In January, Brain Power’s UTS Stage 2 Preparation workshop prepared some amazing students for their UTS interviews! We were very pleased to have three current UTS students (Grades 7, 8 & 12)–who are also Brain Power students/alumni–join us! They came back to Brain Power to share their tips and do a Q&A with our UTS hopefuls for 2020. The parents and students loved their anecdotes and shared wisdom! Good luck to all of our amazing students!
On December 15, Andrew Zhou’s robotics team won the Vex Robotics Competition (VRC) contest for Southern Ontario! This win secures them a place in the Provincials! WAY TO GO, ANDREW!
Daniel Khazin at Speaker Slam On November 20, 2019, our Brain Power Public Speaking students had an amazing field trip to Speaker Slam! Brain Power Public Speaking student Daniel Khazin rocked the stage in front of an audience of 600+ people (see the video below)! He’s 15 years old, and he impressed everyone with his speech (standing ovation!) on the assigned theme: “Conquer.” Daniel wrote the following to our founder, Dr. Karine Rashkovsky: “Thank you so much for providing me with an amazing experience and being an...
Congratulations to Brain Power student Veda Aditri Gadde who placed 7th in Canada in the Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture (CYSA) National competition (see video below). The competition provides an opportunity for youth to express their opinions on current topics related to agriculture and agri-food. Veda gave a powerful speech on Food Fraud! CONGRATULATIONS, VEDA!
On November 30, Brain Power’s book club met to have a detailed discussion of J. M. Coetzee’s The Lives of Animals. We also had a guest talk from Maureen Hutchison, a field educator with the Educated Choices Program, who discussed central issues in the book including the environment and modern agriculture. Our students had an enthusiastic reaction, and one of our Intermediate 1 students said, “I think that the book club was amazing and different than what I was expecting and that...
On May 4th, a group of Brain Power students, led by Dr. Karine Rashkovsky and Dr. Jason Boulet, attended the Young People’s Theatre’s production of Antigone. This production is a fresh and timely adaptation of the classic Greek story, inspired by the 2014 student umbrella protest in Hong Kong and the 1989 uprising in Tiananmen Square. In this riveting new play, “re-education” awaits anyone who questions the state’s traditional doctrine. Antigone faces high stakes as she stands up for her brother...
Brain Power recently welcomed David Silverberg as a guest speaker to our Public Speaking classes! David is a very successful journalist who writes for the BBC, Washington Post, Vice Magazine, and Toronto’s NOW, and who is also the theatre director and founder of Canada’s largest spoken word organizations!
While at Brain Power, David shared tips and knowledge, taking our students through various fun exercises to improve their communication skills!
Thank you, David!
It was a pleasure to have you!
We were excited to welcome Joze Piranian to our Public Speaking class on November 12th! Joze is a lifelong stutterer on the quest to confront his fears one stage a time. After spending most of his life avoiding speaking out of the fear of being judged for being “different,” he is now a TEDx speaker, Inspirational Speaker of the Year at Speaker Slam in 2017, and a stand-up comedian who has performed at the laugh Factory (Chicago), the Broadway Comedy Club (NY), Comedy Nest (Montreal), and Absolute Comedy...
Pictured above (left to right): Brain Power alumni Nicole Rayskin, Brain Power Instructor Patrick de Belen, Founder & Director Dr. Karine Rashkovsky, Brain Power student Slava Samokhina, Brain Power alumni Erik Fridman, and Brain Power alumni Jane Illiaranova. On November 28, Dr. Karine Rashkovsky’s Public Speaking classes attended the 2018 Grand Slam, an inspirational public speaking competition hosted by Speaker Slam! The event was held at Jane Mallett Theatre in Toronto, and it was absolutely incredible! What a fantastic lineup of inspirational speakers and infectious...
On June 3rd and 6th, Karine took Brain Power’s Public Speaking students to a professional recording studio in Toronto to record their end-of-year final projects: self-made podcasts. The students — who have been practicing a range of presentation skills — worked with a voice coach and sound engineer to perfect their final products. The students had an amazing time and learned so much! Their recordings will be part of their course yearbook, which will showcase the impressive growth in their skills this year. GREAT WORK, EVERYONE! Click...
