Oct. 31st, 2011 – Evergreen ‘Eco Ambassadors’

YMCA Academy Community, Environmental Stewardship, Experiential Learning

Yesterday, a group of Academy students visited Evergreen Brickworks in the Don Valley. After a beautiful walk to a lookout point overlooking the city of Toronto and some beautiful fall foliage, students headed to the workshop to and learned to repair flat tires on bikes. The activities were part of the Active Transportation unit in the ‘Eco Ambassadors’ program, a partnership between the YMCA Academy and Evergreen Brickworks with generous support from Statefarm.

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Check out Evergreen Canada’s Website

Oct. 31st, 2011 – Halloween for Hunger Campaign

YMCA Academy Beyond the Classroom, Community

On Friday, October 28th, the YMCA Academy students participated in ‘Halloween for Hunger’, a food drive initiative by Free the Children, with the goal of supporting local food banks. Academy staff and students collected over 200 non-perishable food items. Students who participated were able to ‘buy out’ of their 4th period classes to participate in a teachers vs. students dodgeball game. The teachers were no match for the spirited students, who managed to beat them in all three games. The food items collected will be brought to the local firehall by the ‘Me to We’ club students.

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Check out Free the Children’s Halloween for Hunger Website

Oct. 19th, 2011 – Me to We Halloween for Hunger

YMCA Academy Beyond the Classroom, Community

Dear Parents/Guardians:

The YMCA Academy’s ‘Me to We Club’ along with the grade 10 Civics and grade 9 Nutrition classes are organizing a food drive in support of Halloween for Hunger. The yearly campaign, run by Free the Children, encourages students to collect non-perishable food items for their local food banks.

Academy students are invited to bring in canned food items between now and Friday October 28th. As an incentive to bring in donations, on Friday the 28th in the afternoon all students who have brought in a canned food item will have the opportunity to ‘buy out’ of 4th period to participate in a ‘students vs. staff’ dodgeball game in the Central Y gymnasium.

Any questions can be directed to Michelle Johnson: michelle.johnson@ymcagta.org

Thank you for your support as we work to address the issue of hunger in our community.

Sept. 30th, 2011 – Picture from We Day Toronto

YMCA Academy Beyond the Classroom, Community

On September 27, The YMCA Academy Me to We club joined 18,000 other young idealists at the Air Canada Centre for a full day of musical performances and motivational speakers at Free the Children’s We Day. Artists included Nelly Furtado, Shawn Desman, Joe Jonas, City and Colour and Classified, and speakers included Danny Glover, Patch Adams, Spencer West and Free the Children founders Craig and Marc Kielberger. The Me to We Club left inspired to begin a full year of activities and initiatives promoting change at a local and global level. Stay tuned for more from the Academy Me to We club!

Academy students cheering at We Day Toronto 2011
We Day 2011 Toronto at the ACC
Group Shot of YMCA Academy students & staff at We Day 2011 Toronto

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Sept. 16th, 2011 – Esther Osche visits Academy

YMCA Academy Community, English and Humanities, Experiential Learning
Esther Osche, master storyteller from the Ojibwe First Nation
YMCA Academy students in a group photo with Esther Osche

Students and staff were treated to a special event to herald in the new season.  Esther Osche, master storyteller from the Ojibwe First Nation, visited the Academy and shared stories that were told to her by her grandparents such as Bear and Crow, How the Seasons Came to Be and the Creator’s Gift.  She also shared her knowledge about the tradition of oral storytelling and the talking stick.  We’d like to acknowledge the Mariposa in the Schools program for making this event possible.

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