THE PACE OF THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

What a fun, successful start to 2022 we have had! P.A.C.E. students have completed some amazing student-led fundraising initiatives and our amazing faculty continues to think outside the box and bring in fun, engaging and stimulating learning experiences to the classroom. We have had lots of interesting and insightful discussions with experts from outside our schools walls via virtual meetings! 

Let’s dig into what has been happening at P.A.C.E. this winter!

JANUARY + FEBRUARY  HIGHLIGHTS

Our grade 2 class was busy bringing in warmth and sunshine as they celebrated their very own virtual Beach Day!

In January we announced that in 2021, P.A.C.E. came together to raise an incredible $9,004 for cancer research for our Terry Fox School Run. The Terry Fox Foundation is so grateful for our commitment and dedication. It is wonderful to see that Terry continues to inspire millions of students across the country. Thank you all for your thoughtful donations!

On January 31 the grade 3s received a virtual visit from Ms. Eleanor Chun, the author of the book titled The Invisibles – a story about balancing our screen time. Prior to the visit, Ms. De Caro read the story to her students, except for the last two pages. Students then created their own ending to the story, and some of them had the opportunity to share their own endings with Ms. Chun. She was very impressed with the grade 3s creativity. Ms. Chun after the visit finally read the complete story. The author also offered signed copies of the book to the students.

A mental health expert virtually met with both of our grade 5 classes to provide them with a workshop on mental health leading up to #bellletstalk day. The students had the opportunity to ask deep and meaningful questions about mental health matters concerning them and we’re so happy to have provided our students with this experience, from which they really benefitted!

Our grade 5s conducted their Global Issues charity project! In partnership with the North York General Foundation, the purpose of this initiative was to raise funds for The Phillips House – the home of North York General Hospital’s child and adolescent outpatient mental health programs. The grade 5 students raised funds by creating and selling unique items to family and friends through their own, individual websites.

The grade 5s also wrote “thank you” cards to the people who helped them organize their charity events. Gratitude can move mountains in this world and we are so proud of the grade 5s.

Our AP Biology class completed a new unit in molecular genetics. The students built complex models of DNA and learned about how the structure of DNA contributes to our knowledge of life. The students applied the knowledge of DNA to techniques used in bioengineering. We are very proud of this exciting and innovative subject matter.

Our grade 8 science class started a new physics unit on Thermodynamics. Students learned how to apply the three laws of thermodynamics to everyday activities. In this lab, students looked at the effects of antifreeze and salt on the melting point of ice! A very ‘cool’ experiment for the winter season!

We had a blast in Grade 1 with our first big research project in Theme class! The students chose a mode of transportation they were interested in learning about, conducted thorough research, gave an oral presentation, and built a 3D model. Their incredible models were worthy of being in a museum, so we held a gallery walk! Students took turns presenting the construction of their 3D models to visitors.

To combine the Grade 1 Theme Unit on Multiculturalism with Logic class, students worked collaboratively to complete a word search focused on Australia. From famous cities to the cutest of animals, students honed in on their word search skills while diving deeper into the continent of Australia.

SETTING THE PACE

We have had a wonderful, educational and FUN start to 2022. Thanks to Ontario’s Wiarton Willie’s claim that an early spring is on the way on Groundhog day, we are excited to look forward to SPRING at P.A.C.E! As we approach March and April we look forward to: 

• March 4 – school closes at 12pm (March Break begins)
• March 21 – School resumes
• March 24-25 – parent/teacher interviews
• March 29 – Grade 9 CPR training
• March 30 – Grade 10 CPR training
• March 31-April – P.A.C.E. Model UN
• April 5 – Euclid contest
• April 6 – Mathematica Centrum contest
• April 12 – Fryer, Galois and Hypatia contests
• April 15 – Good Friday (school closed)
• April 18 – Easter Monday (school closed)

Keep pace with what’s going on with our students with our bi-monthly blog updates. For an insider’s view into your child’s enriched learning experience, join the P.A.C.E. community on Instagram.

