Staff, students and parents share similar feelings about the caring, family atmosphere that encompasses Assumption School. The independent Catholic school follows the BC school curriculum and serves students from preschool through grade nine in a welcoming and fun environment.
"I’m in my 11th year at Assumption and I feel that I’m a part of not just a community, but a family,” says principal Lisa Berg. “The students love feeling like they’re a part of our community, too.”
Every school year starts with a barbecue where each family has the opportunity to socialize and meet other families. Newcomers can connect and meet students and parents who are already a part of the school’s community.
“I like the fact that Assumption is a small, safe and happy place where everybody knows each other,” says Barbara Fiorentino, whose daughter attends the school. “I think students love the serene, stress-free atmosphere; it’s beautiful to see them cheerfully skip down the hall.”
Students in all grades are provided with opportunities to interact together, enjoy fun activities and share learning experiences.
"I like Assumption because big kids know me and that makes me feel safe,” says grade three student Elena Merlino. “We all love the fun activities like beach day, fun day and fun science experiments. In my class, it was fun learning about birds by raising real baby chickens and quails.”
Berg says teachers build connections with students that last over the years, even after the pupils no longer attend their class.
“We make an effort to work with students in different aspects other than academics so other kinds of relationships can be formed and we can see them excel in a variety of areas,” she adds.
Volunteerism is an important facet of Assumption School culture and includes participation of the school’s parish education committee, parent-teacher association, students and staff members working on a variety of projects. All students engage in school-wide charitable initiatives, annual traditions and the innovative new programs staff members strive hard to provide, according to learning-resource teacher Katelyn Potesta.
“Highlights include a garden many classes have a hand in nurturing, an outdoor classroom area recently built by the PTA, and technology-based classroom projects like the grade eight and nine blogging initiative,” says Potesta. “Also, senior elective courses aim to help students find their passions by expanding their experiences.
Potesta says Assumption School plants a strong foundation early in students’ learning careers to enhance development and build on newly acquired skills as they advance through each grade.
“Computer coding is a great example,” says Potesta. “Students are introduced to it in grade four and continue to build those skills all the way up to the senior grades, where they have the opportunity to branch out into many computer-based electives, including advanced coding, and build skills in commonly used software.”
Fiorentino says she is impressed with how the community feel of the school affects students and how its staff members communicate with parents and keep them informed.
“I’m happy to see that children actually like going to Assumption,” says Fiorentino, “and I love the posts about the classroom activities on the school’s Facebook page.”
Although Assumption is a Catholic-Christian school, children of all denominations are welcome to attend. Registration for the school year starting in September 2018 is now open.
Assumption School is located at 7091 Glacier Street.
For more information:
• assumpschool.ca
• facebook.com/Assumpschool
• 604.485.9894
• [email protected]
