Spring Creek Community School sponsors

Pre-School Literacy Programs

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Mother Goose:  a group experience for parents and their babies.  It focuses on the pleasure and power of using rhymes, songs, and stories together.  Click on Mother Goose to download a poster.

Toddler and Pre-School Library Time:  Come and check out our new collection of books for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers.  Sing songs, hear stories and enjoy books together!  Click on Toddler and Pre-School Library Time to download a poster.

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French Immersion at Spring Creek

Bonjour!

Did you know that French is spoken in over 40 countries around the world?

Francophones are present on every continent and there is a vibrant francophone community in Whistler. Bilingualism allows one not only to know another language but also learn about and have an appreciation for other cultures. Learning a second language benefits the cognitive and social development of students. Children can transfer their language skills in a variety of contexts including reading, math, problem solving and intercultural exchanges. Also, knowing a second language may provide future employment, study and travel opportunities.

Spring Creek offers a Late French Immersion programme beginning in Grade 5. This programme is designed for all non-French speaking students wanting to learn a second language. Students cover the learning outcomes of the British Columbia Curriculum in French and the class environment allows for regular exposure to the target language.  The goal of the programme is to attain a level of functional bilingualism.  

Students’ fluency improves through regular practise of the four language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking.  Culture is an integral part of the curriculum. Not only do students learn about French speaking communities in their country, they also learn about francophone communities throughout the world. Students in our school have had the opportunity to participate in a pen pal exchange programme with classes from France, Belgium, Switzerland, Burkina Faso and Martinique. While learning French, students also experience cultural activities from other countries such as food, festivals, listening and playing francophone music, as well as francophone artists.

Registration begins inFebruary at Spring Creek Community School.

We are so excited!!!      

Spring Creek is a Roots of Empathy School

What is Roots of Empathy?

 ROE is an evidence-based program that has shown dramatic effect in reducing levels of aggression among school children while raising social and emotional competence and increasing empathy.  In Canada, the program is delivered in English and French and reaches rural, urban, and remote communities including Aboriginal communities. ROE is also delivered internationally in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. 

The mission of ROE is to build caring, peaceful, and civil societies through the development of empathy in children and adults. The focus of ROE in the long term is to build capacity of the next generation for responsible citizenship and responsive parenting.  In the short term, ROE focuses on raising levels of empathy, resulting in more respectful and caring relationships and reduced levels of bullying and aggression

Who is involved?

The Roots of Empathy program revolves around a baby, the baby’s family, a class of elementary school children, their teacher, school and community, and a Roots of Empathy Instructor. Each brings something different to the program, and the program's success depends on the ability of everyone to work in tandem. Instructors deliver all aspects of the Roots of Empathy curriculum in the classroom and build respectful relationships with the participating family, classroom teacher and students.

What Does the ROE Curriculum Look Like at Spring Creek?

Mrs. Galloway, a ROE Instructor is trained to deliver a copyrighted Roots of Empathy Curriculum.  The ROE program consists of 9 Themes and each Theme has 3 classroom visits. In total, there are 27 classroom visits throughout the school year. The lessons are 30 minutes in length. At the heart of the program is an infant and parent who visit the class every 3 weeks for the Family Visit over the school year. The ROE Instructor visits before and after each Family Visit (Pre & Post Visits) to prepare and reinforce teachings using a specialized lesson plan for each visit.

The ROE Themes are:

1.    Meeting the Baby                            6.  Safety

2.    Crying                                               7.  Communicating

3.    Caring and Planning                       8.  Who Am I?

4.    Emotions                                          9.  Goodbye and Good Wishes

5.    Sleep

ROE is being taught in two classes this year, Kindergarten and Kindergarten/Grade One.  We are very lucky to have an adorable two month old baby and confident mom for each of our classes.  The first theme, “Meeting Our Baby” was a wonderful experience for our students.  It is a time for introductions, both among the people involved and to the program, and gives students their first chance at witnessing the richness of the relationship between baby and parent. 

A main point is that everybody is unique in how you are, view, and interact with the world.  Introduced are temperament, infant development, and early sensory stimulation of the brain to think and regulate bodily functions.  Students begin to practice respecting baby’s body and space, watching for and responding to baby’s signals about sound, movement, stimuli, comfort level, and preferences.  We are learning a lot through ROE!

WHISTLER SCHOOL KIDS REACH OUT TO 2010 OLYMPICS

The school kids of Whistler are embracing the spirit of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and reaching out to involve the community in our celbrations in Whistler.  Whistler Schools have teamed up to engage in the "Kids of Whistler 2010".  This fall, Spring Creek, Myrtle Philip, Whistler Secondary, Ecole La Passerelle, and Whistler Waldorf with the support from Resort Municipality of Whistler, developed and launched a five-faceted, school-based project to encourage Whistler school kids to get involved in the spirit and activity leading to the 2010 games.  Go to our Olympic Link to read more.  Watch for our news release in the media.