Evergreen School will open in the fall of 2010. Evergreen School will make a difference in the lives of every child who attends. We will strive for excellence; we will intentionally design curriculum for deep understanding. We will use formative assessments to design lessons so that every child can succeed. Evergreen School will be a place of innovation. Students will use 21st century learning skills. Our students will have a strong foundation in literacy and numeracy. We know that if they develop these foundations, they will have less difficulty as they advance through school. More-over our students will engage in rigorous, high level thinking tasks that are multi-disciplinary. We will incorporate different learning styles into our planning. Learning through the arts will be important for our students. Our classrooms will be active learning spaces!

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Character education requires strong community; it requires the support of families, educators and the students themselves. Developing a moral compass is a learned behaviour over time. It requires incidental and direct teaching, pro-social role models, positive problem solving processes, compassion and empathy. Problem solving means making choices and accepting the consequences when things don’t turn out the way you want them to. When children solve problems and learn from their mistakes they build resiliency.

Positive social behaviours are taught and reinforced consistently in the home, school and community. The transfer of positive social and conflict-resolution skills being taught at school will be enhanced if students are encouraged to apply them in a variety of extracurricular and community situations. Adults model appropriate language, actions, and use children's misbehaviour as an opportunity to teach social and conflict-resolution skills, rather than as an opportunity to punish.

The ability to express thoughts and feelings constructively is a necessary skill in building relationships and managing conflict. Self-esteem is built as children develop competency, take responsibility for their language and actions, and learn to resolve problems in a positive way. Developing positive relations with a variety of people fosters a respect for diversity and helps children look at differing perspectives. Children are encouraged to show respect for others and learn how to work together to become responsible citizens. These beliefs drive our school discipline procedures and cause us to learn a better way to handle conflicts and make responsible choices.

There are many ways of showing confidence and assertiveness. If someone is bothering you, try using our IMATT strategy:

When possible we encourage the children to try the first four steps before coming to an adult. It builds positive social skills. We know that there are times when adult help is needed immediately. We want you to know that any student can depend on any adult at Evergreen School! Teachers and other staff members will continuously assist students in developing positive character qualities and when needed, conflict or problem solving strategies.

CIRCLE OF COURAGE AT EVERGREEN SCHOOL

This means that we have a shared responsibility to create an environment where everyone has a strong sense of “Belonging”. At Evergreen School every child is included; they work and play in flexible, collaborative groupings.

At Evergreen School every child has a sense of “Mastery”. They are deeply involved in their work and know why it matters for them. Evergreen students are enthusiastic learners. Learning at Evergreen School is inquiry rich. When problem solving, students are encouraged to explore different solutions. The learning is meaningful and engaging; our students are personally invested in their learning.

Both parents and teachers help students become responsible for the choices that they make. Our students demonstrate increased “Independence” as they are able to do so.

At Evergreen School, we are thoughtful, caring and considerate of others. We build a sense of “Generosity” by unconditionally giving to others.

EVERGREEN IS A SILVER LEED SCHOOL!

Evergreen School is built to high environmental standards. To maintain our standing we are going to be thoughtful about reducing our environmental footprint. To do that we are going to encourage:

• Garbageless lunches (lunches in containers that can be re-used)
• Paper and print reduction, share information digitally where possible
• Drivers to stop idling vehicles at bus and drop off zones
• Walking and cycling to school when possible
• All stakeholders to reduce, re-use and recycle
• Environmental education
• Everyone to turn off lights and computers when not needed