Viking Shield Games

Brandon Stewart English and Humanities, Experiential Learning No Comments

The Grade 12 Adventures in World History class engaged in some hands-on-experiential learning in the park near YMCA Academy. Students have been learning about the adventures of Norwegian, and Danish societies of the Viking Age roughly one thousand years ago. Students researched the lives of everyday Norwegians during the 10th Century, learning that their daily experiences were focused largely on farming, trading, and textile production. Students examined primary evidence to learn that Norse technological developments in ironworking, carpentry, and shipbuilding at the gradual warming of the climate made exploration of the North and Baltic Seas possible.

Students read selections from Egil’s Saga to gain some insight into how later Norwegians perceived their own heroic figures of the Viking Age. They learned about shield heraldry, and Norse symbology in order to design their own Viking Round Shields. Then it was time to test drive the strategies of Vikings on a raid. Students hoisted round shields to test the viability of individual combat as compared to formation tactics, and the benefits of speers over swords. Students employed their round shields, foam swords, and foam-tipped spears to play a variety of games including adaptations of tag, mock duels, and pushing matches that resembled a reverse tug of war. They quickly determined that coordinated formations and polearms provided much better chances of survival against warriors fighting as individuals.

The activities gave students a view into one aspect of the world of the Viking Age; raiding. But in class the students learned that the vicious stereotype of terrifying pillagers only highlights one aspect of Norse culture. Far more often the medieval people of Scandinavia were traders, poets, farmers, and craftspeople. The daily needs of Norse society placed much more focus on food production than on swinging axes at Saxon monks. The class still had a blast testing their combat skills during a day of Viking Shield Games.

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Integrated Arts at #TodayatApple Workshop.

YMCA Academy Arts, Experiential Learning, Technology


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.

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12 Principles of Animation

Arnold Chan Events, Experiential Learning, Technology No Comments

In the Communication Technology class Animation Unit, students recently undertook a project centered around the 12 Principles of Animation. The objective was to create animation that effectively showcased their understanding of these principles. The students demonstrated their creative skills and knowledge in basic 2D Animation. The project was an opportunity for students to put what they had learned into practice and explore the captivating realm of animation. All animations are then put into one collage which can be watched here in our school’s official YouTube page!

Student Vote

Arnold Chan English and Humanities, Experiential Learning No Comments

The two Civics classes in the Academy have joined together to work with Student Vote Canada to bring a realistic voting experience to the school.

Before the voting day, students first create informative videos about the municipal election, then create posters for candidates to investigate their stories and platforms. On the voting day, students take on different roles such as deputy returning officer, poll clerk and scrutineers to help guide other students through the voting process.
It has been an authentic and engaging learning experience for all of us!

Scientific Observations in the Park

Brandon Stewart Beyond the Classroom, Experiential Learning, Science and Math No Comments

Early in the school year, the grade 10 science classes learned about quantitative and qualitative observations in the field. The groups headed out on a single-period walking excursion to Queen’s Park where they could conduct some observations in a dynamic environment. Students began by engaging their senses; feeling textures, smelling scents, observing colours, and listening to the sounds around them. Learning how terms like “lots,” “green,” “good,” and “cold,” represented judgements that could be considered qualitative was useful. Students also developed knowledge around how countable measurements of distance, weight, amount, temperature, volume, and area using standard units would be considered quantitative.

Students toured in small groups around the park, making both qualitative and quantitative observations. They were instructed to return to the whole group with three qualitative questions, and three quantitative questions that could be posed about features of the park. A group discussion was held about how that data could be gathered and verified.