Healthy Communities • YMCA Youth Programs
Celebrating success at The YMCA Academy
07 July 2016 - by Todd Harrison
The YMCA Academy’s recent year-end celebration featured a sendoff for the school’s largest-ever graduating class, and honoured the accomplishments of students across all grades in the 2015-2016 school year — which featured the biggest learning community in the school’s 13-year history.
This year, 14 Academy students were eligible to graduate. Most are headed to college programs across the GTA, while some are pursuing apprenticeships, educational opportunities in the U.S., additional credentials at the Academy, or a travel-filled gap year.
But graduates weren’t the only people being feted at the ceremony. A half dozen Academy students (across all grades) received recognition for their embodiment of the six YMCA core values, while three students from the leaving class received special recognition for their dedication to volunteering and community involvement.
For a school for students with learning disabilities and learning-style differences, this annual event takes on a special significance. It’s a chance to celebrate success — an opportunity that, for many Academy students and their families, has felt elusive or beyond their grasp. “It has opened the boy's world up,” says the parent of one Academy student. “He can see that school and learning can be useful and empowering. Up to now, it was always a chore, at times an insurmountable obstacle to happiness. It has all changed now.”
This year, 14 Academy students were eligible to graduate. Most are headed to college programs across the GTA, while some are pursuing apprenticeships, educational opportunities in the U.S., additional credentials at the Academy, or a travel-filled gap year.
But graduates weren’t the only people being feted at the ceremony. A half dozen Academy students (across all grades) received recognition for their embodiment of the six YMCA core values, while three students from the leaving class received special recognition for their dedication to volunteering and community involvement.
For a school for students with learning disabilities and learning-style differences, this annual event takes on a special significance. It’s a chance to celebrate success — an opportunity that, for many Academy students and their families, has felt elusive or beyond their grasp. “It has opened the boy's world up,” says the parent of one Academy student. “He can see that school and learning can be useful and empowering. Up to now, it was always a chore, at times an insurmountable obstacle to happiness. It has all changed now.”
