Apr. 10th, 2012 – The Academy Summer Institute

The Academy Summer Institute 2012

 

Much of the outreach I do personally on behalf of The YMCA Academy, and much of the outreach through our website and social media, focuses on data. We collect a great deal of data as required by the Ministry of Education, and a great deal of other data as well — on social determinants of health for adolescents. Because of this, we legitimately claim considerable success with our students — take a look.

As teachers and administrators, we are asked every day how we do what we do. Most often, we are asked by teachers who work at mainstream schools, not those who specifically serve an LD population. Answering that question has formed the impetus for our creating The Academy Summer Institute 2012 — to share our successes working with students with learning disabilities and learning style differences.

When you consider it more closely, though, almost every teacher in the world serves a LD population to some degree in each of his or her classrooms. The techniques and ideas we will demonstrate and share really come down to excellent teaching. You will find that what we do here at The Academy is fully relevant in all classes for all students.

So the Institute was born naturally, out of inquiry, curiosity, and demand. Our goal is to convene a really talented group of people this August here at The Academy.

It’s a conference with an “unconference” component because we want the dynamic of small groups to drive some of the curriculum at the institute.

We firmly believe in having people walk away with tools they can immediately use. That also explains timing of the Institute – August 23 and 24, 2012. The ideas and techniques generated there can almost immediately be put to use in the classroom.

We look forward to seeing you this summer. Space is limited to 200, so I encourage you to act quickly! For more information, please visit our website. To enroll, click here.

Don Adams, Ph.D
Head of School, The YMCA Academy

Apr. 10th, 2012 – Silent Auction Success!

In less than three weeks (from April 29 to May5) the YMCA Academy will be hosting 12 Youth Exchange Canada guests from Ouje-Bougoumou, Quebec. Last Thursday, to fund our hosting activities,  we held a silent auction.  The ten and a half hour silent auction showcased a plethora of  items all donated by our students’ families, staff, and the YMCA community at large.  From printers, jackets,  jewellery, to vases, kitchen appliances and even a waffle maker, our auction had it all.

After bids, counter bids, and last minute buys the day long auction was able to raise $1,936 for our hosting activities.

We are grateful to all those who donated, gave their time, and supported our endeavor. Thank you!

Apr. 3rd, 2012 – The pre-schoolers are coming

The Academy’s Living and Working with Children (HPW3C) course will be hosting the FDC’s pre-school group at the Academy every Thursday starting this week. Be ready for the sound of little feet and laughter. Students in the course have been learning about children’s role in society and their growth and development which will serve them well when they are developing activities for our hosting sessions.

Some activities on the horizon:

  • Seed planting for greening of  the play space
  • Animal Bags
  • Smart-board shapes
  • Marching Band
  • Making Silly Putty
  • Dinosaur Stomp

We have also committed to assisting the school-age group on a field trip to see REAL dinosaur bones at the ROM. If you’d like to volunteer – please send an email to our volunteer coordinator Kaili Glennon.