What to expect in our new school....

"A good recipe: be stubborn on the vision and strategy and flexible on the details and tactics." Jeff Bezos

We get to have two start-ups this school year!!

Two first days of school. Two times the fun!

The first thing to expect in our new school is that we aren't going to be in our building until probably early January, 2017. We have a very strong plan for operating as a school-within-a-school in our 'sister' school, Tuscany, remembering that sisters have many common characteristics and just as many differences :) Many families have already visited us, prior to our first official school day of September 6/16, and have seen our beautiful, shared classrooms and know all about our plan to use the outdoors - particularly the ravines of the Tuscany community - as places of learning almost as much as our classrooms.  We are sharing the gymnasium and the Music rooms, with the EHS students accessing these spaces every afternoon.  We also have a Peace Room and a Conference Room to support our 360 learners and 29 staff members!

I guess that means the second thing to expect is that December/January are going to be very busy months as we pack up our belongings, visit our new spaces, visualize, plan and execute a whole-school move about a kilometre up the road! When we get there we will find a beautiful, light-filled enormous space and a whole swack of new furniture, supplies, technology and resources to situate and distribute - a whole new environment to love and embrace and fill with children's laughter, energy, curiosity and adventure.

I think that's a pretty cool thing - two first days of school!  Always my most favourite day of the school year - full of promise and joy and a little anxiety but not enough to make you not love seeing all the new faces and smiles :)

Our new school requires thinking about learning from the perspective of children. We like getting to know the students as humans and as learners - what do they love? are curious about? want to try? are afraid of or nervous about? what can they do that they are most proud of? what would they like to learn to do? who are their favourite people? why? what does friendship mean to them? what do they know about their community? their family? the land on which they live? what do they know about nature? and grown ups? and schools? what's the most exciting thing that's ever happened to them? what would they love to do if they could do anything in the world?  what do they love to read? to listen to? to write? to build? to draw?

It's not so much about lesson plans and curriculum as it is about the children and that is the key difference. How can we best support their learning in literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, physical education, drama - and help our students become the best possible citizens and learners? How can we do this holistically - through questions, adventures, explorations - without breaking the world into such small bits and pieces of learning that it's hard to make sense of the whole world? How can laughter, joy, empathy, caring and fun be part of every minute of every day while still honouring the injustices, imbalances and imperfections of the world?

Our students can be expected to develop deep understandings of 'place' - the world in which they live - their community, the land, the province, the country, the world - as well as the legacies each human, each institution, each living creature, each decision has the potential to leave behind.  Our students can be expected to see themselves as explorers of the world - adventurers and questioners, scientists and philosophers who want to know everything and have strategies to find out!  Through these lenses of living and learning we will celebrate as our students build great strengths in reading, writing, mathematical thinking and problem solving in all areas.

The vision and the strategies are strong - the flexibility comes in adapting the learning to meet the needs of all our students.  And that's why the first day of school is always so exciting - we get our first inklings of what adventures may lie ahead! 

And that's why it is absolutely the best news ever that this school year Eric Harvie School gets to have TWO first days of school :)

Lorraine Kinsman

Principal