Apr. 6th, 2011 – Parent/teacher interview details

YMCA Academy Updates

Dear Parents / Guardians,

I would like to update you on some important upcoming dates for students of The YMCA Academy.

We are doing things slightly differently this year.  Whereas in the past you received your son’s/daughters/ward’s report card at the parent/teacher interview, this year we are completing the report cards more than a week in advance of the interviews.  We feel that this will give each of you a greater opportunity to absorb the information on the report card prior to meeting with teachers.

Reports will be distributed on April 15th.  For students who are in jeopardy of failing a grade 11 or 12 class, they will have until April 27th to decide whether to drop the course (in which case it will not appear on their academic transcript), or to continue in the course (in which case it will appear on their academic transcript).  Attached is more information Full Disclosure on the Ontario Student Transcript.

Parent/Teacher interviews will follow, the evenings of April 27th and 28th.  Attached is more information on Parent/Teacher interviews.

If you have any questions or concerns about this information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at the Academy.

Apr. 4th, 2011 – Arcade Construction Phase Two

YMCA Academy Beyond the Classroom

After many brainstorming and ‘theory’ based sessions, where we hammered out all the electrical and design details, construction of the arcade can finally begin! We assembled the structural frame last Wednesday, only a few finishing touches are needed before we can start installing the electrical components. Check out some of the great pictures below!

Thank you to both Kerry and Chris, for your dedication to this project, we couldn’t do it without great volunteers!

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

Mar. 30th, 2011 – Jane Goodall Field Trip Details

YMCA Academy Experiential Learning, Updates

Dear Parent and Guardians,

I am writing to inform you about an exciting upcoming school trip.  We have had the honour of being invited to see Dr. Jane Goodall speak at the University of Toronto on April 1st.  In addition, a few of our students will be introducing Dr. Goodall.  The special chance to meet and hear her speak has been arranged by the educational branch of her institute, Roots and Shoots, with whom we did the Shoreline Cleanup in September. Our school has been invited as a “thank you” for our dedication in environmental stewardship and to inspire our students to continue to take action for the environment.

Please Note: This is a very exciting and unique opportunity to hear a talk from one of the great environmentalists and field-research academics – therefore, the whole school will be attending, and there will be direct course linkages both before and after the trip.  The trip fulfills mandatory expectations for most of the courses at the Academy, and impacts all students at the school; therefore, attendance is mandatory for all students.

This trip is directly linked to curriculum, is in the immediate area and relates to course curriculum.  Therefore, permission for this trip will be covered under the umbrella permission form that all parents/guardians/students have signed. You only need to reply if there is a particular issue with your child/ward attending.

Thank you for your support and cooperation.  Look for our Jane Goodall blog on the website after we attend the talk!

Mar. 29th, 2011 – Kitchen Session at Brickworks

YMCA Academy Community, Environmental Stewardship, Experiential Learning, Healthy Living

Another great day with the Healthy Choices Program!  On Monday, March 28, we went to Brickworks for one of the kitchen sessions.  Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver, watch out…here comes the YMCA Academy!  In this session, students learned about reading labels and how to compare products to make the best choice.  We learned that if we can’t pronounce or don’t recognize an ingredient, then it’s not healthy food.  We also learned about shopping the periphery of a grocery store and to stay away from the packaged food in the middle.  Students worked in three teams to prepare a feast of spicy salsa, guacamole and corn chips, yummy home-made mac and cheese, and delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, all made with fresh healthy ingredients.  Afterwards, we enjoyed the fruits of our labour and sat down for a family-style meal.  Well done, Academy chefs!

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

Mar. 25th, 2011 – Earth Hour at the Academy

YMCA Academy Environmental Stewardship

Today the Academy celebrated an early Earth Hour by shutting down all computers and lights and gathering together to talk about an environmental champion.  From 11:00am to 12:00pm, we learned more about Dr. Jane Goodall and her work in Gombe with chimpanzees.  To help celebrate the event, we had banana splits as we watched the movie “Wild Chimpanzees” which was generously lent to us by Roots and Shoots, part of the Jane Goodall Institute.  We are all very excited to go hear Dr. Jane Goodall speak at U of T next Friday afternoon, April 1st!  Watch for our blog entry after we meet this amazing and inspirational woman.

Academy students during Earth Hour "powerdown"
Learning about Jane Goodall during Earth Hour (yes the projector is on....)
2 charts visualizing the impact of the 1 hour “Earth Hour” in terms of how many laptops we have on and connected to the network, there is a 4 hours breakdown and a 3 day one, the 3 day one shows a significant change in the “average” visual of our usual days.

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