The Aboriginal Issues, World Religions, Learning Strategies and grade 9 English classes traveled to Yonge and Dundas Square on January 11 to observe the Idle No More Global Day of Action. There were drumming circles, round dances and people of all ages and backgrounds standing up for the rights of Indigenous people. Luckily the rain held off for everyone involved!
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Outdoor Skills: Reconnecting with Nature and Learning
On Wednesday November 21st, The YMCA Academy participated in a nature scavenger hunt at Evergreen Brickworks. After a discussion on how to sustainably harvest plant life, students broke off into small groups and headed into the wild to collect samples of Cedar, Pine and Sumac trees. The groups had 30 minutes to collect samples from each category and return to home base, where they were warmly welcomed back with ready to drink Cedar, Pine and Sumac hot tea. After a small wrap-up session and some interesting and informative facts, the group headed back to The Academy to discuss all they had learned about the outdoors.
Did you know Cedar Tea can stave off scurvy?!
Thank you Evergreen Brickworks!
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YMCA’s all around the world are celebrating peace this week in many different ways. The Central Y in downtown Toronto hosted its annual Peace Medallion Ceremony on Tuesday where the St. Jamestown Youth Council was recognized for their peace-building initiatives. The Academy’s own Keara and Dakota were the emcees for this prestigious event which drew quite a crowd to celebrate youth and peace. Special thanks goes out to Tristan, Omar, Allora, Yasin and Mikaela for helping the event run smoothly. Peace out!
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Today members of The Academy gathered to observe Remembrance Day. Students and staff shared personal reflections on peace and remembering as well as quotes and poems of peace. We took two minutes of silence to honour and remember those that have lost their lives or had their lives impacted by violence and war. We screened The Academy Peace Week video highlighting those peace promoting activities that the Academy students have participated in this school year. To close, all in attendance took a moment to create a written statement of peace, outlining how each of us could contribute to peace within ourselves, within our circle of friends and within our communities.
As a staff I am always so impressed by our student’s level of insight and compassion towards the world around them.
Peace.
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On October 12, 2012 the YMCA Academy made its annual fall trek to Evergreen Downsview as part of our yearly environmental stewardship initiative. It was a cold and at points windy day, but this did not deter our students. With shovels in hand the Academy planted 165 trees and shrubs, helping reforest Downsview Park for the third year in a row. We look forward to matching or bettering the number of trees planted when we make our second trek in the spring.
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