Feast of Thanks Celebration

Katie Freeland Community, English and Humanities, Native Studies No Comments

Especially in a year when many people are celebrating the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation, a holiday like Thanksgiving can pose challenges to communities concerned with honouring Indigenous perspectives and with the process of reconciliation. Students of The YMCA Academy worked to meet such challenges in preparing for our Feast of Thanks.

Students from Katie’s Aboriginal Voices English class presented to the whole school their research and ideas on the Indigenous past and present of the Toronto area, as well as inquiring into the question of how to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday in a way that is inclusive and respectful of Indigenous experiences and perspectives. Several students even read an original short story they had written collaboratively to further address these issues. With the potluck feast set up in the cafeteria, we were treated to foods ranging from savoury turkey and roasted vegetables to homemade donuts and pumpkin pie! Our thanks to the dozens of families that contributed.

As teachers committed to inclusiveness and other social justice principles, we cherish events like this as opportunities for diverse voices to be heard, and for our community to gather together in learning from and sharing with one another. And while students were most vocal in expressing their love of apple pie, they also expressed plenty of thanks for such opportunities, and a desire to learn more.

The Academy community is also thankful for the contributions of students from Brandon’s Drama class, who applied their developing knowledge of set design and props to set up the space for everyone, and to the Literacy class, who had created posters to advertise the event and then helped clean up afterwards.

Of course gratitude should never be confined to just one weekend, but we hope to see this particular tradition of learning, sharing, and thanks continue for years to come.

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

Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup

Zoe Rutherford Beyond the Classroom, Community, Environmental Stewardship No Comments

The Shoreline Clean Up is an initiative that started in 2002 to help clean up garbage around Canada. The Shoreline Clean Up is now the largest and most popular environmental initiative in Canada. The students at the YMCA Academy participate in this initiative every year by cleaning up a site in downtown Toronto.

On October 6th, the students of the YMCA Academy participated in the Shoreline Clean Up at the Don River near Riverdale Park. The students left the school around 12:10pm and took the subway to Broadview station. Then we walked to the park where we ate lunch. We really liked eating lunch in the park as a school because we don’t get to do that very often. It was a really nice day and it was fun being outdoors together. After we ate lunch, we firebolted to the playground and climbed up many tall scary structures. From the top it was terrifying but lots of fun. Once we finished playing, we got into our advisory groups and listened to Rein about the rules of the clean up. He told us where we were all going because each group went to a different location along the river. Zoe loudly reminded us NOT to pick up any needles. Then we walked to our locations and got down to cleaning!

Two students from each group had to keep track of what garbage and recycling we were collecting. They had to do this because we had to send the data to the Shoreline Clean Up organization. These students were from Katie C’s Grade 11 math class. The rest of the students helped to pick up every single piece of garbage that we found. Zee and Andras were taking photos of us cleaning. Some of the weirdest garbage we found were tires, a fisherman’s jacket, a dead salmon, a broken umbrella handle and a pair of rollerblades. In the end, we had a fair amount of garbage and recycling. The garbage bags kept ripping so for next year, we should double bag the garbage or get much stronger bags.

Overall, the day was a success! It was really great to come together as a school and play a part in cleaning up our city.

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

Written by: YMCA Academy Students

Extracurricular Clubs Schedule

YMCA Academy Beyond the Classroom, Community, Experiential Learning No Comments

The YMCA Academy hosts a multitude of extracurricular after school and lunch time clubs throughout the week. This year we have added several new clubs to the roster as well as clubs that have taken place in previous years. Here are some of the highlights!

Cooking Club meets once a week on Wednesdays after school to create delicious and healthy snacks/meals. Each week students work together to follow a recipe and practice their culinary skills. It is an opportunity for students to spend time with their friends outside of class and enjoy tasting the food they helped to make. Students learn about the benefits of making healthy choices and are encouraged to step outside their comfort zone to try new foods. Sometimes the recipes are themed for holidays or the time of year and cooking club has also made special snacks for school events such as cookies for study hall and treats for a school dance. Last year the club put together a cookbook with students’ favourite recipes from the club and those contributed by all Academy families. The cookbooks were sold to raise money for the school and will be available this year as well!

Dungeons and Dragons Club is underway at the Academy. Students work together to navigate a magical world created through shared storytelling and teamwork. Students engage in solving puzzles, unraveling devious plots, exploring mysterious locations, and challenging corruption, while pretending to be heroic characters within a story of fantasy and magic. Playing Dungeons and Dragons exercises the mind, beyond simply imagining a fantastic world: players take part in numeracy, literacy, problem solving, divergent thinking, memorization, social interaction, team building, conflict resolution, planning, systems thinking, critical analysis, effective communication, and spatial reasoning skills. Much more than the pop-culture image of nerds in a basement; the benefits of the game can nearly match the excitement of playing it.

