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About us;

  • We are an early years school with approximately 270 students enrolled in kindergarten to grade four.
  • Our staff and students come from Canada as well as a variety of European, South American and Asian countries!
  • We have an excellent teaching staff of 21 teachers. This includes Phys. Ed and Music specialists, Learning Support teachers, Literacy Support teachers and Counsellors.
  • Our wonderful support staff includes 2 office managers, a Librarian, 13 Educational Assistants and 3 Custodians. We could not run the school without them!
  • We partner with HSD divisional clinicians (occupational therapist, psychologist, speech/language) to provide additional services that some students need.
  • When possible, we offer a voluntary choir opportunity for students in grades three and four.

Our Image of the Child;

  • Our work begins with a positive image of all children as valuable, unique, playful, imaginative, creative and full of wonder.  There is no such thing as a bad kid!  As a school community, we desire well-being and belonging for all. We value kindness, diversity and collaboration. We strive to build the competencies of all learners.

At South Oaks …

  • We are proud members of the Grunthal community! We believe we play an important part in the future of the community and we do our best to ensure that students know about the importance of citizenship, good character and serving in their community.
  • We believe people need to feel safe, physically and emotionally.  We believe our world needs more kindness.  We believe that learning is an incredibly meaningful part of our lives. Therefore, we strive to teach our students to be “Safe Kind Learners” and teach these core values to all students.
  • We strive to promote well-being and to be trauma-informed in our practice.  Well-being is the foundation for learning. It is rooted in healthy and caring relationships, but also includes an active and healthy lifestyle, developing resilience and finding many ways to flourish and enjoy life.

Our Philosophy of Literacy;

We believe that Literacy is the foundation for a life of learning and opportunity.  Literacy empowers our students to be curious, courageous, and informed citizens.  It broadens their worldview and encourages them to consider many different viewpoints.  We believe that Literacy can ignite a sense of power, ownership, and agency for our students.

Literacy Instruction;

We believe that effective Literacy instruction meets students wherever they are at. We desire never to overwhelm the learner.   We are committed to designing learning experiences that support their Literacy journey.  We promise to show respect for all languages and cultures, and to support student learning with love and enthusiasm.  We believe we must carefully consider the impact of the digital world on early literacy development and help students experience the joy that comes from being a literate person.