Community Classes

Taught online by Lauren Citton.

Facilitated online by Ms. Megan Mackenzie.

This class is designed for teen actors who already have some experience and are ready to take their on-camera skills to the next level. Focusing on film and television performance, students will learn how to bring authentic, believable characters to life on screen. Through scene work, audition practice, and watching playback, students will explore how to adjust their performance for different genres, understand what happens on set, and build confidence in front of the lens. Whether you’re dreaming of working in TV, film, or online media, this class helps you develop the tools and techniques to shine on camera—naturally, confidently, and professionally. This class runs for 8 weeks.

STEM Explore is a series of Science Exploration and Innovation class that will be held throughout the school year for grades 5 to 9.  The goal is to encourage science and engineering exploration as well as to build up a science community at TLA, and perhaps enter a Science competition in the future.

This class will focus exploring mendelian genetics and making family trees.  We may also work on understanding more complex genetics involving multiple traits, or combined traits.  In addition, we will learn how to record data in tables and discuss what the data means.  Students will be working collectively as well as individually.  This is a good first introduction to Mendelian Genetics as well as recording data.

Sign-up deadline: Friday, October 3, 2025 

Contact Person/Information: Joyce Froese,  jfroese@schoolathome.ca, 1-800-745-1320 ext 365

STEM Quest is a series of Science Exploration and Innovation class that will be held throughout the school year for grades 9 to 12.  The goal is to encourage science and engineering exploration as well as to build up a science community at TLA, and perhaps enter a Science competition in the future.

In this lab, you’ll take on the challenge of designing your own experiment to test how different factors affect the rate of photosynthesis in leaves. Using simple materials, you’ll explore how light, carbon dioxide, or other variables impact oxygen production.  This isn’t a step-by-step lab: you and your group will decide on the design, controls, and variables to investigate. Get ready to think like a scientist, test your ideas, and see photosynthesis in action!

Taught online by Lauren Citton

STEM Quest is a series of Science Exploration and Innovation class that will be held throughout the school year for grades 9 to 12.  The goal is to encourage science and engineering exploration as well as to build up a science community at TLA, and perhaps enter a Science competition in the future.

Can you build a boat that floats, moves, and cleans up debris from the water? In this challenge, your team will design and build a small boat that skims lightweight debris like paper bits or foam while staying upright and moving efficiently. Test your first design, analyze performance, and redesign to improve speed, stability, and collection ability. Only the most creative and well-engineered boats will succeed!  This project encourages critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, and practical application of physics and engineering principles.

Sign-up deadline: Friday, October 10, 2025 

Contact Person/Information: Joyce Froese,  jfroese@schoolathome.ca, 1-800-745-1320 ext 365

STEM Explore is a series of Science Exploration and Innovation class that will be held throughout the school year for grades 5 to 9.  The goal is to encourage science and engineering exploration as well as to build up a science community at TLA, and perhaps enter a Science competition in the future.

Your task: design and build a boat that floats, stays upright, and can move forward using only the energy stored in a rubber band! You’ll need to think about balance, buoyancy, and stability so your boat doesn’t tip over, while also engineering a propulsion system that converts the rubber band’s stored energy into motion. This is an inquiry and design challenge—no step-by-step instructions! You and your group will brainstorm, sketch, and test ideas to create a boat that meets the challenge goals. At the end, you’ll test your boat’s speed, stability, and ability to travel in a straight line.

STEM Quest is a series of Science Exploration and Innovation class that will be held throughout the school year for grades 9 to 12.  The goal is to encourage science and engineering exploration as well as to build up a science community at TLA, and perhaps enter a Science competition in the future.

In this STEM challenge, students will work in teams to design, build, test, and optimize a freestanding bridge. The goal is to create a structure that spans a set distance, holds the maximum weight possible, and demonstrates efficient use of materials.

Students will apply engineering principles such as tension, compression, and truss design while practicing teamwork, problem-solving, and design documentation. After an initial test, they will have the opportunity to redesign and improve their bridge based on observations and performance, learning how engineers refine designs in the real world.

