News

February 17, 2008

Going beyond the 3 Rs
Classes at Seneca Hill include chess, storytelling and ballroom dancing

 By SARAH GREEN, TORONTO SUN  February 17, 2008

There's no question the young students at Seneca Hill Public School excel at reading, writing and arithmetic. But there's more to life at the North York school than the three Rs. At Seneca Hill, which has just 290 students from JK to Grade 6, learning goes beyond the textbooks to include art, computers, chess, sports, spelling bees, storytelling, even ballroom dancing. "We look at the whole child," said principal Morag Killackey, a former teacher at the school. "It's a balanced and challenging program. We have to make sure we engage all different types of learners."

According to the Fraser Institute report card, Seneca Hill was ranked first in the province -- a distinction it shares with 24 other Ontario elementary schools -- based on its Grades 3 and 6 Education Quality and Accountability Office scores. The No. 1 position is a familiar place for Seneca Hill, which has held the ranking for the past five years -- one of four schools in the GTA to do so. Every Grade 3 student who wrote the exams last spring met the provincial standard in math and writing. As well, 98% of Grade 6 students who took the math test met the standard. In all other subjects, the majority of students -- 84% and higher -- also met provincial expectations. "I'm very proud of the students here," Killackey said. "They have high standards for themselves. Their parents do as well."

The school introduced ballroom dancing last year for its Grade 5 students, one of 14 Toronto schools to   participate in the Dancing Classrooms program. The program is not just about fancy footwork. It teaches students how to communicate with one another while building character, Killackey said. "It's an incredible opportunity for our students," Killackey said, noting the students are "very nervous" when they first start dancing. "They become very respectful and professional. It's remarkable to see the transformation." Other subjects are taught with the help of visiting artists. Students use such subjects as visual arts and storytelling to expand on lessons they've learned in the classroom, Killackey said. Students over the past eight years have taken their storytelling skills to the Word on the Street festival, which draws award-winning authors and thousands of book fans to Queen's Park every September. The regional spelling bee has included Seneca Hill students for the past two years, and its athletes are local champions in basketball and volleyball. "There's lots of activities for students," Killackey said.

A partnership with the Bank of Montreal, which is now in its second year, teaches Grade 4 students how to draw up a business plan, Killackey said. Last year's project involved selling life-sized chess pieces -- a perfect fit for the chess-mad school which has won the board-wide championships for several years running.