Blue Sky School

Laughs for Hope Action Awareness Raising I always knew Jay was a funny guy. I could see that right away when I met him. What I did not at first was that Jay was also a super passionate person who wanted to combine his interest of comedy to his heartbreak (Blue Sky terminology for something in the world he would like to change).  When Jay suggested he wanted to do a comedy event/ fundraiser, I was all over it and immediately asked if I could be apart of this dream of his. My name is Grace Hill and I go to Blue Sky School. Blue Sky School is a place where learners get the tools and opportunities to explore and discover their wildest dreams. So when Jay suggested this idea, Blue Sky of course was ready to support him in anyway they could. When Jay told me his idea, I explained to him how I would love to help him since I also wanted to make an impact! When I started working on it with him, it had no direct link to my project. My project was, at the time, opening a woman shelter fo...

Laughs4Hope I struggled in traditional school on account of my poor mental health. I have something called a mood disorder, which means I have signs of depression and anxiety, but not enough for a proper diagnosis. On top of that, I wasn’t good at math, or art, or science. I was only good at one thing: making people laugh. I remember getting in trouble four or five times a day because I was entertaining my friends. But it felt good to make people happy. That’s why when I came to Blue Sky School, I wanted to do a stand-up comedy show. Of course, I had no idea how, but it was my dream. I wanted to help people. I wanted to make their night better by doing what I loved. So, I teamed up with learners Grace and Madison to make Laughs4Hope. Laughs4Hope is a performance based fundraiser for charity. This year, we’re fundraising for the Youth Services Bureau, an organization that provides counselling to youth in need. I picked the YSB because they’ve helped my entire fam...

She tested in the 99th percentile. At parent-teacher conferences, her teachers spoke about her brilliance. Her report cards were As and Bs. The reality though was that she was coasting. She spent her days drawing and daydreaming. She came home each day with naught a memory of what the day had held. Her teachers were honest about the fact that she didn't complete classroom work and tests. She had both an IPRC and IEP, but resources just weren't available, and truthfully, no one really knew what to do with this kid. She was smart, yet the structure of the traditional school system just didn't work for her. It wasn't that she couldn't do the classwork; it was that it didn't make sense to make her do it. She had mastered it already. It wasn't that she couldn't do the tests; it was that she found them boring. I dragged her to the information session for Blue Sky School. She was sullen and uncooperative. As if school could be interesting. As i...