Mission
In partnership with parents and the community, and with the belief that all students can achieve success, we, the teachers and staff at NIS, commit to:
- The delivery of teaching and learning that allows each student to reach full academic potential
- Building a safe community of engaged learners where students feel empowered and have a voice
Vision
Our vision at NIS involves the creation of a positive climate conducive to all learners. In order to grow and progress, students and teachers need to be engaged and passionate. Learning intentions and success criteria are the key components shared with students as teachers continually find new and interesting ways to challenge critical thinking skills. A warm and welcoming school climate allows students to take the necessary risks as they delve into rich curriculum. Staff and students work collaboratively in all content areas with the strong belief that together, we can succeed.
We are instilling a growth mindset (positive attitude, investment in learning, “Where are we now and where are we going?”) as students follow their educational pathway.
Values
- We value the unique abilities and qualities of each student.
- We honour and celebrate individual diversity.
- We value the support of families and community towards our students as they become lifelong learners.
- We are committed to nurturing a support system for students involving staff, family, and community.
- We believe that our school is safe, equitable, and flexible.
- We believe that all students can learn.
Motto
Perseverance, Respect, Participation
Our School and its Community
The village of Namur is situated in the foothills of the Laurentians in “La Petite Nation” region. The population of approximately 600 is predominantly French-speaking with about 10% claiming English as their mother tongue. Students are arriving from various municipalities within the region including Chénéville, St. Emile de Suffolk, Lac-des-Plages, Montebello, St. Andre Avellin, Lac Simon, Montpellier, Notre Dame de la Paix, Papineauville as well as Namur.
We are nestled in the heart of the village of Namur with municipal amenities surrounding us. The sports fields (baseball and soccer), children’s park, municipal gardens, and skating rink are resources that are in close proximity. The Municipal library is a shared space located within our building. Our rural setting lends itself to the promotion of active lifestyles — ski, marathon, cross country running, snowshoeing, skating, soccer, and softball.
Students
On average, approximately 105 students from eleven different municipalities attend NIS from Pre-Kindergarten to Secondary Cycle 1. Students are often experiencing English as a second language for the first time when starting their education. A main focus in the early elementary program is oral language development so that students are able to communicate readily in the language of instruction.
Classroom
School-wide classroom initiatives: Explicit Math Vocabulary Instruction, SoundPrints, integration of technology, inclusive education, social emotional learning
What do we want to see in every classroom? We work at perfecting the following model:
- Engaged learners, mutual respect, collaboration, rich student interactions, active learning.
- Ensure that each student is known, valued, and respected
- Ensure that students are enmeshed in a safe, secure, emotionally protective, and healthy environment
- Maintain a culture of high expectations and challenge
- Ensure that each student has academic and social support
School
Namur school works at fostering a sense of community within the building — use of student mentors/tutors, cross-age groupings for cultural and social activities to encourage older students to be involved in the school community.
A full-time K4 program has been put in place to support our early learners and provide students with a good foundation as they begin school.
Our Governing Board and Parent Participatory Organization work in collaboration to improve student life and support school operations.
Our Anti-Bullying/Anti-Violence Plan guides us in creating a safe, school climate.
Extra-curricular activities including Robotics, various special interest clubs, intra-mural sports as well as regional league sports are offered to students. (#students involved)
As a designated NANS (New Approaches, New Solutions) School within the Western Québec School Board, NIS follows provincial measures and orientations put in place to support socio-economically deprived regions. Initiatives to support early literacy and numeracy, student success within the core subjects at elementary and secondary as well as preventative measures to combat drop-out rates.
Staff
Namur School presently employs 12 teachers and 13 support staff. This number has increased recently due to the support measures put in place by MEES for socio-economically challenged regions.
Alignment of best practices through our PD plan has allowed the staff to refine instructional practices and positively impact teaching and learning (Current focus — learning targets, lesson planning, use of data, culture building, Social Emotional Learning).
Every teacher sets two annual goals through our Personal Professional Growth Plan model as they work at improving their practice.
The Teacher Induction Program helps support new teachers to the Western Québec School Board.
All of the aforementioned structures work to align professional development and instructional practices while nurturing a culture of shared accountability.
Families and Communities
Recognize that education has changed since our current parents attended school / opportunities to see first-hand what is going on in classrooms, offer parent workshops, and volunteers.
Community partners/events — We are very fortunate to benefit from shared municipal resources and fundraising partners including the local volunteer fire department as well as local businesses.
