Elementary
Why choose École du Sommet?
Simple: Thanks to École du Sommet, students enjoy going to school!
At École du Sommet, we think that each student is unique. Our main ambition is to provide each student with a pleasant environment where they feel comfortable, respected and where they can develop their confidence and their own abilities by becoming autonomous and self-teaching. Each student participates in their own development, while we have cultural events, sports and/or extracurricular activities in place to complete their academic experiences.
At our school, you can see classes in action! We have tons of projects, experiments, learning activities and other assignments! Our gift to our students is to let them discover their personal interests so as to get a sense of fulfillment and explore their talents!
The school offers a francization program and its main priority is to facilitate the integration of students. Your child will have the opportunity to gain knowledge, acquire oral abilities and develop a positive attitude towards the French language. Depending on his or her own experience, your child will build a sense of belonging to the francophone community by contributing to its vitality and vibrancy. We are a bold francophone school, everything is possible here, we have the future success of your child at heart, in French first, so that he or she becomes truly bilingual, and that is a gift that will last a lifetime.
Our staff will do everything in their power to optimize the school experience for each student, which will be inclusive so that they can learn better, develop their independence and fulfill their own identity.
The school team works closely with families and parents, who are also asked to help, for instance during field trips. Parents are always welcome at the school. Even if you do not speak French, you will have many opportunities to get involved in the life of the school. Parents are encouraged to give their name if they wish to volunteer and they will be assigned to appropriate activities according to their level of proficiency, in the language of their choice.
The overall development of our students is one of the priorities for the school staff, who will always work to fulfill the needs of the “digital” generation. Therefore we have to link learning with technology.
Literacy at the elementary level
“La Planète des Alphas” is a program that teaches kindergarten and Grade 1 students to read. The approach is based on efficiencies for children in the regular program, as well as for children who may have learning disabilities (dyslexia, ADHD, etc.). This educational plan teaches concepts via a fairy tale and lovable characters.
The Daily 5 system is a framework for structuring literacy time so students develop lifelong habits of reading, writing and working independently. The method aims to develop independence for reading and writing at the elementary level and consists of 5 learning activities for students to work on daily, while the teacher can support individuals or small groups. The Daily 5 teach the teachers how to encourage the students to participate methodically and systematically in the five components of the program:
- Read to Self
- Read to Someone
- Work on Writing
- Listen to Reading
- Word Work
The CAFE System is a practical and simple way to assess the daily reading activities in the classroom. Based on studies done on skilled readers, the CAFE system provides a structure for one-on-one lessons, as well as a method to assess the evolution of the students and help them to be independent. This method helps teachers evaluate the needs of their students and develop a plan to reach their reading and writing goals. The main objective remains to develop the reading and writing abilities of the students and that is precisely what the CAFE method does. Here is what the acronym “CAFE” means at École du Sommet:
C Comprehension
A Accuracy
F Fluency
É Expanding vocabulary
“GB +” literacy program at the elementary level. The “GB +” literacy program helps students develop their reading and writing skills. The collection has reading booklets with different sets and increasingly difficult levels, for a total of 354 titles and 30 levels. Based on the assessment procedures developed by Marie M. Clay, a world-renowned scholar, the material will help to:
- Find the appropriate reading level;
- Detect learning disabilities;
- Assess the students’ progress;
- Write reports for parents;
- Develop consistent practices within the school;
Math Daily 3. The Math Daily 3 system gives students tasks and activities so that they can develop deep conceptual understanding and mathematical proficiency, while meeting the Ministry’s standards. Very much like the Daily 5 method for literacy that is used to teach them to work independently, this approach allows them to have a better and deeper understanding of the topic. The Math Daily 3 program includes the 3 following components:
- Math by Myself
- Math with Someone
- Math Writing
- Corn roast
- Back-to-school celebration
- Canadian Christmas
- Living Nativity, a Christmas celebration
- Christmas concert
- Maple sugar carnaval
- Mini BBSV (gathering of Grade 5 and 6 students)
- Thanksgiving celebration
- Pumpkins carving
- Remembrance Day
- Cake auction – Valentine’s Day
- Fat Tuesday
- Ash Wednesday
- Franco-Albertan flag raising ceremony
- L’Unithéâtre – A play in French
- Reconciliation celebration
- Easter celebration
- End-of-school-year celebration
- Circus at school
- Movie Day – Movies in French
- Swimming lessons
- Wrestling
- Junior volleyball (elementary and secondary)
- Junior basketball (elementary and secondary)
- Junior badminton (elementary and secondary)
- Gathering of École du Sommet’s sports teams
- Jeux Francophones de l’Alberta
- Field Day – Track and field
- Downhill skiing
ONIVA! A Radio-Canada TV show for Grade 5 and 6 students.
Learning junction – “CHALET” at École du Sommet
At École du Sommet, we adopted the concept of a learning “crossroads” to replace the idea of a “traditional” library as a physical space containing books. We now have a space that is inclusive, flexible, student-centered and that is designed to promote collaboration, inquiries, imagination and play so as to reinforce learning. This space, that we have named “CHALET”, is a welcoming environment to accommodate the different abilities and learning styles of our students, no matter if they work individually, as a team or as a group. This 21st century vision is based on innovation, flexibility and acceptance.