Program information
CWA continues to be a multi-cultural community – a microcosm of the world. The educational goals and objectives as described in the Educational Project (Appendix A) reflect both the school’s values and its international-minded nature.
These aims are:
- Nurture intellectual curiosity and actively involve students in the discovery and acquisition of knowledge;
Develop good work habits and positive attitudes which are essential skills for lifelong learning; - Enable students to observe and establish links between academic subjects and the world around them;
- Develop respect for the plurality of cultures and religious beliefs within the school and elsewhere;
- Build a sense of commitment to the school community, to the broader community and to society;
- Develop a spirit of international understanding, cooperation and tolerance by enabling the students to recognize the interdependence of human beings in a global perspective.
Our goals and objectives are achieved through:
- Inquiry-based learning
- Full-day bilingual program at Kindergarten
- Intensive French Immersion in Cycle 1 (85% French/15% English)
- 50/50 French Immersion/English in Cycles 2 and 3
- Physical Education (120 minutes/week)
- Extensive intramural/inter-scholastic physical education activities
- Music program
- Fine arts program for cycles 1-3
- Introduction of Italian language as an optional extra-curricular activity for cycles 1 & 2
- A non-violence program at the Cycle 3 level, involving conflict management and peer mediation courses. Our school has been a proud and active member of Peaceful Schools International (PSI) since Spring 2004. CWA was selected as the PSI school of the month (November 2008) for its commitment to local and international assistance
- Trained peer mediators help students to resolve minor conflicts in a timely, equitable and effective manner as needed
- Enriched programs in English and French Language Arts, Science, and Math
- Cross-curricular information technology application in all areas of the curriculum (Kindergarten-Cycle 3)
- Partnership with local high schools
- Resource team to support students with learning disabilities, academic delays, and other diagnosed special needs
- Two full-time Behaviour Technicians to support Special Needs students with behavioural challenges
- A range of partnerships, internal supports, strategies and interventions to support special needs students (see Inclusion Policy)
- Implementation of the ERC program as prescribed by MELS which allows an emphasis on celebration, development of understanding and tolerance, strength in diversity, as well as fostering comparisons which encourage empathy
- Spiritual animator who helps organizes multi-cultural celebrations and special projects (i.e. conflict managers)
- “Learner Profile attributes” program for all grade levels (K- grade 6). Focusing on one IB attribute per month with recognition assemblies for individual student achievement;
- Grade 6 Exhibition: In the final year of the PYP, students participate in a culminating project referred to as “The Exhibition”, which is designed to engage students in an in-depth, collaborative inquiry into a particular research topic. All staff are implicated in the process through mentoring groups of students, and the final projects are presented to the entire school community
- Commitment to gaining knowledge about those who are less fortunate, researching how to assist others facing hardship and taking action to create a more positive environment for others to live, learn and grow. Some of our most recent endeavours include: Supporting a local food bank (HOPE Society); supporting needy families in our own community through a generous Christmas Basket drive and gift cards’ campaign, book, toy and game drives; supporting a wide variety of charitable organizations including the Canadian Cancer Society, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, The MIRA foundation, The International Red Cross, The Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation, and Free The Children (a variety of development projects and initiatives)
- Green School Policy (with parental support and involvement) to establish local school- wide practices that are more environmentally friendly
- Regular communication with our parent community is achieved through a variety of means, notably through our school web-site https://cwa.lbpsb.qc.ca/ ; the web-site is updated regularly in order that parents can quickly obtain important information about school activities, events, policies, and special projects;
- A school Facebook page and Twitter account have been created to keep the community informed of classroom and school activities / announcements
- Parents are also invited to participate in workshops, presented by our PYP coordinator, that provide insight and more-detailed information about the PYP and other aspects of the Educational Project of the school.