Cooking at VIS is taught by Chef Chris Brown. In 2007, Chris was named one of the “Top Ten Chefs” in Toronto by Joanne Kates of The Globe and Mail. Chris is young, creative, energetic and excellent at motivating boys and girls to view “cooking” from practical and creative perspectives.
All cooking classes take place in the kitchen at the Deaf Cultural Centre in the Distillery District. Classes are small and highly practical.
The aim of cooking is as follows:
- to foster an understanding of the importance of basic cooking skills
- to impart knowledge about daily nutritional needs
- to explore and prepare dishes familiar to students and from around the world
- to emphasize the importance of good nutrition
- to focus on the advantages and disadvantages of fast foods
- to stress the role of safety in the kitchen
- to stress the value of different foods, recipes and diets from around the world, and to explore reasons why diet and recipes are linked to certain environmental, economic and social conditions and traditions.
Our cooking class is a favourite with students!!!
Life Skills
Developing and applying students’ higher order skills such as self evaluation, decision making, values clarification, critical thinking, and problem solving, are part of the core philosophy of V.I.S. and global education.
While the learning of higher order skills is integrated into everything the students do at V.I.S., the Life Skills program provides a unique opportunity for our students to delve into everyday situations that affect or will affect their lives. The course enables them to explore the practicality, purpose, outcome and their own personal responsibilities.
- Within a comfortable, safe, student-centered setting that involves discussion, writing, and field trips, we explore themes such as:
- Having a voice
- Making your Student Planner work for you
- Remembering things – Memory and focusing games and strategies
- Politeness – About etiquette
- Gratefulness – Different ways to say “Thank you!”
- Communicating and Listening
- Physically Taking care – hygiene, nutrition and drug prevention
