Category: Junior School

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The Role of Parents in Athletics: Bruce Brown Presentation – Thursday, Sept. 23

We are so fortunate to have Bruce Brown at York House on Thursday. Bruce is one of the most sought after speakers in North America. He speaks at major NCAA universities, high schools, colleges and professional sport organizations. His message on teaching character through sport is a message that all coaches, athletes and parents need to hear.

Bruce has been the most inspirational voice in shaping my professional career and my values towards athletics and leadership. His message transcends athletics to be relevant in all aspects of life.

He will be presenting Life Lessons for Athletes and more about trust and confidence for athletes to all our Tigers and coaches from 3:30-4:30pm on September 23. All Tigers Grades 6-12 are expected to be there. Other students who are heavily involved in other extra-curricular activities are also welcome to attend. From 4:30-5:30pm he will speak to all coaches, student coaches and team leaders.

The Role of Parents in Athletics presentation will run from 6:00-6:45pm and is very important for all of our Tigers parents Gr. 6-12. This presentation is also very relevant for any parent looking to support and encourage their daughter in various activities, academics and in life.

Olympic athlete, YHS alumnae and parent Leslie Cliff ’72, heard Bruce speak in the fall of 2004 when her daughter, Lisa, was starting Grade 12. Here’s what she had to say about the presentation: “I thought I had a good grip on how to be a supportive parent of an aspiring elite athlete but I learned a lot from Bruce Brown. He exposed me to concepts on how to help Lisa while respecting her abilities to make the big decisions in her career.”

I hope our Tigers parents take advantage of this special opportunity.

David Prissinotti
Athletics Director

More information regarding Bruce Brown and his message can be found at http://www.proactivecoaching.info/proactive

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Going to Globals: EnviroBots Conquer Destination ImagiNation

The EnviroBots with parent volunteer Chamkaur Cheema
The EnviroBots with parent volunteer Chamkaur Cheema

What will robotic technology accomplish next? How will our lives change because of it?

Just ask the EnviroBots – our Destination ImagiNation team that participated in the 2010 Global Finals Tournament in Knoxville, TN. <

The middle-level team of seven (Grade 6s’ Anisha, Elizabeth, Ariana, Rachel, Alice, Nicole and Gr. 7 Laura, accompanied by parent volunteers Chamkaur and Sandy Cheema) competed with 1050 teams from around the world from May 26-29, 2010.

These four exhilarating days were filled with intense competition, teamwork, creativity and fun.

The girls tied for 16th place out of 60 teams that competed in their division (middle-level robotics) – a huge accomplishment.

Each team is required to complete two mind-bending challenges – an “instant challenge” where the team is given 10 minutes to prepare and present, and a team challenge chosen from a variety of categories that incorporate areas such as structural engineering, mathematics, marketing, robotics technology, storytelling and visual arts. The team prepares for the challenge in advance and presents their entry at the tournament.

For their team challenge, the EnviroBots presented an 8-minute original play that demonstrated how robotic technology has impacted and changed our lives. Within this challenge, they designed and built a robot made entirely of garbage!

Rehearsing for the team challenge
Rehearsing for the team challenge

Parent volunteer Chamkaur Cheema has been running the Destination ImagiNation program at York House since enrolling his daughter Anisha in kindergarten.

“I’ve remained committed to the program all these years because it’s an opportunity to teach the girls important skills that will serve them well later in life,” he says. “As well, it’s a great way to give back to the school and support my daughter.”

When they weren’t busy watching other teams perform, the girls participated in interactive activities such as pin trading. There were also opening and closing ceremonies complete with entertainment and fireworks.

Destination ImagiNation is a non-profit organization that provides educational programs for students to encourage creative problem solving, teamwork and critical thinking. Kids work together to plan, research and implement solutions to specific challenges while having plenty of fun along the way.

To qualify for the Globals, the girls first competed in the Regionals in March where they finished third in their division. At the Provincials in April, they won their division and are considered the top middle team at this level. Only the top 8-10 percent of the 12,500 teams registered qualify for the Global Finals.