Everest Elementary School

Location

Everest Elementary School is located in Duberger, at the corner of Laverdière and Darveau in the angle created by the boulevards de la Capitale and Robert Bourassa and is easily accessible via boulevard Père-Lelièvre. Everest Elementary caters to students from Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 6.
 

Mission/Vision

Everest Elementary School promotes success by providing students with an enriching, stimulating, safe and structured community.  With the support of school staff, parents and community, our students will develop the skills, knowledge and values necessary to become active and responsible citizens.  Our school encourages students, staff and families to climb to new heights together.
 

Beliefs/Action Plan

Our community's values guide our actions and ensure we model, teach and integrate in our daily school life specific citizenship qualities.  As our Educational Project and School Success Plan states, at Everest, we strive to instill respect, responsibility, honesty, perseverance and cooperation in all our students.

Everest's School Success Plan has four components. They are Community Building, English Language Development, Numeracy and Health and Physical Education. Each component specifies goals and strategies to ensure students develop into active, productive and responsible adults.

A strong focus is placed on a child's emotional security. Through teaching a character education program (Second Step and Step to Respect) and integrating the lessons in their daily life, we work with students to help them solve their conflicts and develop assertive skills so as to eliminate bullying, harassment, etc.
 

Programs

Although Everest is an English-language school, 84% of our students are French; only 5.5% speak English at home.  We focus on surrounding children with English so that they acquire good reading, writing and speaking skills.  Our Balanced Literacy program is an approach to language acquisition which provides students with a variety of experiences to help them acquire and master the English language.

Respectfully, our French program, although not comparable to a French Mother Tongue program because of the difference in the number of hours it is being taught, compares favorably to a French Immersion program as approved by the Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport. Because the majority of our students are French, activities are enhanced to better meet their particular needs.

While all subjects are important, parents and teachers want their children to develop a ‘love of learning'.  That is why Physical Education, Music/Drama and Computer Technologies are seen to be especially important by students, parents and teachers alike.

Our Physical Education program provides students with the means to explore, experiment and develop movement skills on an individual and team basis.  Students work at strengthening social skills and attitudes in a structured play environment while increasing their awareness of the benefits of a healthy and active lifestyle.

The Arts program consists of four components:  Drama, Visual Arts, Dance, and Music.  Its goal is to develop creativity, awareness, communication skills and an appreciation of the Arts.  The program is complemented by trips to museums, excursions and guest performers.  Extra-curricular activities such as drama, band, and choir also enrich the Arts Education program.

In the field of Computer Technologies, students develop awareness via different technical means.  Cycle One students learn basic computer and typing skills.  Cycle Two students build projects by researching the information on the Internet and presenting their results using programs such as PowerPoint.  In Cycle Three, students experiment with digital technology.  They use digital cameras to produce short clips and computer software for editing.  Computers are accessible to all students.
 

Accomplishments

• A dynamic language-based Pre-Kindergarten program.
• Climbers' Club: a means of recognizing our students' achievements on a monthly basis.
• After-school homework / tutoring programs
• A daily Homework Clinic
• Classroom Learning Buddies
• A Deployment club
   

Support Services

• Special education technicians
• Behaviour technician
• Spiritual and Community animator
• Psychologist
• Social worker
• Nurse
• Dental Hygienist
   

Some of our extracurricular activities are:

• Everest Challenge Days
• Cross-country running, basketball, badminton, soccer, rugby
• Hip/Hop and Funky Dance
• Swimming
• A drama club
• A gym club
• A Sherpa club
• These may vary on any given year.
   

Annual Events

• School-wide outing
• Spelling Bee and Math Bee
• Everest Extravaganza
• Family Halloween Dance
• Year-end picnic
   

Participation of Parents

Governing Board

Composed of an equal representation of elected parents and staff, the Governing Board is kept informed, approved and adopts different components of school life as prescribed in the Education Act. Parental participation and cooperation on the Governing Board keeps the partnership between home and school vibrant and productive.

Parents Participation Organization (PPO)

Our PPO is an essential part of our school life.  Although their role is first and foremost to assist and sustain the Governing Board in their implementation and evaluation of the Educational Project and School Success Plan, the members of the P.P.O. generously volunteer their time to organize, plan, and implement fundraisers, social activities and special events.  Our annual Extravaganza, the Halloween dance and the end-of-year picnic are only a few.   We are proud to say that with the help of our PPO we have been able to raise more than $30,000.00 in just three years to be used to renew the school's playground equipment.  Most importantly, members of the P.P.O. are the key to developing a community spirit.

Friends of Everest Foundation

Everest Foundation supports and administers the funds raised. The Board of Directors of this non-profit organization has been approved to issue income tax receipts for donations. They foresee the needs of the school and provide for and enrich the lives of its students in ways that the School Board and the Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport do not.

Everest….A climb in progress!