“Leadership in the OCDSB is the demonstration of personal initiative to achieve a positive outcome.”
Students
Elmdale students develop leadership skills and are recognized for the role they play on the Ecoschool team, as helpers, reading buddies and Character Club members. Students demonstrate courteous behavior, a sense of responsibility and are aware that their contributions make a difference. Our students also develop a sense of caring and compassion for others by participating indifferent fundraising activities and outreach. Our fundraising activities include: Twoonie Tuesday and Parkdale Food Centre, to name a few. In sports, our school has been a leader in a variety of sports, and our students always demonstrate excellent team spirit. For example, approximately 160 students from grades 3-6 participate in the cross-country meet. In addition to informal recognition a regular basis, we also acknowledge their contributions in our classrooms, school announcements, newsletters and end-of-year assembly.
Staff
Our staff has actively participated in numerous district wide professional development activities in assessment, the arts, literacy and numeracy. These networks are focused on strategies to enhance critical thinking skills and 3-part math problem solving. Opportunities for further professional growth, for example the New Teacher Induction Programs are ongoing. Each year a number of staff members pursue additional qualifications and/or graduate studies. We also recognize staff leadership with notes of thanks, school announcements, school newsletters, assemblies,performance appraisals, and our principal’s report to School Council.
Parents/Guardians/Volunteers
Last year, hundreds of volunteers contributed approximately 7000 hours of support to the benefit of students in our school. Our extremely dedicated School Council raised over $38,000 which is carefully distributed to support various activities and initiatives. In 2012, the kindergarten play structure was removed, and in 2013, the junior play structure was removed. Both play structures are being replaced in summer 2014. A team of dedicated parents have worked in collaboration with school staff and the community to raise funds and support the renewal of this equipment. The past year, fundraising supported our numerous sports teams, arts workshops, science presentations and other student activities. Learning resources were also purchased. All staff at Elmdale appreciate that our parent and community volunteers are invaluable partners, without whom we could never provide the depth and breadth of opportunities that make Elmdale such a special place. We thank our parents, guardians and volunteers on a regular basis, acknowledging their many efforts through in-school announcements, school newsletters, and our principal’s monthly reports to School Council and at our annual volunteer appreciation event.
Community
Our staff and students are very enthusiastic about giving back to the community. We participate in United Way, food drives for the Parkdale Food Centre, and others programs varying each year.We have several community volunteers working with our students through Ottawa Network for Volunteers in Education. We regularly have student teachers from the colleges and universities working with our staff. We work closely with the City of Ottawa (School nurse, Safe Travel Planning Committee, Crossing Guards, etc.). Elmdale is the recipient of a variety of donations from local businesses and individualfamilies. We are pleased to recognize our community partners through our directory, school announcements, newsletters, and principal’s report to School Council.