School Profile 2013-2014
Forest Valley Elementary School
JK to 5 English/EFI
Address:
1570 Forest Valley Dr.
Orléans, Ontario
K1C 6X7
Phone: 613-824-0733
Fax: 613-824-0737
School hours:
8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Office hours:
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
School Website1
Principal
Nina Weiler
Office Administrator
Katherine Partington
Office Assistant
Joanne Pokornik
Chief Custodian
Cameron Ashton
School Council Chair
Denise Laplante
Superintendent of Instruction
Neil Yorke-Slader
School Trustee
Katie Holtzhauer
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
At Forest Valley Elementary School, we pride ourselves on: the
quality of the programs; the academic performance of the
students; the variety of activities offered; the professionalism of
staff; and, the high level of involvement and support from our
parents. We set high and attainable academic and social
expectations for our students. Students are encouraged to
respect diversity, celebrate differences and develop tolerance
and acceptance of others. We encourage students to think for
themselves, develop strategies to make informed, thoughtful
decisions, assume responsibility for their actions, become selfmotivated, develop self-confidence and develop as resilient
members of society. We challenge ourselves to take academic
risks by doing things differently and by coming up with new and
creative ideas. We continue to work at responding to societal
and technological challenges. Our school community values
daily physical education and social/emotional wellness as
essential components of a broad ranging and rigorous
curriculum. We continue to reflect the values of a community
school and continue to promote a collaborative partnership to
increase commitment and a sense of pride and ownership by all
– students, staff, parents, guardians and the community.
Our Students
Forest Valley has a current enrolment of 380 students. Our
school is multi-cultural and takes pride in respecting each
other’s ethnic origins and religious beliefs. Once our students
finish grade 5, they move on to Grade 6 at either Emily Carr
M.S. or Henry Larsen E.S. for their middle school years.
Our Staff
The team at Forest Valley includes the principal, 23.25
teachers, 4 educational assistants, 4 Early Childhood
Educators, 1.5 office staff, 1 chief custodian, 2 evening
custodians and a 0.5 librarian. Along with the in school team,
we are also supported by a Special Education Team consisting
of a Psychologist, Speech & Language Pathologist and Social
Worker. Each member of the Forest Valley staff works hand-inhand to provide the highest quality of education for our
students. Hardworking, knowledgeable, highly educated,
committed, and caring are only a few words that describe the
staff at Forest Valley E.S. The staff actively pursues
professional learning in order to refine their skills and develop
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new strategies to
support and enhance
student learning.
Currently we have
staff members taking
courses and
enhancing their
skills, specializing in
Reading, Special
Education,
Kindergarten and self-regulation initiatives. The staff at Forest
Valley is involved in numerous extracurricular activities that
support academic learning, character development, creative
arts, and athletic skill development. We believe in supporting
each child with diverse educational experiences.
(Nina: You’ll need to shorten this up so it fits on the first page
only)
Our Community
Parents and Community
Forest Valley has a strong tradition of consultation and cooperation between parents,
guardians, staff and the community. Parents are welcomed and encouraged to participate
in their child’s educational experience, both within the school and at home. The Forest
Valley School Council is a volunteer group of members of the school community, which
includes parents/guardians, community representatives and staff who are dedicated to
strengthening educational opportunities and partnerships with the community. Last year,
over 150 parents participated in school activities including: helping students with reading,
organizing fund-raising events, accompanying students on field trips, coordinating hot
meal days, etc.
Mission Statement
At Forest Valley Elementary School, we are dedicated to creating a happy teaching and
learning environment where students, staff, parents and the community work together to
help develop the whole child and to foster respect for self, others, and the environment.
We encourage a lifetime commitment to self-directed learning and wellness. We believe
this can best be accomplished through active involvement in a challenging and motivating
curriculum, in an atmosphere that respects the uniqueness of the individual and
encourages a positive self-esteem.
Forest Valley Elementary School
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Programs and Services
Academic Programs
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Full Day Kindergarten
English program with Core French from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 5
Early French Immersion from Senior Kindergarten to Grade 5
Classroom Organization
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2 Junior Kindergartens
1 English Senior Kindergarten/Grade 1 English
2 Early French Immersion Senior Kindergartens
3 English homeroom classes
9 French Immersion homeroom classes
Forest Valley enjoys the benefits of a balanced school day schedule, which allows for up to a two
hour uninterrupted literacy block and a one-hour uninterrupted math block in our Primary grades
and many of the Junior grades.
