Avondale Secondary Alternative School

Congratulations to the Graduating class of 2024! We had a wonderful and emotional celebration. We wish all our graduates the best on their future journeys. Please keep in touch. Feel free to visit and give us an update on your progress.

We were happy to have award winning poet and A.I.S.P alumnus Stuart Ross back to Avondale for a poetry workshop. His approach to poetry is one that resonates with many students. The sound poetry segment was fun and memorable to say the least. Everyone participated in a group sound poem which unfortunately was not recorded; it was epic.

We had an awesome time at the Cedar Glen YMCA facility on Tuesday. Stunningly beautiful surroundings with great outdoor activities made for a great day. Students participated in climbing, javelin, archery and other team building activities.

We were grateful to have writer, educator and award winning spoken word artist Andrea Thompson visit Avondale for a poetry workshop. Andrea shared some of her poems, and also led and inspired our students to write their own.

Yesterday we had our first day at the Hot Docs - Docs for Schools festival. We watched the premieres of "Love Machina" and "Drawing a Line" Discussions will definitely permeate into the day at school today. We are back for a full day tomorrow.

We had a second visit today from this cute little pup named Leo. Thank you Kathy for making this possible for Avondale!

We had a great time at the Gardiner Ceramic museum yesterday. Magdalene Odundo's work was inspirational for our ceramic students and the Mesoamerican ceramic collection was impressive as well.

Avondale ended off the week before the March break with a trip to the AGO. Students participated in a studio session and we viewed the Keith Haring exhibition "Art is for Everybody". Thank you to the great students and staff at Avondale for making the day a memorable one. Just a reminder that anyone between the ages of 14 and 25 years old can get a full year of unlimited access to the AGO and all special exhibitions for FREE! Have a great March break!!

For Black History Month, Avondale was honoured to have a visit from Carl Harvey (Guitarist, Singer/Songwriter and Producer) from T***s and the Maytals. After students watched the documentary: "Paving the Way - the Crack of Dawn Story" Carl came by for a very informative Q and A followed by a discussion. He also played a few songs on his guitar (designed by him). Thank you Carl for sharing your knowledge, stories, experiences, and talent with Avondale.

We had a great start to the new semester! Students had brief introductions to their classes in the morning and in the afternoon we had Puppy Yoga!!

This student artist is applying to Sheridan's illustration program for Sept. 2024. This triptych was printed using a linocut carving, ink and paper. The student used the lyrics from the band "The Mountain Goats" song "Grendel's mother" as inspiration. We have this work on display in our lobby.

Yesterday we were happy to have Veronica Johnny as a guest artist/teacher at Avondale. Veronica Johnny is a Cree-Métis, multidisciplinary, two-spirit artist. The workshop focused on personal healing and growth. Veronica shared traditional teachings and drum songs. We were all grateful for a better understanding of Indigenous teachings, music and perspectives.