YMCA Academy

Sep. 27th, 2013 – Oh what a day WE had!

YMCA Academy September 27, 2013August 14, 2015 Beyond the Classroom, Community

Academy students from the OLC class represented the school at this year’s WE Day kick off on September 20. A very early (yawn..)7:30 am departure from school got us down to the ACC in time to meet thousands (20 thousand actually) of other Ontario students coming together to celebrate a year of action to better our global community. WE day is a spectacular non-stop show with this year’s performers including The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, The Barenaked Ladies, Imagine Dragons, Austin Mahone and Serena Ryder. And if that wasn’t enough, inspirational speakers included the founding Kielburger brothers, Martin Luther King III, Premier Kathleen Wynne, Astronaut Chris Hadfield, Molly Burke, Michael “Pinball” Clemons, Spencer West, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and more. We were excited to be there but over the moon when due to a ticket snafu and a sprinkling of magic from our volunteer extraordinaire Peggy we ended up in the Air Canada Club Restaurant with the best seats in the whole ACC and a delicious pizza lunch. We were in heaven! It was a very special day.

And now it is our turn to contribute! Keep an eye out for the WE Scare Hunger and the WE Create Change campaigns that will be run by students this Fall.

Check out the rest of the pictures on our Facebook Page!

Sep. 20th, 2013 – English Adjective Attack!!!

YMCA Academy September 20, 2013August 18, 2015 English and Humanities, Student Spotlight

It’s not just a table, it’s a clean, shiny, sturdy table. It’s not just a printer, it’s a fast, dependable, slick printer. Students in the Grade 9 English program at The YMCA Academy plastered a variety of nouns around the school with adjectives that made them come alive. Objects, rooms and even people donned strips of white paper with words describing appearance, functionality, density and emotion. If you need more colour in your world, try an adjective attack at home or your workplace!!!

Check out the rest of the pictures on our Facebook Page!

Sep. 16th, 2013 – Storyteller Jim Adams

YMCA Academy September 17, 2013November 30, 2015 Community, English and Humanities, Experiential Learning, Native Studies

The YMCA Academy kicked off another great school year with an incredible guest, storyteller Jim Adams. Jim shared interesting and moving stories from various First Nations, answered questions about political and historical issues and invited participants to choose rocks from a pile as a way to connect with a story. Jim’s warmth, humour and talent was appreciated by all present. Thanks, Jim, and please come back again soon!

Sep. 13th, 2013 – The Academy’s first Spirit Day!

YMCA Academy September 16, 2013August 14, 2015 Beyond the Classroom

This past Friday, YMCA Academy students transformed into construction workers, outdoor adventurers, cartoon characters, historical warriors, baseball superstars, cool crooners, and animals of every shape and size. Yes, on Friday we wore many hats — literally, I mean, since we were celebrating “Wear Fun(ny) Hats or Headgear Day,” our first Spirit Day of the school year.

The event was a big success: students turned up in all kinds of cranial adornments, and we had a student-run hat-making station in the reception area for anyone in need of some last-minute headgear. Best of all, it was a chance for our new students to engage further in our school community. And there’s more where that came from; the day before Hat Day (Hat Eve, if you will), we brainstormed during TAPS — our monthly small-group sessions that run as part of the Academy’s dedication to Mindfulness practices — and came up with a plethora of fantastic ideas for spirit days to come. Stay tuned!

— Todd Harrison