Total Living ®
“Quality education is always a top priority for parents. Parents want their children to be taught by teachers who are patient, caring, motivating and inspiring. At Columbia, our teachers make learning an enjoyable process for students by tailoring their teaching styles to students' learning characteristics.”
Columbia's aim is to encourage and support every student to consistently achieve academic excellence. To do this, our junior high school students:
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Are taught by highly qualified and experienced teaching staff
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Learn a variety of subjects that enables them to discover their personal interests
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Receive ample attention due to small class sizes
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Receive extra support to ensure their academic success
Differentiated Instruction
Columbia recognizes that students have unique learning styles and intellectual abilities. The teachers at our junior high school are specially trained to teach students in the Grade 7 and 8 streams. To ensure that each student understands their lessons and is progressing in each subject:
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Teachers seek to understand the learning style of each student and employ different teaching methodologies accordingly
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Teachers administer periodic diagnostic tests to assess their students' progress and to make modifications to their teaching methods
The Curriculum
A Variety of Courses to Stimulate Students' Interests
The curriculum is designed to:
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Improve students ESL skills in reading, writing, comprehension, speaking and listening.
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Promote group discussions that encourage students to communicate their ideas confidently
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Develop in students an appreciation for each subject through exposure to real-life examples
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Stimulate and challenge the intellectual curiosity of our students
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Familiarize our students with new technology
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Teach students independent learning techniques
| LANGUAGE ARTS |
| English |
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| ARTS |
| Music |
| Dramatic Arts |
| Visual Arts |
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| MATHMEATICS & SCIENCE |
| Mathematics |
| Science & Technology |
| Computer Science |
| Computer Studies |
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| PHYSICAL EDUCATION |
| Health and Physical Education |
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| SOCIAL STUDIES |
| History |
| Geography |
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| OTHER LANGUAGE |
| French |
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| SUPPORT CLASSES |
| ESL Support Programs |
| Learning Support |
Academic Support
Extra Help to Ensure Success
Columbia understands that students differ in their learning. Therefore we have developed a system to support junior high school students who require additional help or are identified to be exceptional/gifted. The Academic Support Program is offered during and after school and is delivered as follows:
(A) Identification Process
Methods used to examine the academic strengths and weaknesses of students
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Teachers regularly assess students' performance based on in-class marks.
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Junior high school students who do not pass their subjects or obtain marks below class average are enlisted to receive academic support to gain a strong foundation and improve their grades.
Methods used to identify exceptional/gifted students
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At the beginning of the semester, the Head of Junior School examines students' previous transcripts to determine students who may be exceptional/gifted in a particular subject or in all subjects.
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Students who are identified to be exceptional/gifted in one or more subjects will be given diagnostic tests to determine their aptitude in those subjects.
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The Head of Junior School and the student's teacher(s) will interview the student to determine what their interests are within subject(s) that have been identified as academic strengths.
(B) Additional Support and Assistance
Students identified as requiring extra help by subject teachers:
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Receive additional help in the classroom
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Attend a mandatory homework club after school to receive the needed academic support
Students who are identified to be exceptional/gifted are assisted as follows:
Enriched Curriculum: The Head of Junior School will meet with the student to prepare an individualized plan which provides for an enriched curriculum. Students will be taught and assigned coursework that is more in-depth, above and beyond their current grade level, to challenge and improve their academic aptitude.
Provincial & National Tests:
The teachers and Head of Junior School will search out challenging provincial and national tests or contests the student can participate in. The student will be assigned tutorials with their subject teacher to practise and compete in these tests or contests.
Reach Ahead Program: If the exceptional/gifted student is in Grade 8, they may be recommended for the Province of Ontario's Reach Ahead program, in which they may reach ahead and take Grade 9 credits.
The Head of Junior School will consult with the student and their parents to discuss making this progression.
The student will be given comprehensive tests to ensure that they have met and exceeded all of the learning expectations of the Grade 8 subject(s) before they will be allowed to reach ahead and take Grade 9 courses.
If the student is approved to reach ahead, they will remain in Grade 8 with their peers and their teacher will teach and assign them Grade 9 courses. This ensures that the exceptional/gifted student can participate in age-appropriate socialization with their peers and still take courses in a higher grade level that expands their learning scope.
(C) Continuous Assessment
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Subject teachers continuously monitor students' progress and meet regularly to discuss new and better ways to help students meet their academic expectations.
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Customized Academic Support Plans are developed for students who show insignificant or no improvement after receiving additional help.
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For exceptional/gifted students, the teachers and Head of Junior School continue to assess and monitor the student's progress to ensure that they are able to:
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Manage and continue to perform with excellence under the enriched curriculum or in the new grade level they have been assigned.
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Maintain a good school-life balance while taking external tests/contests or meeting the requirements of the enriched curriculum or new grade level.
Balanced Evaluation System
Students achieve the best results when they learn time management, develop their creative skills and are able to apply what they have learned in class. To fairly evaluate students' progress in these areas, Columbia uses 3 different methods to assess their progress in each of their subjects.
Traditional Assessment:
Evaluation is based on test marks, quizzes and mastery of subjects
Portfolio Assessment:
A progressive assessment based on learning, goal-setting and reflection
Performance Assessment:
Evaluation based on ability to apply academic knowledge to the real world
Course Description
Language Arts
The course is designed to engage junior high school students in oral communication, reading, writing and media literacy tasks. This enables them to apply their language, knowledge, skills and learning strategies in all subject areas.
Mathematics
The Mathematics course is designed to help junior high school students build solid foundations in essential areas of mathematics such as measurement, geometry, patterning and algebra and data management. It also integrates the use of current technologies in relation to the study of mathematics.
Science and Technology
Through scientific inquiry, experimentation, research and technological problem-solving, junior high school students will consider both the knowledge and skills that will help them to understand and analyze the impact of developments in science and technology on modern society and the environment.
Computer and Information Technology
The course combines information technology with information literacy. The course content includes keyboarding, the exploration of word processing and desktop publishing, the use of graphics and multimedia and instruction in internet research skills and proper internet etiquette.
History
In Grade 7, the study of history focuses on the development of Canada from the seventeenth to the early Nineteenth Century. In Grade 8, junior high program students develop an understanding of events in Canada from the 1850s to 1914 and the events leading up to the beginning of the First World War.
Dramatic Arts
The Dramatic Arts course (which includes dance) is intended to help our junior high program students develop an understanding and appreciation of drama and dance, as well as the ability to create works using the forms, elements, and techniques of these two disciplines.
Visual Arts
The Visual Arts course is designed to help our junior high program students develop creativity and the ability to communicate with other people through visual images.
Music
The Music course helps our junior high students develop practical playing skills, encourage creative expression and foster an overall appreciation of music.
Health and Physical Education
The Health and Physical Education course focuses on a combination of physical activity and appropriate lifestyle choices.
French
The Core French course is designed to help our junior high students develop basic French communication skills as well as an understanding of French culture in Canada and other parts of the world.
Geography
In Grade 7, the study of geography focuses on geographic inquiry and research skills as well as an exploration of natural resources and the environment. In Grade 8, our junior high students focus on patterns in human geography, economic systems and migration.
