3 étapes faciles :
3 easy steps:
The 5th year class at Barthélémy-Vimont Primary School had many difficulties in their learning and when it comes to listening to instructions. However, the teacher for this group told me several times that she noticed a transformation in her students during theatre workshops. According to her, the activities shone a light on the creativity and talent of some students who had lots of difficulties in French, and therefore allowed her to see them differently. Moreover, the games allowed her to have fun with her students, whereas she rarely had the chance to do so during a regular day.
Coordinator,
Dramatic Arts at Barthélémy-Vimont School
My students have learning difficulties. By making them do more concrete activities, they understand better and take part in activities. They have learned to use software such as Photoshop and SketchUp. By doing this, they develop more technical competencies and also develop self-confidence since they can excel.
Teacher, Environmental Design at Louis-Joseph Papineau High School
I wondered what a remote theatre class would look like, and Anne-Marie pleasantly surprised me with her exercise suggestions. After the first class, Oli had a light in his eyes while he told me everything. He said: ‘I really liked my class; I do not regret signing up !’ My mom heart melted. I want Oli’s high school to have a theatre company ! =)
Dramatic Arts at Charles-Bruneau School, parent testimony
The students at Dalbé-Viau school did not have much motivation. However, as soon as they saw their game become more concrete, even just by implementing a basic animation in their programming, many talents emerged ! In fact, the class is full of artists (Pixel art) ! If the project had made it to the festival, I am convinced that many teams would have won prizes for the aesthetic of their game !
Coordinator, Video Game Creation at Dalbé-Viau high school
Even though schools were closed because of Covid-19, several of my students kept working on their project and writing me so I could answer their question. One team in particular was motivated by a student in the group who really wanted to finish their game.
Coordinator, Video Game Design at Neufchâtel High School
Connecting with students via TEAMS was really fantastic, I saw it did them good. We did the Me, my shoes workshop, a dynamic activity where students get moving and must invent and present a character from different pairs of shoes that I show them on PowerPoint. The students went all out to incarnate their characters, using accessories and costumes for some of them.
Coordinator, Coordinator, Dramatic Arts at Barthélémy-Vimont School on the theme: making a character your own using a personal element as a basis (shoes)
Since 2008, Youth Fusion has developed an effective and innovative model focused on the student’s perseverance and development, by offering them support throughout the school year, directly in the schools. The organization hires students from post-secondary institutions to work as project coordinators for 10 to 30 hours per week for a period of 32 to 37 weeks, in class or after-school programs, with the targeted students.
The educational projects developed focus on the following four domains:
Arts – Science & Engineering – Design – Leadership & Entrepreneurship
In addition to working alongside elementary or secondary students on projects related to their academic field, the coordinators develop a close bond with their students, which helps nurture continuity and perseverance.
Employees-mentors from businesses and community organizations operating in sectors tied to the projects are also brought in as mentors and assigned to schools to introduce students to career options, inspire them and shepherd them through the process of completing their projects. These organizations consequently promote not only “expertise volunteering” among their employees but also the thriving opportunities and the needed skills in their sector.
Youth Fusion therefore offers a continuum of interventions ranging from elementary schools to the industry and contributes to creating closer links between training and employment while working to lower dropout rates.
Youth Fusion is an award-winning charity that contributes to the perseverance, employability and civic engagement of youth by implementing innovative experiential learning projects that create ongoing links between school systems and the community.
Every week, we work with 13,000 youth in over 200 schools in rural, urban, and Indigenous communities.
The essence of the work is about the realization of a concrete project developed by youth throughout the school year during weekly activities, carried out mainly in class, distributed on ± 34 weeks.
It is an integrative project, structured by a pedagogical framework, integrated with fundamental competencies and interdisciplinary skills.
The project develops the employability potential and the professional interests of the youth. It also offers the possibility of business visits or other relevant external outings organized in collaboration with the school.
The project coordinator hired by Youth Fusion is a post-secondary or a recent graduate specializing in a field related to the project.
