Blue Sky School

Welcome to the Wayback Machine! Before we'd even opened Blue Sky School, over two years ago, we gathered a bunch of youth together and went to IKEA to talk about how to furnish our dream school. This post has sat in our blog archives ever since! On Sunday, June 11th, 2017 twelve Blue Sky School Pioneer Students, Student Advisors and Future Students met at IKEA Pinecrest, enjoyed an awesome Swedish lunch and took an adventure around the enormous store to design and plan the furniture for our new space! We thought about the spaces we like to learn and work and wondered: how might we create those kinds of spaces for all learners at Blue Sky School to work. learn and explore? We checked out the blueprints for the school and talked about the types of ancient gathering spaces we are inspired by. We want to design spaces that are like Caves, for independent, cozy learning; Campfire, for circling up as a group and sharing ideas at an equal level; Watering Hole, for driftin...

(image source) “What! Oregano? Really?” This was my exact reaction when I found out that small, commonly-found-in-pasta plant, oregano was the cure to one of the biggest aspects of climate change, the evil, treacherous, methane packed cow burps and farts! Apparently, if you only mix three percent of oregano into the cows feed then it is supposed to reduce the methane by thirty-two percent! Additionally, the amazing plant is also rumoured to increase the prevention of getting disease in cows! The plant is also known to grow very fast and in any condition. This plant is truly a miracle worker! Researchers at Aarhus University believe that adding oregano to a cow's diet would alter the balance of bacteria in their digestive systems and reduce the amount of methane released. Source When I heard this, I knew there were only a few more tasks we had to do if we really wanted this experiment a reality! Now this is my call to action! We have a methane detector, we are growi...

Blue Sky School has ruined my daughter; she will not be able to go to a traditional high school. After just 90 days in the Blue Sky School setting, she is now too confident, too self-aware, too assertive, and too mature to sit in a regular high school classroom. She would annoy her high school teachers, respectfully questioning their statements and offering them thoughtful feedback on their teaching. She would frustrate the administration, firmly insisting that every single student has the right to self-regulate and get centering time and physical activity in between every single class. She would shut down the bullies and empower the quiet students. She would be a disruptor. A changemaker. An advocate. --- We took a chance on Blue Sky School because we were concerned a traditional high school experience would harm our daughter. She is smart and talented, but also sensitive, moral and inquisitive. I often describe my daug...

I can’t recall exactly when or how I first heard of Blue Sky School — I suspect it was through a friend who saw something on Facebook. But, I know it caught my eye in the Kanata Kourier in March, 2017. As I read the article about this new school opening up in Kanata, I liked what I read. I found the messages from the co-founders exciting. While I had dabbled in looking at alternative education for my son over the years, it had always seemed out of reach; a dream of an alternate “if only” reality. But, something propelled me to the town hall meeting on March 29, 2017, in Modern Niagara. I went alone. Nervous and preparing myself to leave disappointed. The town hall surprised me. The presentation, the ideas, the audience, and their questions. I definitely did not leave disappointed. Rather, I walked away interested in more. Over time, Shauna and I spoke and slowly that out-of-reach goal seemed to be orbiting closer to my family’s grasp. My son was getting very excited at the thought...