Feb. 16th, 2012 – Evergreen Kitchen Session Pics

YMCA Academy Community, Environmental Stewardship, Experiential Learning

Evergreen Brickworks, students and teachers alike put on there aprons and chefs hats to once again cook up a storm in Evergreens kitchen.  The theme this time was black box cooking. Students were given a bunch of different ingredients and given the opportunity to cook with those ingredients as they pleased. This allowed for the use of not only organic ingredients, but also an organic experience. Students learned how to use a variety of ingredients (a la Chef at Home) that they can find in their refrigerator to make a meal.

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Feb. 14th, 2012 – TGfU Training Session Details

YMCA Academy Community, Updates

YMCA Academy faculty members:

Nicole Klement & Zareh Demirdji

were invited to present their Physical Education Program at a Government of Ontario training session for provincially funded after-school youth programs.

The Academy implemented a TGfU program three years ago when staff and students were struggling to play sports with small groups and to have game understanding take precedence over game skills. After one semester of TGfU both staff and students were sold on the program. We have been playing TGfU style games since.

This training session, entitled The YMCA Academy’s teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) Program, will soon be released as a webinar and currently all materials and resources from the training session can be accessed via the YMCA Academy’s site. (Click here for the Presentation)

Jan. 25th, 2012 – Drum Making Workshop Pictures

YMCA Academy Arts, Community, English and Humanities, Experiential Learning, Native Studies

Students in the Aboriginal Voices class participated in a workshop on making Aboriginal hand drums led by Steve Teekens, traditional drummer, singer, dancer and teacher from the Ojibway First Nation.  The workshop took place at the beautiful Dodem Kanonhsa’ Elder’s Cultural Facility at St. Clair and Yonge, which is supported by the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto (NCCT) and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC).  Students listened to Steve tell an Ojibway story about the drum and used traditional materials and techniques to make their own.  We are grateful to Amy Desjarlais for including us in the workshop and to Steve for sharing his knowledge with us.

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Visit the Dodem Kanonhsa Website

Jan. 24th, 2012 – Food Share Field Trip Pictures

YMCA Academy Community, Experiential Learning, Healthy Living

The Food and Nutrition class spent an afternoon at FoodShare a non-profit community organization whose vision is Good Healthy Food for All.

They take a multifaceted, innovative, and long-term approach to hunger and food issues. FoodShare works on food issues “from field to table” – meaning that they focus on the entire system that puts food on our tables: from the growing, processing and distribution of food to its purchasing, cooking and consumption. They operate innovative grassroots projects that promote healthy eating, teach food preparation and cultivation, develop community capacity and create non-market-based forms of food.

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Visit the FoodShare Website

Nov. 17th, 2011 – Shovel and Spoon Program

YMCA Academy Community, Experiential Learning, Healthy Living

As part of The YMCA Academy’s commitment to experiential learning, the Food and Nutrition (HFN1O) and Healthcare (TPJ3M) classes have been participating in a very exciting program called “Shovel and Spoon” available to us through one of our community partners, The Stop Community Food Centre.  The program consists of a series of field trips to the beautiful Whychwood Barns (and occasionally Hillcrest Gardens). During the duration of the program at Whychwood Barns the students are fulfilling course curriculum expectations for each of their classes.

We are very fortunate to be participating in this unique program.  It offers opportunities beyond those that we can offer on our premises and includes valuable lessons about healthy living and healthy choices, which are important for all students to learn.

The “Shovel and Spoon” program includes, but is not limited to, some of the following activities:

  • Cooking in the community kitchen (i.e. canning and preserving, cooking on a budget, knife skills, low-sugar baking, cooking for one, and cooking for various health conditions)
  • Planting in the greenhouse (i.e. food growing, sprouting, plant propagation, container gardening, seed starting)
  • Hands-on learning about nutrition and wellness
  • Shared reflection and journal writing

The Shovel and Spoon staff Toyin Coker and program volunteers (Lindsay, Lara and Lee) share their extensive knowledge through fun activities that engage the students and offer them a supported learning environment. The students and staff of The YMCA Academy are enjoying the experience tremendously!

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The Stop Community Food Centre Website