Looking forward to mid-June? If you’re a student of The Study Academy, you should probably start. That’s because we’ve got a truly exciting set of activities planned from June 15-26. It’s our way of both thanking and rewarding students for their progress and hard work this year. And since education is what the staff and faculty here know and love, what better activities to plan than ones of the educational ilk? What we have in store is better than camp – it’s Brain Camp!
For teachers at The Study Academy, one of the objectives that always underlie our lessons plans is to set the stage for student-centred, experiential learning. We use a variety of methods to achieve that end in our classrooms. At its core, the vision of Brain Camp is about expanding those same objectives into a very new set of experiences. So while the activities we’ve planned will optimize long-term skills like critical thinking and problem-solving, we’ve also ensured that they’re interesting and enable the students to engage in practical application. Students will enjoy and be challenged by a QR scan code scavenger hunt, physical education, applied mathematics, cooking, video game creation, current events investigation and reporting, drama and outdoor games, movie-making, science experiments, and art projects.
In addition to bringing about new experiences, we also think of Brain Camp as a great way to get students into new spaces. That’s exactly what we’ll be doing with field trips to the AGO, Skyzone, Bounce World, Brick Works and Queen’s Park. We’ll be starting those days at The Study Academy, but we’ll be venturing out from there (being located so close to public transportation has definite perks!).
Teachers Eric and Jonathan are both eagerly preparing for their roles as coordinators for Brain Camp. In addition to serving as guardians and ensuring everyone’s on schedule throughout each day’s events, they’ll also be taking on the tricky task of consultation for students deciding how and what to investigate during the activities. This means judging when it’s appropriate to lend their voices, and when it’s appropriate to step back. We think striking that balance is the best way to assure a support system so students feel safe enough to partake in independent work.
Brain Camp will take place from 9am-3pm every school day from June 15-26, and will include students from 9-14 years old. We’re proud that in only two weeks from today, we’ll be facilitating this combination of academic enrichment, field trips, and activities, and assisting students in worthwhile accomplishments. See you there!