Learning for Life, striving for excellence! Kennedy Public School, which officially opened in 1988, is named for the James Kennedy family who immigrated to Canada from Scotland and settled in this northeast area of Metropolitan Toronto. The school serves approximately 570 students, many of whom speak Mandarin and Cantonese with English as a second language. Kennedy Public School is committed to promoting learning as a lifelong experience, striving for excellence in all students, and within a safe and caring environment, teaching our children to be socially responsible citizens.
School Focus for the Year
We will continue the implementation of Literacy strategies to promote reading with meaning and critical thinking. Our Numeracy initiative will centre on problem solving and inquiry based learning with a focus on STEM. We will continue with our Character Education/Social Justice learning by making connections on a personal, community, and global scale. Due to our outstanding achievement in our EcoSchool program we are now striving for platinum certification. We continue to make strong connections with our Sister School in China.
Interesting Feature
Current Initiatives at Kennedy
This is going to be an exciting year at Kennedy with two technology initiatives planned! The biggest will be the implementation of the new Chromebook project. The school has purchased 30 Chromebooks, these units are mobile providing flexible use of technology in our classrooms. The second technology initiative to be extended this year, is the use of iPads in our Grade 1 and 2 classes, to enrich Literacy instruction.
More Information about Kennedy Public School
Building a Respectful School Climate
Our goal is to foster respect for each other through team building and cooperation, not only in classrooms but also through extra curricular. We celebrate student success and achievement in our recognition assemblies.
Participate with Pride
To foster pride in themselves and their school, students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning by striving for academic excellence, participating in athletics and the Arts. We encourage our students to take advantage of leadership opportunities in the classroom, throughout the school and in their community.
The Arts at Kennedy
To enrich our students' lives, we encourage involvement in the Arts. We provide our students with opportunities to express themselves through choirs (Primary and Junior/Intermediate), bands (Concert and Jazz), folk dance and a dance club. Students and their teachers have painted murals to beautify our school and the community.
Community Connections
Our goal is to continue to support our local Heathwood Ratepayer's Association in its effort to improve the beauty of our community and to keep it clean. We have worked together to paint murals, remove graffiti, plant bulbs, trees and clean up garbage in our parks. Our students will continue to support our local food bank, as well as, other community organizations.
Additional Features
- Dedicated Staff
- New Learning Commons
- Assistive Technology
- Partnership with Bethune C.I.
- Student Support Centre
- Rich Music Program
- Kindergarten Playground
- Naturalized School Yard
Student Life - Where You Belong
Kennedy prides itself on providing many opportunities for students to grow in all areas of life. We offer many extra curricular experiences including athletics, the Arts, Eco club, folk dance and many other opportunities for our students to develop their leadership skills. Our Student Leadership group provides opportunities for students to learn leadership skills on many levels including the community, through food and clothing drives. Our Student Council encourages students to develop a voice through school wide planned events and initiatives.
What Sets Us Apart
As a yearly Weston Award winner for excellence in academics, we have a strong curriculum and excellent teachers. The number of championship banners that hang in the gym attest to our athletic ability. Our artistic creativity is shown by the artwork in the classrooms and the halls, as well as, the murals that we have painted in our local park, at Bridlewood Mall and our 25th Anniversary Murals in the school hallway. A highlight of the year is the school Science Fair culminating in an open house evening for parents to see all the displays and interact with many students and to see classroom projects.
Parent and Community Engagement
We have a solid relationship with our community association, where we help in keeping the community clean. Our school maintains a great rapport and partnership with local businesses who support us in our fundraising activities (e.g., Michael's No Frills). We have a long history of involvement with university teacher education programs (OISE/UT, Tyndale, Nipissing, UOIT, Medaille and Canisius College) and involvement in student mentoring and co-op education programs (Bethune C.I.). We are also working in conjunction with early childhood education programs (Ryerson University). We encourage parent volunteers to assist in classroom programs as well as for special events and excursions. We continue to use our school website and parent email distribution list to better communicate to our students, parents and community at large.