The Ministry of Education uses a socio-economic environment index to categorize and identify both elementary and secondary schools within the province.
Many factors are used to place a school on this index; however two of the main factors are the level of the mothers education within the household and household income. The index is on a scale from one to ten; ten being the most socioeconomically disadvantaged. Our socio-economic environment index ranking is a 9. The ministry of education provides additional support ranging from smaller class sizes, increased funding and increased staff to meet the needs of our student population. One of the recent support measures involves a Breakfast Club to service our school population. All students are provided with a healthy breakfast to start the day. Our local Association de l’Âge d’Or is a vital partner in this endeavour.
Our school daycare service has allowed working parents an affordable childcare option and provides an enriching choice of activities for our students.
Analysis of Situation
- Success rates in core subjects (strengths in FSL, improvement
- Early literacy and numeracy interventions (NANS initiative)
- Pathways chosen by NIS students in pursuit of a balanced education (guidance)
- Creating a culture of tolerance / empathy and a safe place to live and learn.
- Increase in academic support offered in the early years as well as the early secondary.
- 26% of students have Individual Education Plans — these plans assist in supporting students — progress while also providing adaptations and modifications to programming which allows all students to be fully-integrated into the regular classroom. This model of inclusion allows all students to work at their pace but holds each student to a progression of learning.
Safety and Security
Objective: Decrease the number of incidents of bullying and violence
Strategies:
- Align class meetings by discussing school-wide themes (empathy, compassion…)
- Explore restorative practices to build community and respond to challenging behaviours
- Staff will embark on Pd sessions exploring self-regulation to better equip students in managing emotions and behaviour
- Utilize Neufeld’s attachment theory to build expertise in children’s behaviour patterns
Focus on Pedagogy to Improve Teaching and Learning
Objective: Reduce the proportion of students entering secondary school at age 13 or older
Strategies:
- Improve student engagement through differentiation
- Explore the use of technology in the classroom as a strategy for differentiation and to offer a multi-modality approach.
- Investigate the process of multi-step problem solving in mathematics .
- Provide an enriched French Program at cycle 3 and secondary cycle 1
- Target developmental writing strategies to improve students’ written fluency
- Use learning sprints to build a scope of reading strategies from Kindergarten to grade 8
Objective: Increase success rate in Cycle 2 Elementary English
Strategies:
- Improve student engagement through differentiation
- Explore the use of technology in the classroom as a strategy for differentiation and to offer a multi-modality approach
- Target developmental writing strategies to improve students’ written fluency
- Use learning sprints to build a scope of reading strategies from Kindergarten to grade 8
Objective: Increase success rate in Cycle 2 Elementary Math
Strategies:
- Improve student engagement through differentiation
- Continue the explicit instruction of math vocabulary through the developmental plan created by Namur School
- Frame learning targets and success criteria from the students’ point of view
- Investigate the process of multi-step problem solving in mathematics
Objective: Increase success rate in Cycle 2 Elementary French Second Language
Strategies:
- Improve student engagement through differentiation
- Explore the use of technology in the classroom as a strategy for differentiation and to offer a multi-modality approach
- Frame learning targets and success criteria from the students’ point of view
Objective: Increase success rate on Cycle 3 Elementary English exam
Strategies:
- Improve student engagement through differentiation
- Frame learning targets and success criteria from the students’ point of view
- Target developmental writing strategies to improve students’ written fluency
Objective: Increase the success rate on the writing component of Elementary Cycle 3 (Ministry Grade 6)
Strategies:
- Improve student engagement through differentiation
- Explore the use of technology in the classroom as a strategy for differentiation and to offer a multi-modality approach
- Frame learning targets and success criteria from the students’ point of view
- Target developmental writing strategies to improve students’ written fluency
Objective: Increase success rate on Cycle 3 Elementary Math exam
Strategies:
- Improve student engagement through differentiation
- Continue the explicit instruction of math vocabulary through the developmental plan created by Namur School
- Explore the use of technology in the classroom as a strategy for differentiation and to offer a multi-modality approach.
- Frame learning targets and success criteria from the students’ point of view
- Investigate the process of multi-step problem solving in mathematics
Objective: Increase the success rate on Elementary Cycle 3 French Second Language Exam
Strategies:
- Improve student engagement through differentiation
- Frame learning targets and success criteria from the students’ point of view
- Provide an enriched French Program at cycle 3 and secondary cycle 1
- Target developmental writing strategies to improve students’ written fluency
- Use learning sprints to build a scope of reading strategies from Kindergarten to grade 8