Sign-up deadline: Friday, October 17, 2025 

Contact Person/Information: Joyce Froese,  jfroese@schoolathome.ca, 1-800-745-1320 ext 365

STEM Explore is a series of Science Exploration and Innovation class that will be held throughout the school year for grades 5 to 9.  The goal is to encourage science and engineering exploration as well as to build up a science community at TLA, and perhaps enter a Science competition in the future.

Think you can design a bridge that’s both light and strong? In this challenge, you’ll work to build a model bridge using simple materials—then put it to the test! Your goal is to create a structure that can hold as much weight as possible without collapsing. Along the way, you’ll need to think like an engineer: how do forces like tension and compression act on your bridge? What design will give it the most strength and stability? At the end, we’ll load up the bridges and see which one carries the heaviest load before breaking.

Sign-up deadline: Friday, October 17, 2025 

Contact Person/Information: Joyce Froese,  jfroese@schoolathome.ca, 1-800-745-1320 ext 365

Facilitated (in person) by Pamela Smid.

Let’s strengthen our village by offering our older tween/teens an opportunity to attend to and assist our younger learning-from-home friends!

The Buddy Program will offer 12 gatherings at Carlin Hall throughout the upcoming school year.

During our time together, older kiddos can expect to support our younger friends while we explore games, books, crafts, and other activities. 

*Participants are invited to bring any favourite books and/or games to share with their buddy!

*Tentative dates/times for the Buddy Program are as follows: 

Thursdays from 10:00am-12:00pm on: October 30, November 6, November 20, December 4, January 29, February 12, February 26, March 12, March 26, April 9, and April 23.

*While attendance for all 12 gatherings is not mandatory, the heart and intention of this offering relies on the consistent opportunity for our older participants to connect with our younger participants. If registering for this program, please make every effort to attend as many of the offerings as possible. Ideally, each Younger Buddy will be consistently paired with the same Older Buddy each gathering. As a token of appreciation for their time and care, older participants will be provided a Certificate of Leadership Experience at the end of the Buddy Program to showcase their accrued hours of child mentorship. 

Students are asked to bring the following: a water bottle, small snack, & weather-appropriate outdoor clothing (in case we venture outdoors). 

STEM Explore is a series of Science Exploration and Innovation class that will be held throughout the school year for grades 5 to 9.  The goal is to encourage science and engineering exploration as well as to build up a science community at TLA, and perhaps enter a Science competition in the future.

Can you harness the power of the wind to make your vehicle move? In this challenge, you’ll design and build a small vehicle that is powered only by wind energy. Using simple materials, you’ll need to figure out how to capture and use the air from a fan or your own breath to push your creation forward. Will big sails work best, or small ones? Should your vehicle be tall, wide, or sleek? After building, we’ll test them head-to-head to see whose design travels the farthest—or the fastest—when the wind blows!

Sign-up deadline: Friday, October 31, 2025 

Contact Person/Information: Joyce Froese,  jfroese@schoolathome.ca, 1-800-745-1320 ext 365

STEM Explore is a series of Science Exploration and Innovation class that will be held throughout the school year for grades 5 to 9.  The goal is to encourage science and engineering exploration as well as to build up a science community at TLA, and perhaps enter a Science competition in the future.

In this hands-on activity, students work in teams to design, build, test, and improve their own mini assembly lines. The goal is to manufacture a colored brick as quickly and efficiently as possible, while making sure each brick meets quality standards.

Students will experience real-world engineering and manufacturing concepts, including workflow design, task assignment, quality control, and process improvement. They’ll test their first design, identify problems, and redesign their assembly line to optimize speed, accuracy, and teamwork.

This project encourages critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving, giving students a practical, fun, and engaging way to apply science and engineering principles.

Sign-up deadline: Friday, November 7, 2025 

Contact Person/Information: Joyce Froese,  jfroese@schoolathome.ca, 1-800-745-1320 ext 365