Community Report 2010 - 2011 in pdf format
- K-8 with 187 students
- Student Leadership Group
- Conflict Managers Program
- Strong Extra-Curricular Sports Programs
- Eco-Globe School
- Multi-Grade Collaborative Teams
- Winter and Spring Drama Productions Productions
For the 2010-2011 school year, each staff member was involved with a committee which developed and implemented a school goal. The following four goals were established through this process.
Goal 1: To develop a school-wide toolbox of learning strategies.
Goal 2: To promote healthy living initiatives.
Goal 3: To increase an awareness of literature in our students and to begin implementation of the Words Their Way program in K-4.
Goal 4: To promote respectful behavior in our school.
The Engaged Learner committee worked on two initiatives this year.
The first involved developing a school-wide tool box of learning
strategies. Each teacher introduced, and developed with his/her class, a
learning strategy. The goal was to give the students a number of
strategies that they would be able to use by the end of grade 8.
Strategies included gallery walks,
Think-Pair-Share, Check 5, RAFT, Three Point Vocabulary, book report
frames, admit and exit slips, KWL, compare and
contrast frames, and jigsaw collaborations. The committee is also
planning a celebration of multiple intelligences for the fall of our
next school year.
A school-wide toolbox of learning strategies
A variety of healthy living initiatives offered throughout the school year
Implementation of hands-on word study programs
Respect agreements and character development activities
The Healthy Living Committee was very busy this year. They started the year by organizing a Terry Fox run. The committee worked with the Student Leadership group to create an incentive for students to do as many laps of the fitness trail as possible. The incentive was 10¢/lap and after 760 laps (the equivalent of 486 km) the students were able to add an extra $76 to the money they had already raised for the Terry Fox Foundation. WES also celebrated the Canada Winter Games by hosting a Winter Games Day. Cold temperatures forced our events inside, but students enjoyed an active day.
In March, a healthy snack was provided for all of our students during our Young Authors’ Brunch. The committee also published healthy recipes in our school newsletter this year.
In June, an overnight camping trip is organized for grades 6-8. It includes opportunities for hiking, as well as forest walks and fossil hunts.
The Committee has also organized a Tabloid Event for the school.
The Committee plans to incorporate healthy living messages into our morning announcements next year.
The Literacy Group began with the broad goal of increasing an
awareness of literature in our students. The group created a
number of bulletin board displays to convey their message. These
displays included snapshots of students caught reading as well as plot
diagrams and dust jackets from favourite books.
The group also placed articles in our monthly newsletter. The articles covered topics like reading and board games, lists of great online and print magazines, and study tips and strategies.
Finally, the K-4 teachers began implementing a program called Words Their Way which is a hands on instructional approach providing an engaging and effective way for students to learn patterns in the English language and apply those patterns to reading and writing.
"The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” - Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut
To help promote respectful behavior within our school, the committee in charge of this goal divided all of our students into multi-age Respect Teams. Each team had grade 8 leaders and encompassed students from each grade. These teams met together for a variety of team-building activities including our Authors’ Brunch, Earth Day, and Winter Games events.
The committee also oversaw the development of Respect
Agreements for each classroom. These agreements were
organized and posted in classrooms and copies were available in the
office for “fix it” plans when disrespectful behavior
occurred.