Autumn outdoor adventures await

Year 7 annually sees a substantial influx of students to the College — with the number of classes expanding to six from four — and Norval programming eases the transition by having the entire grade up early to bond.

 

The large low-ropes course will be put to good use. The main problem-solving activity for the Year 7s is the “troll traverse,” which requires class co-operation to complete.   

 

Low-ropes activities start in Year 2, when students are learning about levers and simple machines. In their trip later in the fall, Year 2s will also participate in animal mapping, as they’ll be studying maps in class. They follow a trail, picking up clues along the way, and try to guess what animal they will eventually find — in stuffy form.  

 

Year 5 is also a major intake year, so all students in the grade will assemble at Norval early in September for a team-building program inspired by The Amazing Race. Students will be placed in rotating teams of three or four, including two students who are Norval veterans. 

 

The Senior Kindergarten class, meanwhile, will be coming up “to meet Norval staff, and we’ll talk about what we’re most passionate about,” Norval Director Brent Evans explains. “I’ll tell them a story, which is what I love to do, and then they’ll meet Brit Cook, who loves gardening, and then Mike Bradford, who loves raising salmon in the spring. Each of us has their passion.” 

 

The Year 1s’ visit, linked to their curriculum, teaches about managing garbage, compost, recycling and upcycling through costumed characters including Captain Stewardship, Compost-icorn, and ReCyclops.

 

Year 3s will attend a special event for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, tying orange ribbons around trees to mark Indigenous students who passed away in residential schools. 

 

“There is a ceremonial water walk, in which they carry water for a kilometre,” Evans explains. “They learn about the value of water through an Indigenous book, and also do an art piece.”   

 

One of Norval’s partners, the Credit Valley Conservation (CDC) authority, will participate in Year 11 programming related to UCC’s new IB DP Systems Transformation Graduation Pathway, focused on learning that’s geared towards the development of ethical solutions to local, national and global issues.  

 

“Students will do an in-depth study with the CDC on the Credit Valley watershed, working with scientists to analyze its health and viability,” Evans says.  

 

In October, Year 4s will come to Norval for a program related to their classroom learning about types of rocks and the rock cycle. They smash rocks into small pieces, creating natural paints. But, most exciting, they’ll have an overnight stay, after having had their first overnighter at the end of Year 3. “They’re building on the skills they’ve learned,” Evans says.  

 

Year 6s will engage in a trust-building program, including a – safe – variation on the William Tell legend. “They put on safety goggles, and on their heads we place a red cup, representing an apple, which their classmates try to shoot off with an elastic band,” Evans says. “It’s hard to do, and really fun.”

 

Lest the boys monopolize all the fun and learning that Norval has in store, parents of new students are invited to an open house in early September. 

 

“Parents choose UCC for its academics, co-curriculars, facilities, and amazing teachers, but then they say, ‘What – we get this, too?’” Evans says. “They also love to know what their sons are going to experience. All parents live a little vicariously through their kids, and they’ll be saying, ‘My goodness, look what you’re going to do!’”