Giddy Up! Equine Assisted Leadership - Expedition #3

Words & Photos from Lauren W.

For our third day of the “Giddy Up” cohort, we went to Hunt Valley again. It was raining at Hunt Valley when we first arrived, but we quickly adjusted to the weather and began to work with the horses. We started by meeting some new staff, and seeing some staff we had already met from the previous visit. After going over the main horse environment rules, we split into two groups. The first group, of about six people, went and got one of the ponies so people could lunge it. The lunging part was very interesting because we got to learn how to use our voice and movements to get a horse to move in the direction and speed we wanted them to go. After lunging, group one went and learned the anatomy of a horse. We were given stickers with a variety of horse parts written on them, then we were told to stick the stickers onto the pony to the best of our ability. Once passing with about 50% of the stickers in the right place, we learned the correct names for the anatomy of a horse. 

The next activity we did with our horse, we learned how to polo wrap a horse's leg. We first practiced wrapping each others legs, then tried it on the horses legs. This was the first part of our day at Hunt Valley before we had lunch. After our lunch break the two groups switched leaders and did opposite activities. It was our group’s turn to ride the horses. We took turns riding the horses for about 45 minutes each, with about three people in the ring at a time. We had to first prepare our horses for riding, which included brushing the horses and putting on their saddles. While in the ring we practiced trotting with the horses, and guiding them with our words. By the end of the day, everybody had greatly improved their riding skills, and knowledge about the anatomy of a horse. Overall, it was a great third cohort day and we learned a lot of new skills working with horses.

West Coast Cultural Connections - Expedition #3

Words & Photos - Kate L. & Emma C.

Our third experiential day was by far the longest and the most rewarding. Our group, along with the other outdoors cohorts, traveled up to Mount Washington for the day to ski and snowboard. We were told to meet at the school at 5:15 AM, bright and early on Tuesday morning. Many groggy faces greeted the bus driver as we filed onto the school bus to get ready to depart. The ride over was uneventful, as most people were asleep or at least trying to! We got to the mountain around three hours after leaving school, and the change in scenery was drastic. Everything was covered in a thick layer of snow, and comparing it to the lush green of Victoria was shocking. 

We were briefed on rules for the day, and we were all separated into groups of skill and given ski lift passes. The groups were divided by skiing and snowboarding, and beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Our cohort had a ride range of skills. Three of our members were skiing for the first or second time and were placed in the beginner group. We also had two group members in the intermediate group, and two in the advanced group. As our group was split up for the first half of the day, I can only recount a part of the experience. Still, I believe that on the whole, everyone in our cohort had an excellent first half of the day. 

After the lessons finished, everyone met in the upstairs cafe at Mount Washington. We ate lunch, and then our cohort had the pleasure of meeting someone who works at Mount Washington. We all came prepared with questions to ask on a variety of topics, such as sustainability efforts taken on the mountain, and the relationship with the local indigenous people. He answered all of our questions, and we went out of the meeting knowing a lot more about Mount Washington then we did before we came in. 

The last half of the day was spent in groups of three because we had free time to ski and to roam around the mountain. My experience with afternoon skiing was very positive. The morning was very foggy and it was hard to see, but at lunch, the sun had come out and turned the sky a lovely shade of blue. The beautiful scenery was certainly a takeaway from the day. We were back on the bus around 3:30, and it was not long before we began the descent down the mountain and returned to school. 

In reflection, going to Mount Washington for the day was a great experience, as we were outdoors, and there were picturesque surroundings. Not only was it an enjoyable day full of laughter, but it was also an educational day as well.

Expedition #3- Yoga & Mindfulness Cohort

Words & Photos - Jillian B. & Cari E.

To start our cohort days we like to do a quick group check in to see how everyone is doing. We then did an activity that explored our comfort zones in preparation for the afternoon activity. We discussed how to make sure everyone feels comfortable communicating how they're feeling while trying new activities. Later we took some time to really develop some key yoga positions such as downward dog and warrior. We did this so we would have a strong base to work with for the rest of the year. To finish the morning we worked on our journals and started to brainstorm for the next day where we would focus on how yoga has to do with sustainability. I think it's safe to say we were all pretty excited for the afternoon where we got to participate in our first acro yoga class.

During our acro yoga we learned about bone stacking and how it helps while doing partner positions. We learned how to properly spot so we could all do the positions safely. I found it really fun doing partner positions, it was a great way for us to get closer as a group. To wrap up our day we shared what we had worked on in our journals and shared what we thought about the acro yoga class. We look forward to connecting as a group during our next Expedition Day.

Photojournalism Cohort - Expedition #3

Words and Photos from Hanson C.

