The Youth Job Connection program

Luka Ilic Beyond the Classroom, Community No Comments

The Youth Job Connection program is designed to help youth aged 15-18 in finding and keeping jobs. More specifically, it has a number of supports in place to help youth who experience multiple and/or complex barriers to employment.

Last week’s orientation was well received by students and parents/guardians alike. Nearly twenty students will be participating in the paid, four-week program, which will cover pre-employment training, job matching and paid job placements, mentorship services, and education and work transition supports. The workshop sessions will take place online through Zoom in combination with independent learning.

This wonderful opportunity has come at the right time and gives students a chance to develop essential workplace skills and plan and prepare towards obtaining a job in the future. Although there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the job market with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there is no question about the usefulness of this program. Students will be supported all the way through to next summer and will gain a better idea of the different career paths available to them, the importance of transferable skills, knowing how and where to search for jobs, and understanding various roles and responsibilities. if you wish to change your career path, nearshore jobs need to be contacted.

We are thrilled to be collaborating with ACCES Employment and giving some of our students the opportunity to gain additional experience and extend their learning beyond the classroom. Thank you to all the families that have expressed interest and I look forward to seeing the students in action shortly.

Minecraft – Building Virtual Worlds

Andras Nagy Beyond the Classroom, Community, Experiential Learning No Comments

On Wednesday April 29th, 15 curious explorers embarked on a grand adventure to explore a new world. One by one each player opened their digital eyes to a small river winding its way through lush green hills, surrounded by a dense forest cuddled at the bottom of a mountainside. After some brief exploration of their new environment, the first foundation block of a new village house was built and placed in the ground, and with that The YMCA Academy Minecraft world was born.

During the first session, we spoke about the challenges players may face interacting in a virtual world. Students were asked to create a list of community guidelines, rules and outcomes for specific scenarios and behaviours that may happen in a living, breathing virtual environment where many complex issues can arise. How do we resolve conflicts using Rust servers? What happens if there is a land dispute? Who gets to claim resources to the south of the village? The discussion was very thorough and students came up with a list of how they would like to govern this new virtual frontier.

After we had reached a consensus on how we will interact as a community the first bold steps were made to establish our new village. We had agreed to carve out a specific piece of land, which was designated the communal village, and inside these borders no player could claim ownership of property, or build without approval from the rest of the community. Within the span of a few hours, several small huts were constructed just outside of the village, to act as personal homes, and a base where students can build, craft, and launch expeditions from. As the day went on, groups of explorers left the communal village and explored the depths of the forest finding new resources, treasures, and even another village inhabited by NPCs (non-player characters).

The first session of the Academy’s Minecraft club surpassed my expectations in almost every way, and I eagerly await the adventures to come this coming Wednesday as we continue to explore and socialize in this new virtual world.

Cooking in Quarantine

Katie Clay Beyond the Classroom, Community, Experiential Learning 1 Comment

Over the last couple of months, the pandemic has given everyone an opportunity to take a closer look at their eating and shopping habits. More people started to look for great recipe ideas and cook to avoid eating outside.  It has also forced many of us to cook more and encouraged some of us to get creative with the foods we have on hand. With all this in mind, the Academy’s Cooking Club has started doing online sessions, where students can come together and make easy, versatile recipes at home.

Normally students show up to Cooking Club with the ingredients laid out in front of them, and then sign up for a job. Everyone does their task and then we put it all together to make a meal. Now, with students making food in their homes, they are responsible for all parts of the meal, including sourcing the ingredients, preparing the food, and cleaning the kitchen. This is even better practice for developing independence and preparing for living on your own.

This week for our first official session we had 16 students, along with several parents and siblings, come together to make pizzas. Students and their families were given guidelines on what they would need, but one of the great things about pizza is that it can be made in many ways with many different ingredients. Some students made homemade dough in advance, others had pre-made crusts and many used naan or pita bread as the base. Each student shared what toppings they were putting on their pizza and we got to see everyone assemble their creations through our video call. We waited patiently for our pizzas to cook and then got to enjoy them together while catching up with what everyone has been doing at home. It was a great success and we are looking forward to next week when we put together some Tex-Mex creations!

