Our Mission

We create a safe, nurturing learning community where every child is engaged and inspired to reach her/his potential. Our goal is for each student to emerge as a socially capable, creative and literate citizen with a passion for learning.

Our Vision

Inspiring a passion for learning; a future of possibilities

Beliefs & Practices

In our learning communities inclusive practices are embedded - we acknowledge, value and support individual diversity.

We believe in a multi-age philosophy; that children learn best when given the opportunity to work and learn collaboratively with each other allowing for a wider breadth of experiences, abilities and perspectives to be brought into the classroom.

• Being with the same teacher for two years allows more time to build, create, foster and strengthen meaningful, trusting relationships with students and their families.
• A strong sense of community enables students to take risks with their learning and acquire knowledge to become critical thinkers, problem solvers and facilitators of their own learning. Focusing on, celebrating and sharing student strengths and successes builds confidence and helps to further learning.
• Knowing each student individually as a learner allows for differentiation of instruction based on student need rather than student grade level; planning is intentionally diverse and involves practices that meet the needs of individual learners.
• Learning takes place in an atmosphere of collaboration. An enhanced sense of cooperation exists as students with different experiences, ages and abilities come together.
   
  

We believe in an inquiry approach to teaching and learning.  Students' voices, ideas and questions are instrumental in the planning of instruction.

• Students' natural curiosity and the questions they pose drive the learning process forward.
• Teachers help students critically think and problem solve about the world around them.
• Students' engagement and motivation are heightened as they are empowered to make choices and decisions for their learning.
• Students' learning focuses on the process ("how we find answers to our questions") and the acquisition of knowledge.

 
We believe that learning should be authentic and meaningful to our students' lives.

• We capitalize upon current events, authors, and rich opportunities in our local community to build curriculum with our students.
• We envision and plan for a variety of experiences beyond the classroom walls that enrich our everyday curriculum. Field trips, yoga, dance, visual arts, technology, philanthropy and special guests build upon the learning in the classroom, therefore deepening our students' understandings of a topic.
• We use assessment as an ongoing practice, building upon the strengths and needs of our students. We encourage students to reflect upon their learning, build criteria together and conference with our staff and with one another.  As their teachers, we have high expectations; we observe, listen, and reflect and respond to their diverse learning needs in our planning.