Annual Career Day Event

YMCA Academy Beyond the Classroom, Community, Events


On Thursday, April 29, YMCA Academy students attended our annual Career Day event. Seven rooms were set up, each themed around a different field: youth work, media and creative industries, trades and hands-on work, toy making, emergency services, health care, and health and fitness.

The day began with students gathering in the cafeteria to review the schedule, set expectations, and explore what a “career” really means. While a career can be understood as a long-term professional journey made up of connected roles and experiences, it’s also about how someone spends their time working, learning, and contributing to the world. It involves balancing many factors—money, health, meaning, learning, creativity, and rest. Students were also reminded that no two career paths are the same. Each person has unique interests, ways of learning, and needs, which shape their individual journey. Paths are often non-linear, and while there may be challenges along the way, resilience and support can help us move forward.

We were fortunate to welcome fourteen generous guests, including acclaimed writer and musician Dave Bidini, who shared their time and experiences with our students. Throughout the morning, students heard from four different speakers. Guests shared about their roles, paths that led them there, skills required, the most rewarding and challenging aspects of their work, and advice they would give their high school selves. Students also had the chance to participate in hands-on activities, such as using a thermal camera, practicing using assistive tools like dressing aids and exploring a variety of super cool toys designed and engineered by the toy makers.

The final half hour was dedicated to networking! Students could connect more deeply with a guest who interested them or meet speakers they hadn’t yet heard from. Some students even requested guest email addresses to stay in touch or in case they had further questions. The centre space was lively, and it was great to see students introducing themselves and asking thoughtful questions like, “How did you find yourself in this job?” and “What can I start doing now to get there?”.

Overall, the morning was a great success. We’re very grateful to all our guests for sharing their insights and inspiration, and we look forward to next year’s event!

Annual Skating Trip

Zareh Demirdji Beyond the Classroom, Community

On Wednesday February 5th, Staff and Students of the Academy made our annual walk down Bay Street towards Nathan Philip Square for our annual skating trip. Experts, novices and those with skills in between hit the ice in unison. Skaters of all levels had fun while on the ice, and so did those who chose not to skate. We even had our fearless Head of School throw on a pair of blades and show us a move or two. As always, boxes of timbits and hot chocolate made their way over to su, and after taking our group picture, everyone was treated to some sweets. After consuming the treats, everyone made their way home, another successful skating trip in the books

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

Level Up! Trades Fair

Zareh Demirdji Beyond the Classroom, Experiential Learning, Science and Math, Technology

As a first for our school, six senior senior students interested in pursuing trades after high school attended the Level Up! Trades Fair. The Mississauga International Centre had 144 different trade vendors spread across Hall 2, ready and eager to talk about their trades. Students had a two hour slot to walk around and explore a multitude of trades and vendors. Most of the vendors had fun, hands-on opportunities for students to engage with. From learning how to lay bricks and patch drywall to welding pipes, braiding hair and applying make-up, there was no shortage of tactile experiences for students to explore. There was even a mini helicopter and full sized TTC buses to explore. Whichever trade a student is interested in, the Trades Fair had something for everyone. This is a trip worth returning to next year with even more students.

Scientific Observations in the Park

Brandon Stewart Beyond the Classroom, Experiential Learning, Science and Math No Comments

Early in the school year, the grade 10 science classes learned about quantitative and qualitative observations in the field. The groups headed out on a single-period walking excursion to Queen’s Park where they could conduct some observations in a dynamic environment. Students began by engaging their senses; feeling textures, smelling scents, observing colours, and listening to the sounds around them. Learning how terms like “lots,” “green,” “good,” and “cold,” represented judgements that could be considered qualitative was useful. Students also developed knowledge around how countable measurements of distance, weight, amount, temperature, volume, and area using standard units would be considered quantitative.

Students toured in small groups around the park, making both qualitative and quantitative observations. They were instructed to return to the whole group with three qualitative questions, and three quantitative questions that could be posed about features of the park. A group discussion was held about how that data could be gathered and verified.

Pine Crest High School Trip

Brandon Stewart Beyond the Classroom, Community, Experiential Learning No Comments

A group of YMCA Academy High School students embarked on a three day journey into the wilderness of the Muskoka region at the YMCA’s Camp Pine Crest. The trip included a stay in cabins, songs and s’mores around the campfire, portaging canoes, and a night at a backwoods campsite on picturesque Gullwing Lake.

During the paddle back to the main camp, our Pine Crest trip guides asked the Academy teachers and students for their “Rose, Thorn, and Bud”; a clever way to ask for a positive reflection, a negative experience, and a wish for the future. Students shared their enjoyment of the games, the good sleep they had, and the mental health break that the wilderness brought them as their roses. They shared about the challenges posed by the bugs, the sun, and missing home as their thorns. Students also cited the return to their own beds, seeing family that they were missing, and a reunion with their phones as their buds. One teacher, who saved his Rose, Bud, and Thorn for this very blog post, reflected that he was impressed by how dedicated students were in hauling gear and canoes through a muddy and bug-infested 300 meter portage, how he wished the adventure could have been just one night longer, and how much he was looking forward to ice cream upon his return from the wilderness.

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