Welcome to Listowel Central Public School
Welcome to Listowel Central Public School - A Great Place To Be!
This is my third year as principal at Listowel Central Public School! I am happy 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 370 students and a staff of 30 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, yet ever changing, to meet the diverse needs of all of our students.
Listowel Central Public School has an extremely 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 our school forward academically and socially.
We have intense, well aligned school goals for the 2012 - 2013 school year; these goals are directly related to the Avon Maitland District School Board’s newly revised strategic plan. We have committed to improving student achievement in literacy and numeracy, with a continued 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 continuing to delve into with a laser-like focus; we are working to define the very best means of teaching and encouraging students "to explain" their thinking, especially 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 again this year, and are working at uncovering the best methods for honing higher-order thinking skills in our students. For example, we are learning a lot about “accountable talk”.
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!
