Fraser Institute Rankings

Fraser Institute Rankings

By Carolyn Breland, Head of School As we have recently received some questions regarding the Fraser Institute Rankings, we would like to share our perspective and hopefully address any concerns parents may have. As cited in Our Kids Magazine,  “There is no such thing as the number one school. But there is such a thing… Continue Reading

“Write-On” Student Club: Halloween Edition

At River Valley School, we encourage students to dive into areas of interest and discover new passions through our lunchtime co-curricular student clubs. Our Write-On club is open to students in grades 4, 5 and 6. During our time together we explore different types of writing that interest our students. Please watch for more “Write-On”… Continue Reading

“Write-On” Student Club: Halloween Edition
Finding Wonder Through Arts Education

Finding Wonder Through Arts Education

by Sarah Friesen, Director of Marketing & Communications Sydney Gurewitz Clemens once said, “Art has the role in education of helping children become like themselves instead of more like everyone else.” Empowering a student to discover, explore and express their uniqueness and individuality has the wonderful outcome of sparking success not only in academics, but… Continue Reading

River Valley School – A Community Partner

River Valley School – A Community Partner

At River Valley School, we are inclusive by design. Our school community is made up of passionate and engaged students, teachers, families and staff, bound by a belief that private school education should be inclusive and accessible to students from all walks of life. In fact, inclusivity is what sets us apart. Unlike most independent… Continue Reading

Kindness Through Their Eyes

Kindness Through Their Eyes

February 24th is Pink Shirt Day or Anti-Bullying Day! Schools across the globe use this day to engage in anti-bullying fundraisers and kindness days in support of this important initiative. As a school of young children, we chose to approach the day with discussions and activities surrounding kindness that were differentiated for each grade level. Even though pink shirts… Continue Reading

Mathematics in the Early School Years

Mathematics in the Early School Years

  Mathematics in Preschool, Kindergarten and Grade One, is all about building strong numeracy understanding and developing foundational skills that will prepare children for more complex math in years to come. What is numeracy? Alberta Education defines numeracy as the ability, confidence and willingness to engage with quantitative and spatial information, to make informed decisions… Continue Reading

Number Talks

Number Talks

Number talks are 10-15 minute conversations that occur in the classrooms once or twice a week, around intentionally designed computation problems. They are grounded in conceptual understanding and mathematical reasoning moving beyond rote procedural knowledge. During a classroom number talk, students come together to communicate their mathematical thinking by sharing and defending solutions they solve… Continue Reading

Teaching and Learning

Teaching and Learning

Relationships (noun) – the way in which two or more people or things are connected or interconnected (Oxford Dictionary) Responsive (adjective) – giving response; quick to respond or react appropriately or sympathetically (Merriam-Webster); making a positive and quick reaction to someone or something (Oxford Dictionary) Relationships are central to learning experiences. Foundational to good teaching… Continue Reading