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Life Skills

The Life Skills Program at VIS allows students to learn about the world and their place in it. The class is a mixture of practical skills (cooking and nutrition, organizational skills, letter writing, and budgeting, etc.) and less tangible skills (assertiveness, positive communication, and maintaining healthy friendships).

Students will be given the opportunity to have input into the course content, making the Life Skills Program both personal and self-directed. The Program is hands-on and highly participatory and stands out as a unique and practical addition to other VIS programs and classes.

The class will also cover grade appropriate developmental issues outlined in the Ontario Physical and Health Education curriculum including healthy eating, human growth, personal safety, injury prevention, and substance use and abuse.

Grade 8 students will also have this weekly time to be supported in the application process to High School. It will be an opportunity to manage portfolios and deadlines under the guidance of a Teacher.

Some of the areas of study include:

  • Cooking & nutrition, including making sustainable food choices
  • Public speaking
  • Responsible citizenship
  • Budgeting
  • Creative problem solving
  • Risk management and making healthy life choices
  • Active listening skills
  • Achievable goal setting
  • Needs versus Wants
  • Conflict management and resolution; how to disagree respectfully
  • Justice, fairness, equality and tolerance
  • Empathy versus Apathy
  • Exploring the difference between Integrity and Altruism