Today, we all went down to Q Academy, a place where you could learn a multitude of different skills in all areas; we of course chose photography. We were introduced to more camera settings and understanding how they work, what they do, and how to adjust them. We then learned the different types of exposure, what it means, and how to use it to get the effect you desire. We learned more about different photography compositions, how to make a photograph that draws you to the point of attention ( face, object, etc. ) And the most important part: we learned how to play around with lighting in photography. All of our photography today was indoors; therefore, we got to play around with two light kits. We learned how to activate the light kit with a camera flash, and how to use a camera's flash, as well as using different instruments to reflect or enhance lights such as reflectors, natural surfaces and strobes. 

 After all of that, we went back to SMUS to talk about what we learned and split up into groups to take portrait photos of others, taking the skills we have learned today and putting them all to the test. After we were all done, we went back to the computer lab to review the pictures we have taken and to reflect on the day. We are all excited to see what we will learn next.

Giddy Up! Equine Assisted Leadership - Expedition # 2

Words & Photos from Lauren Withers

We started off the day with a musical car ride up to Cowichan. As we arrived, the snow started to fall. The horses were standing in a field covered by snow, and we were all excited for the day to come. We first went on a beautiful nature walk through the trees and plain on the property. This walk was meant for us to learn to be calm and quiet just like we had to be with the horses. After this, we gathered near the horse pen, and went over some rules for being around horses. Our group then got divided into groups of three and were told to approach the various horses in the pen. After each group got to interact with every horse, the groups started to focus mainly on the specific personal connections to the horse, and in what ways as Michelle would have put it, initiating “play” with the horses. We took time to bond with the horses while also learning how to make them respond to our commands without the typical forceful ways. It was interesting to learn how to communicate through our body language with the horses. This was our first introduction to leadership with the animals and it was fascinating to see how the horses responded to our actions. We also spent time brushing the horses and grooming them. This was a very new and interesting expedition day and we can wait for the next time we get to connect in our cohort.

Expedition Day #2 - Clay Glass Fusion

Photos & Words by Sophia M.R.

On our second day of the Clay and Glass Fusion experiential program, we explored different kinds of glass art. We headed over to the SMUS derby building, where our second cohort leader Ms. Tobacco had set up an entire room dedicated to our glass-making experience. Tupperware bins sorted with different colours of glass covered most of the tables. Before today, most of us had not worked with glass in a creative context, so we were all quite curious about how on earth we would be cutting it. Would it be difficult? Would we have to use some fancy tech to do it? The answer was immediate. We were each given a little handheld tool with a dull metal roller at the top. And apparently, all we had to do was use that metal roller to create a scratch on the glass surface – then we were able to snap the piece in half. It was that easy. I was quite shocked at first watching Ms. Tobacco snap the glass between her fingers as if it were a cracker.

The first project was to make sea stars. Then we moved on to stained-glass ornaments, which involved cutting five wedges of glass and placing them inside a metal frame to later be bonded all together using lead. We got to experiment with silk-screening as well, using thick ink to transfer delicate illustrations on to our glass pieces of choice.

Ms. Tobacco owns a glass kiln at her home, which is where our projects will later be fused. She has a kiln because she makes glass creations for art galleries and local markets, which is really cool!

I think we all enjoyed this expedition; it was an excellent balance of chill time to discuss, create and get to know each other better as well as try cool new art techniques none of us had done before. I can't wait to see how all our glass projects turned out!

Expedition Day #2 - The World is your Oyster: Sustainable Oceans

Photos & Words by Diego D.

Our second expedition for the World is Your Oyster: Sustainable Oceans cohort was fascinating. To the contrary of first voyage, this outing was full of indecisive weather favoring hail and rain showers. Despite the weather, the scenery was gorgeous and we were protected by the skyscrapers of the forest which filled the air with the sweet smell of amber. We first journeyed to Sooke by van from which we admired the hail and for some even their first time seeing icy roads.

Long afterward several twisty turns and roads that looked to be nature trails we arrived at a cozy cabin where we met Tom Kral, “Nature Chef”, who greeted us with tea made from hand-picked reishi mushrooms, fresh ginger, and chai spices. Some were hesitant to drink it but soon embraced Chef Kral’s holistic approach towards cooking and enjoyed the tea while it served its purpose for most by soothing the mind and as a hand warmer.

After an introduction of Chef Kral’s culinary experience, we hiked down to the beach holding pots of soup and tea all made by ingredients right outside of the Nature Chef’s doorstep, most of which he showed to us. It was a bit difficult navigating through rocky terrain, but we were motivated to not drop our food under any circumstances, pelleting hail or slippery rainfall.

