Community

On Friday, February 16th, Chloe Scott, Behaviour Consultant for the Geneva Centre for Autism spent the morning with the staff facilitating a PD session on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). ABA is a scientific approach to understanding behavior. Through research, the field of ABA has developed many techniques for increasing useful behaviors and reducing those that may cause harm or interfere with learning.

The workshop focused on:

• Why behaviors happen
• How to make a plan to reduce unwanted behaviors
• How to teach replacement behaviours
• How to change the consequences
• How to evaluate the behaviour change

The staff at The Academy would like to thank Chloe for sharing her expertise with us.

Some Professional Development resources from the Geneva Centre for Autism:

1. Free Online Series – Introduction to Autism
2. Group and Transition Services – Registration

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On Friday February the 9th the YMCA Academy embarked on its yearly walk to Nathan Phillips Square in order to partake in our annual skating trip. With skates and helmets secure, the students hit the ice. Skaters of all experience levels enjoyed gliding on the ice. We were lucky enough to have light snowfall, making for a true winter outdoors event! As always, after a fair amount of skating was done, both staff and students enjoyed their traditional consumption of hot chocolate and Timbits from Tim Hortons.

This yearly experience, now in its seventh year, affords staff and students to enjoy an afternoon of fun for both skaters and non-skaters. We can’t wait to see what next year’s trip will be like.

Check out more photos from this event on our Facebook page!

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The last week before the winter break brings a medley of activity, with some students scrambling to finish work, others painfully distracted by the very thought of the upcoming holiday. And while some students are more than eager for the extra rest and relaxation that comes with a two-week vacation from school, others might be apprehensive about not seeing their classmates or being at school for more than two weeks. Nonetheless, an Academy tradition brings everyone together on the last day of school in December: the annual talent show.

This year, about 10 “acts” had signed up to perform for their peers and teachers, with a few more joining in once we had opened up the floor to anyone interested. This last aspect of our talent show is in keeping with the spirit of inclusiveness that is so important to the school; there are always students who may not feel comfortable signing up in advance, or may not want the weight of the commitment leading up to the event. And there are always those who feel inspired at the last minute, emboldened by seeing their peers take to the makeshift stage.

One more aspect of the show is that students are asked to sign up in small groups or pairs, in the hopes of eliciting broader participation and encouraging collaboration. Some of the highlights of that afternoon included original songs, a Christmas tune or two, a steel pan performance, a Harry Potter recitation from memory, dance performances, and more than one comedy act. We were also lucky to have some incredible student MC’s, who even dressed up for the occasion!

We hope that next year, even more students will participate, and show the school community their unique talents and interests.

Check out more photos from this event on our Facebook page!

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This past December the Cooking Club ran its first Bake Sale and it was a great success! Students in the club, which is an after-school program aimed at learning valuable cooking skills and healthy eating, helped to plan and run this event. They prepared dry soup mixes for the sale (which were a big hit!) and made lots of goodies, including many batches of their special protein balls. The wider Academy community very generously donated everything from cookies, cupcakes and squares to homemade dog biscuits and holiday gifts. The fully stocked tables were set up outside the gym entrance and Academy students, YMCA staff and many hungry gym members came by to support our cause.

Students from Cooking Club signed up for shifts to help sell our products and explain our club and school philosophy of experiential learning. They were responsible for proper food handling and making change for customers.

We had set a goal of raising $1000, an amount which would cover the costs of running the Cooking Club for one whole school year. When all the money in our cash register had been counted we had almost $1200!! So, a big thank you to all those who supported this event! Stay tuned to the Academy’s Instagram account to see the healthy and delicious recipes that Cooking Club is able to continue to make.