School Profile 2013-2014
Bells Corners Public School
JK-5 English/Core French/MFI
Address:
3770 Richmond Rd.
Nepean, Ontario
K2H 5C3
Phone: 613-828-3100
Fax: 613-828-3701
School Hours:
9:15 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Office Hours:
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
School Website1
Principal
Cassia Laine
Vice-Principal
N/A
Office Administrator
Leslie Lang
Chief Custodian
Denis Robert
School Council Chair
Amy Cameron
Superintendent of Instruction
Olga Grigoriev
School Trustee
Pam FitzGerald
Chair of the Board
Jennifer McKenzie
Director of Education/
Secretary of the Board
Jennifer Adams
General Board Information:
Phone: 613-721-1820
OCDSB Website2
Accessibility Information3
Our School
Bells Corners Public School is on a large property and is next to
a public park. The school is enriched by its diverse socioeconomic and multicultural student population. Bells Corners
Public School strives to provide each learner with an education
of the highest quality in a positive environment, with caring,
dedicated and effective staff. Students, teachers, parents and
members of the community are all involved in establishing and
maintaining a positive learning environment. Every child is given
the opportunity to maximize their learning potential and develop
into responsible, compassionate and confident contributors to
society. We have a large number of volunteers who support our
students, including many retired teachers who continue to
return and volunteer their services.
Bells Corners PS. has three large kindergarten rooms, a smaller
classroom dedicated to the teaching of music, and two Core
French classrooms which provide rich learning opportunities for
students. We recently acquired a mobile computer lab and
IPads so that students are able to work on these devices in their
classrooms. We have a gym with a large stage.
Our Students
Bells Corners Public School has an enrolment of 322 students
from the Bells Corners, Crystal Beach and Lakeview
communities. The school serves children from Junior
Kindergarten to Grade 5. In Grade 4, our students have the
option of joining the Middle French Immersion stream or of
remaining in the English program. Many students from
Bayshore P.S. join us in grade 4 for the Middle French
Immersion program. Bells Corners PS offers a Full Day
Kindergarten program and is in its second year of offering the
Extended Day Program. Students come from diverse
backgrounds and represent over 30 different countries of origin
and speak as many as 18 different languages.
Our Staff
The team at Bells Corners P.S. includes the principal, 22
teachers, 4 educational assistants, 4 Early Childhood
Educators, a 0.5 librarian, 1.5 office staff, one chief custodian
and two evening custodians. The teachers, office and support
staff all work together as a dedicated team, and are committed
to supporting student learning and enhancing the lives of every
one of our students. Our Staff have varied and rich
backgrounds in literacy, math, music, art, special education,
physical education, media, technology and drama.
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Our Community
Parents and Community
Bells Corners has a long history of voluntarism by parents in the school. Parents often
volunteer over 3800 hours during the school year. Our School Council has numerous
specific roles but all members who attend regularly have a vote. Council members meet
monthly to discuss issues and to advise the principal. The School Council is dedicated to
strengthening educational opportunities and partnerships within the community. The
Council runs many important activities for children, including a milk program and a pizza
lunch. They also host Barbecues and run family oriented fun nights, including a fall family
dance held in October, movie nights and a June event with many activities for children.
BCPS works with local businesses and has received support from Tim Horton’s, Loblaws,
Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, The Ottawa 67’s, Fuel for Kids, Metro, the Minto Group,
Canadian Tire, Price Chopper, Hakim Optical, Lenscrafters, Scotiabank, Lynwood Park
Lodge Retirement Residence and our community library.
Mission Statement
Bells Corners Public School students participate in meaningful and challenging learning in
a caring and supportive environment.
Picture of Bells Corners Public School
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Programs and Services
Academic Programs
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English Program with Core French
Middle French Immersion (grade 4 and grade 5)
Full Day Kindergarten
We provide support for the language development of our students with English as a
Second Language Programming and for exceptional students through our Learning
Support Programs. We also have two Language Learning Disability classes.
