Eco-Friendly Applications with Integration Project

Every year, our Grade 7s and 8s participate in an Integration Week which incorporates a cross-curricular approach to a given project. In late February, Grade 7 students drew on skills from their geography, social studies, science and English courses to design, create and present a model of their sustainable home. 

Before Integration Week officially began on February 21, the students first had a field trip on February 10 to the Kortright Centre for Conservation. There, the students were introduced to sustainable housing methods and technology as well as traditional Indigenous ways of living. Students had the opportunity to see a sustainable house in person at the conservation centre and learn about new technologies that can conserve energy use.  

Then, it was time for the students to apply their learning! In groups, the Grade 7s designed and built models of their sustainable homes. Many groups considered using renewable energy sources like solar, wind or hydro. Each group also thought to balance sustainability with comfort and living enjoyment. Plenty of models had fun features like a rooftop garden and ponds. 

Students also had to collaborate in order to produce a presentation which incorporated their writing and speaking skills. 

“It was fun to learn more about materials like blue pane windows that help to insulate houses better,” said Maya Kassam ‘28. 

“Teamwork makes the dream work. I learned a lot more about sustainable building and we only had to do a bit of additional research because we learned about a lot of technologies on our field trip,” said Jasmine Chen ‘28. 

Great work to our Grade 7s and thank you to our Grade 7 teachers who provided guidance. This was a great opportunity for students to use all of their skills from various courses in a fun project! The Grade 8s will have their Integration Week in April.