Planning and Preparing for the Future

Luka Ilic English and Humanities, Events No Comments


The Advanced Learning Strategies class has been hard at work, with perfect attendance to date. It is a pleasure to be teaching a class in which all students will be graduating at the end of the school year. The focus of the course is to help students make informed decisions about their future. With high school virtually in their rear view mirror, students have to plan ahead as new developments take place.

The course is based around three core components: learning and personal management skills, post-secondary planning, and exploring future options. The main goal is to help students successfully transition from high school to post-secondary education or directly to workforce. Part of this process is understanding what the options are, what resources are available, and making realistic and relevant plans.

In class, we examined the college application process, researched various programs and analyzed important components of a single program. This included, but was not limited to, college/campus, program description and list of courses, tuition and fees, how to qualify and apply, career and postgraduate options, and student accessibility services.

Please note that online applications for colleges for the next academic year (August 2021 to July 2022) open in early October. Students must apply by February 1st, 2021 in order to receive equal consideration for admissions to programs starting the following fall. It is also important to mention that the Ontario College Fair is going virtual this year. It is taking place on Wednesday, November 4th (4PM – 8PM) and Thursday, November 5th (9AM – 1PM).

A Grand Ol’ Time

Zareh Demirdji Academics, Science and Math No Comments

You have $1000 left to your name. Can you make it last for thirty one days? That is what students attempted to do before they delved into learning about various money management skills in their second class on managing money. At the start of the class, students played an online simulation game called SPENT. The game starts off by giving students three choices of jobs and then proceeds to throw one life scenario after another at them with various choices for each. Each choice has an outcome, and the goal is to make the $1000 you have left in your bank account last until the end of the month. The simulation evokes many different emotions as you play, and gives you a sense of what it’s like trying to survive with little money.

After students completed the simulation, they reflected on their experience and what they learned from it. Afterwards, they delved into various money management techniques, learned about the importance of having savings, and the advantages and disadvantages of buying things on credit. Think you have what it takes to make $1000 stretch for an entire month? Try your luck by visiting http://playspent.org/ to give it a shot. Good luck!

Middle School Paints and Plants

John Cuthbert Environmental Stewardship, Experiential Learning No Comments

The start of this school year looks a little different than those that have past, but the Middle Schoolers at The YMCA Academy started the year by bridging the gap between in-school and online learning experiences with a community building activity. Whether in person or on the web, students shared the experience of painting pots and planting their own plant. Students learned how plants can benefit mental health and promote learning, and over the school year, they will continue to learn about and care for their green friends.

Personal Life Management In a Nutshell

Zareh Demirdji English and Humanities, Science and Math No Comments



They say that students these days should learn about personal finance and the basic skills of independent living. Well. Guess what. There are a smattering of courses in the high school curriculum, and one such course is a grade twelve course called Personal Life Management. The course is broken down into several units as follows:

    • Research and Inquiry Skills
    • Self and Others
    • Daily Living Skills
    • Personal and Social Responsibilities
    • Economics and Personal Finance

With the faster pace of our new octomester schedule, the course has been reorganized into new units, taking the running themes found throughout the aforementioned ones. The newly formatted units are:

    • Becoming an Adult
    • Employment
    • Money Management
    • Managing a Home
    • Research and Inquiry Skills

This new format allows us to focus on these major themes one at a time instead of learning about them in segments spread throughout different units. Throughout the course, students will learn about:

Becoming an Adult

  • The roles and responsibilities of adolescents vs. adulthood
  • Communication skills
  • Goal Setting
  • Decision Making Models
  • Conflict and Conflict Resolution

Employment

  • How to get a job and excel at it
  • Workplace Rights, Responsibilities and Laws
  • The Costs and Benefits of Working

Money Management

  • Spending Habits and Dealing with Economic Changes
  • Money Management Strategies
  • Financial Institutions and their Products and Services

Managing a Home

  • Keeping and Managing a Safe and Functional Home
  • Meeting Food and Clothing Needs
  • How to be a Smart Consumer

Research and Inquiry Skills

  • Exploring Topics
  • Investigating Topics
  • Processing Information
  • Communicating Information

The course is not only practical and of major importance, but a course that students really enjoy. By the end of this course not only will students have the knowledge and understanding of how to live on their own, but they will also (hopefully) appreciate the level of effort and responsibility their parents/guardians put into providing for them!

Cooking Club is back with a Classic!

Katie Clay Beyond the Classroom, Community No Comments

This past week, the YMCA Academy’s Cooking Club served up its first session of the school year. With so many changes to the classroom, schedule and our day-to-day lives, it is nice to have a familiar activity to turn to. That said, Cooking Club continues to run via video call with students preparing food from home.

For our first meeting we went with the simple, but beloved, classic – grilled cheese sandwiches. All of our chefs had their own take on grilled cheese. We had many types of bread and cheese represented, spicy versions filled with hot peppers and different dips (ketchup vs. BBQ sauce). We also learned a grilled cheese hack of using mayonnaise instead of butter – give it a try!

In-between the slicing and grilling, there was a lot of talk of summer breaks, but also how the school year has been going. With our adapted schedule, students only see their classmates in their cohort at school, so it is important to have these extra-curricular activities where students can socialize with more peers. It was a good turn out with mostly regulars, including a few alumni, but we had a new student join as well and we look forward to welcoming more in the coming weeks as the school year ramps up.