Following our hike, we set up camp on the beach near a crackling fire which served as a stove top and oven. Chef Kral then informed us about the multiple uses several types of seaweed, kelp, and trees ranging from being beneficial towards our health to shelter tactics. We were also taught how to identify edible sea vegetables some of which are tastier than others and cooking methods preserved from our primal ancestors and indigenous people. Furthermore, we began to prep our meal over the fire. We wrapped handmade sourdough with seaweed flakes as an alternative to salt then propped them over the fire to bake.

While waiting, Chef Kral told us how to make a chowder from fresh local land/sea vegetables, halibut, and shellfish. Meanwhile we rotated our bread and watched as the Nature Chef dropped a scorching hot stone into the pot of chowder slowly followed by his harvested uni butter. Soon after the shellfish opened and our bread was evenly cooked, we were served a hearty bowl of chowder that was topped off with stone-cooked halibut and garnished with cilantro. The meal was phenomenal and mutually agreed upon as the best meal we’ve eaten throughout this entire school year. The meal transcended spoken language during and even after eating. Lastly, we properly disposed the shells of the shellfish into the ocean and thanked mother nature and Chef Kral for the fantastic lunch.

The road trip back to SMUS was the perfect time to reflect and share our new perspective towards our everyday meals. This experience has made all of us more confident in our ability to survive on the remote west coast and inspired us to explore new options instead of store-bought foods, items, and solutions.

Singers, Songwriters & Bands - Expedition #2

Words & Photos from Alana Norie

Today was a day to remember for our whole group!

We started out in the band room bright and early this morning, listening, and or jamming to a few songs. Such as “Dancing in the Streets, We are the World, Lean on Me as well as Jimmy Mac”. Shortly we grabbed all our instruments and loaded on a public transit bus to make our way downtown. Downtown Mr. Farish, our cohort leader took us to John’s Place, a little diner he has been eating at since he was in high school. Inside this place was lined with retro posters and items. Even ones of musicians we had listened to earlier this morning. We sat down and enjoyed each other's company and a delicious brunch. Before we left a few students in our group got the chance to pick a few tunes from the jukebox. After saying thanks, we were on our way again. We popped into some taxis and got driven to Electric City Sound.

You could feel the excitement we walked in as many of us had never had the experience of being in a recording studio, and today was the day. We were greeted and toured around the space. There were separate rooms for vocals, amps and big spaces to collaborate. We had a quick musician chat, and came to the conclusion that we would work on an original and build it from the base up. We all know that a great groovy song starts with the beat, so we decided on a tempo, and recorded a layer with the drum kit. From there we split into a few smaller groups, one worked on guitar and base lines, one on the pianos and another doing some research to decide on a theme and start forming some lyrics. From there we recorded, and re-recorded and started to layer music. It all started to come together as our own little original song with all sorts of instruments and vocals. We saw each other be astonished by our peer’s talents and how they stepped out of their comfort zones. Fantastic day to come gain some experience with recording and get closer as a group.

Expedition Day #2 - Fashion Design & Industry

Photos & Words by Brody S. & Devon O.

We started off our second experiential day with the Fashion & Design cohort with lots of enthusiasm and excitement. After bringing our brand new sewing machines and ironing boards down to Brown Hall, we set up our individual stations and immediately got to work. We began with learning step by step how to thread our machines and fill the bobbin. Then, we practiced a few different techniques on scrap fabric.

It wasn’t long before we were making our way to Fabricland! The task for the day was to construct our very own pair of pajama bottoms. We had the entire store and plenty of time to choose a fabric. We all searched high and low across the store, and decided on our own fabrics, each incredibly soft and loaded with fun patterns and colours. As we left the store we realized we had a surplus of time on our hands! We unanimously decided that making our way over to the nearest Starbucks was our best option while waiting for the bus, not a bad way to end our excursion. 

Back at school, we got started right away. We began by laying out our fabric and cutting from a pattern. We then took our new skills to the test and began to sew. The rest of our afternoon was spent at the sewing machines working and stitching away. When the exteriors of the pajama pants were sewn, we added elastic waistbands to the top and hemmed the bottoms of our pants. By the end of the day, we all had perfectly tailored and comfy pants to keep us warm this winter.

Writing and Visual Art - Expedition #2

Words & Photos from Meheq Bawa & Anya Nadra

Similar to our first expedition day, the second expedition day was filled with new, fun and engaging experiences. We first arrived back at Michelle’s studio and had a discussion around art and history. Specifically, about the role of different figures and how women have been illustrated in art over time. We then did a few ice breaker exercises which included working with partners to create different poses as an introduction into how body and figure is portrayed and depicted in art. Next, each of us chose a pose and modeled for the rest of the group as they sketched a rough outline of the persons figure. We did this by using a continuous line technique with our non-dominant hand. This allowed us to joke around and have more fun as no one was expecting a perfect sketch. Upon completion each of us chose three of our preferred figures to incorporate into our final painting. We traced them onto tracing paper and cautiously spaced them and drew them out on our canvas considering negative space and the possible interactions between figures. Using these considerations of our figures we switched to creative writing and wrote any dialogue or inner thoughts relating to the figures placed on the of the canvas. We then began to use paint and painted the background of our canvas as a yellow earthy tone. We continued to work with paint while mixing colors and discovered all the different shades and unique colours that can be produced from only three colours. Then, we used those colour mixing skills and implied them to our painting.

