Dungeons and Dragons Club

Brandon Stewart Beyond the Classroom, Community, Experiential Learning No Comments

Video games may have become the norm for most high school students looking for the thrill of solving puzzles, navigating political intrigue, and combating evil monsters. At my school, however, we sit around a table with pencils, paper and dice. The classic fantasy strategy game, Dungeons and Dragons, has made a major come back at the YMCA Academy. Instead of being powered by a computer or gaming console, Dungeons and Dragons games unfold in the minds of a group of people through shared story telling. Rather than quietly staring a screen and clicking buttons on a controller, the YMCA Academy Dungeons and Dragons Club members cooperatively scour maps, lay out plans, brainstorm solutions, and tackle enemies all through the power of imagination.

This week the companions trekked across dangerous, forested wilderness on their way to gather some key information at an abandoned town a few days’ march to the north. The party is tracking their missing Dwarven employer who was captured by a band of goblins. Their investigation has taken them from a sleepy mining town, through damp caverns, through wild forests and to an abandoned ruin of a village where a dragon has made his lair.

The world of Dungeons and Dragons is only possible through the power of shared story telling. As the Dungeon Master, I set the scene by narrating the opening sequence of a story: I describe the scenery, the time of day, what local people or creatures are nearby, and I explain any activity that is taking place. Players then make decisions based on their character and what is taking place. The outcomes of those decisions are determined by the roll of dice. Then I describe the outcome based on the dice roll, and the cycle starts over again.

I can’t express enough the value of this game. Besides the literacy, numeracy, problem solving, divergent thinking, communication, conflict resolution, and geography skills that are practiced, the social benefits of the game cannot be ignored. Every Monday, a group of students, who range from boisterous to downright shy, join together as a close-knit team to overcome a series of new challenges. Players come out of their shells and take on newfound confidence in leadership roles, they learn to encourage and uplift one another, they learn to listen to one another, they learn to recognize the power of choice, they learn to laugh at mistakes (and bad dice rolls), and they learn celebrate one another’s victories.

The Cookbooks are Ready for Sale!

Katie Clay Community, Healthy Living No Comments

The YMCA Academy cookbooks have been printed, packaged and are ready for sale! The idea of the cookbook came from the Cooking Club which meets each week to create delicious and nutritious foods. The club has gathered their favourite recipes and compiled them with recipes submitted by students, staff and friends of the Academy. All together there are 115 recipes spiral-bound together with a custom cover of Cooking Club photos.

These cookbooks make wonderful holiday gifts and are a great way to support the Academy. The books cost $20 for one or two for $30 and all of the proceeds will go to programs that benefit our students, such as Cooking club and the YMCA Youth Exchange. If you would like to place an order, please e-mail Katie Clay at kclay@ymcaacademy.org.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this project and to those who have purchased cookbooks. Your ongoing support of the Academy is so appreciated!

v3493poster

Remembrance and Peace Ceremony

Brandon Stewart Community, English and Humanities No Comments

On the morning of November 10th students at The YMCA Academy gathered for the yearly remembrance and peace ceremony. The Grade 10 Canadian History class ran the event, introducing the idea that Remembrance Day is an opportunity to reflect on the significance of armed conflicts, and the steps we can all take within our communities to promote peace. The presentations focused on honouring the past through poetry and first hand accounts, acknowledging the present by learning about the Canadian Legion and current conflicts, as well as looking to the future through a discussion on how to promote peace.

The remembrance and peace ceremony was echoed the next day with a minute of silence at 11:00am, to mark the anniversary of the end of the First World War. In class students continued the conversation about the importance of remembering past conflicts, and how it can help us today to promote peace in our everyday lives.

Visiting the Royal Winter Fair

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

Four of the YMCA Academy’s classes made a trip down to the annual Royal Winter Fair on November 11th, stopping along the way to observe a minute of silence in the sun.

Once there, we saw horses practicing their jumps, spent some time feeding (and of course petting) the animals in the petting zoo, saw some incredibly large vegetables grown by some incredible farmers, and watched the awesome Super Dogs show.

Students had the opportunity to meet some of the talented canines, and to work on a variety of assignments including taking photos of all the sights they were experiencing, planning what they would write, and discussing food nutrition and the positive aspects of locally grown produce.

The trip has become a much enjoyed annual tradition, and this year was another great one.

Annual Cedar Glen Trip

Zareh Demirdji Community, Environmental Stewardship, Experiential Learning, YMCA of Greater Toronto No Comments

October is that time of year where the leaves turn red, orange, and yellow, presenting us with a breathtaking display of the best of nature. It is also the time of year where Academy staff and students gear up for one of the year’s most anticipated and loved events, our annual trip to Cedar Glen. Whereas most years our pilgrimage to Cedar Glen is around the middle of October, this year’s excursion was at the end of the month, the latest we have ever gone. As such, we experienced a much colder experience this time around.

For the second year in a row, in lieu of our tree planting as our school’s means of environmental stewardship we spent the first day at Cedar Glen working their on site farm. This year’s farm was much more advanced than last years, which gave our staff and students the opportunity to try their hands at many new farming activities. On our second day the weather decided to test us and turned cold, overcast and gave us intermittent rain.

Not to be intimidated by cold or precipitation, more than half of the staff and students chose to be outside for programming, while the remaining minority settled for warmth and board games indoors. Our last day was one with a bright blue sky and beautiful weather (which we wished would have made an appearance the day before) and as always, a bit of excitement about going home to our own beds, as well as sadness for having to leave a place that we love visiting. We impatiently wait until our next year’s visit.

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

Album One | Album Two | Album Three