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Rough Timeline for Skills ON 2024
Rough Timeline for Skills ON 2024
Below is an estimated timeline for next year's Skills ON. Timing confirmed as of Oct 30th!
DDSB Elementary Skills In-Class Qualifier Registration: Nov. 13th-30th.
Virtual PDs to support rollout - Dec and Jan
Qualifier Kits Shipped Directly to Schools By: Jan 24th.
In-Class DDSB Elementary Skills Qualifiers Run: Feb 1st - Feb. 29th.
"Office Hours" available to help troubleshoot every week in Feb
Qualifier Video Submissions Due Via Email: Feb. 29th.
DDSB Regional Finalists Announced: 1st Week of March.
DDSB In-Person Regional Contest: April 4th at the Tribute Centre.
Provincial Skills ON Contest: May 6th at Toronto Congress Centre.
2024 Contest Offerings
Last year we offered 8 different competitions for our In-Class, Regional and Provincial level contests. This year we are proud to announce 5 additional competitions for our In-Class and Regional level contests. These 5 will not have a Provincial level contest and instead will have a considerable prize for winning teams at the Regionals!
Each competition will have its own Student-facing Google Slides with all of the required information to complete the competition In-Class during the month of February. These Slide Decks also house info for teachers to provide background and possible curriculum connections.
Contests are built for student groups of 4, but In-Class can vary based on class size. All Regional and Provincial teams MUST be EXACTLY 4 students. (Note: Photography is groups of 2!)
We will be hosting a series of "Office Hours" in Dec. Jan. & Feb. via Google Meet to help support teachers implement the program and answer any questions that you might have!
Competitions WITH Provincial Final
Competitions WITHOUT Provincial Final
Animation 4-6
Animation 7-8
Construction 7-8
Green Energy 7-8
Tech Design 4-6
Tech Design 7-8
VEX 4-6
VEX 7-8
3D Printing 7-8
Agricultural Landscaping 7-8
Cell Phone Photography 7-8
Micro:Bit Coding 4-6
Micro:Bit Coding 7-8
Registrations for this school year's Skills Ontario will follow a slightly different plan than last year. Due to the amount of anticipated demand we are asking that a class only register for:
ONE competition that has a COST .
An UNLIMITED amount of competitions WITHOUT COST.
This will allow us to offer programming to as many classrooms as possible.
If you are the Teacher Librarian (TL) and you're planning on registering classes, please confirm with classroom teachers you are partnering with before submitting.
Feel free to discuss with your class which contest(s) to participate in!
Note: If you have discussion with your admin and your school is willing to pick up the cost for extra competition kits, just email Rich (richard.bishop@ddsb.ca) and we will get you everything you need - estimated costs are included below!
Possible ways to run Skills ON Competitions:
As a full class experience - sign up for a competition and have all students participate!
As a club - students join the club and take part of the competition that interests them the most.
Sign up for Tech Design 7/8, it has most materials you would need to facilitate smaller groups in the other challenges!
Competitions WITH a Cost
Competitions WITHOUT a Cost
Agricultural Landscaping 7-8 ($75/kit)
Construction 7-8 ($75/kit)
Green Energy 7-8 ($60/kit)
Tech Design 4-6 ($60/kit)
Tech Design 7-8 ($70/kit)
Note: These challenges work under the assumption that you have Skilled Trades toolkits in your school already!
3D Printing 7-8 (Assumes you have Printer)
Animation 4-6
Animation 7-8
Cell Phone Photography 7-8
Micro:Bit Coding 4-6
Micro:Bit Coding 7-8
VEX 4-6 (Assumes you have VEX IQ)
VEX 7-8 (Assumes you have VEX IQ)
Competition Overviews
3D Printing (7/8)
3D Printing (7/8)
Run in Partnership with DDSB's Innovation Team
Competition WITHOUT Provincial
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Teams will design a 3D-printed solution to a problem using TinkerCad or other related software. Teams will then 3D print their object to go along with their design process.
Agriculture/Landscape(7/8)
Agriculture/Landscape(7/8)
Run in Partnership with AgScape
Competition WITHOUT Provincial
Competition WITH a Cost
Teams will follow a detailed landscaping blueprint to make a to-scale model of a backyard space. This will include hand-tool using wood for the frame, a fence and bench. Soil and microgreens will be used to supplement.
Animation (4/6 & 7/8)
Animation (4/6 & 7/8)
Run in Partnership with 360 Insights
Competition WITH Provincial Final
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Teams will be given a page from a story book (picture with limited or no text) and will be asked to create a paneled Storyboard as the rest of the story. Teams will then animate their Storyboard via online software in stop-motion format.
Cell Phone Photography (7/8)
Cell Phone Photography (7/8)
Run in Partnership with DDSB's Creative Services Team
Competition WITHOUT Provincial
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Teams will take pictures of objects around a central theme using their cell phone or other camera device. Teams will then using photo editing software to edit some of their original images based on a variety of desired results.
Construction (7/8)
Construction (7/8)
Run in Partnership with DDSB's Teachers & Facilitators
Competition WITH Provincial Final
Competition WITH a Cost
Teams will build a to scale multiple family dwelling unit. This includes planning and blueprinting as well as the physical object. Teams will use hand tools and demonstrate a variety of wood working skills.
Green Energy (7/8)
Green Energy (7/8)
Run in Partnership with DDSB's Teachers & Facilitators
Competition WITH Provincial Final
Competition WITH a Cost
Teams will build a windmill using a variety of tools, including a blueprint. They will then use a motor and wiring to connect the windmill to lighting components and generate enough power to activate the light.
Micro:Bit Coding (4/6)
Micro:Bit Coding (4/6)
Run in Partnership with Ontario Tech University
Competition WITHOUT Provincial
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Teams will design a solution to a problem using a set of Micro:Bits and block-based coding. Imagine spending a day with your virtual micro:pet, from sunrise to sunset! Design and code a series of engaging interactions and behaviours for your virtual pet, allowing users to experience unique day in its life.
Micro:Bit Coding (7/8)
Micro:Bit Coding (7/8)
Run in Partnership with Ontario Tech University
Competition WITHOUT Provincial
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Teams will design a solution to a problem using a set of Micro:Bits and block-based coding. The solution will likely require multiple Micro:Bits using different codes working together! In addition students will have access to additional components compatible with Micro:Bits.
Tech Design (4/6)
Tech Design (4/6)
Run in Partnership with DDSB's Teachers & Facilitators
Competition WITH Provincial Final
Competition WITH a Cost
Teams will work together to solve a problem using simple machines. Students will be able to use simple hand-tools to manipulate materials. This project requires using the Engineering Design Process to solve from start to finish.
Tech Design (7/8)
Tech Design (7/8)
Run in Partnership with DDSB's Teachers & Facilitators
Competition WITH Provincial Final
Competition WITH a Cost
Teams will work together to solve a problem using simple machines and/or hydraulics/pneumatics. Students will be able to use hand-tools to manipulate materials. This project requires using the Engineering Design Process to solve from start to finish.
VEX Robotics (4/6 & 7/8)
VEX Robotics (4/6 & 7/8)
Run in Partnership with DDSB's Teachers & Facilitators
Competition WITH Provincial Final
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Teams will work together to build a robot for the game: Full Volume. Teams will have to drive the robot and also have it run autonomously (coded).
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