After lunch engaging in fun, interesting conversations we finished up our paintings. Near the end we did a similar writing activity as the first day. We went in a circle and wrote thoughts, words or phrases that would come to mind when looking at a painting. We wrote these unanimously so everyone would get different perspectives, words or phrases about the perception of their painting. We used these to create poems about our paintings and generated many thought provoking lines. Overall, our second expedition day was a very enjoyable experience where we got to reconnect with our cohort and have a relaxing day painting and writing. We are all looking forward to the next expedition day filled with creative and new experiences!

School Grounds Coffee company- Expedition #2

Words and Photos by Malik Salamatian

Day 2 was exciting, productive, educating and very successful all in one. The day was structured in two halves, with three different stations to choose from. 

The first station was business planning and marketing. Guided by Mr Lily we set out to create a business plan and posters for our coffee business, and ended up writing a backstory, designing a logo, creating numerous posters and gathering many brilliant ideas that we can use throughout the year.

Second came the baking station, in which Melissa (head baker for Picnic Cafe), was invited to come teach us some tricks, and techniques to create the perfect goodies for our business. She introduced us to some great new recipes, as well as some classics, and we made a large variety of baked goods, ranging from lemon truffles to chocolate lava cookies and pumpkin spice latte cupcakes. We thoroughly enjoyed making and trying (in fairly moderate amounts) our products. 

Station three was coffee roasting with Mr. Daly on Wenman pavilion. We built on our roasting skills, and developed the right steps for excellent coffee. Through a group effort, we managed to consistently roast and package 45 pounds of school grounds specialty coffee, to sell to parents and teachers at parent teacher evening.

At the end of the day, the group consolidated our learning and ideas, and are now ready for our soft launch at parents evening on Thursday November 28th. 

All proceeds from the sale of coffee and baked goods at parent-teacher night was given as a donation to the Victoria Single Parent Resource Centre, to be used to fund Christmas hampers for families in need.

If you didn’t make it, have no fear, school grounds will be back very soon with even more deliciousness!

Expedition Day #2 - West Coast Cultural Connections

Photos & Words by Katie L.

Our cohort group began the day at Oak Bay Marina. A woman showed us a machine currently installed in the marina. Its job is to filter garbage out of the water, and it can even clean up micro-plastics and oil! We learned a lot and found it quite interesting regarding the future actions that should be taken to protect our oceans. 

Afterward, our group met King, who was going to be touring us around for the day. All of us got settled on the boat, and then we set out. Firstly, King showed us his crab-traps and put them in the water. With the crab traps done, we sped off and away from the marina, excited to catch some fish. We ended up catching quite a few in our first fishing spot, but most had to be tossed back because either it wasn’t the right season to catch them, or they were too small. Unfortunately, the waters were pretty choppy, so some members of our group weren’t feeling too well. With a couple of fish in the boat, we drove towards a more sheltered spot, where the waves were less big. Thankfully, our group members started feeling better soon after. 

It was in this second spot where we caught some of our bigger salmon, which was an entertaining and amusing ordeal, as everyone took a turn reeling in a fish. We kept four of the salmon we caught, as that was as much as we were allowed, but we had quite a few crabs to keep when we checked the trap on our way back. We docked at the marina and watched as King guided us through gutting and cleaning the fish. 

Even though it concluded the day with our cohort group, a couple of us stuck around to eat a meal that night cooked with the salmon and the crabs we caught that day. (A big thank you to those who prepared the meal!) Overall, it was a fantastic day and on behalf of the group, we’re looking forward to our 3rd cohort expedition day. 

Photojournalism - Expedition #2

Words & Photos by Hanson Chan

Today, we went to Heritage Acres, where we could take close up photos of cool gadgets, taking pictures of and learning about the history of old buildings, tractors, steam engines and more. After learning about the interesting history of old machines, tools and gadgets, we headed back to SMUS to learn how to edit and manipulate our photos using photoshop software. With the help of Mr. Hlannon, we were taught how to edit pictures to different effects in GIMP, an open-source photo-editing application. We learned different techniques such as "how to blur the background," or "How to correct/ enhance a picture" or "how to exaggerate or separate a specific detail." Today we all gained more experience in taking pictures of closeup items, indoor and outdoor photography and learned valuable photo editing skills applicable to enhance every photo. We will build off this skills as we move through the year in our cohort.

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