The West Campus is a true learning community. Everyone knows everyone else — the teachers are collaborative and work together towards common goals. Our students are respectful and incredibly diverse and engaged in their learning. Our students practise discernment on a daily basis, learning strategies to self-manage their learning and their social interactions, and to be resourceful in different situations. Our school is a microcosm of what we’d like to see in the world.
What would a visitor to our school be surprised to learn? First, how diverse we are — our teachers alone hail from France, Brazil, Lebanon, Algeria, Haiti, Morocco and, of course, Canada. Second, how inviting our community is, and how many smiles will greet you on campus. And lastly, how well-rounded the education is. Our students are politically active. For example, they sent a petition to the Canadian government to request a stop to the use of microbeads after presenting to Mississauga’s city council. We have student ambassadors who are leaders in the building and outdoors during recess. We participate in most every sport in the PSAA (Private School Athletics Association), and there are many opportunities for recreational and competitive sports. Our after-school activities range from robotics, math club and video presentations to art, folk dancing and woodworking.
Our students are the leaders of tomorrow. If we do our job well here, the world will be in good hands.
Ulrik Bédos
Principal, West Campus
From Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 1, they are instructed uniquely in French. Children quickly embrace the language and are gently encouraged to increase their use of French during classroom activities.
Underpinning the French and Ontario curricula is the Primary Years Program (PYP) of the IB, a highly respected international education program. Undertaken from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 5, the PYP is a framework; it is not what is taught, but how it is taught. It takes an inquiry and concept-based approach to learning, through which the curricula are delivered. This means that learning is a highly active and interactive exploration that engages students in the world in which they live.
Students in these grades learn about science, history, geography, reading and writing, the arts and much more through transdisciplinary units of study. They also grow and develop their gross and fine motor skills, learn to live in community together, and start to understand the world around them in all its fascinating aspects.
Formal instruction in the English language begins in Grade 2. People often wonder if this approach hinders the acquisition of English. The answer is no! The language skills students acquire learning French give them an advanced linguistic foundation for learning, exploring and appreciating English.
Our English program is based on the Ontario curriculum, but goes far beyond its scope. The purpose is to immerse students in the language in many ways and forms. Children create journals and storyboards, and use mind mapping and other techniques to engage with the language, fostering acquisition, creativity and critical thinking skills.
Thanks to the language skills they already possess from learning French, students in each grade, from Grade 2 through Grade 5, are taught at one grade above, e.g., Grade 4 English is taught at the Grade 5 level. And the results are in: TFS students consistently perform in the 98th or 99th percentile for English on the Canadian Test of Basic Skills.
As students mature, aspects of the curriculum lend themselves to a wider approach to learning. For instance, introducing studies on children’s rights provides opportunities to further develop leadership skills; students address the issue with their younger or older peers at a school assembly using a multi-media presentation they produce themselves.
Similarly, students embark on more specific field trips, and beginning in Grade 3, on overnight trips. This link to the real world is a key aspect of the PYP and cements knowledge and understanding of subject matter in a way that cannot be achieved by classroom learning alone.
Grade 6 students make the important transition from being taught by a homeroom teacher for most subjects to learning from a rotation of subject-specialists. Subjects include visual arts, music and drama, English, French, math, physical education, science and social studies. They also, for the first time, have the opportunity to learn Spanish and German.
Students in these grades are becoming independent learners, while also undergoing dramatic physical, emotional, social and psychological changes. In support of this, starting in Grade 6, students receive formal guidance instruction. The guidance curriculum addresses their developmental needs, with topics that include peer relations, health and well-being, along with time management, organization and study skills.
In Grade 6, students continue with the curricula of both Ontario and France, and they begin studying the Middle Years Program (MYP). Like the PYP (Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 5), the MYP is inquiry- and concept-based, allowing students to connect the acquisition of knowledge, skills and insight to their own lives and the reality of the world around them.
The MYP is more subject-based, yet also includes interdisciplinary learning. Exploring connections between various subjects is an important part of the MYP program.
West Campus students pursue further studies at the Toronto campus after completing Grade 7.