Kitchener elementary school marks first year
A new elementary school in Kitchener is commemorating its first full school year open.
The Waterloo Region District School Board opened Oak Creek Public School in September and marked its grand opening with a special ceremony on Thursday.
"The first school year is always one of such tremendous excitement,” said Evelyn Giannopoulos, superintendent of Oak Creek Public School. "We are really pleased with the success so far."
School officials said they chose the grand opening date of June 1 to coincide with the kickoff of Pride month and National Indigenous History Month.
The ceremony included musical performances and students from each classroom contributed something to a time capsule, which staff said they plan to reopen in 25 years.
There was also a key dedication, where facility and project managers symbolically handed the school over to the students.
“The children are why we exist, the children are our future,” Giannopoulos explained. “This key symbolizes an opportunity for them to unlock their true potential, and their dreams and pathways to their futures."
The school’s principal, Jeff Johnson, said the school had a number of special features installed that have been tools for learning and inclusion over the past nine months.
“We have flow happening within our classrooms, there's lots of movement within the space," said Johnson.
There are student-height white boards as well as desks that can be raised and lowered.
“Not having a front of a classroom, not having a teacher's desk, it's very much about learning as a process. It's not about the stand and deliver model or sitting in desks in rows,” said Johnson. “That has stayed the course and it has been very positive and very great to see."
The building, located on Tartan Avenue, is over 80,000 square feet and includes childcare space used by Rising Oaks Early Learning and EarlyON Child and Family Centres.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
Grayson Murray's parents say the two-time PGA Tour winner died of suicide
Grayson Murray's parents said Sunday their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event.
The dreams of a 60-year-old beauty contestant come to an abrupt end in Argentina
A 60-year-old woman saw her dreams of becoming the oldest Miss Universe contestant in history melt away in a haze of sequins and selfies Saturday at Argentina’s annual beauty pageant.
North Korea informs Japan of a plan to launch military spy satellite
North Korea has told Japan it plans to launch a satellite by early next week, an apparent effort to put its second military spy satellite into orbit.
2 died in plane crash near Squamish, B.C., police confirm
Two people died after a plane went down in a remote area near Squamish, B.C. on Friday, authorities have confirmed.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
Are you a loud snorer? You could have sleep apnea
You'll have a lot more energy throughout the day if you get a good night's sleep, but not everyone does due to a medical condition.
At least 15 dead after severe weather carves path of ruin across multiple U.S. states in the South
Powerful storms killed at least 15 people and left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S.
Some birds may use 'mental time travel,' study finds
Real quick — what did you have for lunch yesterday? Were you with anyone? Where were you? Can you picture the scene? The ability to remember things that happened to you in the past, especially to go back and recall little incidental details, is a hallmark of what psychologists call episodic memory — and new research indicates that it’s an ability humans may share with birds called Eurasian jays.