a creative challenge is a great way to reach new heights as a learner. “I learned how write a newscast and to speak better,” said one student newscaster. “I learned that not too speak fast. I also learned about ideas that came into my head, and I found that I became more creative for the newscast.”

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Celebrating success at the Talent Show

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In what’s become an annual tradition at the Academy, we celebrated the end of the 2015 portion of our academic year with an all-school talent show. Student performers sang, danced, lip-synced, played instruments, screened short films, and even demonstrated their culinary skills.

The Talent Show has become a crucial community-building event for our learning community. Several performers (and one of the three MCs) were new students in September, and the Talent Show was a great opportunity to make new connections. It’s also a great showcase for the school’s expanding arts department —not to mention the perfect way to say goodbye in style to the 2015 portion of the school year.

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A warm day of skating at Nathan Phillips Square

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On Friday, December 11, most of the students of the YMCA Academy went on a skating trip to Nathan Phillips Square. Some people skated but others decided not to skate because the ice was melted and people did not want to get wet.

Some people focused on physical exercise while some people were happy talking and improving their social skills. We all bonded through a shared experience and we took pictures and made memories which we will always remember when we look at the pictures in the yearbook.

By Zachary Da Silva (YMCA Academy student)

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