With the 2013-2014 school year starting on Sept. 3, high schools in the Westlock area are gearing up for another year.
Both R.F. Staples and Saint Mary are investigating new ways to keep students engaged with learning and involved as members of their school and the broader community.
Fostering a sense of community is the name of the game at R.F. Staples this school year.
Or, as principal Pierre Ouimet has explained it, it’s a desire to take an “elevated look at the overall social-emotional wellness in the school.”
After hearing from students, staff and parents about the often “frenetic” pace of the school, it was decided something needed to be done to improve the wellness and sense of community at the school.
“Let’s try to do at least one to two activities school-wide,” Ouimet said, explaining the goal is to break down the barriers that can exist between students of different grade levels.
Those events don’t need to be big, or especially extravagant, he said. One example is the annual Terry Fox run, which sees the entire school empty out and go for a walk.
Another is the annual carnival during the spring.
“It’s just in the afternoon for a couple of hours where we just get together as an entire staff and student body and just have some fun,” Ouimet said.
Outside the school’s walls, he said partnerships between the school and the wider community, such as working with the Rotary club or work-experience programs, also foster a sense of togetherness.
“All those partnerships with the community are alive and going well,” Ouimet said.
Technology is expected to continue to play a big role in the teaching process at Saint Mary School.
While technology has been making its way into the classroom more and more over the years, this year Saint Mary is taking the next step — allowing the students to dictate their device of choice.
“We’ve opened it up to the kids to bring a lot of their own devices if they choose,” said principal Sheila Glebe. “They can use phones, they can use iPads, they can use whatever form of technology that’s available to them.”
That greater and more flexible inclusion of technology is the continuation of a focus on inquiry learning that started last school year, Glebe said.
Inquiry learning involves creating a depth of learning and independent and involved learners, she explained.
“The kids become responsible and feel a greater sense of ownership and it’s much more motivating,” she said.
One major idea in the works is partnering with former chaplain Rev. Sabinus Iwu’s seminary in Nigeria, Glebe said, and contributing to the facility’s agricultural system.
“At some point, Father Sabinus is hoping by next summer we can take groups of people over there to help,” she said.
