June 2022 - Blyth Academy
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June 2022
B.E.S.T. Nite It was incredible to welcome our families back into the building on Thursday, June 9th as we showcased our Blyth Etobicoke Student Talent. Our talented students displayed their artwork, photography, jewelry, and , and our musicians serenaded us for the evening with their flutes, pianos, guitars, and ukuleles. Many thanks to Louisa L., Chantel H., Paige S. and Lily S. for their assistance with the event. Congratulations and thank you to our talented students for sharing your gifts with the Blyth ET community - Sam A., Rebecca C., Kaden C., Taisiya D., Charlotte G-S., Jack H., Chantel H., Kate L., Maddie L., Louisa L., Felix M., Lorelei O., Aiden R., Anna S.
Guidance Corner Congratulations to our Blyth Academy Etobicoke Class of 2022 Graduates We are incredibly proud of each and every one of you and cannot wait to see the wonderful places that you will go! As many of you are aware, after a rich and rewarding career in education, I am ready to move on to the next chapter in my life … retirement! I would like to thank each one of you for being a part of my final chapter as an educator. I value the time I have been able to spend with our students, the wonderful relationships I have forged with our faculty, and the opportunity to learn and grow with the best principal I have had the privilege to work with. Thank you, Blyth Academy Etobicoke, for allowing me to learn, grow and share my passion for students, their learning, and their well being. Thank you for letting me end on a high note! Peace, Mrs. Pace
Farewell, Mrs. Pace! Staff and students worked to create a unique retirement gift for our beloved Mrs. Pace over the last week of school. We had all students and staff create the leaves of this tree by dipping their fingers in paint and adding their print to the branches. Now, she will have a part of Blyth ET and each member of community with her always. A special thanks to Louisa L. for putting her artistic and management skills to work on this project. We will miss you, Mrs. Pace! We wish you a wonderful retirement.
Ripley’s Aquarium Recently, the grade 11 Environmental Science class took a long- awaited field trip to Ripley’s aquarium. The class was in the midst of the oceanography unit and were keen to understand how the aquarium worked and what animals were present. The class was delighted by the anemones, beautiful life forms with vibrant, iridescent colours. The touch tank, in which visitors are allowed to touch manta rays, was also a highlight. As anyone who has visited the aquarium will know, the underwater tunnel is highlight of any visit, as it allows viewers to walk surrounded by sharks and sea turtles. Additionally, the class received a tour of the operational areas, where students were allowed to see how food was prepared, and the enormous effort required to maintain specific temperature and salinity requirements for the different tanks. As their teacher, I was most proud that the class also expressed their mixed emotions upon seeing their animals in the tanks. The class felt the animals deserved to be in the wild, so the aquarium offered lessons both intentional (scientific) and perhaps accidental (ethical). ~ Mr. Mrkich
House Report The final house meetings were held on June 9 and were action packed! As Blyth ET was getting ready for student council elections on campus, the prospective candidates shared their vision and agenda for the next academic year. It was wonderful to see other students listen to the prospective candidates intently and motivate their friends. The students also got a chance to take a walk outside and appreciate the bounties of nature. This house meeting got students to reflect on the year gone by as well as get them excited for the much-awaited summer break. It was quite amazing to hear everyone share their ‘Rose, Bud and Thorn’ and hear our students share their highs and lows. The house spirit demonstrated by students was infectious and brought the community close! We are pleased to announce that OAK House was the winning house for the 2022-23 school year!
This month the Environmental Science class took a trip to visit
the marvellous rooftop farm at Toronto Metropolitan
University. TMU uses the rooftop to grow food for the
university and also donates produce to local charities.
The class received an excellent tour by a guide who had
TMU rooftop begun as a student volunteer before they graduated and
became a full-time employee. She gave us detailed
farm visit! descriptions of the decision making that goes into
maintaining proper watering amounts and schedules, how
the farm uses crop rotation to reduce losses, and the
planting schedule.
The class also got to pick and then eat radishes right from
the ground. Few of us get to eat food so fresh.
EcoSchools Canada We are thrilled to announce that we have achieved GOLD- CERTIFICATION by EcoSchools Canada! We began our commitment to EcoSchools Canada in 2019, initially becoming certified in Spring 2020, despite the pandemic challenges. We then progressed to a bronze badge in 2021. This year, we decided to skip silver altogether and go for the gold…and we did it! A special thanks to the grade 10 Foundations class for tackling the final nitty-gritty details of this project and to the grade 9 Foundations class for their work on the Meatless Monday category. We are so proud to be recognized as environmental leaders alongside other Canadian schools. We are confident that next year, the platinum level is within our reach!
Cultural Experiences On Tuesday, June 14th, Spanish students of Señorita Palumbo’s class walked into their classroom to see a unique sight - a cornucopia of Latin America fruits and other specialties! This was part of the food unit in their course. Students participated in fruit tasting and discussions where they which named the fruit, which country it came from, and recorded its colours, tastes, and textures. The class then had the opportunity to make their own arepas from scratch, as well as quesadillas with three different Mexican cheeses found only in certain markets. They even sampled chica morada, a purple corn beverage from Peru. This was surely one of the most memorable Spanish classes of the term, and hopefully an inspiration to continue to venture outside of your comfort zone and familiarize yourself with foods from other cultures.
To conclude our food unit, on Wednesday, June 22nd, Señorita Palumbo and her Spanish class had their last field trip of the course: a lunch excursion to an authentic Nicaraguan restaurant in Toronto, La Bella Managua. This was the perfect treat to wrap up the term and put to use all the grammar and vocabulary gained over the past couple of months. Rosa, our Nicaraguan host and waitress, was impressed with the students’ level of conversational Spanish, especially given that they only began their studies ten short weeks ago. Everyone enjoyed their authentic Nicaraguan dishes (and were pleasantly surprised by the very generous portions) over some friendly conversation in Spanish. We are grateful to have cultural experiences such as this right in our own backyard. ¡Que viva la cultura! A big shout out to our first-ever Spanish students at Blyth Academy Etobicoke! You were an exceptional class! ~ Señorita Palumbo
Principal’s Message We’ve successfully completed another September – June cycle here at Blyth ET and are already looking forward to the next! It’s been a wonderful year, and next year promises even more opportunities for our students as the world continues to reopen to us. The team and I wish you all a safe and happy summer break. Until September, Blyth ET! ~Ms. Foley
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