Apple Distinguished Schools are centres of leadership and educational excellence, with a clear vision for how technology-rich environments support learning goals. In Apple Distinguished Schools, forward-thinking leaders and their communities work to inspire, imagine, and impact teaching and learning, and they have documented results of academic accomplishments.

Schools all over the world are using iPad and Mac to transform learning. As teachers incorporate technology into their lessons, they empower students to lead, learn, and thrive, to discover new opportunities, and to make their world a better place.

The West Ferris Secondary School STEAM Program promotes innovation, creativity, and problem-solving through the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math in hands-on, real-world learning experiences. The program focuses on interdisciplinary collaboration, critical thinking, and the use of cutting-edge technology. Students participate in practical projects such as coding, robotics, and design, while engaging with innovative learning spaces like labs and maker spaces.

The program also provides leadership-building opportunities through school outreach events, where students lead workshops and demonstrate STEAM projects to the broader community. Through these experiences, students not only develop technical skills but also enhance their communication, teamwork, and leadership abilities. Graduates leave the program with a strong foundation in STEAM, well-prepared for post-secondary education or the workforce, equipped with essential skills in problem-solving, digital literacy, creativity, and leadership.

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The Trojan Podcast club is the brainchild of teacher candidate b Wrauley who has a background as a former CBC radio producer and host.

“I have always wanted to start a podcast with students. During my fall placement I approached West Ferris media arts teacher Robin Bartlett, and she was totally on board and we’ve been having weekly meetings since,” Wrauley said.

Wrauley says the podcast tells the stories that are important to the students of West Ferris. Every episode will have a theme and students will present different audio pieces on that theme.

“The major focus of the club is increasing and amplifying student voices. The nice thing about that is that any teacher could listen to the podcast and draw a variety of links to the curriculum,” Wrauley said. “For example, our first episode is focused on the theme of “firsts”. So, we have a few students discussing their first friendships, first loves, first time playing a sport. In those stories there are a variety of links teachers could draw to their specific teachables.”

The first episode, appropriately titled Firsts features 17 student voices and producers. There are a total of eight stories including, First Love, First Snowfall, First Football Practice and First Rehearsal.

“Any student can pitch a story. We want the podcast to offer a variety of voices and styles, to be representative of the student population and a place where students’ voices can be heard,” Wrauley said.

Once a theme for an episode is decided on students share related stories. Then, along with Wrauley and Bartlett, the club works out the structure of the episode, deciding if it will be a group discussion or first-person narrative, and how sound effects could be employed.

Students then record their pieces in the West Ferris media arts room studio and do their own rough edit. Wrauley then takes over and, using their professional experience, cleans up the sound, trims the length of the piece and completes the final edit.  

The club worked hard promoting the podcast leading up the launch, including enlisting the rest the school to vote on the name through an Instagram poll.

The day before the first episode went live a launch party was hosted in the media arts room which included food, lights, music, stickers, and buttons with the name of the podcast and different art created by Bartlett and various students.

“The Trojan Voice isn’t so much a “club” as it is a community. We want the listeners to be involved, and we hope that any student in the school feels welcome to come and share their stories,” Bartlett said. “Our meetings are meant to feel inclusive and so we invite students to get involved in all aspects, developing themes, recording, editing, artwork, music, and promotion.”

Wrauley said the podcast is already off to a fantastic start with hundreds of listens and more than 100 subscribers.

The next episode of the The Trojan Voice will be all about second chances, and can be found on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.

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