Quick Facts
- Our school is home to approximately 200 students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6 each year.
- We offer full-day bilingual Kindergarten as well as the Alternative English program with Core French.
Mission Statement
Each child will find success, self-confidence, and independence in learning. A positive atmosphere conducive to learning, mutual respect and social responsibility will exist throughout the school. Creativity and a love of the arts will be fostered. Parents will be partners in the education of their children. Staff will engage in professional development activities creating an atmosphere of lifelong growth. Children and teachers will use evaluation for program planning. A sense of community will exist.
Registration
Interested in registering your child at our school? Contact us or visit the OCDSB Registration page.
About Our School
Located in the heart of Westboro, Churchill Alternative School serves students enrolled in the Alternative program within our designated boundary area. To view the specific boundary map, please visit this link.
Churchill provides the Alternative program to diverse students and is known for its strong community, unique philosophy, and commitment to excellence in education.
Our alternative program is built on seven tenets:
- Cooperation and teamwork
- Innovative approaches
- Balanced student-directed and teacher-directed learning
- Multi-aged groupings
- Integrated curriculum
- Family and community-centered school environment
- Ongoing assessment and evaluation
Students
We recognize and respect that all children have different learning styles and work at their own pace. We encourage our students to explore new ways to discover and learn through field trips, monthly sharings, extracurricular activities, guest presenters, and our regular daily activities. The inclusion model for learning is supported throughout the school and is reinforced in our combined grade activities and purposeful groupings.
Our older students are encouraged to develop leadership skills and become mentors to younger students. All students work toward setting academic and social goals, sharing their learning through regular conferencing with their teachers, and then again with their parents during student-led conferences.
Staff
Churchill's dedicated staff takes pride in partnering with students, families, and the community. They embrace the school's alternative philosophy and incorporate its tenets into all their practices, both inside and outside the classroom. While following the Ontario Curriculum, staff employ diverse teaching methods, including team teaching and multi-age, cross-curricular activities. They also foster strong community connections by working with organizations such as the Westboro Community Association, the Westboro Seniors Group, the Dovercourt Recreation Centre, local businesses, the Legion, the Ottawa-Carleton Primary Teachers’ Association, and various sports organizations. They also partner with faculties of education on associate teacher programs. At Churchill, we believe that strong communities build strong futures.
Parents/Guardians and Community
Parents are vital to our school community, forming a strong triad with students and staff. They actively participate in many aspects of school life, from field trips and tree family activities to leading clubs, and fundraising. We have an active and dedicated parent council group known as Churchill Alternative School Council (CASC).
We have access to several local community spaces surrounding Churchill, including the Delude Arena, Dovercourt Recreation Centre, the Carlingwood library and the Kichi Sibi Trail. These spaces are an extension of our learning space for various activities including: skating, physical education and the Terry Fox run in the Dovercourt field, swim to survive programs, cross-country skiing, etc.
We offer the following academic programs:
- Full-day Bilingual Kindergarten (JK-SK): 50% English instruction and 50% French instruction.
- Alternative English Program with Core French (Grades 1-6): Instruction in the English language in all subject areas as well as instruction in French through Core French (40 minutes daily).
Working collaboratively, Churchill's special education team (a learning support teacher, learning resource teachers, educational assistants, and classroom teachers) supports our students. They provide accommodations, modifications, and remediation both in the classroom and in small group settings called "booster groups."
Activities
Students have opportunities to get involved in a wide range of clubs, athletic teams, and activities. For more details, visit our Teams and Clubs page.
Our school offers the following:
- Large gym with a stage
- An inviting library with a well-stocked selection of books for all interests and reading abilities
- Several small rooms for use as tutorial areas
- Outdoor play area with structures to meet a variety of needs, sand areas, basketball hoops
- A brand new yard with a turf field, a slide, several platforms with shady areas and a stage
- A brand new Kindergarten yard with a new playstructure, outdoor learning space and a sandbox with a fossil dig area
- ‘Back to Nature area’ for class activities
Our multicultural students find a safe, stimulating environment where an atmosphere of mutual respect for all cultures is cultivated. We strive to ensure that our school is a welcoming and safe place for students of all identities to feel valued and respected as they engage, learn, grow, explore, and discover.
A strong commitment to Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility is embedded throughout the OCDSB's 2023-2027 Strategic Plan and captured within each area of focus: learning, well-being, and social responsibility.
For more information, please visit the OCDSB’s Equity and Diversity website.