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Kemptville, On
–
Holy
Cross Catholic School is one of only 23 schools province-wide
to be named a School on the Move by the Literacy and
Numeracy Secretariat.
This provincial wide recognition celebrates Holy Cross’
success as a school clearly focused on student achievement.
“At Holy Cross, we strongly believe in moving
forward one student a time,” said
Principal David Guertin.
Holy Cross will soon participate in the sharing
of “best
practices”
with schools across the province. Educators in Ontario will be
invited to visit and observe best practices in action while
engaging in professional dialogue with the staff.
Catholic Values Lead to
Success
Mr. Guertin said dedication to
individual growth has been key. “Fundamentally we believe that
every student can learn. It is our obligation as Catholic
educators to provide this service for our children on an
individual basis.”
Mr. Guertin and his staff strongly believe in
the CDSBEO’s theme
We are People of God…
Transforming the World!,
“I believe this statement best describes the
root of Catholic education and we as educators and members of
this school community have to embrace the notion that we can
Transform the World, one child at a time. As we do so,
we are in turn preparing our students to Transform the
World as they move beyond our walls, spreading the Gospel
values they have learned and apply to their everyday lives.”
Widespread Success
The success of the school has been measured in several ways,
including the increase in the number of students meeting or
exceeding the provincial standard in the Education Quality and
Accountability Office (EQAO) assessments for literacy and
numeracy.
“The requirement to have 75% of
our students meeting or exceeding the provincial standard in
just two years can seem quite overwhelming. By looking at the
Board theme in an academic context, focusing on one student at
a time, and by breaking down that goal over time, it becomes
much more manageable, sustainable and the outlook is extremely
hopeful,” said Mr. Guertin.
Catholic Community A Key
The
school is also being commended for its community outlook
that states that the success of each student is based on the
effort and dedication of the entire school community. “We are
fortunate to have everyone from our administration to our
teachers and educational support staff, including our
secretaries and custodians, focus on high expectations for
student success. Our Catholic school council has been
instrumental in supporting our literacy and numeracy
initiatives. The staff and parents at Holy Cross Catholic
School take great pride in the warm, respectful, and safe
environment in which students in every class and grade are the
shared responsibility of the whole staff,” said Mr. Guertin.
Success Thanks to School and
Board-wide Programs
Mr. Guertin points to several
school initiatives as well as Board-wide programs that have
helped achieve the Schools on the Move designation.
Among them is the Board-wide initiative known as H.A.W.K.
(Higher Achievement in Writer’s Know-how), which aims at
improving writing skills at the Junior grade level. The school
was involved in H.A.W.K.’s pilot program and feedback helped
develop the initiative into the current board-wide program.
“The H.A.W.K. program is a perfect example of how the Board
has implemented the research carried out by the Secretariat.
We believe it will be a key instructional component of our
writing program and that this higher level of achievement in
writing will transfer into higher achievement scores for
reading and math as students are better able to explain their
answers in written form. The H.A.W.K. allows for the needs of
all learners to be met,” said Mr. Guertin.
The implementation of the
elementary-aimed F.R.O.G. (Facilitating Reading for Optimum
Growth) program is also being credited with contributing to
the school’s success. As well, a larger block of
uninterrupted instructional time for students in mathematics
and language has helped achieve positive results.
Holy Cross also attributes its
success to a number of changes made over the past few years,
including the formation of divisional and grade teams, the
school renewal planning focus on literacy and numeracy and the
targeted support for early intervention and for students at
risk.
A Shining Example
“Holy Cross is a wonderful
example of how a school is directly linking our Board theme
We are people of God… Transforming the World! to student
success,” said CDSBEO Director of Education Ann Perron.
“We are thrilled that Holy Cross has been recognized by the
Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat. The cooperation
demonstrated by the staff is a shining testament to how a
Catholic school community can come together at the home,
school and parish levels to achieve student success.”
Superintendent of Education and Human Resources Bill Gartland
was equally as pleased. “Mr. Guertin and his staff have shown
an outstanding dedication that has resulted in long-term
success for students even after they leave Holy Cross. The
approach of having the entire school community focus on one
student at a time is an excellent extension of Catholic values
that ultimately produces school-wide increases in success
rates. For that, every member of the school community should
be commended.”
Board
Chair Ronald Eamer
agreed.
“Catholic education has always extended beyond the hallways of
the schools. It’s always been more than a teacher-student
relationship. We have witnessed the staff at Holy Cross
Catholic School showing what is possible when an entire
community rallies behind common beliefs and now Mr. Guertin
and his staff will be privileged to share that with many other
school communities in the province. We couldn’t be more proud
of this designation.”
The Catholic District School
Board of Eastern Ontario operates 40 elementary and 10
secondary schools across 8 counties. The CDSBEO offers
excellence in Catholic education through provincial-leading
programs to approximately 15,000 students. |
