Please welcome our newest member to the Via Vita team - Ms. Yolanda McLean! We are excited to announce the hiring of Ms. Yolanda and formally welcome her to the Via Vita family. She has been working with us now since mid-January and is already deep into new projects with her students, while quickly getting to know each family. Please take a read and learn about her first week observing the busy halls of Via Vita. We are lucky to have such a passionate and caring educator join our school! Photo: Ms. Yolanda posing for a picture with her students in Kisii, Kenya. The words “Via Vita”, meaning way of life, fully encompasses what I have observed student’s experiencing during my first week here at Via Vita Academy. Walking through the doors on my first day, I saw students busy working together with the support of their teachers, encouraging them along the way.
The community built inside this small school is like nothing I have ever experienced in a school before. Seeing students supporting one another throughout the day - during a math activity, learning a new sport, standing up in front of others, opening a snack, putting on boots - honestly, the whole day - it warmed my heart. These kids have learned the skills to to speak up for themselves, motivate each other, and help others through tough times. They've really created a feeling of safety and acceptance. What strikes me the most about this environment is really getting to see how much each child cares deeply for each other. In such small class sizes, these students accept one another for who they really are, the things that they have in common and even more so, the things that make them different and unique. The feeling I got from working with the students was that they could feel more relaxed and free to make mistakes and take risks because they were not being judged. Their engagement and attitude is fantastic! They create questions, find information on the topic and teach the class. Seeing the students take the lead in their learning is inspirational! Their curiosities are explored and they have the opportunity to see their own success. As a teacher, I feel that students having a blend of responsibility and independence are necessary to develop confidence and a desire for individual growth. Students at Via Vita are given this responsibility through every day. Older and younger students are paired together to help clean the school and work in buddies throughout the week. Seeing older students being so compassionate with younger children’s needs during break times, outings, in the kitchen or during chores reminds me why I love teaching so much. These younger students see the older students as role models and love getting to spend time with them, while the older students gain a multitude of skills that are so difficult to teach. It's a great balance and support network for all students involved. From my observation, Via Vita is fostering a learning environment where students can feel safe to be themselves while continuing to challenge themselves each day to grow and develop. The skills these students are learning will help them not only today, or throughout their schooling, but for the rest of their lives. There are so many responsible, kind and inquisitive young minds at work at Via Vita and I’m so excited I get to be a part of it!
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A week ago our students took a school trip to Noggins Farm in Greenwich, Nova Scotia. The weather couldn't have been any better. The apple picking. The historic tour through the farm land. Carol. Oh Carol. Our wonderful farm guide, leader filled with kindness, knowledge, and remarkable patience and leadership. We asked her many times if we could take her back home with us. The corn maze. The picnic lunch. The exploratory play grounds. The parents. The parents! We had so many parents join us - it was like a family get together. To see so much support and smiles was heartwarming, to say the least. Aside from all of these memories made, we were most impressed with our students. Their respect and enthusiasm set the bar high for field trips to come. The knowledge our students, teachers, and families gained from walking through the back farm lands; the real life experience of leading, role modelling, listening, problem solving, and working together; the hands on learning of apple picking and life on the farm; and, the critical thinking and questioning throughout the tour - it was heartwarming to see our students engaged in the community in a positive way. The discussions that followed included everything from Acadians, Mi'gmaq, Ice Age, Maritime Industries, government, buying local, entrepreneurship, traditions, cooking, baking, trees, culture - even Celtic music! So many talking and learning points from a trip to the farm. There is no learning quite like a field trip. It's is, hands down (or hands-on!?) the best way to experience learning. Thank you Noggins for the experience, guidance, knowledge, and memories. Thank you parents for joining us and allowing us to plan this trip with your child in mind. Thank you students for the upmost amazing behaviour on a school trip, respecting everyone and everything around us, and for soaking up all of the wonderfulness that is Noggins. Thank you to our communities for supporting local farms and organizations that can teach growing generations so much about the world they're growing up in, a world we expect them to carry on and make changes for the better. We leave with a series of pictures that capture our day at the farm and discussions that followed. Grades Pre-K to grade 9 contributed a small token of artwork for this blog post to show you a few things they were thinking about post-farm trip. Hope you enjoy! And yes, the apple crisp was very, very good! For the recipe, see below! Apple Crisp
Topping ⅔ cup whole wheat flour 1 ½ cup rolled oats ⅔ cup coconut sugar ½ cup coconut oil 1-2 tsp cinnamon (optional) Filling 8 cups of apples ⅔ cup of coconut sugar 4 tsp lemon juice Directions Pre-heat oven to 350℉. In a bowl, mix flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, and coconut oil together until crumbly. Core, peel and slice apples. In a bowl toss apples with lemon juice and sugar. Pour apples into a 9x13in pan. Sprinkle oat mixture evenly over top of apples. Bake for 35 minutes or until apple mixture is bubbly and topping is golden brown. Please welcome another wonderful post by our Master Gardener Colleen Alexandra. She has been a great help in starting Via Vita Academy's garden and establishing a love for the outdoors for our students. Enjoy the read! It was late August and while many of us were thinking about harvesting and putting our gardens to bed for the winter, Via Vita Academy was in garden start-up mode.
I enjoyed the wonderful meal and the opportunity to meet the families and students who came out to participate in preparing for a new school garden. Bellies full, we headed out to the garden area. Our task list included staking out and leveling areas for new raised beds, identifying an area for a grassy play area and general weeding and tidying. Enthusiastic helpers picked up tools and got to work without prompting! It was a pleasure to watch how each child approached the work. Some stayed close to mom while others ventured off independently to learn how a landscapers measuring reel worked or to pound in wooden stakes. Older students explored nature with younger ones while others found the blackberry patch and spent some time berry picking and feasting. It was a happy mix of work and play! With the school year now in full swing, the garden will become an integral part of the curriculum at Via Vita Academy. Already, students are planting, watering, composting, and maintaining the garden - experiencing hands-on learning that will stay with them for years to come. |
Welcome to Our BlogEach post is written by a supportive member of Via Vita Academy, be it a teacher, parent, student, community member, who is invested in the topic of education. Take a read and comment below! Archives
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