Neighbourhood Prototype Project

YMCA Academy Beyond the Classroom, English and Humanities, Experiential Learning, Science and Math No Comments

Alex’s Exploring Technology has been learning about the design process and how it can be applied to urban planning. We began with research and brainstorming to explore what makes a neighbourhood a good place to live. Students generated lists of “look-fors,” and we furthered our research by heading out on a walk.

During the walk students worked in survey teams to notice aspects of the neighbourhood that make it a good place to live, and aspects that need improvement. Teams took photos as evidence, and marked important findings on a map. Back at school, they worked to record their findings on google earth.

One new insight gained during the walk was the importance of art and cultural spaces (murals, theatres etc.) in a neighbourhood.

Based on their explorations, students worked on designing their own prototype neighbourhoods. Some students used Minecraft to create neighbourhood layouts. Others worked on creating a physical model of an ideal neighbourhood.

Pronoun Buttons

Ada Miller Community No Comments

Pronoun buttons. What are they? They are small pins with a person’s pronouns on them. Why is this important? We can make harmful assumptions about individuals and by normalizing the concept of asking for, rather than assuming, a person’s pronouns we can make the world a more inclusive place. Most people choose to use a pronoun for themselves, though some people would actually prefer not to be referred to with a pronoun and instead have their name used in that place. The world is becoming a place where people are more willing to be their “true authentic self” and we here at the YMCA Academy welcome this inclusion and self expression.

The LGBTQ2SIA+ Alliance club has started an initiative to make pronoun buttons available to all who desire them. Pictured are just a few of the collection of buttons that were made, in house, on our very own button press. For those that don’t know about the LGBTQ2SIA+ Alliance it is a space where people from all walks of life come together to discuss things such as pop culture, current affairs, and other issues ranging from the topical to the seemingly trivial, usually through a lens of LGBTQ2SIA+ experiences and perspective. Allies are, of course, always welcome in this space.

For more information on why pronouns matter, and why pronoun buttons are important see the following link.

Circuit Project

Arnold Chan Experiential Learning, Science and Math No Comments

In Computer Technology, we cover a broad range of topics that are related to computers. This month we will be looking at a basic and crucial part of computers, electricity and circuits.

Students are first taught the basics of electricity as well as the safety of handling electrical equipment. Then, we start a series of circuit projects, where students get the hands-on experience to build and draw different circuits for better understanding.

Celebrating Forty Years of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Katie Freeland English and Humanities No Comments

We love sharing our learning with the larger school community. And just in time to mark an important anniversary in our country, the Grade 11 Law class has created a website to do just that. Our class spent several weeks learning about rights and freedoms in Canada, including the importance of balancing these with changing needs of society and the collective good.

During this time, we also engaged in cross-curricular art activities with the Grade 9 Visual Arts class, in which students from both classes created artwork to express “What freedom and equality under the Charter look like to me…” Some of this art is also included on the site!

The following was written by Grade 11 students Max C and Nathan M, on behalf of the Understanding Canadian Law class:

In 1982, Pierre Elliott Trudeau had a bold vision. He not only wanted to patriate Canada’s Constitution from the United Kingdom, he also wanted a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms included in our Constitution. A charter that would guarantee and enshrine our rights and freedoms for all time into the most important document and the supreme law of our country, the Constitution of Canada. But this wasn’t only one leader’s vision, it was the culmination of decades of work by so many people that wanted to have our rights and freedoms enshrined in Canada’s Constitution.

April 17th, 2022 marked the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Charter, and it’s been a wild 40 years since this document was brought into the lives of Canadians. While it might have its issues and is often misunderstood by those who want to complain about minor issues, it is still something to live by. It’s a huge part of our lives and important to the nation — and something that should be studied and remembered. To this end, our law class has made a website about the Charter. It goes over a few of the major sections and gives each section its own time to shine. Our site goes into each of these rights and how important each one is. As well, it explains some major cases that shaped these rights, with each page made by a different student in our class. We’ve spent two weeks on this project, so it is our hope that you might find some meaning in these pages made by our class and their sweat and tears. This has been a passion project from everyone, so please enjoy our hard work! Gratias tibi!

Visit the website

Mental Health Promotion Workshops

Brandon Stewart Community, Events, Healthy Living No Comments

The YMCA Academy has been hosting placement students from the Ryerson, Centennial, and George Brown Collaborative Nursing Degree Program. The placement students set an independent goal to develop and run a series of Positive Mental Health Promotion Workshops. High School students rotated through four workshops:

  • Affirmations and Positive Self Talk
  • Stress Ball Making
  • Mindfulness and Rest
  • Stress Management

High School students developed skills, strategies, and tools for taking better care of themselves and their mental well being. Each student left with a stress ball, a set of positive self affirmations, and a range of strategies to help prepare them for better self care.

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