Special Education and ESL Programs
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Primary Special Needs Class (PSN)
Special Education Learning Centre (SELC)
Remedial support and educational assessments with our Learning Support Teacher
English as a Second Language Program (ESL)
Picture of Play Yard
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Clubs and Activities
Our students enjoy many sports activities including soccer, cross-country running, volleyball,
basketball, intramural games, track and field, Kinball,curling,yoga,TaeKwonDo, skating, swimming
and snowshoeing. In addition, the students can join the choir, various sports teams, yearbook club,
chess club, Student Council and school spirit days. The activities can vary from year to year and
depend on the interest and commitment of students, staff, and parents. Our grades four and five
students have numerous leadership opportunities such as lunchroom monitors, milk monitors,
reading buddies, PALS outdoor games and Environmental Stewardship mentors. A variety of
presenters visit the school to enhance the curriculum. These include: Scientist in the Schools
groups, fitness and music workshops, Arts and Literary groups; all visit the school to provide
students with the opportunity to see and hear dynamic productions and presentations. Our Student
Council plans and supports school spirit days and special fundraisers. To date, some of our
fundraising money has been distributed to our local food cupboards, Terry Fox Cancer Foundation,
the Education Foundation and most recently, Filling the Philippines’ Bucket. Throughout the
school, teachers instruct students on how to become self-directed, solution-oriented and critical
thinkers.
Safe Schools Initiatives
One of our school initiatives focuses on student self-management through positive behaviour
strategies and on promoting a safe and caring school in which all of our students feel valued. Our
Healthy, Safe and Caring initiative focuses on Character Development. At Forest Valley our goal is
to make every student feel valued. Character Development is not seen as a subject onto itself, but
rather it is woven into everything we do at Forest Valley. The values that we focus on are:
Acceptance, Appreciation, Cooperation, Empathy, Fairness, Integrity, Optimism, Perseverance,
Respect and Responsibility. We start the year with an Orientation Week designed to build
teamwork skills (??) and a sense of community with students and staff. We have PALS
(Playground Activity Leaders) program, Roots of Empathy, Reading Buddies, and our junior
students participate in a yearly Tell Them From Me survey to help staff measure factors that affect
academic achievement and social, emotional wellness. Our staff is proactive in their dealings with
any form of teasing or bullying by being visible on the yard and in the halls. Other initiatives include
lunch and school bus monitors, a call back program for absences and safety awareness in the
parking lot and surrounding roadways for both parents and students.
Facilities and Resources
Our school is located in a very beautiful, wooded area of Orléans. Phase 1 opened in 1989
and Phase 2, which represents about 75% of the surface area, opened in 1994. It is a
gorgeous school of which we are very proud. It has a double gymnasium, a large library,
an all-purpose room, three student wings, a computer lab and three challenging play
structures. The entrance and the hallways are spacious and inviting. The mosaic, which
adorns the entrance of the school, reflects our environment and was created by the
students and staff.
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Google Map of Forest Valley Elementary School
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Achievement and School Improvement Planning
Measures of Student Achievement and Success
Our school follows the guidelines set out in the OCDSB Policy and Procedures for
Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting, available on the Board’s website2. Student
achievement is measured through a variety of assessment tools such as portfolios, rubrics,
student-led conferences, observations, peer and self-assessments, written tests, oral
presentations, anecdotal records, checklists, student logs or journals, projects, audio or
video tapes, etc. Our teachers utilize the Early Literacy Observation Tool, Leveled Literacy
program, PM Benchmarks, GB+, CASI and Évaluation Rapide as part of the reading
assessment, and our students participate in the Grade 3 Provincial Testing. Any students
who require additional support and assistance are referred by their classroom teacher to a
School Based Team Meeting. The team, which includes the Principal, Learning Support
Teachers and the classroom teachers, assess the needs of the student and determine a
course of action in consultation with the parent. This includes further observation or
assessment, accommodations and modifications within a regular class setting, additional
support from one of our Special Education team, or referral to outside specialists. Our
Special Education Team works closely with classroom teachers to assist in planning for
the needs of their students.
