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

Check out the rest of the pictures on our Facebook Page!

Sept. 22nd, 2011 – Academy give outs Free Hugs!

YMCA Academy Beyond the Classroom

Inspired by the real life story of Juan Mann, a man whose mission was to reach out and hug people to brighten up their day, Academy students participated in the school’s annual Free Hug day on Wednesday September 21st.  They started off at the YMCA childcare space, then proceeded up Yonge Street for a reunion with the staff at 42 Charles.  There’s nothing like a free hug!

Check out the rest of the pictures on our Facebook Page!

Sept. 19th, 2011 – List of Upcoming Events

YMCA Academy Events, TEDx

October 1st, 2011 – TEDxYMCAAcademy


This TEDx event is hosted by The YMCA Academy, a high school in central Toronto, serving students with learning differences. TEDxYMCAAcademy will gather together experts to speak about learning disabilities from the following points of view:

Scientific
Behavioural
Educational
and Social

Please join us at the Central YMCA in Toronto for this inspiring event. For those unable to attend in person, we will stream the event live on the TEDxYMCAAcademy website!

October 13th, 2011 – School Tour & Curriculum Night


We would like to invite you to our upcoming Curriculum Night as well as a Tour of our New Home on Thursday October 13th!

The tour will start at 6pm for any of our Parents, Guardians and Students that would like to see and tour our new facilities at 15 Breadalbane Street, 3rd Floor in the new Family Development Centre.  Our guests will then have the option to stay for light refreshments to visit with fellow Academy families and staff and have a brief break before the Curriculum Night Presentation begins.  Our Curriculum Night consists of a general overview of information related to planning for post-secondary education, secondary school graduation requirements (including Community Involvement requirements), and Cooperative Education.  We will also speak about the IEP and IPRC processes.  All Parents, Guardians and current Students are welcome to come to either the tour, Curriculum Night or to stay for both.  Please see below for a general outline of the evening’s events.

6:00pm – 7:00pm – Tour of New Location

7:00pm – 7:30pm – Light Refreshments

7:30pm – 7:45pm – Curriculum Night Introduction

  • Curriculum Support
  • Guidance
  • Special Education

7:45pm – 8:15pm – General Overview of:

  • Secondary school graduation requirements
  • Forty-hour Community Involvement requirements
  • Cooperative Education

8:15pm – 9:00pm – Post-secondary Planning

  • College / University Information & Application Process
  • Apprenticeship Training
  • Special Education Support
  • Scholarships / Financial Aid

Again, all Parents and Guardians are welcome and current Students are also encouraged to attend.   Please RSVP to (416) 928-0124 ext. “0” or via e-mail bonita.ip@ymcagta.org.  Please RSVP by Friday October 7th.  And if you know of  someone who might benefit from The YMCA Academy, please let them know that we will be having an Open House at the end of November for anyone who is interested in our program or would like a tour of the school.  Please check our website periodically for further details regarding all Academy upcoming events.

We hope to see you on October 13th!


October 20th, 2011 – ADHD Brain and Strategies Presentation


Just a reminder that the Education about the ADHD Brain and Strategies for Supporting ADHD Teens Parent Speaker Series presentation by Ann Clarkson, Professional Certified Coach, is taking place October 20th, 2011, at the Academy at 7pm.

If you are planning to join us to learn more about the ADHD brain and key strategies to effectively manage ADHD with your teenager, but have not RSVP yet, please kindly do so as soon as possible via e-mail to bonita.ip@ymcagta.org or call us at 416-928-0124 ext. 0

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.

Check out the rest of the pictures on our Facebook Page!

Sept. 16th, 2011 – Me to We Club’s first meeting

YMCA Academy Beyond the Classroom
YMCA Academy's Me to We club create "Free Hug Day" Posters
Students paticipating in the first Me to We club meeting

On Tuesday September 13th, the YMCA Academy Me to We club held their first meeting to begin planning for the upcoming school year. The club members came up with ideas to support Free the Children’s global and local initiatives, and created posters advertising ‘Free Hug Day’ on September 21st. Stay tuned for more from the Me to We club!

Check out the rest of the pictures on our Facebook Page!