The Otter Guy Inc. under the guidance of Alex Nosal, a licenced teacher (OCT), has developed a unique program for children throughout the K-12 curriculum. The Otter Guy introduces children to water transport, water safety and aqua friendly behavior, while enjoying a one-hour art workshop at Artscape Gibraltor Point on Ward’s Island, followed by lunch, a short introduction to island history and then depart back to the city via boat.
The excursion requires students to leave their schools by 9:30 am, but they will return before the end of the school day.
A general Itinerary is provided below. For Ontario grade specific, curriculum details and all other inquiries regarding daily school trips, please email us directly at FieldTrips@OtterGuy.ca
10:00 – Students and teachers arrive at 5 Queens Quay West (Yonge St. Quay adjacent to the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal exit, East side of the Westin Harbour Castle). Students will be met by the Toronto Marine Safety School instructor, led to the floating dock and given instruction to basic water safety including the donning of life jackets, dangers of cold water shock, and ‘man overboard’ procedures.
11:00 – Students and teachers board “The Otter Guy” boats (the City Ferry will be substituted for the Otter Guy vessels if weather conditions are unfavourable) and set sail for Ward’s Island. At Ward’s Island the students and teachers will disembark the water vessel(s) and board a school bus for the journey to Artscape (formerly the Island high school) and dropped off there.
11:30 – Students are split into smaller groups and classrooms and given one hour of art instruction by Artscape staff.
12:30 – Lunch
1:00 – Students watch a short PP presentation on the history of the Toronto Islands. An Islander speaks to the classroom about the island, a handout is given that outlines the history and the teachers are given some basic questions for the students as well as some possible assignments to be given to the students after they arrive back at their school complete with a rubric for marking the assignments.
1:30 – Students board the bus for the island dock.
1:45 – Students board the boat back to the mainland.
2:00 – Students arrive on the mainland and return to their respective schools by school bus or TTC.
The Otter Guy can only accept a maximum of 160 students per day. Preference is given to Grade five and Grade six students. Catholic School Board and Private Schools can also attend.