Школа Crescentview завершила переход в K-8 формат и открыла новый баскетбольный корт

Crescentview School has undergone several changes in recent years as it transitioned from a K-4 school into a K-8 English-only school. Principal Doyle Moar said the transition has involved more than simply adding grades, with the school working to establish its own identity and strengthen its culture. “We started with just building our school community and culture. We did lots of different things, from just deciding on what logo that we were going to go with, started creating things like the Cobra Code, some of our school-wide expectations, all those other types of things that we've done over the past few years have been very helpful to basically how we run here as a school,” Moar notes. The school has also brought back house leagues and experimented with flex time, giving students additional opportunities to participate in activities outside regular classroom instruction. “I think overall it's been a pretty good transition, and I think we're in a really good spot right now as a school and we're looking forward to what this year brings and going forward,” Moar says. New opportunities outside One of the most visible additions to the school has been its new outdoor basketball court. The court has been used throughout the latter part of the year, with students and community members taking advantage of the space. “It's not only for our students, but for our community. And considering the community support that we had to actually get it done, the project done, we want to make sure that it's accessible to everybody who wants to use it,” Moar adds. Related stories: - Portage families receive back-to-school boost through backpack giveaway - Manitoba renews K-12 health and physical education curriculum - Listen to this news story on the radio: Country 93 / Mix 96 / CFRY 920 The project came after students were asked what they wanted to see added to the playground for older children. “They said, we want soccer posts, we want some volleyball nets, we'd love a basketball net. Soccer posts and volleyball posts are easy to put up, but a basketball court is not,” Moar continues. The school's home and school group took on the basketball court as a major fundraising project, with support coming from families and other community members. “Lots of thanks to a lot of our community members who donated, lots of different families. So it's been great for our school. Our kids love it. They're outside at every break every recess, and things like that, and they spend a lot of time out there, so it's been good for our school,” Moar notes. Listening to students Student feedback has remained an important part of how the school approaches improvements. Moar said students, staff and members of the community all have opportunities to contribute ideas about what could make the school better. “I think the first thing that you do is you just listen to the students in the school and see what they want and what they need. Sometimes those types of things are easy to change. Some things are a little bit harder to change,” Moar says. Students are also encouraged to pursue their own ideas, whether that means starting a club, introducing an activity or finding other ways to become involved in school life. “A lot of times kids will come up, and they'll want to do something, and we always allow them to do it if they want to start a club, if they want to do something different in the school, add some things in, do some different activities. We're always willing to listen,” Moar adds. Looking ahead With the new school year approaching, teachers were preparing to return to the building before students came back. Moar said the preparation period is busy, but the return of students is what makes the start of another school year worthwhile. “It's always an exciting time every time that school starts again, and the lead-up to it and the preparation is a lot, but once the doors open it's nice to have the school full again,” Moar continues. The school is now heading into another year with its K-8 structure, while continuing to build on the changes made over the past several years. “We're here because of the kids, so it's nice when they come back,” Moar notes.