About Junior School
Junior School at Ashwood Glen is for Grades 1-5. During these years, we focus on the social, emotional and academic growth of our students. Taking a differentiated approach, we empower them to build confidence and take responsibility for their behaviors and actions.
As we aspire to join the global community of International Baccalaureate (IB) world schools, we have adopted some renowned best practices and built an academic framework around transdisciplinary themes and inquiry-based learning.
The principles and practices of the IB Primary Years Program (PYP) have been adapted to help us extend the learning expectations outlined in the Ontario curriculum. This approach to teaching and learning allows us to provide a more enriching and holistic experience for our students.
The learning in our junior school classrooms is transdisciplinary and involves a high level of involvement and interaction with peers and the society in which we live. The concept-driven inquiry-based learning model helps students develop the Ashwood Glen Profile and hones the skills and qualities to understand and prepare for challenges ahead.
To provide a strong foundation, key themes from inquiry-based learning have been incorporated into our program including: understanding the self, getting an orientation of our surrounding environment, learning self-expression, understanding the world around us, decision-making and how it impacts our society and finally building and managing relationships and conflict.
Our class sizes range from 10-16 students to a teacher and allows flexibility and personalization of the teaching environment to accommodate differing students needs and requirements.
Junior School Day
Our Junior School day runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. While morning, lunch and afternoon recesses provide students a break from routine and the opportunity to socialize and play with their peers, our program goes beyond a simple recess and includes wellness and mindfulness.
Wellness time, built into recess, gives students an opportunity to take time for themselves to regroup and refocus. Mindfulness requires dedicated time and our program includes mindfulness sessions for students to work on expanding and managing their emotions.
Core academic subjects such as English, French, math and social studies are taught in the primary classroom or homeroom, while visual art, science, music and physical education are taught in dedicated spaces. To maintain high quality standards, our teachers are experts in their respective subject areas.
To ensure our students are adequately engaged and supported, our Mentor Time program assigns each student with a mentor teacher. Mentor and mentee will meet regularly to discuss and address personal and social development progress. On other days, students will participate in creative activities such as maker space, service learning, teambuilding exercises and assemblies.
Grade 5 Action/Community Project
The Junior School program concludes with our Grade 5 students participating in an action/community project. The goal of the project is to engage students with in an in-depth collaborative study that requires interaction with and learning from the community. The project culminates in presentations to peers and is the start of the journey to impact change in the world around.