2020-2021 ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

As we take a moment to pause and reflect on the performance of our students throughout the 2020-2021 school year, we are filled with pride and admiration. 

Despite ongoing worldwide and personal challenges, as a community, we not only endured the most trying year in our history but we rose to the challenge and conquered! 

We could not be more thrilled to present our 2020-2021 Academic Achievement Highlights, found here. Achievements 2021

In the words of this generation’s greatest disruptor, Steve Jobs, ‘Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.’

Keeping going P.A.C.E.!

THE PACE OF THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

As we write this blog we are both reflecting on the past (hoping you all had a wonderful winter break and holidays) AND looking forward to all the exciting changes coming in 2022. 

We are so grateful to have spent the first half of the school year live and in-person with most of our students. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for the rest of the school year. Let’s jump into some highlights:

NOVEMBER + DECEMBER  HIGHLIGHTS

Our AP Biology students are learning some important concepts through experimentation. The students were collecting data and calculating the rate and extent of diffusion through cell membranes.

Our Grade 1s conducted a science lab to learn more about our sense of touch and how it sends messages about what we are touching to the brain. In this experiment, the Grade 1s blindly reached into a box to feel werewolf skin (fake fur), spider legs (twisted pipe cleaners), zombie brains (Jell-O), and worms (cold spaghetti). Then, they described the texture of the 4 objects and took guesses of what they could really be before the big reveal!

To complement our Characteristics of Living Things Unit in science, the Grade 1s visited Round the Bend Farm! It was a fun-filled day of scavenger hunts looking for different parts of plants, identifying living and non-living things, and using our senses to observe our surroundings. The students trekked through a forest to a corn maze, fed a variety of farm animals, got to see pumpkins of all shapes and sizes and so much more! Each of them even brought home a gourd! Let’s just say it was a ‘gourd’ day!

Our grade 9 computer science students wrote the Beaver Computing Challenge (BCC)! The BCC is held by the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing. The BCC is a problem-solving contest with a focus on computational and logical thinking, and its questions are inspired by topics in computer science.

Our grade 3s made their own tangram sets in Logic class! The Tangram is a deceptively simple set of seven geometric shapes made up of five triangles (two small triangles, one medium triangle, and two large triangles), a square, and a parallelogram. When the pieces are arranged together they suggest an amazing variety of forms, embodying many numerical and geometric concepts!

On November 17, some of our grade 10 and grade 12 students participated in the Canadian Intermediate and Senior Math Contests. These contests are held by the University of Waterloo and are designed to give students the opportunity to have fun and to develop their mathematical problem-solving ability. Good luck to all participants!

P.A.C.E. held its annual awards assembly to celebrate the outstanding achievements of its students during the 2020-21 school year. Congratulations to all, well deserved!

Our grade 7 and 8 music students watched a live video performed by members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra followed by the featured musician delivering a brief lesson in music terminology and background on their own instruments. It was inspirational! We are grateful to have learned from Shane Kim on violin, Camille Watts on flute and Steven Woomert on trumpet.

The P.A.C.E. Concert Band is composed of music students from grades 9, 10 and 11, as well as a select group of students from grades 7 and 8. On December 6th, members of the band recorded a performance for this year’s virtual P.A.C.E Winter Concert, which was presented on December 8th to all P.A.C.E. students and staff. The band performed classic winter holiday theme songs, along with concert band arrangements ranging from movie soundtracks, Pop and Jazz.

After 2 years of little to no performing, Mr. De Lara and his students were so grateful to have the experience and opportunity to rehearse and perform music once again!

SETTING THE PACE

We have had a very successful close of 2021. As we embark upon 2022 we are invigorated, solution-minded and up for thinking outside the traditional box! January and February will host: 

• January 13 – Caribou Math Contest (grades 1-3)
• February 16 – Canadian Computing Contest (grades 10-12)
• February 17 – CPR Training (grade 9)
• February 21 – Family Day (school closed)
• February 23 – Cayley, Fermat and Pascal Math Contests (grades 8-11)
• February 25 – Term III Begins