Oct 24th, 2012 – Breakdown Reaction Lab

YMCA Academy Experiential Learning, Science and Math

Breaking Down a Breakdown Reaction

In grade 10 science, the chemistry unit is primarily focused on chemical reactions.  Simply discussing the various types of chemical reactions and what they entail can be for many students a bit abstract. Luckily for chemistry, there are a lot of “cool” demonstrations (or demos as we call them in the biz) that can be utilized to visually represent the power, speed and awesomeness that chemical reactions can have.  One of the types of chemical reactions students learn about in grade 10 chemistry is a decomposition reaction in which a single reactant molecule breaks down into simpler constituents (parts).

2 H2O2 (l) à  2 H2O (l) + 02 (g)

On Monday October 15, our science class witnessed a decomposition reaction.  In particular this decomposition reaction was one used on the hit comedy series, The Big Bang Theory, and so aside from its “cool” factor, it also had pop culture factor and something the students could relate to.  The reaction is essentially the breakdown (decomposition) of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into water (H2O) and oxygen (O2). Hydrogen peroxide is a liquid substance that can be found in drug stores and is used on cuts.  The drug store variety of hydrogen peroxides, are only 3%.  The hydrogen peroxide we used for our demonstration was 6 and 30 percent (to make the outcome more dramatic).

To make the reaction go really fast we mixed yeast in warm water and added it to the hydrogen peroxide (the yeast speeding up the reaction significantly).  Added to the hydrogen peroxide before hand was food colouring (for cool effect), and ordinary dish soap.  The oxygen that is released during the decomposition is caught by the dish soap bubbles which causes the liquid to expand as it does.  The outcome is a fun and “cool” demonstration of a decomposition reaction, which is a lot better than simply describing its mechanics.

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Oct 17th, 2012 – Evergreen Stewardship Fall

YMCA Academy Community, Environmental Stewardship, Experiential Learning

On October 12, 2012 the YMCA Academy made its annual fall trek to Evergreen Downsview as part of our yearly environmental stewardship initiative.  It was a cold and at points windy day, but this did not deter our students.  With shovels in hand the Academy planted 165 trees and shrubs, helping reforest Downsview Park for the third year in a row. We look forward to matching or bettering the number of trees planted when we make our second trek in the spring.

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Oct 17th, 2012 – Learning about Hardware!

YMCA Academy Experiential Learning, Technology

Academy tech geniuses Dakota and Omar worked with teacher and I.T. guy Andras to replace broken components of the school laptops.  Setting up a triage station with tools, new parts and sick computers, Andras demonstrated how to replace keyboards and track pads and explained the mechanisms behind in the inner workings of the laptops.  Thanks to this group of techies, we can again enjoying typing with the “j” key and using the left click button!

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Oct 15th, 2012 – Canadian Shoreline Cleanup

YMCA Academy Environmental Stewardship, Experiential Learning

On September 21, 2012 the entire school participated in the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.  This year we focused our efforts on cleaning a section of shoreline along the Don River in E.T. Seton Park.  The Grade 12 Environment and Resource Management class did a great job serving as “ambassadors” for the event – encouraging participation and furthering the Academy’s commitment to environmental stewardship.

We had a great turnout and collected over 100lbs of garbage that afternoon, and you can continue reading to find out the process of the same.  Wildlife sightings included turtles, a rabbit and a fox.  Many students commented that they were able to experience a part of Toronto that they didn’t know existed.  Special thanks to the Ontario Science Centre for donating cleanup supplies and allowing us to use their recycling and waste facilities.

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Sep 24th, 2012 – Native Canadian Centre Visit

YMCA Academy English and Humanities, Experiential Learning, Native Studies

The World Religion and Current Aboriginal Issues in Canada classes opened the new school year by attending an event at the Native Canadian Center of Toronto.  We listened to resident teacher and member of the Ojibway tribe Don Jabokwoam share his extensive knowledge of history as well as his personal life experiences.  We are very grateful to Don and the Native Canadian Center for supporting our learning of Aboriginal history, spirituality and culture and we look forward to collaborating again in the future!