Located in the beautiful East Kootenay hamlet of Windermere, BC, Windermere Elementary School (WES) is a part of School District #6 – Rocky Mountain. WES functions day to day in conjunction with our School Pillars. This makes WES a safe and organized place to learn for ALL students of ALL backgrounds:
At Windermere Elementary School
- We take care of others
- We take care of ourselves
- We take care of this place
WES is a K-7 school and with that there comes a lot of advantages. Students learn to grow within the school and the community over a long period of time. Relationships are strongly built and longstanding. We know our students well at WES because we operate and treat our students like a family. With strong links to our community stakeholders and beautiful Lake Windermere only minutes away, the rural setting of our school makes it a connected and exceptional place to learn.
Due to the size of our school, many of our classes are combined. WES staff has embraced this ongoing arrangement as an excellent means to provide diversified education to our students. At WES, we meet students where they are at educationally, socially, and emotionally regardless of their grade.
Aside from offering a robust education by our dedicated staff, WES offers much more to our students to provide them a great learning experience:
- A strong Read Naturally Program for ongoing reading intervention.
- Collaborative music program for ALL students across the school.
- Strong Core French program.
- Active Leadership Program which provides leadership opportunities for our intermediate students who organize MANY Active Recess opportunities for all of our students across the school.
- Ski Program for Gr. 3 students (Nordic Ski Club) and our intermediate students (Fairmont Hot Springs and Panorama).
- Alternating (year by year) swim program at Radium Hot Springs.
- Winderland! - A diverse and natural outdoor learning environment.
- Mobile technology for ICT instruction in student classrooms.
- A beautiful green space with a diverse set of playground equipment.
- An AMAZING hot lunch program.
- District Learning and Support Services on a rotating schedule for our students (Speech Language, Counseling).
- Newly renovated learning environment (upgrades to library and the exterior and interior of school).
- Active volleyball and basketball programs.
- A rich, welcoming, and engaging library with a diverse selection of reading material.
- ADST Jr. Skills Design Program at DTSS for intermediate students.
- An intermediate Exploratory Program. This year we provided Robotics, Curling, and Drama.
...as well as MANY other opportunities for students steered by our strong and dedicated staff. For past highlights, please see our archived WES School Newsletters on our website for a greater look at what is going on and what has happened at WES.
For more information on how we educate our students for lifelong success, please refer to our School Plan for Student Success (SPSS) link. If you have any questions, please contact the school at any time to discuss.
WES has a vibrant, supportive, and amazing Parent Advisory Council (WES PAC) who positively works with our school staff to strengthen learning opportunities for our students. Our PAC has collaborated with our staff regarding many positive inclusions to our school including: bringing in special guests, purchasing a NUMBER of learning tools/resources/equipment for staff, purchasing a NUMBER of items to enrich student experiences here at school (sleds, books, gym equipment). The WES PAC also overlooks the annual WES Community Carnival which is a huge fundraising operation for the school and a fantastic opportunity to bring the entire valley together. Please see a more detailed list under the WES Parent Advisory Council on how else the WES PAC has supported our school.
WES is also worked collaboratively with our WES PAC and our SD6 Operations to create a natural Outdoor Learning Environment for our students. The environment completely aligns with many initiatives that our educators are already doing, as well as with one of the new SD6 District Directions 2023: Rocky Mountain School District…"Supports learning that is place-based, outdoors, and focused on environmental stewardship."
WES is a safe and caring learning environment that offers a very robust educational experience for our students. Please contact our school at any time if you have any more questions or would like to learn more.