Greenbank Middle School

Greenbank Middle School

"At Greenbank,we learn"
Location
Nepean, Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates 45°19′44″N 75°46′54″W / 45.32875°N 75.78159°W / 45.32875; -75.78159Coordinates: 45°19′44″N 75°46′54″W / 45.32875°N 75.78159°W / 45.32875; -75.78159
Information
Type Public
Established 1968
School board OCDSB
School district Ottawa Carleton District School Board
Principal Dennis Pare[1]
Grades 7-8
Enrollment 350 Students
Color(s) Green, Black, White         
Mascot Greenbank Gator
Website greenbankms.blogspot.ca
Office

Greenbank Middle School (GMS) is an intermediate public school in Nepean, a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1968, it aims to be a student-centred learning environment where students become informed decision-makers. It is located on Greenbank Road, from which it gets its name. It is paired with Knoxdale Public School, a primary school and a principal feeder to Greenbank.

Students

GMS, as it is known by its students, houses an enrollment of nearly 350 Grade 7 and 8 students, representing over 20 countries and languages. It serves mainly students from the areas surrounding Greenbank, including Barrhaven, Centrepointe, Briargreen, Craig Henry and Bayshore.

The students attending GMS originate from a variety of cultural and religious backgrounds. There are also programs there catering to kids with little knowledge of English, disabilities and disorders.

Faculty

As of 2013, Greenbank Middle School has a staff of 22 teachers. All staff members have earned additional educational qualifications through ongoing professional development including special education, ESL, master's degrees in various fields, visual arts and computers in education. Teachers are also involved in extracurricular activities.

Principal Jennifer Offord was the subject of an Ottawa Citizen profile as a part of their series on her previous school, York Street Public School.[2]

Athletic program

The GMS students teams are the Greenbank Gators. The intramurals program has won the Outstanding Intramural Achievement Award of the Canadian Intramural Recreation Association of Ontario from 2003 to 2007.[3]

Sports include:

Alongside their athletic teams are the "Gatoraids, the athletic council of the school which helps to organize athletic events around the school. In 2010, the grade 8 boys' touch football team had a phenomenal season, winning the regional championships and being the best players of the year.

Entrepreneurial program

Mme. Christina Organista-Martin's grade 7 French immersion class decided that it wants to help prevent global warming and decided that it will make a project selling reusable bags and giving profits to the Institute of Environmental Sciences at Carleton University for research and education into reducing greenhouse gas emissions.[4]

Kids Helping Kids

A big part of what makes this school notable across Ottawa is Kids Helping Kids, a 3 on 3 basketball fundraiser. The first program of its kind, it was established several years ago, fueling school spirit while allowing for thousands of dollars to be fundraised for schools support student- oriented programs in neighboring OCDSB “Beacon Schools”. (That is to say some schools without enough financial support to operate proper athletic programs or established extracurricular activities.) The program has now since spread from the one school several years ago, to across multiple schools in Ottawa wishing to lend a hand as well to the beacon schools.

Planned, organized and run by the school's athletic department (which consists of a small team working hundreds of hours for preparation), the 2-day event, allowing competition in Recreational and Competitive teams,this years competitive grade 8 winners was the Fab Five,has in the past attracted media attention from local news organizations (e.g. CHRO and the Ottawa Sun). As well it has been commended by the school board for its program. (See reference below)

Extracurricular activities and clubs

Creative learning techniques

GMS uses creative techniques to teach, including:

Notes

  1. Pare, dennis. "Mr.". greenbankms.blogspot.ca.
  2. "Jennifer Offord takes a bow". Miracle on York Street (Ottawa Citizen). 2007-12-01. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  3. "All Outstanding Intramural Award Winners" (PDF). Canadian Intramural Recreation Association of Ontario. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 22, 2011. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  4. "Recyclable Cloth Bag - A Hit at Greenbank". EarthCARE Canada. 2007-05-02. Retrieved 2008-06-14.

Sources

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 29, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.