Classroom Organization
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3 Kindergarten classes
12 Homeroom classes from grade 1 to grade 5
2 Language Learning Disability classes (LLD)
Special Education and ESL Programs
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Special Education Support from our Learning Support and Resource Teachers
English as a Second Language Support
Two Language Learning Disability Classes
Clubs and Activities
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House league and interscholastic sports include: volleyball, basketball, bordenball,
cross-country, soccer, Q-tip ball, track and field
Clubs: Eco Explorers, Junior Choir (grade 3,4,5), which also presents a concert
annually, Running Club, Skipping Club
Student Mentors: Bus buddies, Lunch monitors, Reading buddies, Amigos
Meet You in the School Program
School skating rink
Scientists in the School
Roots of Empathy
Tutors in the Classroom
Healthy Snacks Program
Primary and Junior Musical opportunities
Fund-raisers for charitable organizations
School wide creative events (Arts Fest/ Creative Classrooms/Medieval Day)
Regular assemblies and spirit days
Regular pizza and spirit days
Cultural Presentations
Wide variety of field trips
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Safe Schools Initiatives
Code of Behaviour
Bells Corners Public School has a code of behaviour that celebrates the components of
good citizenship and includes respect for self and others, responsibility, acceptance of
individuals, and a willingness to work to achieve one’s potential. The school is
implementing the OCDSB’s Safe and Caring School initiative. This initiative aims to enable
staff, students and parents to build a safe and caring community. Lessons,
announcements, assemblies, modeling and various school initiatives all focus on nurturing
the development of respect, appreciation and responsibility of all of our students.
Restorative Practices are also used to promote empathy and build positive relationships.
There is a morning safe arrivals program in place at the school. Our older students mentor
the younger ones in many ways, including on our buses, as reading buddies, as Amigos
on the yard and as lunch monitors. Our School Resource Officer supports initiatives by
addressing the students at assemblies and in small groups.
Facilities and Resources
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A well maintained building
A library/resource centre with 18,000 + books
A very good collection of Orff instruments
An excellent collection of teaching resources
Computer technology in every room
A mobile computer lab
A gymnasium with a stage
A large playground extended by the neighbourhood park
Two play structures
Two tetherball courts
Several giant sand areas
A grove of trees
An independent daycare
Extended Day program
Google Map of Bells Corners Public School
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Achievement and School Improvement Planning
Measures of Student Achievement and Success
Staff at BCPS use ongoing assessment to inform teaching and learning. Some of these
assessments include:
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Benchmarks, CASI, GB+ and EQAO results
Daily teacher observation, student daily assignments (presentations, response
journals, learning logs, exit cards, etc.), unit pre-tests and quizzes
Teacher feedback is key and provides the focus for our School Improvement Plan
Student self-and peer- evaluation
Formal Educational assessments provided by our Learning Support Teacher
Kindergarten teachers use the Early Learning Observation Tool along with a variety of
other screening tools
Pre- and post-tests for our School Improvement Planning goals
School Improvement Plans and Initiatives
Our School Improvement Plan for 2013/14 has one area of concentration:
By June 2014, Bells Corners students will read, represent, compare, and order whole
numbers, and use concrete materials to represent fractions and money amounts. (Overall
Expectation #1)
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Grade 1: up to 50 and investigate fractions and money amounts
Grade 2: up to 100 and amounts up to 100¢
Grade 3: up to 1000 and amounts up to $10
Grade 4: up to 10 000, decimal numbers to tenths and simple fractions and
amounts to $100
Grade 5: up to 100 000, decimal numbers to hundredths, proper and improper
fractions, and mixed numbers
Leadership Recognition
“Leadership in the OCDSB is the demonstration of personal initiative
to achieve a positive outcome.”
Students
As representatives of the student population, our students actively support a variety of
school initiatives. Primary students work with younger students and participate in activities
which celebrate their successes within the classroom and in the school. Junior division
students act as reading buddies, lunch time monitors, Amigos and bus buddies. They have
regular opportunities to participate in intramural sports events and attend Board meets. On
a regular basis, we acknowledge our students’ contributions in the classroom, on school
announcements, in newsletters, at regular awards assemblies, in our Principal’s report to
school council and at year-end awards ceremonies.