Welcome to Southgard!

Brandon Stewart Beyond the Classroom, Community No Comments

Welcome to Southgard, a land of fantasy adventure, swords and sorcery, and political intrigue. Our brave group of adventurers hunt for ancient treasures that unlock incredible powers from an extremely advanced ancient civilization. These lost technologies and magic are the key to power and wealth in the world of Southgard.

Even through online course delivery, and physical distancing, Academy students are still getting together to engage in shared creative story writing, and role-play gaming. In the Academy’s Play-by-Post Role Play Club, students take control of the story of a character they have created, and write their share of an adventure that unfolds before their very eyes.

Each week the players face new challenges as the Game Master introduces new narratives to which students write their character’s reactions. Through back and forth posting, students develop compelling characters, build engaging interactions, and make exciting choices. The Play-by-Post Role Play Club combines the literary outlet of Creative Writing, and the excitement of Role Play Gaming.

Take a look into the world of Southgard!:

GM Post:
“This is it. Here we enter the Bulgar Swamp. Don’t stray off the path that I walk on. There are false trails, pitfalls, and hidden bogs just underfoot everywhere.” Hilda, the dwarf woods-guide picked her way carefully under the arch of the twisted trees, occasionally prodding the ground with the butt of her spear.

The sounds of the party seemed to be muffled or swallowed by the damp air, and though there were the croaks of frogs, and the sound of small splashes nearby, the travelers could tell that sounds from further than a few yards simply weren’t reaching them. At that moment, the spongy peat moss under Nax’s feet gave way. He slipped up to his neck into cold waters. He could feel the roots of weeds and trees just under the false ground that had dropped him, and when he reached his hands up, he couldn’t push them up through the moss. The harder he pushed, the further down his head was forced, until he disappeared below the thick mat of vegetation. Trapped below the surface.

“Quick now! You’ll have to work together, and fast to get him free. Don’t lose the spot where he went under!”

Player Post – Nax the Dragonborm:
Nax clearly gasped as he fell under, keeping his eyes and mouth closed he focused. He may be what most would consider a scumbag, but he wasn’t an idiot. He wouldn’t die here, that was sure. He pointed his finger up, and starting firing his invisible missile spell off, trying to at least send them a signal as to where he was. Hoping they manage to save him…

GM Post:
In the moment Nax slipped below the surface of the Peat Moss floor of the path, Hilda leapt to where he had fallen. Just as she leaned over the spot he had gone under a burst of water, moss, and plant matter shot up into her face. A blast of pain cracked through her head.

Completely unconscious, Hilda tipped backwards, falling to her back like a stiff log.

A small round opening in the false ground, about the size of a coin, showed a pool of murky water.

~**Nax is still trapped underwater below the layer of peat moss, and now Hilda is unconscious**~

Player Post – Muffy the Human:
muffy, runs over to Hilda and grabs her spear. “Bonnie you come help me pull up nax, the rest of you tend to Hilda!” muffy barked. he carefully moved to around the area that nax fell in testing the ground with the spear like Hilda did. once sure it safe muffy yelled at the hole nax fell in “im putting down the back of the spear for you to grab onto no more magic okay! Bonnie once he grabs on help me pull him out!”

Doodles & Giggles

Zareh Demirdji Beyond the Classroom, Community No Comments

 

In our inaugural meeting last Wednesday, the Boardgame Club had 10 students drop in for an hour of doodles and a lot of laughs as we played a game called Drawful 2. The game involves a group of people each of whom are given a different prompt to draw. After everyone draws their prompt, the group takes turns guessing each players’ prompt and points are awarded for the correct guess as well as answers the group considers to be correct or worthy of a vote. We had a lot of laughs and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the hour. We can’t wait until next week’s game.