Above and Beyond
Formerly known as the Idea Share Shop, our new and improved Above and Beyond Blog contains the best ideas for student leaders to try out in their schools and communities to accomplish their goals. Whether it be school culture and climate, fundraising, or recognition and appreciation, you’ll find plenty of great ideas here.
Search by one of the category buttons below or just scroll through our hundreds of ideas.
The Idea Share Shop
“If you have an apple and I have an apple, and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas." George Bernard Shaw...
Sanitation Stations
A John Caldwell School student taking the Global Competencies 120 class worked diligently to place “Sanitation Stations” in our washrooms. Hygiene products will be accessible to all female and gender neutral washrooms throughout the school. She received a Reach for...
Intergenerational Art Show
The Grade 10 Leadership Class at Centennial High in Calgary goes weekly to the local senior's centre to visit and do activities with their residents. These can be as simple as a visit or more complicated like balloon volleyball, bingo, or Jeopardy. One of the major...
Staff Bitmoji Competition
St. Peter's Catholic Secondary in Barrie challenged their Staff teams to participate in the Staff Bitmoji Challenge. The following is their memo to staff: GETTING STARTED To get started creating your Bitmoji universe, you need to download the app (available for...
Easter Egg Smash
We ran a fun and simple activity this week that may work for you. We advertised all around the school about the upcoming Easter Egg Smash. We also filmed a video of a kid getting an egg smashed on his head and put it on Instagram. On the day of the event, we had six...
Art Package for Feeder Schools
In an attempt to build connections with their local feeder schools, Clayton Heights Secondary in Surrey built art packages for the students. Each kit had three crafts in them with glue and glitter galore. Over 500 kits were built for every K–3 student in the feeder...
Annual Charity Hockey Game – Blades for Baskets!
At St. Martin Catholic Secondary School, one of our most popular traditions is our annual teachers vs students Charity Hockey Game, known in the building as the “Blades for Baskets” game. The event is run by our Grade 12 Leadership class as a fundraiser for our...
Kobras Get Caught Being Kind
Kindersley Composite School SLC started a campaign for the month of February that encouraged students to “Get Caught Being Kind.” Parents, peers, staff and community members have been nominating students who demonstrate Kobra Kindness and we spotlight them in our...
Future Mustangs Virtual Visits
One way to introduce your incoming grade 9 class is to invite them to tour the school and meet with student leaders. This is a great opportunity for your leaders to tell the new students all about the school and the activities, sports and clubs. However, this is...
Wall of Pride
Using paper bricks, Fraser High School built a wall of pride in their front foyer that recognized the outstanding efforts of clubs, individuals and staff members at their school. This is a great opportunity to let people know about academic and artistic achievements...
Too Much Spirit for Some – solution
St. Peter’s Catholic Secondary in Barrie has an outrageous and spirited Colour Clash Day held each fall. The infectious and positive energy is off the charts in the building, however, it is too much for some. A teacher took a personal day each year to avoid the chaos...
Staffulty Awards
Each month when the staff meeting agenda is sent out, Clayton Heights Secondary also sends out a Microsoft form called the Staffulty Award. Staff members can nominate other staff members for the work they do with kids, extracurricular activities, sports, or with in...
Trickshot Competition
Students are invited to film their best trickshot on video and submit it to a bracket challenge for the school. The staff and students at Tanenbaum CHAT in Toronto got their competition down to these final four videos. You can pick the one you think should win. (the...
Class of the Day
Just prior to a major marking period or at the end of first or second semester, teachers are invited to nominate a class for their hard work and dedication. Teachers write up a brief blurb on why this class deserves to be Class of the Day. All nominations are placed...
Pretend VACAY Day
Whatever your lockdown situation, you know that you probably are not heading to the beach, balmy climes or cruise ship any time soon. A great spirit day is to dress like you are going on a trip this coming break, even if it is just a trip to the couch! L.P. Miller...
Dad Jokes Challenge
Two teams of four match up to make the other person crack a smile at the best bad dad jokes. Each member gets to face off against one opponent and try to get the other person to laugh their face off by telling four of his or her best dad jokes. If you smile or laugh,...
Vestivus
What is cooler than a sweater vest? Well . . . it's Saskatchewan, where you go into a curling rink to warm up in the winter, so a vest is a great way to celebrate a spirit week or month as Jana Fisher and the spirited Bears of Wynyard Composite wanted to warm things...
Leadership Buddies with Staff
The number one rule in modern marketing is that word of mouth is the most powerful way to let people know what is happening. Yale Secondary leadership students are paired with a teacher in the school to act as a "leadership buddy" on the first day of school. This...
Keep your Fish Fresh
Few people know that storm drains located on your street empty right into local streams, creeks, and rivers in your neighbourhood. To remind people not to dump waste oil and other contaminants into the local water table, Yale Secondary leadership students, in...