Staff
Our team cares deeply about our students. Our office staff, educational assistants,
custodians, ECEs, teachers and our professional partners (social worker, psychologist,
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speech and language therapists, itinerant teachers) all dedicate their efforts to ensure that
our students’ social, emotional and educational needs are met.
Our staff members have a wealth of professional qualifications including Child and Youth
Worker Diplomas, Early Childhood Education, Bachelors and Masters degrees in Arts,
Education, Fine Arts, Linguistics and Applied Languages, Physical Education, Psychology,
and Sciences, as well as additional qualifications in Special Education, Primary Education,
French as a Second Language, English as a Second Language, Kindergarten, Reading,
Music, Visual Arts, Guidance, and Computers in Education. They have actively
participated in numerous Board-wide and in-school professional development activities in
literacy and numeracy, and we recognize their initiative by providing and supporting
opportunities for further professional growth. They take empty classrooms and create
wonderful learning spaces, work together to plan all of the procedures for students (entry,
exit, fire drills, safety procedures, etc.) and collaborate to ensure that students receive rich
learning experiences. Most important, they always demonstrate integrity, a great sense of
fun, and commitment to make sure that all students, not just those in their classes, achieve
success and feel valued.
The children in the school, in our community and in other countries have greatly benefited
from the strong leadership provided by staff members. Staff members have built outdoor
rinks, promoted physical fitness, organized numerous clubs, supported the arts, piloted
programs and raised money for various charities including the United Way, UNICEF, The
Terry Fox Run, Jump Rope for Heart and FAMSAC and the Ottawa Education Foundation.
Mentoring also plays a large role in our staff culture. Teachers, Early Childhood Educators
and Educational Assistants readily volunteer to work as peer mentors, and we regularly
welcome a significant number of student teachers, students from child and youth programs
and coop students to our school. Staff leadership is also recognized informally, through
our personal interactions, as well as through letters of appreciation, school
announcements, newsletters, assemblies, performance appraisals and our Principal's
report to school council. Staff have also reached out and supported the community in a
variety of ways, including leading multi-generational choirs, bringing students to read and
visit with or singing with seniors in local residences.
Staff Leadership is recognized in school newsletters, the school blog, principal reports to
School Council, individual notes of thanks, recognition in our weekly memo, on the
announcements and through Principal nominations for particular awards.
Parents/Guardians/Volunteers
Volunteers are the backbone of our school. Our School Council members, all volunteers,
work hard to counsel the principal and to raise money and plan special events for the
students. Our Council meets once a month (on the second Tuesday of the month at 7:00
p.m. in the library). They hold a special Family Dance around Halloween annually, as well
as an end of year BBQ and fund evening. They also support both milk and pizza programs
at the school, which feeds our students and raises important funds. The council works all
year on fundraising activities to support school initiatives and needs.
We have many parents, grandparents, community volunteers, retired teachers and
volunteers through Ottawa Volunteers in Education (OVIE) who support the school in a
variety of ways. They may help in the classroom, on field trips, for special events, in the
library or support in other ways the classroom teachers. As invaluable partners, we thank
our parents, guardians and volunteers on an on-going basis, and look for opportunities to
acknowledge their efforts through school announcements, our Principal's report to School
Council, school blog and our annual volunteer appreciation event.
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Community
Tim Horton Children’s Foundation has provided children from our school with the
opportunity to attend March break or summer camp in Quyon, Quebec. While there, the
children participate in a wide variety of activities, including indoor wall climbing, crafts,
swimming, land sports, kayaking and canoeing in summer. In the winter, there is a range
of outdoor activities such as snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, indoor wall climbing, low
ropes, basketball and arts and crafts.
URL References
1
̶ http://www.bellscornersps.blogspot.ca/
2
̶ http://www.ocdsb.ca/
4
̶ http://www.eqao.com/
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