Meet the Academy’s Student Advisory Council

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YMCA Academy Student Advisory Council 2015-2016Today, during our monthly Taking a Pause (TAPs) assembly, the students of The YMCA Academy elected seven representatives to serve on the school’s Student Advisory Council.

Congratulations to Ronnie, Benny, Josh, Archie, Heather, Dakota, and Mahadir; these students will represent their peers and help organize and deliver extracurricular activities like spirit days, special events, and clubs.

Each student representative was elected from one of our seven Advisor Groups — small student communities within the school that meet regularly with a teacher facilitator to discuss life skills, personal management strategies, and the day-to-day goings-on here at the Academy. The Student Advisory Council is both a leadership opportunity and a great chance for these seven representatives to demonstrate their commitment to the YMCA core values as they work hard to help create more fun and engaging activities at the school.

Youth Exchange Canada Toronto

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The Youth Exchange Canada program is a Government of Canada initiative that helps Canadian youth connect with one another, experience the diversity of Canada’s communities, languages and cultures, and get involved in the future of the country. Groups from across the country are paired according to the age and interest of their members. After several weeks of planning, research, fundraising and anticipation, matched participants exchange with their partner from another part of Canada.

We would like to extend our appreciation and gratefulness to everyone who helped make this experience the amazing adventure it turned out to be while we where on our trip, and the amazing experience it’s going to be when it’s our turn to host. From the Youth Exchange Canada program to our staff, students, families and the YMCA community at large who helped out with our silent auction fundraiser, everyone played an important role in making this experience the success that it was.

Visit the YMCA Youth Exchanges Canada Program Website


Day one of the Youth Exchanges Canada Program! We met our exchange group in the early afternoon who travelled from Winnipeg, Manitoba to join us for a week here in Toronto. After some introductory games and a short walk around Toronto we head over to a student hosted dinner to enjoy some great food.


On day 2 of the Youth Exchanges Canada students at the YMCA Academy planned a TTC scavenger hunt for our twins, who spent an hour exploring and learning the public transit system in Toronto. Congratulations to group three for finding the most landmarks! After having lunch down at the waterfront, we visited Ripley’s Aquarium for some deep-sea adventures and proceeded back to the school for dinner after a long day!


On day 3 of the Youth Exchanges Canada students from the YMCA Academy and our twins from Winnipeg participated in a Tour Guys Walking Tour, where we explored Downtown Toronto, the Financial District, and the Eaton’s Centre – Learning many interesting facts along the way! After touring around for a few hours we headed back to the YMCA Academy for lunch and to participate in gymnasium activities planned by the Recreational Fitness and Leadership class. We finished off the day by having dinner and then a well-deserved sleep after a day packed with physical activity.


On Day 4 of the Youth Exchanges Canada, students from the YMCA Academy and our twins from Winnipeg participated in a special workshop hosted by the Professional Engineers of Ontario. Students were tasked with creating the “fastest” handmade car carved from balsam wood; a large track with sensors was used to measure the speed of each model car. Afterwards, we settled in for a late lunch while screening a Hot Docs documentary in our common area. After the documentary, students had a chance to relax and prepare for the Blue Jays game later that evening! We finished the night off with a great evening as the Jay’s beat the New York Yankees.


Day 5 of the Youth Exchanges Canada saw our entire school, along with our twin group visit High Park in order to fulfill our environmental stewardship commitment. Students spent the afternoon under a sun-filled blue sky cleaning up sections of High Park. During the lunch break, students enjoyed throwing footballs and Frisbees around to pass the time, and then continued with the clean-up. The last part of our stay at High Park had us walking through the park’s little zoo, enjoying both the animals and the Cherry Blossoms. The evening portion of the day was spent at a host family’s house where the Youth Exchange group ate a delicious dinner prepared by the host, and had a chance to mingle afterwards.


Day 6 of the Youth Exchanges Canada students from the YMCA Academy and our twin group from Winnipeg visited the CN tower. We spent the morning viewing the Toronto skyline and testing our boldness on the glass floor. In the afternoon we proceeded on a student-led tour through the University of Toronto and Kensington market. Students from Todd’s Civics class spoke about several issues including gentrification, walkability, and street art.

Check out the rest of the photos from our trip on our Facebook page! Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five | Day Six

Celebrating Black History Month

YMCA Academy Arts, Beyond the Classroom, Community, Experiential Learning, YMCA of Greater Toronto No Comments

Happy Black History Month from the YMCA Academy! We’ve been busy celebrating, learning and participating in many exciting events the last couple of weeks. The senior art class took a trip to the AGO to see the artworks of the infamous New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. “Now’s the Time” is the first retrospective of Basquiat to ever hit a Canadian gallery!

Several Academy students also participated in the YMCA of Greater Toronto’s first ever Black History Month Youth Committee event. Keynote speakers, education workshops and a tasty Caribbean lunch brought together many youth from organizations around the GTA. A huge thanks and congratulations to the following students for their performances and assistance: Tristan A, Alex, Emily, Mahadir, Evan, Quinn and Lindsey.

Lastly, UMOJA, a group of multi-talented dancers, writers and educators, came all the way from Montreal to perform and share the history and meaning of a dance called “stepping.” They had a Black History Month quiz, moving and inspirational spoken word performances, and even invited us all to move our chairs out of the way and try a few moves. To echo Steev from UMOJA, WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL.

 

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

White Ribbon Voices Session

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The YMCA Academy welcomed Jeff Perera, Community Engagement Manager for the White Ribbon Campaign, for our first VOICES event of the new year.  The White Ribbon Campaign is the world’s largest effort to engage men in ending violence against women, and Jeff had some very interesting food for thought about how men of all ages can help redefine masculinity in a healthier way.  We are very excited at the prospect of continuing our work with Jeff through the “Make the Call” program in connection with the Toronto Argonauts.  Make The Call empowers and inspire students to engage their peers and communities in becoming aware of and ending all forms of violence against women and girls.  Thanks Jeff, and we’ll see you soon!

white_ribbon_event

YMCA Academy Talent Show 2014

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There’s no way to celebrate the holidays than a good old fashion talent show!  YMCA Academy students performed some incredible acts this afternoon on our fourth floor stage including singing, magic tricks, instrumental music, drama skits and films for our 6th annual Holiday Talent Show and Celebration.  Special thanks goes out to our techie superstar Riio, our consummate emcees Tristan A. and Mahadir, Zee’s Health Care class for making special goodies for the pot-luck, Greg at Central Y for supplying an awesome sound system and all our families who contributed generous snacks for the party.  We wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and a happy and healthy 2015!  See you in the New Year!!

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