No.9 Mini House Building

Andras Nagy Environmental Stewardship, Experiential Learning No Comments

Staff and students were treated to an inspiring workshop delivered by the No.9 Poetics in Architecture crew right at our school!  We were all architects for an afternoon playing with shape and perspective in the creation of mini 6-sided structures.  We even included decorative paper that looked like solar panels, gardens and a modern lime-coloured accent wall.  When shining lights on our structures, or placing them on mirrors, we noticed the infinite possibilities that exist “outside the box” from traditional models of buildings or houses.

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The Cosmos in the Classroom

Zareh Demirdji Experiential Learning, Science and Math No Comments

The universe is a vast, marvelous and awe inspiring place, and as the great Carl Sagan once said, we humans, are a way for the cosmos to know itself. The grade nine unit of Earth and Space Science focuses on astronomy, the study of the universe and its major components. Sadly, it is hard to observe astronomical phenomena while at school, but thanks to computer programs we can bring some aspects of the cosmos into the classroom. In order to study the constellations and explore the characteristics of stars, students use a program called Stellarium on our school computers to explore the night sky, and the constellations that have captivated us for thousands of years.

Biochemical Molecules and Cells

Zareh Demirdji Experiential Learning, Science and Math No Comments

Although cells are the smallest organized units of living things, they are made of even smaller parts. These biological compounds that make up the structures of cells themselves are constructed from the macronutrients we call carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. In order to get a more in depth understanding of these molecules, students were given molecule kits do build and observe them in three dimensions.

Celebrating Black History Month

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

Happy Black History Month from the YMCA Academy! We’ve been busy celebrating, learning and participating in many exciting events the last couple of weeks. The senior art class took a trip to the AGO to see the artworks of the infamous New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. “Now’s the Time” is the first retrospective of Basquiat to ever hit a Canadian gallery!

Several Academy students also participated in the YMCA of Greater Toronto’s first ever Black History Month Youth Committee event. Keynote speakers, education workshops and a tasty Caribbean lunch brought together many youth from organizations around the GTA. A huge thanks and congratulations to the following students for their performances and assistance: Tristan A, Alex, Emily, Mahadir, Evan, Quinn and Lindsey.

Lastly, UMOJA, a group of multi-talented dancers, writers and educators, came all the way from Montreal to perform and share the history and meaning of a dance called “stepping.” They had a Black History Month quiz, moving and inspirational spoken word performances, and even invited us all to move our chairs out of the way and try a few moves. To echo Steev from UMOJA, WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL.

 

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Pickle Farm Construction

YMCA Academy Environmental Stewardship, Experiential Learning No Comments

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A group of collaborators from The YMCA Academy, The YMCA of Greater Toronto, Greenwood College, Rebekka Hutton of Alchemy Pickles and artist Micah Donovan were involved in developing a living sculpture capable of growing food. We came together to create a unique form of sculpture that will yield chard, cucumbers, radishes, carrots, herbs and other plants capable of transforming into pickles, chutneys, and preserves.

 

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On February 19, 2015, we came together for one final session to put the final sculpture together.
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We created our own special blend of soil using coir, worm casts from our in-house worm condo, and composted yard waste.
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We planted in the clay pieces that we created last semester and chose what will be our first harvest and took special care labelling what was planted and arranging the pots in the sculpture. 

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A special thank-you to the numerous people who have worked so hard over the years to make this day a reality. We will see you in a couple of months for an update on our harvest.

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