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Timeline for Skills ON 2025
Timeline for Skills ON 2025
Below is the timeline for this school year's Elementary Skills ON. Timing confirmed as of Oct 10th!
DDSB Elementary Skills In-Class Qualifier Registration: Oct. 10th to EXTENSION Oct. 24th.
Non-Cost Contents open until Nov 14th!
Virtual PDs to support rollout - Middle to End of Nov. (Exact dates TBD)
In-Class Qualifier Kits Picked up at the Education Centre on: Wednesday Nov 27th.
In-Class DDSB Elementary Skills Qualifiers Run: Dec. 1st to Jan. 28th.
Qualifier Video Submissions Due Via Email: Jan. 28th.
DDSB Regional Finalists Announced: Feb. 7th.
DDSB In-Person Regional Contest: Feb. 26th at the Tribute Centre.
Provincial Skills ON Contest: May 5th at Toronto Congress Centre.
2025 Contest Offerings
Last year we offered 13 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 months of December and January. These Slide Decks also house info for teachers to provide background, curriculum connections and assessment. Additionally each contest has a Scope Document that serves as a student focused overview of the contest, deliverables and rubrics.
Contests are designed for student groups of two or four, but In-Class groups can vary based on class size and is up to teacher discretion.
Each contest has the number of students listed in the description below.
All Regional and Provincial teams MUST be EXACTLY 2 or 4 students based on the contest rules.
We will be hosting a series of "Contest Chats" in November via Google Meet to help support teachers implement the program and answer any questions that you might have!
New this year will be a "Getting Started with Skills ON Guide" for educators who are new to the program or would like to see examples of how to run this program. This guide will be shared in mid November to registered educators.
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
Workplace Safety 7-8
3D Printing 7-8
Agricultural Landscaping 7-8
Cell Phone Photography 7-8
Culinary 7-8
Electronic Music 7-8
Floristry 7-8
Micro:Bit Coding 4-6
Micro:Bit Coding 7-8
Prepared Speech 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!
Possible ways to run Skills ON Competitions:
As a full class experience - sign up for a single competition and have all students participate!
OR allow students to choose a contest that interests them and run a few different contests within your class at the same time - this is only applicable to contests WITHOUT cost.
As a club - students join the club and take part of the competition that interests them the most.
Note: This year we have introduced a few more contests that are for groups of two. These can be run as whole class contests, or used as alternatives for students who are not otherwise engaged by the chosen tasks. Please consider how you might use these strategically as you know your students the best!
Competitions WITH a Cost
Competitions WITHOUT a Cost
Agricultural Landscaping 7-8
Construction 7-8
Green Energy 7-8
Tech Design 4-6
Tech Design 7-8
Note: These challenges work under the assumption that you have Skilled Trades toolkits in your school already, if not please reach out to Rich (richard.bishop@ddsb.ca) to inquire about tools.
3D Printing 7-8 (Assumes you have Printer)
Animation 4-6
Animation 7-8
Cell Phone Photography 7-8
Culinary 7-8
Electronic Music 7-8
Floristry 7-8
Micro:Bit Coding 4-6
Micro:Bit Coding 7-8
Prepared Speech
VEX 4-6 (Assumes you have VEX IQ)
VEX 7-8 (Assumes you have VEX IQ)
Workplace Safety
Competition Overviews
3D Printing (7/8)
3D Printing (7/8)
Competition WITHOUT Provincial
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Teams of four 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.
Note: Schools must have access to a 3D printer for this contest!
Lead Judge: Ryan Adams
Curriculum Connections:
Science: Strands A and D
Math: Strands A, C & E
Agriculture/Landscape(7/8)
Agriculture/Landscape(7/8)
Competition WITHOUT Provincial
Competition WITH a Cost
Teams of four will follow a detailed landscaping blueprint to make a scale model of a backyard space. This contest will include using hand-tools, wood for the frame, a fence and bench.
Regional competition will include a larger scale project that uses a variety of materials such as wood, gravel, rocks and plant life.
Lead Judge: Kuldeep Chahal
Curriculum Connections:
Science: Strands A & D
Math: Strand E (Measurement)
Animation (4/6 & 7/8)
Animation (4/6 & 7/8)
Competition WITH Provincial Final
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Working in teams of four, students will use any DDSB approved software to create a maximum two minute character animated video of a moment at the zoo. Characters should be original creations. Animation focus should be placed on facial and body expressions, character and object interaction, timing. Appropriate sound effects, music and animation principles that drive the story should also be included.
Lead Judges: Josh Gammon (Jr) & Alison Warren (Int)
Curriculum Connections:
Language: A1, A2, A3, D1
Visual Arts: D1, D2
Drama: B1, B2
Cell Phone Photography (7/8)
Cell Phone Photography (7/8)
Competition WITHOUT Provincial
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Students in teams of two will document their surroundings by taking one authentic photo each day for a week, with no posed images. This will encourage students to capture real, unfiltered moments of life and develop their personal photography style. Students are encouraged to submit both original and edited versions of their photos.
Lead Judge: Chris Julal
Curriculum Connections:
Language: D3
Visual Arts: D1
Construction (7/8)
Construction (7/8)
Competition WITH Provincial Final
Competition WITH a Cost
Teams of four must design, make a blueprint for and create a to scale multi-dwelling housing unit (for example: Townhouses, Duplex, Triplex, Apartment/Condo Building etc.) out of wood and recycled materials.