As an expert in their program, they are responsible for the preparation and implementation of activities related to the Youth Fusion pedagogical framework.
They facilitate the development of technical skills and guides the youth through the various stages of the project implementation.
They also plan the project throughout the year, including logistical components such as assessing accommodation and equipment access requirements as well as outing planning and mentor attendance. To do this, the project coordinator establishes an effective communication channel with the school team (teacher or other staff member) and the program manager.
As an expert in pedagogy, the role of the teacher is to team up with the project coordinator to provide supportive classroom and behavioural management and support during activity sessions.
When the activities are being planned, the teacher proposes modifications to improve the workshops in order to achieve their educational objectives, such as the integration of school subjects and work to be evaluated.
They also assist the coordinator in meeting the logistical and administrative needs of the project, such as organizing outings and events and obtaining parental consent permission.
In terms of time commitment, Youth Fusion Jeunesse favours between 4 and 6 visits throughout in the school year, depending on the availability of the mentor, the last of which is participation a presence at the final event.
These visits represent between 10 and 15 hours throughout the school year which will be devoted to connecting with the youth and their work in an authentic way accompanying the young participants. The continuity of the mentor’s presence within the project enables students to create a positive and meaningful link, thus enabling them to project themselves into future careers.
Fundamental competencies represent different skills that are developed and used across the board in all spheres of life. They enable everyone to develop fully as individuals on a personal, professional and social level in order to fully learn from their lived experiences as well as to achieve their goals throughout their life.
In order to deepen the impact of the projects with the youth with whom the coordinators intervene daily, in all its programs, Youth Fusion tries to stimulate the constant and progressive development of 14 fundamental competencies.
The 14 fundamental competencies are the following:
The end-of-year event, which usually takes place in May, brings together all the participants that form the large Youth Fusion community. It provides an opportunity for all students to present finished projects, participate in various project-related (demonstrative or competitive) challenges, and win numerous awards. To view the promotional video made during our first festival, please click on the following link: Future Education Festival.
| Regions | Deadline to submit a project request | Project confirmation with schools | Start of the projects in the classrooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quebec | June 1st | June - July | November - December |
| Ontario | June 1st | June - July | November - December |
| New-Brunswick | June 1st | June - July | November - December |
| France | July 11th | September - October | October - November |
The deadline to cancel a project without penalty is September 10th 2022
Thereafter, in the event of cancellation of the project by the school, without reasonable reason, a penalty of $300 will be incurred to cover the administrative costs related to the preparation of projects, including, among other things, the recruitment, signing of a contractual agreement and training of project coordinators.
The projects begins in the weeks following coordinators training, during the month of October.
Yes. The maximum number of hours per week in the school will be divided according to the number of classes participating in the project.
The number of hours a project coordinator will attend for an individual class is specified in detail for each program in the ACTIVITY PERIODS PER WEEK section under the PROJECT DETAILS tab.
The project cost is usually billed to the school, except in the case of a different agreement with the school board.
After the start of the projects, Youth Fusion will send an invoice to the school board’s finance department. This process allows your network to be aware of all the projects that are taking place for the school year. If applicable, the cost of the projects will then be billed to the school.
Then, if the agreement is that the institutions pay their own costs, the finance department will be able to handle its own internal billing operations.
Additional costs, if any, are detailed for each program in the ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS section unthe the PROJECT DETAILS tab and are generally used to cover the purchase of project-related material.
Our fundamental mission is to motivate youth and encourage academic perseverance by offering pedagogical programs that make a difference for the students.
Since the spring 2020 pandemic, we have done everything we could to make the life of school workers easier with the most flexible projects possible.
Therefore, we now offer three scenarios: 100% in-person, 100% virtual, and a customized hybrid model. There is also an extracurricular component based on these options. This means activities will continue even if the schools were to close, thus ensuring students and teachers a continuous rollout despite the pandemic.
Because we believe in the benefits of a strong relationship between the project coordinator, the teachers, and the students, we favour in-person human contact.
