NAEC students have a ball

Valerie Allan | Oct 19, 2016

On October 7, a group of students from North Addington Education Centre travelled to Kingston to visit the Kingston Glass Studio. Students took it in turns to try their hands at glass blowing, in order to make a spherical ornament. Each student chose the colours and style of their ornament, and blew it into a spherical shape with the help of the professional glass blowers at the studio.

“It was great to make your own glass ball, but it was just as much fun to watch your peers doing it,” said Emma Fuller, a grade 12 student. Students had to wait several days for the ornaments to cool enough to be transported, and were delighted with the results. This trip was in preparation for a trip on October 27 to the Dale Chihuly exhibition at the ROM in Toronto.

Grade 7 to 12 students at NAEC have also been having fun with a ball. They have been using inflatable bubble balls in a variety of activities. These balls were rented from Skyza, a new company from Pembroke. The balls are very large, with shoulder straps to keep them in place and keep the players’ heads protected.

Students have played Bubble Soccer, Sumo Wrestling, Last Man Standing, and King of the Hill. The great advantage to using the bubble balls is that students are protected from injury when making contact. It is also good exercise, because speed is not as hazardous. In addition, students spend a lot of energy manoeuvring while playing Bubble Soccer.

Amber Verbruggen, Grade 7, said, “It made you feel like you were on a roller-coaster.” Noah Gray, from Grade 8, observed, “It was fun because we got to “crush” people without getting in trouble!”