School Improvement Plans and Initiatives
Our Literacy and Numeracy goals are developed after carefully reviewing EQAO results,
our PM Benchmark and CASI results, the results of our pre- and post-tests of School
Improvement goals, along with daily observation and assessments, report card results,
demographic factors, and other available resources. To achieve our literacy goals we have
a number of literacy initiatives. These include; the early literacy program, reading buddies,
the home reading club, and public speaking activities. We have recently expanded our
library resources in French, English and dual language books. We have also expanded
our collection of leveled books for classroom use. In an effort to further improve our
student achievement, teachers incorporate the four branches of literacy: shared/guided
reading; self-selected reading; writing, and working with words. This year our School
Improvement Plan is identifying critical thinking and communication in numeracy. This
year’s goal is to enhance these skills with a particular focus on Algebra (Equality and
Equations). In addition, our Wellness goal is to support our students’ emotional and social
development through a variety of initiatives. School Council is very dedicated in helping us
update our technological resources and currently a large portion of funds raised go toward
the purchase of SmartBoards; with their goal being to purchase one SmartBoard for every
classroom. Another school initiative focuses on student self-management through positive
behaviour strategies and on promoting a safe and caring school, in which all of our
students feel valued. We work on achieving these goals with a focus on conflict resolution,
anti-bullying, environmental stewardship, family, multiculturalism and anti-racism. Forest
Valley promotes an environmentally friendly use of resources. Our school operates a
successful composting and recycling program. It is a tradition at Forest Valley to
generously support a number of charitable organizations each year. The purpose is to
teach our students the importance of sharing, developing empathy for others and to
increase their awareness of various types of physical conditions in people.
Other Initiatives:
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We pride ourselves on the variety of special programs and activities that are sponsored by
our School Council such as our Book Fairs, ‘Tis the Season’ family event, the Valentine
Family Dance, Springapalooza and a special Moving Ahead activity for our grade five
students. Our students, staff and families have organized various philanthropic events that
have supported educational philanthropy such as; the homeless, impoverished children,
the Terry Fox Walk, the United Way, the Gloucester Food Bank and global issues.
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Leadership Recognition
“Leadership in the OCDSB is the demonstration of personal initiative
to achieve a positive outcome.”
Students
Forest Valley students are recognized for their leadership in sports activities within the
North-Eastern Region. Recent student accomplishments include gold medal wins in; boys
and girls cross country, girls volleyball, boys and girls track and field. Forest Valley
students have been the regional champions in track and field for the last 7 years. Our
school choir has been show cased on a local television station and performs in the
community. Our students are enthusiastic volunteers in charitable fundraisers as well as
providing mentoring to our younger students in various activities. The high level of student
volunteerism at Forest Valley, amongst our grades 4 and 5 students, is a reflection of the
values modeled within our community.
Staff
All the staff at Forest Valley care deeply about the students. Our office staff, Early Childhood
Educators, educational assistants, teachers, and professional partners (speech pathologists,
psychologist, social worker, itinerant teachers) all dedicate their efforts to ensure that the students’
educational, emotional and social needs are taken care of. We are a group of educational
professionals with a wealth of professional qualifications including; Bachelors and Masters degrees
in various areas of study, Child and Youth Worker diplomas, Developmental Service Worker
diplomas and Early Childhood Education diplomas. Many staff have actively participated in a
variety of Board and school sponsored professional development workshops in literacy, numeracy,
kindergarten and English and French as a second language and Outdoor Education. We have
diverse backgrounds that allow us to bring our special talents into the classroom, which enrich our
music, art and technology programs. Our Early Childhood Educators and our Educational
Assistants also bring a wealth of knowledge with them. Some have received training in non-violent
crisis intervention and continuously take courses so that the skills and strategies they employ with
our Kindergarten and special needs population remain current. Our Care Staff take pride in our
building and always strive to ensure we are working in a clean and safe environment.
Parents/Guardians/Volunteers
Our parents and volunteers are invaluable partners in the students’ total educational experience at
Forest Valley and our School Council is the cornerstone of that foundation. Our dedicated School
Council meets monthly and contributes educational support as well as thousands of dollars yearly
to support and enhance learning at school. As invaluable partners, we acknowledge our parents
and volunteers through school announcements, our Principal's report to School Council, school
newsletters, and our annual volunteer breakfast.
Community
Forest Valley is fortunate to be enriched by a variety of community partnerships. We regularly
welcome Co-Op students from our OCDSB High Schools, as well as student teachers from Ontario
Faculties of Education, Child and Youth Worker students and Early Childhood Educator students
from Algonquin College. Ottawa Volunteers in Education (OVIE) provide Forest Valley with
community volunteers who support our students and teachers. Our community includes Global
Child Care Services which is located within Forest Valley Elementary School. Forest Valley is also
privileged to have community business partners that make donations to support student and family
activities such a ‘Springapalooza’. Some of these business sponsors include: Metro, The
Independent Grocer, Boston Pizza, CIBC, as well as numerous others. Forest Valley is very lucky
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to have so many community volunteers who spend countless hours benefiting the school
population on a daily basis.
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URL References
1
http://www.forestvalleyes.ocdsb.ca/
http://www.ocdsb.ca/
3 http://www.ocdsb.ca/ab-ocdsb/
4 http://www.eqao.com/
2
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