“Leadership in the OCDSB is the demonstration of personal initiative to achieve a positive outcome.”
Students
At Fallingbrook, we continue to demonstrate how we can share and care for others. In September, our students participated in the Terry Fox Run and raised close to $700.00. This year, our kindergarten, primary and junior students gathered donations for the Ottawa Mission during the holiday season and our intermediate students collected donations for the Gift of Hope campaign through Plan Canada. Each year our Fallingbrook families contribute food items for the Cumberland Resource Center and collect gently used clothing for the Snowsuit Fund. In addition to informal recognition on a regular basis, we also acknowledge student contributions in our announcements, newsletters, assemblies and in our Principal’s report to School Council. Each June, one Grade 6 student receives the annual Ontario Principal’s Council award for student leadership.
Our school received a silver standing as an Eco School last June and we are actively engaging students in this environmental initiative. Our “Falcons for the Earth” are involved in recycling (primary students), completing classroom waste audits (junior students), and developing a web-site (intermediate students) with the assistance of three staff members. All of our Fallingbrook students participate in boomerang lunches, to reduce the amount of garbage and to recycle food waste at home.
Staff
Our staff members have a wealth of professional qualifications including Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Arts, Fine Arts, Physical Education and Sciences, as well as additional qualifications in Special Education, English as a Second Language, Music, Visual Arts, Guidance, and Computers in Education. They have actively participated in numerous Board-wide professional development activities in literacy and numeracy, and we recognize their initiative by providing and supporting opportunities for further professional growth. We also recognize staff leadership via personal interactions with one another, letters of thanks, school announcements, school newsletters, assemblies, performance appraisals, and our Principal’s report to School Council. Many teachers are associate teachers for the teacher education program at the University of Ottawa and mentor student teachers in their classrooms. Each year, Fallingbrook staff members participated in our sixth annual CIBC Run for the Cure. At Fallingbrook, we continually show how we share and care!
Parents/Guardians/Volunteers
Fallingbrook Community Elementary School is fortunate to have a high degree of parental involvement in the PTA and the School Council. There are many volunteers who donate countless hours of their time to make Fallingbrook a better place to learn and work. Last May, our dedicated PTA organized a fifth successful Run 4 Fun, which raised over $6000 for athletics. As valued partners, we thank our parents, guardians and volunteers on an on-going basis, and look for opportunities to acknowledge them through school announcements, our Principal’s report to School Council, school newsletters, and at our annual volunteer appreciation breakfast in June.
Community
Fallingbrook works in partnership with our extended day program provider and we are fortunate that the Director of Global Daycare volunteers her time to serve as the community representative on our School Council. We recognize our community partners through our school announcements, school newsletters, school web site, Principal’s report to School Council, and thank you cards. We also invite Global Daycare to events and award ceremonies, as they are an integral part of our school.