School Profile 2013-2014
Queen Mary Street Public School
JK-6 English/Core French
Address:
557 Queen Mary St.
Ottawa, Ontario
K1K 1V9
Phone: 613-749-1692
Fax: 613-749-6184
School hours:
9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
School Website1
Principal
Jennifer Offord
Vice Principal
N/A
Office Administrator
Karen Cassidy
Our School
Queen Mary Street P.S. is located one block west of St. Laurent
Blvd. in the Overbrook Community. Most of our students are
within walking distance to the school and enjoy access to the
surrounding resources including the Overbrook Community
Centre, the St. Laurent Public Library, The Ottawa Boys and
Girls Club and the Overbrook-Forbes Community Resource
Centre. As well, attached to our building is the Overbrook
Daycare Centre. Our school has large outdoor play areas
including three play structures, a basketball court and tennis
court. Most of our students are within walking distance and are
able to enjoy the wonderful yard space outside of school hours.
We are a true community school, welcoming many community
agencies during the day, evening and on weekends.
Our Students
Superintendent of
Instruction
Susan MacDonald
Queen Mary St. PS has an enrolment of 160 students,
representing many countries and speaking over 25 languages,
bringing much richness of culture and diversity to the school.
The main languages spoken are English, Arabic and Somali.
When our grade 6 students leave Queen Mary, they either go to
Queen Elizabeth Public School or York Street Public School.
We are thrilled to offer Full-Day Kindergarten this year where
our youngest students are thriving in a learning environment
with an educator team comprised of a teacher and Early
Childhood Educator.
School Trustee
Bronwyn Funiciello
Our Staff
Chief Custodian
Daryl McIntyre
School Council Co-Chairs
Jennifer Harris
Sherry Merritt
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
The Queen Mary Staff Team is committed to providing an
inclusive and engaging learning environment for all of our
students and includes 13 teachers, 3 educational assistants, 2
custodians, 2 office staff, a library technician, a multi-cultural
liaison officer, 2 noon-time monitors and 1 principal. Staff
members are dedicated, experienced and talented in a variety
of areas such as athletics, music, drama, visual arts, computers
and professional dance and provide a wide range of extracurricular activities.
Our staff are dedicated to ongoing professional development
opportunities to enhance their teaching practice with a particular
focus on literacy, numeracy, technology and critical thinking.
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Our Community
Queen Mary Street PS is surrounded by a supportive and active community. Our parents
are involved in various activities including the School Council, volunteering in classrooms
and attending field trips. Our special events, such as the Fun Fair and Meet The Teacher,
are always well-attended. Our students benefit from the nearby community resources such
as field trips to the Overbrook Community Centre and the St. Laurent Public Library, as
well as Reading Buddies from the Ottawa Technical Secondary School. Our school
welcomes community use during the day, evening and on weekends. The OverbrookForbes Community Resource Centre runs a free weekly afterschool Homework Club, The
Somali Association runs a free Homework Club during the evenings for elementary and
secondary students and The International Language Program takes place on Saturdays.
We are fortunate to have an on-site Parent and Family Literacy Centre which is a free
drop-in program for parents and children (0 - 5 years) Monday - Thursday from 9:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. As well, attached to the school is the Overbrook Daycare Centre. We host
numerous secondary students for their co-op placements as well as students from
Algonquin College and the University of Ottawa.
Community members volunteer for our Heart of the City Piano Program, which provides
free private piano lessons to our students. The National Start 2 Finish organization relies
on university volunteers as coach mentors for our Start 2 Finish Running and Reading
Club which takes place every Tuesday from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. Students train for a 5 km race
in May while receiving character education through goal-setting and teamwork as well as
support to improve their reading skills.
Mission Statement
‘Reach for Excellence’
This governs every aspect of school life.
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Programs and Services
Academic Programs
Queen Mary offers Regular English programs with Core French including Full Day
Kindergarten classes.
Classroom Organization
Queen Mary has a Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6 English program as well as a junior
General Learning Program. There are eight classes in our school, one each of JK, SK,
grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, grade 4, grade 5/6 and GLP
Special Education and ESL Programs
Our model of delivery for Special Education and ESL students is collaborative and
inclusive with support provided within the regular classroom setting as well as individual
and small-group withdrawal when appropriate.
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General Learning Program (GLP)
Learning Support Teacher
Learning Resource Teacher
English as a Second Language Teacher
Clubs and Activities
Our school participates in many school-wide events that promote character, inclusiveness
and school spirit such as the Terry Fox Walk, Reptile Day, Blues in the School, Snowshoe
Day, Holiday Sale, and monthly assemblies and outdoor activity days.
Intramural sports and Inter-school sports:
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Cross-country, Track and Field
Soccer, Volleyball, Basketball, Tennis
Indoor Curling
Club and Activities:
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Homework Club
Cooking Club
Games Club
Start 2 Finish Running & Reading Club
Dance Club
Choir
Junior Book Club
Blue Spruce/Silver Birch Library Reading Club
Hoops/Jump Rope for Heart
Heart of the City Piano Program
Monthly Cougar Competitions
Grade 6 Leadership Program
School Spirit Days
Talent Show
Reading Buddies
Recycling Club
Safe Schools Initiatives
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Queen Mary Street PS supports the OCDSB Community of Character initiative through an
integrative approach as well as monthly “Kids with Character” assemblies where students
are recognized for promoting positive values. Students’ photos are proudly displayed on a
year-round bulletin board outside the office. Our SRO, Constable Payer, is a tremendous
resource for students and families. We are fortunate to have a Child & Youth Counsellor
from the Crossroads Children’s Treatment Centre on-site four days a week to provide
support to students including training in collaborative problem solving. Our students
receive Traffic Safety Presentations, Fire Safety Presentations, and Ottawa Hydro Safety
Presentations through community agencies and 55 of our students attended the Ottawa
67’s “Rogers Character School Day Game.” Our School Council is planning a parent
information evening on the topic of bullying, including cyberbullying.
