A home away from home for students, staff

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/05/2015 (3982 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The school day officially kicks off at Rosser Elementary School when principal Belinda McNaughton plays O Canada on the piano, and the 56 students, three teachers and one educational assistant sing along.

The national anthem is followed by announcements. On May 13, Stonewall Library’s bookmobile is scheduled to stop at the school for the last time in the 2014-15 school year.

McNaughton asks the students, standing in the school’s small gym in lines according to their grade, if anyone has completed home or school environmentally sustainable projects. The school works toward achieving an Earth status sustainability goal. Students can drop off household batteries and Canadian Tire money, tabs from soft drink cans, and report each Friday on random acts of kindness.

Rosser School’s dull exterior is belied by the colourful cozy interior, with hallways and classrooms covered in artwork, charts and posters. During a break, some of the teachers share a snack in the small staff room which, importantly, features a pot of freshly brewed coffee.

With such a small staff, everyone must get along well. From the relaxed talk around the staff room table, it is obvious that camaraderie isn’t lacking.

Teachers have many roles

McNaughton and her teachers take on a variety of roles, with everyone teaching more than one class and more than one subject.

The school’s 13 kindergarten students aren’t attending on May 13, so kindergarten teacher Joanne Daigneault has some preparation time.

Daigneault is in her third year at Rosser School after teaching for two years in Winnipeg. As well as kindergarten, her duties include instructing classes in language arts, social studies, music, gym and technology.

“You definitely have to be flexible,” she said.

Her own high school education at Winnipeg’s Westwood Collegiate included musical theatre and athletic activities, which helped prepare her for her current role.

Daigneault is especially proud of last year’s Christmas concert in which every Rosser student had a speaking part. Her photos of the concert show students dressed in a variety of costumes, some of which were made by parents, and they were all onstage at once in Grosse Isle School.

They needed the larger space available there.

Work on the concert starts right after Remembrance Day, and parents’ help is essential.
After teaching at larger city schools, Daigneault said she values the chance to get to know each student as they enter Rosser School and progress through to Grade 4 — the school’s final grade.

“I feel so lucky to be able to teach every student in the school,” she said.

After first period, she teaches a social studies unit about connecting with others and respecting diversity. Students are asked to draw a portrait of a classmate that shows how each person has unique physical characteristics.

Reading program an asset

Grade 1/2 homeroom teacher Margaret Wonko has seen many students enter Rosser School and move on to Grade 5 in Grosse Isle throughout her almost two decades of teaching in Rosser. With just over a month left before she retires, Wonko reflects on what she feels will be her legacy to the school.

Housed in two large wooden cupboards, located on either side of the school’s main doors, are dozens of books carefully arranged by reading level in plastic baskets. Wonko has set up this school-wide reading program that sees each student take books home, moving through the levels as their skills develop.

The students’ reading and writing skills are evident in Wonko’s language arts classes as the Grade 1 students talk about vowel sounds and print out simple words such as “dog” and “run.” Her next class is with Grade 2 students who deal with tougher words like “little” and “many.”

Strong sense of community

Former Rosser principal Dayna Quinn-LaFleche is back in the school today working in her new position of numeracy lead for kindergarten to Grade 8 within Interlake School Division. She taught at Rosser School for 14 years, then served as principal for two.

While she loves the variety offered in her new job, which involves supporting math teachers in 19 schools, she values her experience at Rosser School.

“I loved keeping the kids through the transition from year to year,” she said. “This school’s community is so strong.”

Current principal McNaughton also talks about how students, staff, parents and community members work together to help the little school continue.

Rosser Elementary Parent Advisory Council (REPAC) members are active in helping with a hot lunch program, fundraising for school equipment, and volunteering to help as needed. A new project involves beautification of the school’s front yard.

“I can call any one of them when I need them and they are here immediately,” McNaughton said.

The gratitude for hard work on behalf of the students goes both ways, as is evident from a brightly coloured thank-you banner, made by parents and given to staff, hanging inside the main hallway.

Kim and Jason Cassils, both teachers themselves, have daughters Riannon, 9, and Mia, 7, attending Rosser School even though they could easily be registered in Stonewall.

Kim said the feeling of belonging that exists in Rosser School can’t be duplicated in a larger school.

“It’s a very small community of kids,” she said, adding that students from kindergarten to Grade 4 all play together.

While the school doesn’t have enough indoor space to accommodate many sports, Cassils said, staff and students use the outdoor space very well, and the staff comes up with creative ways to add physical activity to the students’ day.

She said she and Jason believe they can make up for the school’s limited phys-ed program by involving their daughters in evening and weekend sports.

Survey shows school’s value

The Cassils are one of 38 families that comprise the student population. The results of a recent online survey, completed by 29 families, shows parents feel close ties and positive relationships are the school’s greatest assets.

Joanne Braun now works as an educational assistant in the school, but first knew it as a parent when her three children attended. “My kids loved it here and they thrived.”

“This is a comfortable place to be,” she said.

Hired earlier in the year as a maternity leave replacement, Sheila Anderson is thrilled that she’s returning in September in a full-time, permanent basis. While her teaching experience includes a recent stint in California, she said she loves Rosser School’s environment of caring and acceptance.

“I was struck by the very clear culture that the kids are very much a part of,” she said, calling the small school “a gem”.

It’s easy to agree with her assessment — after all, where else is an old hand bell rung to signal the end of recess?

For more information on Rosser Elementary School, see www.isd21.mb.ca/rosser