Every year Brain Power offers students the opportunity to see a live Shakespeare performance! This year the play of choice was “As You Like It,” and students went to see a National Theatre Live broadcast at the Silver City in Richmond Hill. This classic comedy tells the story of young Rosalind, who disguises herself as a man and flees the persecutions of her uncle’s court, along with her cousin Celia, to find safety and (unexpectedly!) love in the forest of Arden. Students...

Brain Power students attended a performance of Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” (1986) at the University of Toronto’s beautiful Hart House Theatre. Bringing together beloved and not-so-beloved characters from classic fairy tales, “Into the Woods” manages to make the familiar unfamiliar, provoking new insights out of stories we all thought we knew. Our students also got the amazing opportunity to participate in a post-show talk with the actors and director!

Some of our lucky Public Speaking students got to meet with Nobel Prize Winner, Dr. Alvin Roth, from Stanford University! Dr. Roth is the author of numerous books, including his most recent, “Why Gets What and Why?” (2015). Brain Power took part in Roth’s incredible lecture on micro-economics, “Who Gets What and Why?“, at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Students got their books autographed, and had a great Q & A session with him.

Meeting Nobel Prize...

Brain Power students attended Canada’s superstar writer Margaret Atwood’s simulcast at the Toronto Reference Library. Margaret Atwood is the author of many novels, including “The Edible Woman” (1969), “The Handmaid’s Tale” (1985), “Cat’s Eye” (1988), “Alias Grace” (1996), “The Blind Assassin” (2000), and “Oryx and Crake” (2003).

One lucky student was the winner of Brain Power’s Margaret Atwood Essay Contest, and as a result, got to attend a VIP event, as well.

Brain Power meets Margaret Atwood!

Brain Power’s Public Speaking students went to a hilarious live recording of CBC’s “The Debaters” with Steve Patterson!

Watching professional comedians conduct debates where “the facts and the funny” were equally matched was a great way for students to see some effective and some not-so-effective rhetorical strategies in practice. It was also a great way to have some fun with what we’ve been learning! Who knew logical fallacies could be so entertaining!

Brain Power at the CBC!

Brain Power students, ages 13 and up, competed in an essay writing competition in order for a chance to win a week-long, experiential learning retreat to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia! In the summer of 2014, Brain Power students, ages 13 and up, competed in an in-house essay-writing competition in order for a chance to win a week-long experiential learning retreat to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia! The purpose of the trip is to introduce students to authors, artists, and the local maritime...