Razzle Dazzle Hype Video
KCI in Kitchener has their students and staff film a 20–30 second video clip and then all of the clips are put together with the app Quik for a Razzle Dazzle version of the life at school or home. Check out a sample video here. Hints: Have people submit videos of...
Grad Tradition – Mural Recognition
Melissa Wright describes a unique opportunity for her grads to leave their mark at Kennebecasis Valley High. Watch here: https://fb.watch/30oo8y-c-p/ You can find it here on our YouTube channel.
Groundhog Day
Take the time to have some fun with Groundhog Day. People need a break at this time of year and want something hopeful and fun to celebrate. Give prizes to the person who can do the best hand shadow puppet. Play pin the tail on the groundhog. Have a groundhog pinata...
Human Hungry Hippos
Turn a simple kids game into an insane couple minutes of energy and fun. This makes a great pep rally challenge. Items needed 1 Skateboard per team 1 Small-Medium laundry basket per team Balloons- 1 colour per team Tape for marking off "Team Box" on the floor in the...
Be the “I” in KIND
The simple message on this poster reminds students of their role in spreading kindness. Hang your poster at student eye level in a highly trafficked area of the school, like a hallway near the cafeteria or the wall in your front foyer. Have members of your admin and...
Random Acts of Softness
Usually when you think of a quilting club, you picture cute grandmas happily sewing away. One student, Braegan Zimmerman was inspired by the impact of a quilt ministry on a mission trip and decided to replicate it in her hometown. Braegan and 20 other students didn’t...
Community Involvement Fair
One of the complaints that students have about volunteering is that they don’t know who is looking for volunteers. Solve this problem by inviting local charities, associations and volunteer groups to your school for a Community Involvement Fair. This fair can run...
Empty Bowls for Hunger
Empty Bowls allows participating artists and groups to create and donate bowls, then serve a simple meal. In some communities, ceramic artists are joined by wood turners, glassblowers, fibre artists, metal smiths, painters, sculptors, and other artists and...
Second Semester Welcome
New Student Breakfast: Most schools attempt to recognize new students at the beginning of the school year, but with semesters there is also a second major entry point to school. At the beginning of second semester, invite the new students and their parents to a...
Skittles for Scholars
Great Oak High School recognizes their scholar athletes with a certificate and Skittles. The bag of candy may sound a bit juvenile, but it's like a "gold star" for effort and students look forward to being recognized in the Skittles for Scholars program. They receive...
Personalize Valentines
Personalized Hearts: cut out hearts for every student and staff member and then write their name and a brief message on the heart. Place hearts around your school the evening before Valentine’s Day. The hallways look great decorated and everyone enjoys finding their...
#belikeBrent
Brent is a butler. He brings you all of the upcoming events. Be involved. Be like Brent. Brent was a Halloween decoration who has found a new calling and a permanent home in the foyer of Wynyard Composite School. He announces all of the upcoming events on his little...
Selfie Scavenger Hunt
This is our version of an old-school Easter Egg Hunt, but you can make it fit any holiday or random theme. We post spring-ish items (Easter Bunny, Tulips, Easter Eggs, Robins, Sandals, etc.) around the school in places that take more than a casual glance to see, but...
Virtual Christmas Carnival
E. P. Scarlett High School in Calgary did not let the virtual learning get in the way of some festive fun:
Rock Paper Scissors ONLINE
Rock, Paper, Scissors is a game that can be taken virtually, and Ethan Gasee from Tanenbaum CHAT in Toronto had his whole school throwing down their virtual rocks in an online tournament. A signup form was sent out to the whole student body and staff on Google Forms....
The Zoomies
Scott Thompson from Bow Valley High had some fun and frustration with the virtual world of education and handed out some awards for efforts that should be recognized in the world of virtual learning. He called his awards "The Zoomies". You can hand out recognition...
Virtual Brain Break Games
Read my Lips This is actually an ideal game for a virtual brain-break. The idea is just like it sounds. One person mouths a phrase and the other players have to guess what they said. This game often goes awry when playing in person, but for a virtual group, it’s easy...
True Colours: Presented by Relay for Life Youth
True Colours: Presented by Relay for Life Youth Join CSLA and students across Canada to participate in a True Colours workshop presented by our friends at Relay for Life Youth. This workshop took place on December 9, 2020. A recording of the workshop can be...
Mathletes – One! Two! Three! COMPUTE!
St. Patrick’s math department from Quebec City ran their edition of Math Week. This year's format of competition was online. Participants must solve 10 riddles and participate in a few math games to collect as many points as possible. Last year, they did the daily...
Kiss a Grad Goodbye
In May of each school year, Kennebecasis Valley High Renaissance sells “Kiss a Grad Goodbye’s” to students and staff. A “Kiss a Grad Goodbye” consists of a white piece of cardstock decorated with a blue graduation cap, a Hershey’s Kiss, and a space to write an...
Happy Harvest
Charlottetown Rural in PEI has created an event that feeds the needs of their culinary students and the bellies of the school population. Happy Harvest is a wonderfully collaborative event involving the inclusive education, culinary and leadership students. Using...
