Multi-Age Programs
May 10, 2021
We believe the mission of École Riverview School is to create a positive learning community which encourages creativity and enables individuals to become active, cooperative learners and responsible citizens.
Philosophy
- Where possible, children should be grouped over 2 years with the same teacher
- Teaching should be child-centered, based on individual progress along the continuum of development
- Children and teachers should take active roles in the learning process
- Individual learning styles and strengths should be embraced
- Children should have the opportunity to guide their own learning and take responsibility for their learning
- The community plays an integral role in the child’s learning
- Children should be given opportunities for mentoring and leadership
- An atmosphere of collaboration enhances the sense of community
Practice
Using provincial curricular outcomes as a framework, best teaching practices will be implemented within an environment of collaboration, inquiry, and theme and activity-based learning, while developing children’s ability to self-assess and take responsibility for their learning.
Benefits
- Insofar as possible, children will be grouped with one teacher over 2 years
- Balance among teacher-led, shared, and student led inquiry processes, while integrating curricular outcomes and content
- Teachers are facilitators of learning throughout the inquiry process
- Focus on integrating curricular subject areas into theme, experiential and activity–based learning through differentiated instruction and multiple intelligences
- Nurturing of the sense of community within the classroom, the school, and the larger community through celebrations, cross-groupings, community speakers, etc.
- Opportunities for mentorship, leadership, peer support and cooperative learning
- Fostering of an appreciation of the arts and their use as a vehicle for expression
- Atmosphere that values literacy and literature
- Assessment of and for learning to drive instruction and growth
- Active involvement of children and teachers in the assessment process to promote ownership of learning, intrinsic motivation and goal setting
- Parents encouraged to participate in their child’s learning and to support the learning community.
Benefits
- Children become lifelong learners
- Sense of secure and comfortable environment given 2 year timeline with same teacher
- Uninterrupted continuum of learning over 2 years
- Less adjustment from year to year
- Home-school connection is enhanced to support learning
- Increased opportunities to lead and to follow, to collaborate and to make stable peer connections