Neighbourhood Civics Tour

Brandon Stewart Beyond the Classroom, English and Humanities, Experiential Learning No Comments


This Fall, the Canadian Civics and Citizenship class took a walking tour around the neighbourhood to see how frequently they could find evidence of the three levels of government within walking distance of our school. The answer surprised many of the students who did not realize how often they came in direct contact with the different levels of government.

The Civics and Citizenship students noted that they found examples of Municipal government the most often, but that very important features of the Provincial government were also within walking distance of the school. The Federal government was the least frequently found level of our government, though there was one great example right in front of our school doors.

Examples of the Municipal government in our neighbourhood included sewers and storm drains, public trash bins, sidewalks, street lights, traffic signals, crosswalks, parks, Toronto Police Services, community notice signs, public transportation, restaurant public health passes, bike lockups, fire hydrants, fire stations, city speed limits, and parking signs.

In our search, students found examples of the Provincial government in our neighbourhood including license plates, universities, high schools, and the Ontario Provincial Parliament, hospitals, and provincial ministry buildings.

The best example of the Federal Government being present in our neighbourhood was a Canada Post service box.

Students saw first hand how frequently they interact with their governments, and how much those government services impact our daily lives.

Humber College Innovate-a-Thon

Brandon Stewart Beyond the Classroom, English and Humanities, Student Spotlight No Comments


In partnership with the YMCA Academy Civics and Careers classes, teams of GTA college students had 48 hours over the weekend of October 23rd to create innovative solutions for the YMCA Academy. Humber College Centre for Entrepreneurship, with the help of YMCA Academy staff, students, and alumni put on the Humber College Innovate-a-thon.

Academy students and Alumni conducted interview videos to show the teams of college students what learning at the Academy is like, and what challenges were in the transition to college.

Academy Assistant Head of School, Kaili Glennon gave the opening keynote speech to the teams of college students, introducing the teams to the Academy. Over the weekend the teams worked tirelessly to find an innovative solution to the question: “How might the YMCA Academy better support students as they transition from High School to Post Secondary?”

At the end of the weekend the college teams made pitch videos. The Academy Civics and Careers classes designed score cards, and judged the pitch videos based on a range of criteria that they helped co-create.

Academy students connected deeply with the potential solutions and expressed that they felt inspired by the possibilities of how entrepreneurship and civic action can come together to prepare students for future readiness, solving the problems of tomorrow, and overcoming the challenges of today.

The pitches from the college teams were designed to offer students greater autonomy, supported independence, more access to resources, and a better understanding of the supports that they are entitled to once they transition to their post-secondary pathways.

Edo Period Japan: Political Intrigue Role Play

Brandon Stewart English and Humanities, Experiential Learning No Comments

Welcome to Edo City, Japan during the 1580s. After centuries of civil war, the lands are united under the military control of the Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Edo period is an age of high art, purity of tradition, strict cultural stratification, and rigid codes of behaviour. The Imperial court is a place of spies, plots, lies, and hidden dangers. This is the world that the Adventures in World History Class has become immersed in.

The role play game takes place during the historical setting of the Early Edo Period, with key figures from history ranging from Tokugawa Ieyasu, Hattori Honso, Takeda Shingen, Araki Murashige, and Ando Morinari. Even though the setting is historically accurate, the plot of the game, and some fantastical and magical elements are fictional. The students have taken on the roles of Samurai, Yamabushi Mystics, Doshin Law Enforcers, Matagi Hunters, and Ninja; making up a rag-tag team of investigators tasked with uncovering an assassination plot targeting the Emperor.

Throughout the role-play game students are confronted with challenging social situations, difficult power dynamics, complicated castles, beautiful landscapes, dangerous combat, and legendary creatures straight from Edo period literature.

Through conflicting goals, and situations requiring cooperation, the students use their imaginations to navigate this complicated world. Knowledge of Edo period castle features, courtly etiquette, period-specific legends, and cultural understandings from the period are key to the success of the team in uncovering who is behind the plot.

Vikings and Videogames

Brandon Stewart English and Humanities, Experiential Learning

The Grade 12 Adventures in World History class traveled through time to take on the roles of Advisors, Seers, Seafarers, and Warlords to the Norse King, Harald Hadrata. Using the video game Civilization VI as an experiential medium, students helped expand the Norse trade networks, explore the western seas, settle new lands, and conquer Scotland and northern England. Through the game’s complex mechanics students learned about the Vikings as more than raiders, but also as traders, farmers, shipbuilders, poets, artisans, and clothmakers.

The ultimate goal of the game was exploring as far west as Vinland, and establishing the first European settlement in what would later become Newfoundland. Students dispelled myths about horned helmets, and learned of the notable contributions of key figures like Harald Finehair, Egil Skallagrimson, Eric the Red, and Harald Hadrata.

While most videogames can sometimes be a dubious learning tool, Civilization VI includes detailed historical information about the buildings, units, scientific discoveries, and cultural developments relevant to the period of study. Through their roles as Advisors, Seers, Seafarers, and Warlords, each group had a set of goals to work towards regarding trade, religious development, military conquest, pillaging resources, and scientific advancement. Each turn gave groups a variety of options to choose from, with many opportunities for student groups to find cooperation, conflict, and compromise. In the end, the students successfully developed trade routes to Denmark and Sweden, conquered the Scottish city of Dun Breatann, raided the Northumbrian capital of Eoferwic by land, pillaged the coasts of Wessex and Frankia, explored Iceland and Greenland, and sent a Eric the Red to explore and settle Vinland. The victorious cheers of the Viking students echoed over the waves.

Virtual ROM Tour

Brandon Stewart Beyond the Classroom, English and Humanities, Experiential Learning No Comments

This February, students in the Adventures in World History class united the realities of distance learning with the excitement of a trip to the Royal Ontario Museum. Students were introduced to a series of objects and specimens from around the world and across vast periods of time. From the time of dinosaurs, to Ancient Egypt, to New France, to the 19th Century Northwest Coast, to species at risk today, Academy students experienced the stories of some of the most popular objects in the Royal Ontario Museum’s collection of over 13,000,000 objects.

Our guide explained the significance of several objects from the collection, the history of their journey to the ROM’s collections, and the stories behind them. The object most closely connected to the lessons of the course was the Mummy of Djedmaatesankh. This wealthy, land owning woman lived during the New Kingdom period of Ancient Egypt. CAT scans of her remains show that she likely died of an infection in her jaw. The art that encases her includes inscriptions about her career as a chanter in the temple of Amun Ra. The clues that this object offers us about the role of women, the types of work, and the burial practices of Ancient Egypt are priceless.