Britannia Mine - February 2014
On a cold wet day in February, 2014, students set off to tour and explore the historical Britannia Mine site. Students went on the field study as a supplemental learning experience to their Social Studies 10 curriculum on the development of British Columbia and the province's resources. Students went into the mine via train, learned about how copper was mined and ended the day with a chance to learn how to gold pan. Students were able to keep their findings.
Cultural Snowshoe to First Nations Longhouse
Students travelled to Grouse Mountain to participate in a traditional First Nations cultural experience. They learned from an Elder and had a traditional lunch in a longhouse. The students participated in dance, song and crafts along with snowshoeing of course.
Harrison River Canoe Trip - November 2013
L.E.A.P. students embarked on their annual canoe trip down the Harrison River during the salmon spawning season. It was a cold, wet day, but fun was had all around. Hundreds of eagles were spotted in the trees and along the shores of the river, feeding on the fish. At one point three seals followed the canoes down river. Along the route we stopped to view ancient pictographs and petroglyphs as well as an old First Nations cemetery.
George C. Reifel Bird Sanctuary and Ladner Museum - October 2013
Students were lucky to spend half a day at the George C. Reifel Bird Sanctuary and half a day at the Ladner Museum.
Hiking Mt. Seymour - September 2013
LEAP has partnered with Outward Bound in order to bridge connections between classroom learning and the outdoors. Students participated in a hike on Mt. Seymour through one of the biome's students had been studying the week prior in Science, the Temperate Rainforest. BC houses 25% of the Temperate Rainforest that is left in the world. Students enjoyed the beauty of the nature and learned about a multitude of species of plants and life in the forest. While on the hike students also participated in team building and trust activities.
Camp Fircom 2013
In May 2013, student of L.E.A.P. were offered a trip of a lifetime. What student doesn't want to go to camp? Camp Fircom on Gambier Island, BC, hosted us for three days at their beautiful facility. Students met early in the morning for the commute to Horseshoe Bay where they boarded a water taxi to take them on a twenty minute ride across the water. Students stayed in teepees and cabins. The students participated in numerous activities such as hiking, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, archery, gardening, beading and helped clean up the site.
Granville Island Writers Festival
Students attended the annual writers festival at Granville Island to watch three spoken word poets in a presentation called 'Word'. The all-star cast featured three of the finest spoken word performers and storytellers Vancouver has ever seen. The UK’s Lemn Sissay joined the ever-popular Ivan Coyote and the beatboxing C.R. Avery for a morning of creativity and fast talking that left us energized and awestruck.
Vancouver Aquarium
Students spent two days at the aquarium learning and teaching. The first day students got to experience the wet lab that is not open to the public. They learned about the species that live in Howe Sound and got to touch and hold many of them. The next day students returned to the aquarium to teach local elementary school students about what they had learned about the Howe Sound. Students received credit for both Earth and Ocean Science 11 and Community Recreation 11.
Stanley Park Ecology
Students spent a day at Stanley Park exploring the different rock formations around the park from sand to cliffs. It was a beautiful day and students enjoyed the walk around the sea wall. Students received credit for Earth and Ocean Science 11 as well as PE 11.
Humble the Poet
In October we were lucky enough to organize Humble the Poet, a popular spoken word, rap artist, to come to L.A. Matheson to perform for our students along with some senior English classes. His poetry inspired many students. He was 'humble' enough to stay and sign autographs for hundreds of students.
Vancouver Holocaust Symposium
Students were privileged to attend the annual Holocaust Symposium in Vancouver last Spring. Students heard from numerous Holocaust survivors and two professors on mass genocide. The day was very emotional and supplemented what the students were learning in Social Studies 11 about the Holocaust during World War II.
Harrison River Salmon Run Canoe Trip
In late November students participated in a five hour canoe trip down the Harrison River in Harrison, B.C., to witness the end of the salmon spawning run. They saw hundreds of salmon carcasses along with hundreds of bald eagles feeding on the salmon. Students worked in teams to propel their canoes for the long journey, only stopping once for lunch. It rained for the entire morning but let up in the afternoon, just in time for us to enjoy the last leg of the trip with some seals following us.
Bowling
Students participated in an afternoon of bowling for P.E. and team building. We hopped on the bus and road public transportation down for an afternoon of fun.
Mount Seymour Snow tubing and Snowshoeing
In January, 2013, students took to the slopes of Mount Seymour. Not the ski slopes but the snow tubing slopes. We spent the morning racing down four different runs. After lunch students competed in a survival amazing race snowshoeing challenge. Students were divided into two groups and were given a map and a guide. Each group had to navigate through the trails using their map. They could not advance along the trail until they completed a number of challenges from survival challenges to tracking animals.
UBC High Ropes Course
Students embarked on a day full of team building activities that required small groups to complete a variety of challenges. The day started off on the ground but after lunch the students took to the heights. They climbed, balanced and flew their way across the high ropes challenge course.