grade 9 – Page 6 – The Yorkie

The ADST 9 class (Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies) recently had the opportunity to work with Beth Burton, the Director Mission Services at Providence Health Care, to explore product designs that could meet the needs of patients that have come to Vancouver hospitals as a result of COVID-19.

One of the needs identified was for ways to help patients feeling isolated and unable to receive visitors. To address this need, Joyce, Angela, Jordan, and Pamela created a booklet that included inspirational quotes, colouring activities, puzzles, word games, and origami. After a process of presenting ideas and receiving feedback from Beth and her team, the group recently presented a final draft of the booklet to a large group of PHC staff including several spiritual health practitioners, Sara Parmar the Coordinator of Volunteer Resources, and Jody Sydor Jones, Corporate Director of Mission Engagement & Reconciliation. During the meeting, the students heard about how important a carefully planned activity booklet such as theirs could be towards improving the mental and spiritual health of patients.

Joyce, Grade 9, with a copy of the activity booklet made for COVID-19 patients

Beth Burton picking up the 100 booklet packs the ADST 9 group made

ADST 9 meeting with Providence Health Care

Our active Yorkies have been involved in so many exciting pursuits, both inside and outside of the school. Ms. Matthews and Ms. Robin took a very keen group of Grade 9 students on an Avalanche Training course from January 19-21, 2018. The girls were hosted by one of our families and enjoyed a fabulous weekend of adventure, fun, and friendship! Watch the video here.

The girls learned the basics of how to determine whether a slope is likely to be safe to ski, how to travel in the mountains, how to use rescue equipment, and much more. Most of the course was spent out on the mountain. We were able to go beyond the “out of bounds” signs and explore places beyond the resort.

Certification achieved at the end of this avalanche course is AST-1. The benefits of gaining this certification are vast for anyone who enjoys playing in the snow. It is recommended that people who at any point in their life would like to travel on snow out of a controlled area have this certification, to keep themselves safe. This includes snowshoeing, skiing, sledding, and more. It is also beneficial for people who ski in bounds, as it helps us understand snow behaviour and areas that may be more high-risk.

Topics covered this in the course: