Welcome to Listowel Central Public School

Welcome to Listowel Central Public School - A Great Place To Be!

This is my second year as principal at Listowel Central Public School! I am excited to be here.

Listowel Central Public School educates children from kindergarten to grade 8. It is located a few blocks north of downtown Listowel. We have a population of over 360 students and a staff of 32 talented and dedicated members. Our school team works together to provide an atmosphere where children develop in a caring and nurturing learning environment that is carefully crafted to meet the diverse needs of all of our students.

Listowel Central Public School has a supportive School Council. Parents contribute a great deal to our school community through their support of many facets of our educational experiences. Their support is appreciated and necessary to move a school forward academically and socially.
 
We offer many extra-curricular activities, thanks to our staff and volunteers, which provide opportunities for students to get involved in the school. We offer a full range of athletic activities during our nutrition breaks, and our school teams often practise after school. We have an active Student Parliament which offers spirit days, clubs, and events for the students throughout the year. 

We have intense, well aligned school goals for the 2011 - 2012 school year; these goals are directly related to the board's goals. We have committed to improving student achievement in literacy and numeracy, with a focus on non-fiction writing, as a subject on its own, and across the curriculum. We have implemented, school-wide, four main purposes for reading and writing: TO NARRATE, TO DESCRIBE, TO PERSUADE, TO INFORM (to explain, to recount, to instruct, to report). It is the purpose of "to explain" that we are delving into with a laser-like focus; we are working to define the very best means of teaching and encouraging students "to explain" their thinking in reading and math. At the same time, we take into consideration the four categories
of knowledge and skills: KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING, THINKING, COMMUNICATION, APPLICATION. It is the "thinking" category that we have put at the forefront this year, and are working at uncovering the best methods for honing higher-order thinking skills in our students.

Too, we are working on character development. We have so many activities in place to ensure character development; here I will share three main ones. Each and every student and staff member is on a house team. House teams meet in multi-aged groupings at least monthly to deeply investigate the meaning of the month's character attribute, to discuss how it can be demonstrated by students of varying ages at school, at home, and in the community. Our grade seven and eight students work towards a school letter that develops volunteer and leadership skills. As well, we have adopted a school wide progressive approach to negative behaviours: IGNORE (but only for one day), SAY STOP (use strong words to describe what you do not like), REPORT (to adults until you feel the matter is resolved). If and when something is reported we follow the HOAP process: HONESTY, OWNERSHIP, APOLOGY, PLAN. The purpose of this process is ensure care for all involved, to increase student accountability, and to put in place a plan so that the behaviour is not repeated.

There are many opportunities for volunteers. We are always seeking people to work directly with students and often are seeking persons to help with our universal student nourishment program, Sonics Snacks. If you would like to volunteer, simply contact the school, and we will be happy to work through the next steps with you.

Thank you for visiting this website. Our hope is to update it regularly with School Council news, Twitter postings, and the monthly newsletter, etc.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact me at 519 291 3250 or at angecowl@fc.amdsb.ca

Listowel Central Public School - A Great Place To Be!