Lead Judge: Blair Cowley
Curriculum Connections:
Science: Strands A & D
Math: Strand E (Measurement)
Culinary (7/8)
Culinary (7/8)
Competition WITHOUT Provincial
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Teams of two will receive a set of ingredients to bake a cake and decorate it. This challenge will require some work to be done at home supervised by family members (with permission) as well as a few other ingredients.
Students will be provided with a theme based design challenge to decorate their cake. Regional competition will include more complex items and design challenges.
Lead Judge: Jillian Broadly
Curriculum Connections:
Language: A1, B2, B3, C3
Electronic Music (7/8)
Electronic Music (7/8)
Competition WITHOUT Provincial
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Students in teams of two will use board approved software, to create a music composition in their chosen genre or style within the parameters supplied in the lesson outline. An introduction to the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and how to use it will be supplied for students to watch before starting the project.
Lead Judge: Krista Parker
Curriculum Connections:
Arts: Music - C1, C3
Floristry (7/8)
Floristry (7/8)
Competition WITHOUT Provincial
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Students in teams of two will design a mood board or slideshow that showcases their floral design concepts for a given event or theme. The mood board/slideshow will present color schemes, flower types, arrangement ideas, and decorative elements. Students will research floristry trends and styles, create a cohesive design, and explain their vision for the selected theme or event.
Lead Judge: Audrey DenBok
Curriclum Connections:
Science: B1
Language: D3
Visual Arts: D1
Green Energy (7/8)
Green Energy (7/8)
Competition WITH Provincial Final
Competition WITH a Cost
Teams of four will research, design, build, test and redesign a working model of a wind turbine using the supplied materials (no pre-constructed models), while recording video clips for their final video submission.
A new community initiative is focusing on creating ‘Affordable and Clean Energy’ for all of its residents and this endeavor will help them achieve one of their long term goals, “striving for accessible, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”.
The wind turbine should be constructed to be able to generate enough electrical energy (capacity) to generate electricity.
Lead Judges: Bobbie Francis & Steph Wares
Curriculum Connections:
Science: A1, A3, C1, D1, D2
Geography: A2, A3, B1
Language: A1, D3
Micro:Bit Coding (4/6)
Micro:Bit Coding (4/6)
Competition WITHOUT Provincial
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Teams of four 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.
Lead Judge: Willena Harrison
Curriculum Connections:
Math: C3
Science: A2
Language: B1
Micro:Bit Coding (7/8)
Micro:Bit Coding (7/8)
Competition WITHOUT Provincial
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Students in teams of four will be creating a tool (using a built-in compass in a Micro:bit) to help them navigate. The tool will let the user pick a direction, and then helps the user stay pointing in that direction as they move.
Lead Judge: Alex Piliounis
Curriculum Connections:
Math: C3
Science: A2
Language: B1
Prepared Speech (7/8)
Prepared Speech (7/8)
Competition WITHOUT Provincial
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Students in teams of two will write and deliver a 7 minute timed speech on a provided topic related to technology and Education. Students may use notes such as cue cards but no presentation tools such as Google Slides.
Lead Judge: Allison Abott
Curriculum Connections:
Language: B1, B3, D2, D3
Tech Design (4/6)
Tech Design (4/6)
Competition WITH Provincial Final
Competition WITH a Cost
Teams of four will work together to solve a real life 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.
Lead Judge: Ja Young Kim
Curriculum Connections:
Science: Strands A and D
Math:
Strand E (Measurement)
Tech Design (7/8)
Tech Design (7/8)
Competition WITH Provincial Final
Competition WITH a Cost
Students will work cooperatively in groups of four to complete a challenge which includes skills from the Science and Technology Curriculum from grades 7-8. Each group will demonstrate their collaborative team skills solving the problem in an open ended challenge.
Lead Judge: Katherine Miles
Curriculum Connections:
Science: A1, D1, D2
Language: A1, B1, D1
VEX Robotics (4/6 & 7/8)
VEX Robotics (4/6 & 7/8)
Competition WITH Provincial Final
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Teams of four will work together to build a robot for the game: Rapid Relay. Teams will have to drive the robot and also have it run autonomously (coded). Game will be modified for the in-class portion of the contest, teams going to the regionals will receive the game elements.
Lead Judges:
Sarah Olsen (Jr) & Valerie Sloan (Int)
Curriculum Connections:
Science: Strand A
Math: Algebra Stand (coding)
Workplace Safety (7/8)
Workplace Safety (7/8)
Competition WITH Provincial Final
Competition WITHOUT a Cost
Teams of two will review a variety of safety materials and complete workplace safety inspections. Studies show that new and young workers in Ontario are four times more likely to get hurt during their first month on the job than any other time. Having a background in workplace safety and knowing what to look for before prior to entering the workforce can help prevent workplace injuries for students. Whether is a part time job they have through high school, part of a co-op program, or their career once they have finished school, workplace safety awareness is invaluable.
Lead Judge: Lauren Dusty
Curriculum Connections:
Science: A1
Language: B2, B3, C2, C3
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