Integrated Arts at #TodayatApple Workshop.


The Integrated Arts class attended a workshop at the Apple Store, learning about the software ProCreate to create digital art. Students enjoyed drawing a self-portrait or another portraiture but thought that drawing digitally was not as challenging as traditional art.

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

Mini Movie Trailer

At the beginning of this course, Communications Technology(TGJ4O), the class had an option of making a sequel to the previous class’s mini movie. First they decided which roles would be necessary, such as director, script writer, cinematographer, actors. Then they started brainstorming the movie’s name, “Invasion of the W.a.f.f.l.e Clones: Let there be Brunch!”, making a rough storyline, script, and characters. Once the script writer finished the script, the class created the props with 3D printers, and planned out the locations for filming.

When the class started filming, they ran into problems like re-doing and re-scheduling scenes when necessary. During the editing stage, they edited all the scenes together, with music and sound effects. They also marketed the film by designing both physical and digital posters. The premiere for the film is scheduled for June 27th, 2022 at the YMCA graduation ceremony for this school year.

Please enjoy the Trailer for now!

Middle School: Haunted House

What is the Haunted House?
Our class created a haunted train that we called the Train to Corpses (TTC). When you went through all of the stations, you exited the train and were in a fashion show. Staff and students came through our haunted house and used a pretend Presto card as their ticket to come in. The train was a replica of a TTC subway car, except it had fake dead bodies! We set up the chairs in the room to look like the chairs in the subway car and even had marked accessible seating. We had posters and advertisements. We made our own subway map and displayed it above the doors. We made large subway doors. Zoe’s Media Arts class made soundscapes of ‘creepy subway’ sounds and we played that along with a video with the point of view of riding on the front of the subway. We had LED lights and Georgia flickered the lights when people came in. MJ, John and Dayna dressed up as TTC workers too!

The fashion show was in a long hallway. We set up a LED starlight and played upbeat fashion show music. We had homemade ghosts hanging from the ceiling, spider webs throughout and a bloody sign welcoming people to the fashion show. As people came through, Elliott met them and encouraged them to strut down the runway, passing Mark who was hiding in a box. Mark did a jump scare and slammed the door as people were leaving.

Process of making the haunted house
We spoke about what we wanted the theme of the haunted house to be. We discussed some of the roles and responsibilities to create it. We then each did a job and when we finished, we would help another person who needed support. Each of us had our own task:

  • Samuel: Painting, taped posters, Train to Corpses (TTC) sign and played a corpse during the haunted house
  • Elliott: Co-created and presented the fashion show section of the haunted house with Mark
  • Shea: During the haunted house I was in the subway train and did creepy jump scares
  • Georgia: I made the doors for the haunted house and worked with Matteo and helped to tape up everything on the day of the haunted house. I sort of helped out wherever I was needed. On the day of the haunted house I flickered the lights to create a creepy vibe.
  • Matteo: I painted the subway doors. During the haunted house I wore a mask and shook the chair to scare people.
  • Charlie P.: I painted the subway platform using egg cartons and yellow paint. My job for the haunted house was to tour groups through the subway car.
  • Nico: I created the ‘next station’ signs and helped other people with their jobs. I was the subway expert and shared specific details about the TTC so our subway looked real! During the haunted house I was a train conductor and yelled out the subway stops as groups were touring through.
  • Charlos: I created the posters, painted the subway doors, hung up the different sections of the fashion show and hung up the posters I created. During the haunted house I scared people as they were going through and covered Dayna in spider webs.
  • Mark: I helped to paint parts of the fashion show props. During the haunted house I did a jump scare and toured people through the fashion show section.
  • Julian: I helped MJ put up ghosts on the ceiling in the fashion show. I also made the Train to Corpses map with creepy stations. During the haunted house I ushered people to Charlie P.
  • Alex: I hung up accessible seating signs. I put spiders on the floor. During the haunted house I did my creepy double jointed arm thing as I was collecting students tickets.
  • Rhys: I painted one of the doors with Charlie C. and made a body sketch that we put on the ground of the haunted house. I helped MJ and Julian put up the ghosts. During the haunted house I acted on the TTC car and followed people out.

Favourite moment

I liked how we set it all up! It was a big haunted display with fake blood. I liked how we collaborated with each other and worked together to put on a haunted house for the whole school – Shea

I liked painting – Samuel

I liked making the haunted house and being able to talk to friends at the same time – Georgia

I liked to scare the teachers! I liked using Charlie P. to trace as a dead body – Rhys

Written by: Middle school students

Halloween: Designing a Haunted House!


Hello we are Sasha and Ryla, and we’re here to talk about the middle schools first ever collaborative project!

Since we are in the month of October we have decided to make and design a haunted house in honor of the upcoming holiday, Halloween. The first thing the middle school class did was brainstorm different themes for our haunted house. We then decided on the themes of this year’s YMCA Academy haunted House which are “World war 2 zombie apocalypse” and “zombie hospital apocalypse”. And for a bonus there will be a tax evasion room! Next, we brainstormed and discussed ideas for the layout of the haunted house. Finally, we began to build! We had some setbacks along the way but we kept on working hard and working together.

Everyone in the middle school class also made sure that the haunted house was safe and socially distanced due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the ongoing pandemic we are only allowing teachers, as well as staff and students in Grade 7/8 to go through the haunted house. Since the high school students won’t be able to go through the haunted house in person our handy dandy photographer and videographer, Lucas M, also known as McChicken, will be taking the high school students on a virtual tour of the haunted house.

Happy Halloween!

Socially Distanced “Front to Front” Drawing



Even though during this pandemic we have to be distanced from each other, communication and collaboration are still important skills to be practicing! Last week, the Grade 9 Learning Strategies class learned about interpersonal skills and collaboration. They discussed what interpersonal skills are, why they are important and how we can best practice them (in a safe way!). They also discussed what it takes to be strong communicators and active listeners.

To put these ideas into practice, we did a “front to front” drawing exercise. In non-COVID times, this activity would be done “back to back”…but 12 students in a room with masks on talking back to back would likely be a bit too tricky! Students were paired up and asked to identify as Person A: The Speaker or Person B: The Listener. Person A was given a picture and Person B was given a blank sheet of paper and a (sanitized) pencil.

The rules were that Person A had to describe the drawing to Person B using as many details as possible! Instead of just saying “draw a circle”, they were encouraged to dive deeper and say “draw a medium sized circle, about the size of the palm of your hand in the exact centre of the page”. The catch was that Person B could not talk at all! They had to really listen to their partner and focus on what they were saying in a room filled with other distractions.

Once pairs finished the first round, they then did another and switched roles. After, we had a discussion of what strategies worked and what didn’t. Some students liked being both Speaker and Listener while others were drawn to one over the other. Overall, the activity was a blast and comparing the drawings in the end created lots of laughs. Not to mention, some of them were really accurate! It was nice to see students enjoying themselves and connecting with fellow students, despite the strange times we are in!