Our Programs
At Silver Springs School, our dedicated and qualified staff offers the Alberta Programs of Study with a focus on literacy, numeracy, and visual journaling. We have an atmosphere of collaboration in which teaching staff, parents and support staff work together to support student learning for all of our learners.
A dedicated music room with a music specialist enables us to provide a wonderful music program.
We recognize the growing importance of technology to help our students acquire the skills and knowledge they need. We are fortunate to have Smartboards in every classroom and we have laptops in all classes. We are grateful to our School Council and our Parent Association for the recent purchase of laptops.
Meeting the Needs of Students at Silver Springs School
At Silver Springs School, learning needs of students are addressed through a comprehensive School Learning Team (SLT) approach. Every teacher meets with the principal on a scheduled basis to review student progress, instructional strategies, and supports needed to ensure student success. In some cases, the school accesses supports of specialists outside of the school.
The Calgary Board of Education work in partnership with Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, and Speech-Language Pathologists. Throughout the year, these professionals connect with the school learning team to address and prioritize needs.
Support for Student Development/Citizenship
Silver Springs School has an active student citizenship program which involves the students in the life of their school. We look at citizenship as what happens when students have the opportunity to give back to their school, participate in the operation and smooth functioning of the school. At the heart of developing citizenship is developing their sense of personal social responsibility.
Homework
The CBE and Silver Springs School is desirous of promoting the development of good study habits. It believes that home study routines can contribute to this objective as well as to the reinforcement of learning. Two kinds of study are recognized, the completion of written or "hand-in" assignments, and the informal study of material related to the subjects under study in school. While the school promotes the role of building study routines at home in the child's education, we we recognize the importance of the child's pursuit of other wholesome non-school interests of educational, cultural, or recreational value. As such, we strive to follow the following guidelines:
- The assignment of formal exercises for completion is the prerogative of the teacher, but every encouragement shall be given to pupils (and parents) to set aside some regular time each evening for reading.
- The nature and amounts of homework are as follows:
a. Division I: The motivation, which comes from parental interest in children's schoolwork, can be valuable to a child. Parents and teachers should encourage children to read 5 of 7 nights a week.
b. Division II: Formal assignments may be given at the discretion of the teacher but in general, assignments should be of the reading or study type. Parents should be made aware of the teacher's general requirements with respect to home study, and the Board's expectations as set forth in section 2 above, but no school requirement should exceed 20 minutes in length.
Further, the staff at Silver Springs School believes:
1. Daily reading supports good reading habits and promotes literacy.
2. School related work is reasonably done at home in the following circumstances when completion of work for which adequate time and support has been provided during school hours.
