A Westlock-area school was among 54 Alberta schools to be recognized for excellence in education at an awards ceremony in Calgary earlier this month.
Dapp School won an award as a School of Distinction for excellence in science, which recognizes schools that have excelled in the science component of the Grade 6 Provincial Achievement Tests.
A total of 654 schools in Alberta were assessed, and Dapp is one of just two rural Alberta schools to have won that award, along with St. Thomas Aquinas in Provost.
“I think for all of us, it was a huge honour. It certainly speaks to the hard work and dedication of all our staff, students and parents in our community,” Dapp School principal Wendy Scinski said.
The awards were given out at a Nov. 8 ceremony in Calgary hosted by the Fraser Institute, a Canadian think tank that promotes conservative libertarian values.
Awards were given in three categories: improvement in academics, excellence in language arts and excellence in science, and are based on the Fraser Institute’s annual Report Card on Alberta’s Elementary Schools.
“At these schools, teams of dedicated teachers, administrators, and support staff have found effective ways to inspire learning and academic excellence in their students,” said Peter Cowley, Fraser Institute director of school performance studies, in a media release.
Scinski said she believes her school won the award because its teachers focus on integrating different subjects as opposed to compartmentalizing them.
“Without exception we have a classroom teacher teaching all core subjects. This means that in our case, we’re able to integrate science into language arts or into math, however it might fit.”
For example, science lessons can be related to a novel study in language arts. If a topic in a novel relates to something being taught in a different subject area, the teacher knows exactly what has been taught and is therefore in a better position to incorporate the different topics.
Ultimately, Scinski said, the success comes as a result of hard work from the school’s students more than from efforts made by staff.
“I think it would be important to let the kids know, because it’s a result of their efforts,” she said. “We’ve got great teachers, we’ve got great program assistants and it’s an incredible staff, but the bottom line is the kids do well.”
As to whether or not she expected to be recognized for the award, she was happy to point out her school’s consistent success rate.
“It didn’t come as a surprise. While we’re exceptionally good in science, we’re very, very strong in all of the core subject areas that they look at,” she said.
For a complete list of the schools that were recognized with these awards, visit www.forexcellenceineducation.org.