Facilities and Resources
Queen Mary Street Public School includes:
 a library
 a Literacy/Numeracy Resource room
 computer technology in every room; a shared iRover
 a computer lab (a brand new one installed in 2009 – 2010) and as well, we are a
wireless school
 a gym
 a play structure in the Kindergarten yard, in the Primary yard and in the Junior yard
 Tennis courts
 a new full-length outdoor basketball court
 Parent and Family Literacy Centre
 Overbrook Daycare Centre (attached)
Nearby community resources all within walking distance include the Ottawa Public Library
St. Laurent Branch, the Overbrook-Forbes Community Resource Centre, The Ottawa Boys
and Girls Club and the Overbrook Community Centre.
Google Map of Queen Mary Street Public School
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Achievement and School Improvement Planning
Measures of Student Achievement and Success
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Education assessments conducted by our Learning Support Teacher
PM Benchmarks, CASI, EQAO results
Student achievement and success are also measured using the following tools: student
portfolios, rubrics, self-assessment, peer-evaluation, daily tracking, assignments, tests,
projects, conferencing, and observation checklists
School-wide data wall to chart student progress and trends to help guide our instruction
and support
School Improvement Plans and Initiatives
We are proud of the improvements in student achievement as reflected in our EQAO
scores. Our School Improvement Plan continues to address literacy, with a particular focus
on writing. Our staff work closely with instructional coaches to analyse data and support
the implementation of best instructional practices to improve student achievement. We
celebrated our students’ success as writers by inviting parents to several class “Writing
Cafe’s” as well as creating a school-wide Queen Mary Writing Booklet that included a
writing entry from every student. As well, our teachers are committed to working as a team
and participate in board-sponsored professional development opportunities that are in
alignment with our board goals, including the areas of critical thinking and numeracy.
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Leadership Recognition
“Leadership in the OCDSB is the demonstration of personal initiative
to achieve a positive outcome.”
Students
Leadership is promoted for students through various opportunities such as our Library
Helper and Kinder Helper programs, our Recycling Team, as well as monthly recognition
at our assemblies with the presentation of Leadership ribbons. Each year we sponsor
students to attend the city-wide annual Children’s Writers and Illustrator’s Conference. Our
students participate in school-wide events such as the MS Read-athon and the Terry Fox
Walk to help develop an understanding and awareness of charities that benefit others.
Staff
Our dynamic and highly-motivated staff team is committed to pursuing their professional
interests, seeking additional professional training and participating in ongoing Board
sponsored workshops and conferences to enhance their professional growth. This also
includes being a host school for the OCDSB Grade 6 Math Network professional
development session. Our staff share their expertise and graciously host students from the
University of Ottawa, Algonquin College, Rideau HS, OTSS, Immaculata, Richard Pfaff, as
well as hosting international visiting teachers. Staff take on various leadership roles
through their involvement in coaching, extra-curricular activities, assemblies as well as
special events and school Spirit Days.
Parents/Guardians/Volunteers
Our School Council gives generously of their time, energy, creativity and ideas to support
various school programs. They have established successful annual events including the
Chocolate Bar Fundraising Campaign which raised $1000 last year toward the purchase of
sports and gym equipment. Other annual events include our Holiday Raffle, the Spring
Fling, Freezie Fridays, Pizza Days, Book Fairs, Bake Sales, and our year-end Fun Fair.
Proceeds from these events have funded our Library Reading Program and our Grade 6
Leaving Ceremony. We are grateful to have some of our parents volunteer to provide inclass support to students, as well as attend various field trips and sports events.
Community
We benefit from numerous community partnerships including the OttawaReads program in
partnership with the Ottawa Police as well as their “Give Back to School Day”, Learning
and Literacy Day sponsored by Deloitte, Ultra-Play Sports Program, Business Basics-Our
Business World program, School Zone Traffic Safety Outreach Program, Fire Prevention
Program, Ottawa Hydro Safety Program, Big Brothers Big Sisters “Go Girls” and “Game
On Boys!” programs, the OCDSB Tutor in the Classroom Program, Algonquin College
Student Nursing Program, the Heart of the City Piano program, Blues in the School,
CrossRoads Children’s Treatment Centre, and the Ontario Soccer Association primary
sports program. We are also fortunate to have many community volunteers through ONFE
who support our literacy initiatives by reading to our students on a weekly basis. Queen
Mary welcomes many community organizations outside of school hours including the
Overbrook-Forbes Community Resource Centre after-school program, the Saturday
International Language Program, and the Start 2 Finish Running and Reading Club. We
have ongoing partnerships with our neighbouring secondary schools including a Reading
Buddies program with students from OTSS as well as hosting numerous students for their
co-op placements. Last year we were chosen as a Chapters Adopt-a-School, resulting in
dozens of new books for our library, and this year we are an adopt-a-school for the
Starbucks on Coventry Rd. and look forward to their support throughout the year. We also
continue to receive free tickets to Ottawa 67’s hockey game as part of their adopt-a-school
program.
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URL References
1
http://www.queenmarystreetps.ocdsb.ca/
http://www.ocdsb.ca/
3 http://www.ocdsb.ca/ab-ocdsb/
4 http://www.eqao.com/
2
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