The YMCA Academy’s newest club (N.E.R.D. – Neophytes Engaging in Random Discussions) is a club born out of what a group of students already do throughout most lunches, discuss “nerdy” topics that are interesting to them. Each week (either on Tuesday or Friday) the N.E.R.D. club will pit Marvel vs. DC comics, superhero vs. superhero, discuss how to survive a zombie apocalypse, or look into various science theories.

The Video Game Club, Gamers’ Guild, is an opportunity for students to get together after school, socialize, and have fun playing video games. All games are multiplayer and students often have a choice between playing cooperatively or competitively. It is a great way to meet new students, make new friends, and engage in fun, friendly competition. The video game club relies on students bringing their own consoles and games which is not always easy. I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of the students who have contributed and kept the club running through their generosity. As the new school year unravels, we will look at expanding the club beyond just video games. Currently, there is a plan in the works to include board games such as Codenames, The Resistance, and Exploding Kittens in hopes of attracting a wider audience.

The Basketball Club takes place on Fridays at lunch. All students and teachers, regardless of skill level, are welcome and encouraged to participate. It is a nice way to get in some exercise, hang out with friends or make new ones, and have fun doing it. Usually we start off with a basic shoot-around and then move on to quick pick-up games or play the popular basketball game called “Bump.” We have access to a great gymnasium and I feel it is important that both students and teachers take advantage of it. Additionally, it gives students the opportunity to interact with their teachers outside of the typical classroom environment which can often be refreshing.

Full Schedule:
DayLunchtimeAfter School
MondayHomework Club
TuesdayN.E.R.D Club
WednesdayDungeons & DragonsCooking Club & Gaming Club
ThursdayRunning ClubHomework Club
FridayN.E.R.D Club & Basketball Club

2017 Graduation & End of Year Ceremony

Don Adams Community, Head of School, Student Spotlight, Values Awards No Comments

Among the many amazing things about a YMCA Academy graduation, the one that stands out for me is the sense of shared celebration. We are members of a close and inclusive community of learners, who support one another socially and academically. Many of our students come to the school with little hope of success based on their experience within the education system; in their admissions interviews with me prior to enrolment, many of their parents and guardians express their sense of hopelessness for their children’s academic and life success.

So, the sense of celebration, of having achieved beyond their expectations, of heading off to new challenges well-equipped for success — this is what is behind the entirely positive vibe of the night! The fact that this was our largest graduating class to date only added to the energy of the evening.

Each member of The Academy is fully invested in the success of our students, and we all experience with them the sense of accomplishment and excitement for what comes next. That this is a shared experience is clear from every conversation I have that evening. It’s clear as well from what was shared on various social media.

Have a look here:

I am so proud of my youngest daughter Emma. In spite of all the challenges the world through at her, she persevered and…
Posted by Ben Mair on Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Such an amazing Graduation Evening last night. Many thanks to Don Adams, the teachers, and staff. YMCA Academy is a…
Posted by Jules Steele Clyde on Thursday, June 29, 2017

As we move into a new academic year, I keep the graduation in my mind as motivation. See you next year!

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

Youth Exchange Canada: Haida Gwaii – Day Five

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

On Friday, our last day, we went surfing and swimming in the Pacific Ocean. The wetsuits were very hard to get on. Before we went in the water, we got instructions from the surfers. they even told that the next time we visit the place, we can see their site and buy wetsuits that are extremely comfortable to get on. The water was cold and when you go underwater, you get salt in your eyes. Surfing was hard to do because it was hard to control the board. It was hard to get back to shore because the waves made it hard to control, but we had fun trying out this new experience.

After surfing, on the way back to Skidegate in Kim’s car, we drove to Crow’s Nest to buy a couple of snacks. Then some of us went back to our cabins to get ready for the potluck dinner while others did some shopping for souvenirs. We met at the Living and Learning school to have some free time before eating. We enjoyed food from our Haida friends including lots of fresh fish. We were surprised when Denise and her students presented us with the war canoe paddle that we had worked on earlier in the week and was now painted and signed by our friends.

We had an amazing time doing the traditional Haida dances with the beautiful view of the ocean behind us. It was upsetting, but it was time for us to say goodbye to our YMCA youth exchange friends. Overall we had a great experience and hope one day we can go back to visit Haida Gwaii.

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

Blog written by: Liam and Spencer