Primary

The program in all grades of primary is designed to ensure that students build a solid foundation in mathematics by connecting and applying mathematical concepts in a variety of ways. To support this process, teachers, whenever possible, integrate concepts from across the five strands and apply the mathematics to real-life situations. The five strands are Number Sense and Numeration, Measurement, Geometry and Spatial Sense, Patterning and Algebra, and Data Management and Probability. Overall students learn how to problem solve, communicate, reason, reflect, and so on, as they develop the knowledge, the understanding of concepts, and the skills required in mathematics in every grade.

Throughout the primary years of schooling, students learn three skills in science. First: associating science and technology with society and the environment, secondly: developing the mind skills, strategies and habits required for scientific research, and being able to solve technological problems, and finally to grasp the basic concepts of science and technology.

Students learn the notion that learning in science and technology cannot be viewed as merely the learning of facts. Rather, science and technology is a subject in which students learn, in age appropriate ways, to consider both the knowledge and skills that will help them to understand and consider critically the impact of developments in science and technology on modern society and the environment.

The Social Studies program in primary school aims to support high-quality learning while giving every student the opportunity to learn in the way that is best suited to their individual strengths and needs. Social Studies primary school program offers a complementary study from grade 1 to 4 including examining various roles, relationships, and responsibilities, how and why these may change, and how they are connected to one’s identity, culture, and sense of self, a variety of traditions within their families and their local communities, developing an understanding of how these traditions contribute to and enrich their own community and the world, use primary sources such as journals, letters, maps, and paintings to investigate how people in early Canada responded to challenges in their lives. Students are introduced to the social studies inquiry process, and are expected to use this process when conducting investigations.

Through Character Educations lessons, students learn to cultivate a positive perception of themselves and understand that character strengths can be developed over time. As students learn more about character strengths, they will explore how emotions, thoughts and behaviours are closely related. They learn to identify personal triggers that can lead to impulsive behaviours and ways to respond that
will result in beneficial outcomes for themselves and others.

The school’s physical education programme is a primary contributor to building a strong foundation for the development of broad-based physical competencies and opportunities for recreational participation. Physical education is about movement.  Physical education, therefore, is responsible for helping students take on the responsibility of learning by providing them with the capacity to make reasoned and wise choices through a lifelong process of change.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is important in primary education because it enables students to search for the information they need to organize what they have found. As children progress through the school system, they become increasingly responsible for their own learning.