Middle Schoolers Battle at Sea

John Cuthbert Experiential Learning, Science and Math No Comments

As part of the middle school’s new small group skill-based program, students made and played a game simulating a classic, where players battle at sea – no stacking your ships! Each student used Google Sheets to create their own digital game board, formatted cells to change colours when a ship is “hit”, then shared and played the game with a partner.

This was just one of the project-based learning activities in a week devoted to developing G Suite skills. Throughout the year, students will continue to rotate through this program every third week, each time developing different practical skills.

The Ups and Downs of Working for Pay

Zareh Demirdji Academics, Science and Math No Comments

The up sides of working for pay are fairly self evident. The most obvious up side is that you get to make money to pay for your basic needs. Of course, we all use the money we make to buy things that we want. I mean, as the saying goes, “you gotta live a little.” If you are extremely lucky, another upside to working for pay is doing something you love, and experiencing fulfillment and meaning while doing it. But there are, of course, several downsides to working for pay. It can stress you out from time to time (hopefully a seldom occurrence), you can get injured on the job, and it takes away from your time to partake in the slue of other various personal endeavours.

As they began their last class looking at the topic of employment, the aforementioned is what the grade twelve Personal Life Management class focused on. They first worked on a simulation activity that took them on a journey of being a new mechanic. Along the way they were presented with various work and life experiences and had to reflect on each one. They shared their reflections with one another as they discovered that working has both advantages and disadvantages. This led them into another self reflection on all the things they do for fun and relaxation. The class then discussed different ways to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

A Grand Ol’ Time

Zareh Demirdji Academics, Science and Math No Comments

You have $1000 left to your name. Can you make it last for thirty one days? That is what students attempted to do before they delved into learning about various money management skills in their second class on managing money. At the start of the class, students played an online simulation game called SPENT. The game starts off by giving students three choices of jobs and then proceeds to throw one life scenario after another at them with various choices for each. Each choice has an outcome, and the goal is to make the $1000 you have left in your bank account last until the end of the month. The simulation evokes many different emotions as you play, and gives you a sense of what it’s like trying to survive with little money.

After students completed the simulation, they reflected on their experience and what they learned from it. Afterwards, they delved into various money management techniques, learned about the importance of having savings, and the advantages and disadvantages of buying things on credit. Think you have what it takes to make $1000 stretch for an entire month? Try your luck by visiting http://playspent.org/ to give it a shot. Good luck!

Personal Life Management In a Nutshell

Zareh Demirdji English and Humanities, Science and Math No Comments



They say that students these days should learn about personal finance and the basic skills of independent living. Well. Guess what. There are a smattering of courses in the high school curriculum, and one such course is a grade twelve course called Personal Life Management. The course is broken down into several units as follows:

    • Research and Inquiry Skills
    • Self and Others
    • Daily Living Skills
    • Personal and Social Responsibilities
    • Economics and Personal Finance

With the faster pace of our new octomester schedule, the course has been reorganized into new units, taking the running themes found throughout the aforementioned ones. The newly formatted units are:

    • Becoming an Adult
    • Employment
    • Money Management
    • Managing a Home
    • Research and Inquiry Skills

This new format allows us to focus on these major themes one at a time instead of learning about them in segments spread throughout different units. Throughout the course, students will learn about:

Becoming an Adult

  • The roles and responsibilities of adolescents vs. adulthood
  • Communication skills
  • Goal Setting
  • Decision Making Models
  • Conflict and Conflict Resolution

Employment

  • How to get a job and excel at it
  • Workplace Rights, Responsibilities and Laws
  • The Costs and Benefits of Working

Money Management

  • Spending Habits and Dealing with Economic Changes
  • Money Management Strategies
  • Financial Institutions and their Products and Services

Managing a Home

  • Keeping and Managing a Safe and Functional Home
  • Meeting Food and Clothing Needs
  • How to be a Smart Consumer

Research and Inquiry Skills

  • Exploring Topics
  • Investigating Topics
  • Processing Information
  • Communicating Information

The course is not only practical and of major importance, but a course that students really enjoy. By the end of this course not only will students have the knowledge and understanding of how to live on their own, but they will also (hopefully) appreciate the level of effort and responsibility their parents/guardians put into providing for them!

Urban Planning – Designing your Own City

Colleen Whelan Beyond the Classroom, Science and Math No Comments

After learning about the six major categories of land use in urban areas (Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Institutional, Recreational and Transportation), Grade 9 Geography students had the opportunity to design their own cities.

Students created their cities based on the standard percentage of land use in a typical North American city. For example only 7% of the city could be recreational, 32% had to be used for transportation, etc. Students were challenged to think about what types of land use should be located close to each other or further away from each other. They also had to consider questions such as: How would people move around the city? What types of industries would sustain the city? What types of residential buildings would work in the city?

As a final step in the project, students presented their designs to the class and received peer feedback about strengths and suggested improvements.