However, depending on the reality of school environments and the evolution of the healt situation, projects can also be carried out virtually or in a hybrid way (in person and remotely). To maintain a high-quality pedagogical support, all our project coordinators have received pedagogical training on the best practices to encourage students to get involved remotely and favour interactions.
The scenario chosen among the options described below must be defined by the project coordinators and the teachers.
Hybrid mode, adapted to your needs and constraints
In order to adapt to our new reality, Youth Fusion will offer, as soon as this fall, a proposition for a new formula for the projects they offer in-person, virtually, in a hybrid mode.
For this formula, all of Youth Fusion’s pedagogical programs (in arts, science and engineering, design, leadership and entrepreneurship) were re-thought so they could work as well virtually as they do in person. To do this, we have developed a new interactive platform which allows us to carry out our activities remotely, synchronously and asynchronously.
The students will have the chance to follow fascinating and engaging programs, whether they are in class or outside !
Absolutely ! This year, we have revisited all of our programs to adjust to all the possible scenarios. Activities will be carried out in person or remotely even if schools need to close, ensuring a continuous accompaniment to students and teachers despite the pandemic.
Our priority is to adapt to teachers’ reality all while concentrating our energy on our fundamental mission: encouraging youth’s academic success.
Finally, all the coordinators who will be leading the workshops receive a technopedagogical training to maintain a high engagement from the students and encourage interactions.
Since we offer projects in fields that youth are passionate about, and since we will be maintaining remote follow-ups and mentorship, students will remain engaged and continue to be intrigued by these projects.
In fact, all of our coordinators will have received a technopedagogical training beforehand to maintain a high level of engagement and encourage interactions. Students will want to continue pushing themselves and keep going on their academic journey.
Moreover, asynchronous activities will also be offered via our online learning platform; this will allow students to further their knowledge beyond the activities led by the coordinators. The goal is to strengthen the bond with the student as well as their sense of belonging to the project and to the school.
We will use the tools available to us as best as we can. For instance, with the platform made available to the academic world, teachers will be able to create quizzes, interactive games, evaluations, and more. This way, teachers will be able to follow students’ progress in collaboration with the project coordinators. Our coordinators will be able to join and invest themselves fully and actively with the students. The coordinators will then be able to do specific follow-ups with the teachers regarding the skills acquired by the students.
Absolutely ! Indeed, each of our employees intervening in schools receives training before the beginning of their intervention. First, the governmental norms applicable to our organization are included in the 2020 training. This program will also be adapted depending on the conditions specific to each region and each student base. Moreover, coordinators will be equipped with the necessary supplies (mask and gloves) when they visit schools. They will also have to complete an online form before each trip to schools, with questions on their travels and the possible apparition of symptoms. Finally, a protocol was set up so that the norms are respected even during extracurricular activities or programs that require a lot of supplies. These supplies will be rigorously disinfected according to an established schedule.
Over a hundred schools have already booked their activities for 2020-21. There is still time to do it via our revised and improved project request platform. There, you will find the complete description of all our programs, among other things.
Please respect the deadlines indicated in the general FAQ. After this date, we will count the requests we have received and check if we have the necessary budget to implement all the requested projects and/or if we still have spaces available to implement more projects. It is therefore highly suggested to send your request sooner rather than later.
If you have questions about Youth Fusion programs, do not hesitate to communicate with us at the address projets@fusionjeunesse.org.
If you have questions about the programs in educational robotics offered by Robotics FIRST Québec or if you want to sign up, do not hesitate to communicate with Mr. Philippe Plourde (pplourde@robotiquefirstquebec.org or 514 652-3420) for the FIRST Lego League (6 to 14 years old) or with Mr. Martin Regimbald (mregimbald@robotiquefirstquebec.org or 514 583-6732) for the FIRST Robotics Competition (14 to 18 years old). They will evaluate with you the varied options to accompany you, including the possibility of integrating a Youth Fusion coordinator for support.
