School Overview

Belonging at GHE

“To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul”

Simone Weil

On September 7 and 8, all students spent time discussing, brainstorming, sharing and reporting out on what it means to belong at Garibaldi Highlands Elementary. Students collaborated and contributed to their class discussions and some student volunteers presented in front of their classmates at an assembly. I hope you would agree that what our students have said and shared should be celebrated:

A Concert in the Park? Yes, that’s how we do it at GHE. Huge thank you to Mrs. Grantham and all the amazing students for their end of year band performance. Can you imagine a nicer setting for a concert? Neither can we. #community

GHE’s Got Talent! On Thursday June 16th, students from all grades braved the stage for the 2016 talent show. Huge congratulations to all the students for their amazing performances and a special thank you to all the PAC members for helping out, especially Christy Defranco and Traci Stevens for all their hard work!

Catapults!! Grade 4/5 students in Mrs. Parsloe’s class building, playing, exploring and reflecting with catapults and marshmallows in learning about simple machines. #bestteacher #ilovescience #stem

BUDDY BENCHES! Grade 5/6’s in Mr. Gordon’s class have begun building their creations. Huge thank you to Ryan Liebrecht for lending a hand and a saw!

Intermediate students explore Growth Mindsets in helping them persevere in their learning.

Grade 2/3’s in Mrs. Newell’s enjoying the sun while studying and sketching daffodils planted by Mrs. Kindree’s Grade 2/3’s. #spring #community

Grade 5’s using the Maker Space to experiment and build “Simple Machine” #playandexploration #createandinnovate

Mrs. Heikoop and Ms. Balkowy say “Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss” on March 2nd outside the library!

Grade 5/6’s in Division 1 drafted, designed and estimated costs of building authentic “Buddy Benches” for our school playground. They also acted as “critical friends” by giving constructive feedback to each other to help make the benches better.

Grade 5 student Byron Jackson Flying through the air this weekend! Way to go Byron.

Grade 1, 2, 5, 6’s Cross Country Skiing at Callaghan Valley as part of their Physical Education and Outdoor Education curriculum. #getoutside #playandexploration

Check out Mrs. Parsloe’s class circulatory system display in front of their classroom:

Writing Day 2015!

Thank you to all students, parents, and staff from Canada Post for participating in Writing Day this year. Another huge success!!!

Playground is (re)opened!

Grade 5/6’s learning from Ms. Manzini how to waltz, polka, and line dance!

Ms. Antonios’s class is working on a project to design and build a sign to be used to remind students to slow down and cross the cross walk properly. They brainstormed, worked in groups and used the maker space to design and build their signs. Check out the bulletin board in front of their class!

Mrs. Lowe, Mrs. Emerick and Mme Maskell’s Sugar Skulls.

Big Idea

“People from diverse cultures and societies share some common experiences and aspects of life.”

Essential Questions:

Why do Canadians want to know about celebrations from different places in the world?

Why is it important to learn about how other people live?

Ms. Harwood, Mrs. Hartviksen, and Mrs. Pettingill’s classes have completed their “Peace Project”. Student’s learned about peace and they described what it meant to them through a piece of writing. Their work is beautifully displayed on the wall outside their classrooms.

Mrs. Bowden’s and Mr. Gordon’s Classes using the Maker Space and classrooms to build character models from a reading activity:

Kindergarten and Grade 1 students investigate what “Peace” means to them. #powerfullearning

Mrs. Bowden’s class receiving a package from the North Pole on December 1st…

Mme. Jacob’s class investigating the relationship between camping and the bears in our community.

Grade 2/3 French Immersion Students investigating “Community” as it relates to our local and global village!