Lia Telem

Firstly, starting with how I developed as a Canadian citizen. Well, at the beginning of the year, I wasn’t very knowledgeable about current events in Canada, and honestly, I wasn’t very motivated to learn much about them. I knew it was important and while I listened to news from time to time, there was a lot more I could do. In the ICE program, we were constantly speaking of current events (not just in Canada but in the world and how they relate to each other). We also connected these themes to ones significant throughout history (e.g. the flipgrid we had to do about post war history).

Next, reflecting on myself as a student, I find myself being very proud. I remember at the beginning of the year I was quite nervous that I wouldn’t be able to manage the highschool workload. I thought I would constantly be overwhelmed and confused. However, I ended up having a year that I am really proud of! My time-management skills have greatly improved and I’ve become more productive with my time. An organization method that has really helped me is keeping a physical agenda. I found out in my 8th grade year that an agenda helps me be more productive and organized. Continuing with this method this year has allowed me to stick to my daily goals and keep up with homework.

Throughout the past few months, I challenged myself to finish assignments early so that I always have time to reach out for help if anything goes wrong while I’m doing the assignment. I even wrote some earlier dates on my agenda (of when things are due) and organized my work times as if the assignments were due earlier. While this may not work for some people, I found this to be incredible and it made me feel very stress-free because I knew I was ahead. This was a way that helped me manage the workload from ICE along with the other subjects. Since the ICE program covers quite a few subjects and therefore has many major projects and assignments throughout the year, I had to stay very focused. I was never a part of a program like ICE so I made sure to ask questions to make sure I always understood what was going on. That was really good for me because I started the year being more quiet, but as time went on, I became very passionate about our units (Canada & The North, Active citizenship, Interrelationships, and more!)and so I was excited to share my knowledge and ask questions to deepen my understanding further.

Overall, reflecting on myself as a student, I think I really tried my best this year, which was the ultimate goal I made for myself before starting school. Additionally, before school, I wanted to ensure that I got a school-life balance. Knowing I typically get hung up on work and end up not having time to just be with my friends, I wanted to ensure that wouldn’t be the case this year. I can happily say that I achieved that goal as well! This has been a school year that I can really say was extremely well spent. I feel that I’ve learned and improved so much both in ICE and in other subjects.

Finally, I think the biggest point of growth for me was as a person. To explain, I’ve moved to quite a few schools in the past few years, from a public school in Israel, to a hebrew school in Toronto, and to a public school in Toronto. While throughout these years I feel as if I’ve matured and changed as a person, I never felt that a major reason was because of the school I was in. However, this year, the amazing friends I made and the programs I was in at school (specifically ICE) definitely contributed to my growth. I became a much more motivated and determined person. A specific example was our ICE wintercamping trip. I remember on the way there, I did not plan on sleeping in a quinzee outside; it sounded insane. However, throughout the trip, we did so many activities that helped shape our worldview and our character, and I realized that I would kind of be betraying my own values by not giving the quinzee a try. I became determined to sleep the night in the quinzee, and despite it being a bit tough at first, it ended up being an amazing experience. I actually found it to be warmer than the tent I slept in the previous night. Throughout our ICE year, many of these activities, including winter-camping, have made me more determined to reach my goals and make sure I never miss out on opportunities. This is a skill that I will always have with me and I am so glad I managed to improve it over the course of our ICE year.

All in all, I am very grateful that I was a part of the ICE program this year. I think I gained so much from the experiential learning; going on trips and doing activities along with more traditional computer work. Each aspect was amazing to improve different skills, and by applying one to the other, many points of learning suddenly connected. I can now understand how different points in Canadian history relates to its geography and economic situation, which is crazy. I never realized these topics were so connected. Connecting these points was an amazing feeling that I had never had in another school or program. Thank you for this amazing year in the ICE program! I’ll write back next year!