Kids in the hall: Ecole Providence students letting off some steam at the Open House Family Fun Day and ECS registration, April 7.
Tom Henihan
Express Staff
École Providence held an Open House Family Fun Day and ECS Registration on April 7 from 5 to 7 pm. There was a variety of activities including bingo, scooter races, bouncy castle, crafts, soccer and a free hotdog supper.
Along with École Providence redefining itself and pursuing innovative, contemporary ways to address the learning needs of individual students, such as its Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills program, the school has also made great strides in reaching out to the community in an effort to be an integral part of the social environment and the community conversation.
Events such as the open house are an important part of that initiative.
“I know I have said it many times but it is important to keep reinforcing the fact that the school is part of the community and the community should have a sense of entitlement when they come into the school. That they have a stake in the school.”
Not alone has the school as an institution made the effort of outreach to the community and to which the community has certainly responded, but the Providence school building, with the joint use agreement with the Town, now houses the McLennan Fitness Centre. Another enterprise to take up tenure recently at Providence is Du North Designs that also occupies portion of the west wing.
With a number of weekly, scheduled events taking place in the gym, Providence has become something of a hub in the daily life of McLennan, which is certainly positive from Veitch’s perspective.
“It is a lived in space and that enhances the environment and raises the sense of morale. People have a sense of familiarity with the school. Rather than it being on the fringes it is now part of the life of the town and that is a welcome development.”
At the well-attended Family Fun Day, the École Providence kids showed obvious pride in their school while having a lot of fun, with the bouncy castle and scooter races being a particular favourite. In addition, on the practical side, a number of the parents who came to the event registered their children for next year’s ECS program.