Heritage Park Public School, (opened Sept. 1994), is located on Old Finch Avenue in the north eastern part of Toronto close to the Toronto Zoo. We provide programs from kindergarten through grade 8 and are a Uniform school. We value the diversity of our community and offer an inclusive curriculum addressing the many needs of our students. Beginning in September 2011, we will be offering a Full Day Learning program for kindergarten aged children. We strive to incorporate advanced technologies into all components of our program. Data collection allows us to focus our teaching and learning strategies which will lead to improved student achievement. Our focus will continue to be on creating a safe and enriching environment for our children.
School Focus
Our commitment is:
- improving student achievement through focusing on literacy and numeracy;
- ongoing professional development for staff through professional learning communities;
- recognizing students at monthly assemblies which focus on the TDSB character traits;
- continuing to support the parent council and community partnerships.
Interesting Feature
Did you know?
Heritage Park P.S. is adjacent to the Rouge Park which is the largest urban park in North America and protected by all three levels of government. This park is designated as a "heritage park" to protect the natural heritage of the Rouge Valley and is the reason for the selection of the school's name.
More Information about Heritage Park Public School
Literacy
Our goal is to have the majority of students achieving at the Provincial standard of Level 3. Gathering data through reading assessments, allows us to focus our efforts. Some of the strategies and actions we will use are: higher-order thinking skills (e.g. reasoning, evaluating, drawing conclusions); asking better questions; and giving descriptive feedback.
Numeracy
Our goal is to improve student's achievement in mathematics to meet the Provincial standard of level 3. They will improve their ability to demonstrate their thinking in open response type of questions as measured by performance on EQAO in grade 3 and 6. Some of the strategies and actions to be used are: teaching through problem solving; staff development.
Pathways
Our goal is to improve our reading scores (on report cards and EQAO) so that the majority of students are achieving at or above the Provincial standard of level 3. Some of the strategies and actions to be used are: early identification through the school support team; guided reading as part of each class's language program; reading assessments; using anchor charts.
Community Culture and Caring
We encourage and welcome all parents to participate as partners at our school. The council supports the school with fundraising activities such as the fall "back-to school" B.B.Q, pizza lunches, dance-a-thon, and other planned activities. Student leadership groups are involved in food drives, Terry Fox and the M.S. Read-a-thon.
Student Life - Where You Belong
Students have the opportunity to participate in a variety of co-curricular activities. Our active environment and recycling clubs help us learn about being a green school and renewing our commitment to becoming a Gold ECO school. Those interested in sports can participate in flag football, volleyball or other sports being offered by our staff coaches. Many teams are coed. If sports are not your particular area of interest, Heritage Park offers other ways to participate such as the Malvern Mall Spelling Bee; Skills Canada Contest; Music - including band and choir. Our dedicated environment club works hard to promote recycling and educating other students about environmental issues.
What Sets Us Apart
Students at Heritage Park are welcoming and full of school spirit. Our school music program helps to provide our students with opportunities for a variety of enriching experiences. On any given day you will hear the sounds of drumming, singing of our school theme song or recorders being played. A dedicated group of students provide support to teachers as a stage crew. Our school strives to be as ECO-friendly as possible and we are building our knowledge of ecological literacy and responsibility. Our diverse community has a wonderful mix of cultures. We learn about our diversity and teach about equity and respect for all as part of our character education. We continually strive to make the learning visible through music, arts and academics.
Parent and Community Engagement
Partnerships with the following agencies provide support for parents and students:
- Malvern Family Resource Centre;
- Aisling Discoveries;
- Toronto Police Service Community Liaison Officer and safe schools program presentations.
By supporting local businesses we build a sense of Community! Our parents are actively involved in the life of our school through the School Council. Yearly family BBQ, holiday and cultural celebrations help to connect parents with school activities. Planning a variety of fundraising initiatives help support the school in areas such as new SmartBoards.
