Success Plan For St. Anthony For 2010-2015

Introduction

The Saint Anthony School Success Plan is based on the Lester B. Pearson Strategic Plan Together we Learn: Partnering for Student Success and the collaborative work of all our stakeholders for the coming five years, 2010-2015. The Educational Project, completed in 2009, is an integral part of our Success Plan which aims for individual student success.

Saint Anthony School, located at 17750 Meloche, in Pierrefonds, opened its doors to students in 1991. The building has been very well maintained and improvements have been made over the years in order to maintain a clean, safe and organized learning environment. The school is surrounded by Grier Park with extensive sports and leisure facilities. Saint Anthony is a community school where the vast majority of students live within walking distance requiring only two school buses.

The Saint Anthony School Success Plan has incorporated and works within the framework laid out by the Ministry of Education's Strategic Plan and the Lester B. Pearson School Board's Strategic Plan. Our goals are achievable and measurable. Together with our dedicated staff and our community we will strive for student success in the coming five years.

Characteristics of the School

Saint Anthony School is located in a predominantly upper middle class socio-economic area in Pierrefonds on the West Island of Montreal. It is a community school where over 90% of the student population can walk to school. There are two school buses which service approximately 40 students. The student population is evenly split between boys (49.9%) and girls (50.1%). 94.2% of our students were born in Quebec with 91.3% of our student body speaking English at home as their mother tongue (information obtained from Fiche Ecole). The school hours are from 9 to 3:30pm with daycare services provided in the morning as of 7am, at lunch, after school until 6pm, and on pedogogical days. The daycare program provides time for students to do their homework, play, participate in organized activities which include cooking, physical education, sewing, arts, crafts and robotics. On pedagogical days, daycare students participate in activities at school or in various educational field trips in a bilingual setting.

Saint Anthony School is an Early Immersion school. For Kindergarten and Cycle 1 students, 85% of the school day is spent learning in French and 15% of the school day is designated for English instruction. The philosophy behind the Early Immersion Model of instruction is that early introduction of a second language is most effective and does not interfere with the acquisition of the first language, English. Cycle 2 and 3 students follow a Bilingual Program. For students at these levels approximately 50% of the school week is spent learning French and approximately 50% is designated for English instruction. The aim of the Bilingual Program is to continue the acquisition of French Second Language skills while simultaneously developing English Language skills. Our goal is to have students graduate functionally bilingual. The staff of Saint Anthony School is bilingual. Numerous activities outside of class time are run in both languages in order to promote bilingualism in the school.

Music, computers, and physical education are taught at all levels. The physical education teachers engage students in numerous seasonal outdoor activities making good use of Grier Park's facilities. They also make use of our modern gymnasium. The physical education department is well-equipped allowing for snow shoeing, skating, curling, and cross country skiing activities in winter. A new artificial turf field is used for soccer and other sports. We have a modern computer lab with a newly installed integrated Smartboard. We are in the process of mounting Smartboards in all the classrooms as well as enhancing existing technology. Cycle 3-Year Two students have access to individual laptops in the classroom.

Saint Anthony School enjoys active parental participation in many facets of school life. Our part-time librarian is helped by volunteer parents who are in our library on a daily basis. Our PPO, which has now become a Home and School association, positively supports our school and the students through their fundraising and volunteer work. The Graduation Committee works throughout the year to support our grade 6 graduates. The Governing Board is a cooperative group built on positive and strong relationships working together to better the school. The collaborative efforts of all these committees and parents has helped Saint Anthony tremendously and their support is continually needed and appreciated.

School Vision / Mission

VISION STATEMENT:

We believe a child's school life at the elementary level lays the foundation for life-long learning. At Saint Anthony School, we value the importance of stimulating learning partnerships amongst students, teachers, parents, and the community, while encouraging each student to succeed to the best of his or her ability. We value the development of a positive attitude towards social and academic learning in a safe and caring environment.

MISSION STATEMENT:

Our mission at Saint Anthony School is for our students to succeed academically through innovative and creative experiences, while developing their personal and social skills in a bilingual environment.

In keeping with our overall objective of raising all of our students to the highest levels of their capabilities, our Success Plan is aimed at having our students leave St. Anthony School with all the tools necessary to succeed both academically and socially at the next level of their education and beyond.