Our School
History
Charles Howitt P.S. is named after Mr. Charles Howitt, an outstanding educator and public school inspector. He attended the opening ceremony on May 9th, 1952.
Our school motto is Respect, Responsibility and Results.
Our school symbol is a hawk.
Facilities
Charles Howitt P.S. was officially opened in 1952. Additions were added in 1954 and 1959. In 1966 six classrooms were added to the west side of the school and a gym and library were also added. In 1993 a full size gym with a stage and a music room were built along with a new staff room.
A before and after school child care service is provided by Mini-School and is located at Charles Howitt P.S.
Programs
As with each school in the York Region District School Board, Charles Howitt P.S. supports student learning through the curriculum standards set out by the Ontario Ministry of Education and many other co-curricular activities.
Starting this school year at Charles Howitt P.S., we are pleased to introduce our “Reading Rabbits” program, which is designed to support the reading skills of “at-risk” students (i.e. students not yet meeting the Ministry standard of achievement in Reading) through a collaboration of teachers and parents in the school community. The Reading Rabbits program, which is already underway at our school, will allow a parent, who has been “trained” by our Reading Recovery and Literacy Teachers (Mrs. Fluxgold and Mrs. Goldman, respectively) to read just-right texts with approx. 3-4 students who need extra support in primary classrooms. Each parent arrives at their allotted time determined by the school, and works with the class to which they are assigned. To support the program, “book boxes” for the students that the teachers select for the program will be prepared in advance of each session by Mrs. Goldman and Mrs. Fluxgold.
Communication with Parents: Daily agendas, class newsletters, phone calls, our school website and monthly school newsletters help to inform the community.
Arts Package: Our School Council supports bringing a variety of music, drama and dance into our school. In addition we have storytellers and author visits as well as co-curricular athletics such as volleyball, basketball, cross country, track and field etc. Our school:
- promotes a safe and supportive learning environment. This is done through our school's code of behaviour, the Board's Safe Schools Policy and Procedures and the Character Education Initiatives
- provides Special Education Programs
- provides a before and after school program. Service is provided by Mini-Skool - A Child's Place.
- Is home an Ontario Early Years program offered during the day for preschoolers and their parent(s)
Safe and Supportive Schools/Character Education/Equity Education
Every student has the right to learn in a safe and supportive environment. The York Region District School Board has a Safe Schools Policy and a defined procedure to implement the policy. Both the policy and procedure support the view that student discipline involves a continuum of support including prevention, intervention and appropriate consequences. The YRDSB remains committed to the inclusion of anti-racist and equity education in its policies and programs.
In addition, Charles Howitt P.S. supports the development of character education in the York Region District School Board. The following is an overview of the school’s Character Education initiatives:
- Morning Announcements
- Photos on Bulletin Boards
- Posters displayed
- Monthly Assemblies
- Involvement in the Terry Fox Run, Jump Rope for Heart
- Supporting a foster child through World Vision
- Various food drives, clothing donations and other charitable community activities
Character Education: We continue to focus on RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY and RESULTS. Our Code of Behavior is based on respect and responsibility. We have monthly assemblies to celebrate student success academically, socially, athletically, artistically and otherwise.