5th annual Skating Trip at Nathan Phillips Square

YMCA Academy Beyond the Classroom No Comments

On Friday December 12th, The YMCA Academy embarked on their fifth annual skating trip. The inaugural trip was the brain child of an alumni of the Academy and has since become an exciting tradition we look forward to each year. A few slips and falls were not enough to discourage fun, excitement and Timmy’s hot chocolate.  We love this trip as a time to hang out with friends, get a breath of “fresh” air in downtown Toronto and enjoy some physical winter fitness.

“One fun thing that happened is that I got to race my new friends on the ice,” said Zach, a Grade 9 student at the Academy.

One student even learned how to skate for the first time. He started by sitting down, then he put his feet on the ice. Then, two nice kids brought him a thing to push to help him skate and stand up on the ice. After, he stopped using that thing and started skating on his own, but he always had someone on his side.

“You don’t have to be good at skating to go on a skating trip,” said Adam, who is also a Grade 9 student at the Academy. “It only matters if you have fun.”

By Zach DS and Adam V.

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Tissue Paper Stained Glass

YMCA Academy Arts, Native Studies, Student Spotlight No Comments

The Grade 9 Native Studies class created stunning tissue paper “stained glass” compositions inspired by the artworks of the Ojibway, Algonquin and Mi’kmaq First Nations. Using thick black lines, a broad colour pallet and abstract designs, students applied elements often found in Eastern Woodland art to their own multi-media projects. Rather than on the wall, these transparent pieces will go on the windows!

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Art Gallery of Ontario 2014

YMCA Academy Arts, Experiential Learning, Native Studies No Comments

The Grade 9 Expressing Aboriginal Cultures class visited the Art Gallery of Ontario on a snowy morning this week.  We toured around the Canadian Exhibition which features some gems by the Group of Seven and also saw two original paintings by the Eastern Woodlands master Norval Morriseau.  At the end of the trip we got to step into the dark and mysterious projection booth in the Jackman Hall theatre.  Old fashioned film is heavy!

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Feast of Thanks Potluck Lunch 2014

YMCA Academy Beyond the Classroom, Community, Native Studies No Comments

This past Thanksgiving, staff and students celebrated Canada’s Indigenous peoples and cultures at our third annual Feast of Thanks potluck lunch.  We were honoured to host Darlene King from the Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto and storyteller Jim Adams who offered a song and blessing to open our event.  We are grateful to all of our families for contributing amazing dishes like turkey and stuffing pie, stuffed squash, homemade ravioli and delicious pies.  Thanks also to students in Todd’s Equity class, Brandon’s Politics class and Alexi’s Aboriginal Voices class for educational displays and dish duty!

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Evergreen Downsview Park

YMCA Academy Environmental Stewardship, Experiential Learning No Comments

On October 10, the Academy set out for its first of two annual tree planting outings at Downsview Park for this school year’s Evergreen environmental stewardship. Although it was a bit cold at times, the beautiful, blue, and sunny sky made up for it in the long run. Our first visit had us planting some small trees, and as always, mulching. After enjoying lunch under sunny skies, we went back to planting, and for the first time ever in the Academy’s history at Evergreen Downsview, we got to plant large, 12 foot trees. Due to their size, we had to dig really massive and deep holes, which was quite time consuming, and so we were only able plant two of them. In all, the trip was one of the most successful ones to date, and we hope to top this experience in May.

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