Culture Club: The online global village

YMCA Academy Beyond the Classroom, Community, Events No Comments

 

Culture Club has successfully achieved three Google Hangouts! This partnership between YMCA Academy students and Braemar College international high school students began before March Break, and we are thrilled to see it continue throughout our online learning platform! Each week, 15-18 students have fun conversations about different countries, food, and music through cultural exchange!

The world is a global village that is home to over 7.7 billion people! This opportunity allows for us to connect with others. However, not all humans take advantage of this worldwide friendship pool and are generally afraid of other cultures due to lack of exposure. Fortunately, we can debunk stereotypes about different people by listening and learning from them!

A YMCA 10th grader said, “I love Culture Club! It has let me meet high school students from all over the world – like Kenya and Russia! I like the same music as some of the girls!” One Braemar student, grade 11, commented, “This club is really great practice for my English with native speakers. I feel more confident talking to the nice teens. It also makes me feel less bored during quarantine because I am in a homestay in Toronto away from my family.”

Culture Club puts an emphasis on exchanging ones’ values and stories in a polite manner without judgment. Exchange implies equality, where groups do not have to sacrifice their individuality and instead can practice being more accepting to the beauty found in diversity. Students’ insight about their home countries also allows them to become positive ambassadors that spread a proud image of their homeland through their personality.

Culture Club is also important for students discussing their OWN culture! They can test their limits about what they already know and discover new questions about what they would like to talk to their parents or guardians about. Having students reflect on their upbringing and life chapters allows them to summarize important lessons they’ve learned. In all, it is our great pleasure that we align forces and share the importance of cultural exchange with our students, so they can take on new perspectives in their thinking and become more well-rounded individuals.

Kahoot Trivia Challenges

Zareh Demirdji Beyond the Classroom, Community No Comments

 

The second meeting of the Boardgame Club has staff and students going head to head in trivia games of various topics using the online platform website Kahoot! Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform, used as educational technology in schools and other educational institutions. From news of the week, Marvel, and general knowledge to pop culture, we tried answering questions correctly to see who would reign as trivia grandmaster. At the end of the hour everyone learned something new as no one can know everything. It was another week of laughs and fun and we are eager to see what we will play next.

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!