“I wanted to send a quick email with regards to my daughter’s Pre-Kindergarten teacher. We are happy that our daughter has developed both on an academic and emotional level this year. She just loves going to school each day to see her friends but in particular, to see her teacher. When asked who loves her, her teacher always makes the list! I just wanted to let you know that we are very appreciative of all of the care, effort, and kindness that the teacher has shown our daughter.”
Environmental Awareness
Glenburnie School Achieved EcoSchool status in 2008
In 2008, Glenburnie School was one of the first schools to achieve Green School status. Glenburnie’s Green School Programme challenges our students to become a greener and more environmentally conscious school community. Other initiatives that the school has undertaken to reduce our carbon footprint on the Earth, and become more environmentally conscious, include: recycling programs, Pay It Forward projects, integration of our Greenhouse and vegetable garden with curriculum studies, and, of course, having earned and maintained EcoSchool status.
Joshua Creek and Marshlands
Glenburnie is involved in a four-way partnership with the Town of Oakville, Conservation Halton, and Ducks Unlimited Canada. Students have ‘Adopted A Trail’ with the Town of Oakville, which includes Joshua Creek and its surrounding marshland. As part of a year-round, integrated, and cross-curricular science programme, Glenburnie students from Kindergarten to Grade 8, work collaboratively with the Town of Oakville to monitor and analyze the run-off effects on plants and wildlife in the marsh ecosystem. Water samples collected at the marsh are brought back to the classroom where they are analyzed and monitored. Essentially, Joshua Creek is an outdoor classroom for our students to gain an appreciation for the natural marsh habitats surrounding the Joshua Creek Marsh.
The partnership with Ducks Unlimited was a first for an elementary school. Glenburnie School works with the DU curriculum to help support the Marsh Lands and to educate the school community of its importance in our ecosystem. We use their many hands-on projects to help increase wildlife in the marsh and to keep it healthy.
Halton’s ‘Greening of Schools’ Program
Glenburnie participates in the ‘greening of schools’ program, run by Conservation Halton, where they donate and plant a tree along the perimeter of the school playground area each year.
‘Streams of Dreams’ Curriculum
This year, we will have the opportunity to participate in the ‘Streams of Dreams’ curriculum where our students will create a 3D mural of wooden fish. Our students will paint the wooden fish and learn about their journey through stream systems, and then discuss and analyze what happens when these systems become contaminated.
Greenhouse Project
Each spring, Glenburnie students plant seeds which are maintained in-class, then relocated to the School Greenhouse. In the spring, the young plants are transplanted into the Glenburnie garden. Vegetables are later harvested and donated to food shelters in the local community, while pumpkins are displayed throughout the school at Hallowe’en. Through this project, students learn how to grow their own vegetables while supporting the needs of others in the community.
Pay It Forward Projects
In Science classes, each student in Grade 8 undertakes a year-long environmental project that focuses on making a difference in either the local community or internationally.
Projects range from recycling programs (batteries, ink cartridges, and paper, sports equipment etc.), tree planting, fundraising for charities, and collection programs (electronics, books). This project empowers our students with the knowledge of environmental issues, while challenging them to make a difference in the world around them.
