Community – Page 43 – YMCA Academy

Oct. 19th, 2011 – Me to We Halloween for Hunger

YMCA Academy October 19, 2011August 17, 2015 Beyond the Classroom, Community

Dear Parents/Guardians:

The YMCA Academy’s ‘Me to We Club’ along with the grade 10 Civics and grade 9 Nutrition classes are organizing a food drive in support of Halloween for Hunger. The yearly campaign, run by Free the Children, encourages students to collect non-perishable food items for their local food banks.

Academy students are invited to bring in canned food items between now and Friday October 28^th. As an incentive to bring in donations, on Friday the 28^th in the afternoon all students who have brought in a canned food item will have the opportunity to ‘buy out’ of 4^th period to participate in a ‘students vs. staff’ dodgeball game in the Central Y gymnasium.

Any questions can be directed to Michelle Johnson: michelle.johnson@ymcagta.org

Thank you for your support as we work to address the issue of hunger in our community.

Sept. 30th, 2011 – Picture from We Day Toronto

YMCA Academy September 30, 2011August 17, 2015 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

Group Shot of YMCA Academy students & staff at We Day 2011 Toronto

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

Sept. 16th, 2011 – Esther Osche visits Academy

YMCA Academy September 19, 2011August 18, 2015 Community, English and Humanities, Experiential Learning

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!

Jun. 29th, 2011 – Craig Verner’s stencil workshop

YMCA Academy June 29, 2011August 17, 2015 Arts, Community, Experiential Learning

In addition to flowers, plants and wind chimes, the toddlers down at the Metro Central childcare can now enjoy some art in their outdoor space. The Academy’s grade 11 media arts class just completed an exciting unit on multi-layered stencils led by artist and creative facilitator Craig Verner. Students came up with ideas for stencils of sports equipment, toy robots and greenery that would spruce up the space in an artistic way. The stencils were an interesting addition to a beautiful hand-painted mural by Zack. Thanks to Kathryn at the daycare centre, Craig for a great workshop and the media arts students for their talent and collaboration!

Visit Craig Verner’s Website

Jun. 15th, 2011 – Social Justice in Action!

YMCA Academy June 15, 2011August 17, 2015 Beyond the Classroom, Community

Congratulations, YMCA Academy students on making us proud once again! We received this “thank you” from Free the Children for all of your outstanding work and commitment on social justice and environmental issues.

This year has gone by quickly, but let’s recap and celebrate some of our amazing projects: We Day, Halloween for Hunger, The Vow of Silence, Peace Week, The Good News Newsletter, Greening of the FDC childcare playground, Earth Week, Earth Hour, tree planting, Free Hugs, That’s Not Fair to Me, seeing Dr. Jane Goodall speak, Sasha’s presentation on her work with Free the Children in Kenya, the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup and the Healthy Choices Program with Brickworks!

Whew, it’s been a busy year of doing good, Academy students! You are a shining example of youth committed to social justice – well done!