We Dare You . . . to be kind
Instead of challenging people to do dangerous things, make it truly challenging to interact with others in a positive way and dare to be kind. Identify the challenge for each of the five days during the week. from Debbie Hawkins
Who’s that Teacher?
W. P. Wagner High from Edmonton conquered the virtual Halloween creatures by having their staff submit pictures of themselves dressed for Halloween as a kid. The quiz was then posted to their website as a Google Form and students and staff attempted to select who was...
Scholarship Secrets
On October 28, 2020 CSLA was joined by Jane Thompson, Executive Director of the TD Scholarships for Community Leadership Program. You can watch the playback here. Applications for the TD Scholarships are due on Friday, November 13, 2020. ...
Clash of Colours
While the colours of purple, orange, green and yellow are not the school colours at St. Peter’s Catholic Secondary School in Barrie, Ontario they have significant meaning and are attached to one of the most important traditions, known as Clash of Colours, that brings...
Drive-In Grad Awards
Our province has a cap on gatherings of 50 people or fewer. For our grad awards night, we teamed up with a local hotel to host the event drive-in style! Our student leaders pulled off an incredible event that our grads will remember for a long time. And only two dead...
Most Fortunate Cookies
The students at Tanenbaum CHAT in Toronto decided to create fortunate futures for their staff and students. They ordered up some fortune cookies with fortunes that were specific to their school. These had to be ordered specially, but they generated much more positive...
Magical Wiggle Worm Wednesday – Why not?
On a Wednesday morning (or any other day) hand out magic wiggle worms to students. Lots of smiles behind the masks and lots of posts on Instagram. You can get 120 for $40 on Amazon here. Everyone needs a smile, and a wiggle worm can help! ...
The Masked Singer
Using the ideas and format from the TV show, The Masked Singer, Tanenbaum CHAT school had a video made of staff members singing with their choice of mask (Hallowe'en would make a scary version of this for your school). The individual staff members were edited together...
National Cookie Day
Everybody loves a cookie, so why not celebrate all of the different varieties? December 4th is the day to celebrate the goodness of this treat. You can hand out free cookies and just make everybody happy! Cookies appear to have their origins in 7th century AD Persia,...
Online Polling
Use online polling platforms for instant and interactive answers to questions. Platforms such as polleverywhere.com allow you to use this with a live and virtual audience. Create questions that will give you a barometer of how people are feeling. You can also have fun...
National Day of . . . time to celebrate!
You've always wondered when it's national Talk like a Pirate Day or that World Kindness Day is November 13th, and that Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day is January 30th. Spice up your calendar with some serious and silly commemorations. Find all of your serious and fun...
A Walk-In Movie (outdoors)
The Leadership class at Olds High in Alberta hosted a Walk-in Movie with Fresh Air Cinemas from Red Deer. This was to replace our welcome back dance. The feature was "Grease" and we had about 140 students attend. The $10 ticket included the movie, popcorn and a pop....
“Never Have I Ever” to lighten online learning
If you create the list of topics, you can keep this raucous party game in a PG format. Here’s how this activity goes: Create a list of PG topics like “Never have I ever stepped on Lego” or “Never have I ever eaten an entire pack of Oreos” or “Never have I ever climbed...
Behind the Mask
Crescent Heights High in Calgary decided to uncover the people behind the mask at their school. They took pictures of their staff and students first with their mask on and next without the mask. Then, on the school's Instagram feed, they shared a short write-up...
Virtual Spirit Week
Hosting a virtual spirit week can be a great way to positively impact your school culture and community. It offers an avenue for everyone to be involved, and takes an “events for everyone” approach. Here are some suggestions on types of “spirit days” to include in...
Front Door Greeters
If Walmart can do it, you can copy it. Centennial High School has CentMart greeters with t-shirts at their two doors every Wednesday morning before school. They welcome students with music, a wave, and a "Good Morning Yotes". They created their own Centmart shirts...
Virtual School Tour
Many of your new students may not have been able to get their pre-school tour of your building. It is still not too late to give them the royal tour of your school hosted by seniors and staff. Your first-year students may be distance learning or just in your building...
Playlist Bracket Challenge
Have each student in each homeroom or first period class submit a song that they feel should be “the song” from their class for the school playlist. The student's song then is assigned a random number with the maximum being the total number on both sides of the...
Humans of Your School
Create a photoblog based on the concept of Humans of New York for your school. Ask students and staff to submit pictures of themselves at school or at home doing what they normally do. Have them attach short descriptions of their activities and life. This is a great...
See Your Future
Put this mirror in a hallway beside your honour roll listing. The "Picture Yourself Here" will give students a subtle reminder of the positive future ahead of them.
Celebrate Your School’s Birthday
Everybody loves a birthday party, so why don’t you celebrate your school’s birthday with a giant cake and decorations. It gives you an opportunity to celebrate some history to the building, and the event allows students to understand the present and former traditions...