Esther Osche, master storyteller from the Ojibwe First NationYMCA Academy students in a group photo with Esther Osche
Students and staff were treated to a special event to herald in the new season. Esther Osche, master storyteller from the Ojibwe First Nation, visited the Academy and shared stories that were told to her by her grandparents such as Bear and Crow, How the Seasons Came to Be and the Creator’s Gift. She also shared her knowledge about the tradition of oral storytelling and the talking stick. We’d like to acknowledge the Mariposa in the Schools program for making this event possible.
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The grade 10 English class is hard at work on their personal documentaries, taking the roles of cinematographers, directors and editors. Today’s shoot involved the class members, a world record, and many delicious junior mints. The red carpet premiere is slated for next week- stay tuned!
On Friday, students form the Environment class went to check out the Green Living Show at the Direct Energy Centre. It included booths about green energy, home products, green businesses, home and garden, food and health.
Academy students at the Green Living Show, Friday April 15th.
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On Thursday, March 24th, the Grade 10 Civics students visited the Ontario Legislature to participate in a series of engaging activities relating to what they’ve been learning in class. Students took a tour of the Legislative building, participated in mock passing of a new bill and visited the Chamber to observe parliament in session.
Grade 10 Civics class visits the Ontario LegislatureGroup photo of the Academy's Grade 10 Civics class inside the Legislative building.
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In order to explore the effects of technology on communication, the grade 11 Introduction to Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology class held a ‘virtual class’ today using webcams and Skype. The students presented their findings of their technological deprivation experiments, during which each student gave up a favourite piece of technology for three days to study the effects on their personal lives.
While there were a few bumps getting everyone up and running, students Ben, Raquel, Max and Jessie seemed happy with the overall results of having a discussion online.
Raquel said, “We now know that we are able to have a discussion over the internet, so if anyone is sick they can use this technology to get their work done.”
In regards to the possible downsides of having a virtual classroom, Ben said, “I felt weird during the discussion. This was because I felt like I was not really talking to people but more talking at people. For me it was hard to understand the others, this was mostly due to the fact that the internet was not very stable or fast. When I talked I did not know if I was being listened to, I could not make eye contact with people or see them respond to what I was saying.”
While the focus today was on group discussion, possible applications for the future include learning activities and presentations, and perhaps ‘Skyping’ in a guest speaker who otherwise wouldn’t be able to visit the school. Any volunteers?
YMCA Academy student participating in a Skype discussion.
