Our School

Farley Mowat PS At Farley Mowat Public School, we acknowledge that the land on which we work and learn is traditional Algonquin territory. Our community is home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples, and we recognize the enduring presence of Indigenous Peoples on this land.

Our School

Farley Mowat Public School (FMPS) opened its doors to students on September 5, 2006 and is located on Waterbridge Drive, which is just west of Prince of Wales Drive and east of Woodroffe Avenue in the southeast part of Barrhaven. Positioned next to Cresthaven Park, the school serves students from Year 1 Kindergarten to grade 6 in the Regular English Program and the Early French Immersion Program.

FMPS location

Over the last 15 years, FMPS has grown in its diversity and now welcomes approximately 550 students from a variety of cultures, backgrounds and life experiences.  We offer a safe, empathetic and supportive space for all students.  We meet each student where they are at and recognize their individual learning needs in order to foster their social and academic success.  We also support students’ mental health, as well as those with special education needs such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Developmental Delay, Global Delay, speech impairments, and physical disabilities as we work diligently to ensure that each child in our care reaches their full academic and social potential. The diverse needs in our school are met by our staff through a variety of strategies and methods.

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Our inclusive and supportive approach also encourages the involvement of parents/guardians in their child’s education and in our school activities. This practice fosters a culture of respect and belonging, as well as the opportunity to learn about and accept individual differences.

Our student population reflects the diversity of Canadian culture and consists of children from a variety of backgrounds and races, including those from Black, East Asian, First Nations, Indigenous, Inuit, Métis, Latin, Middle Eastern, South Asian, South East Asian and European descent. 

At Farley Mowat PS, many of our students speak another language other than English and French. Some of these languages include, but are not limited to Albanian, Algonquin, Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, Chinese, Dari, Dutch, French, Farsi, Greek, Korean, Mandarin, Pashto, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian, Serbo-Croatian, Somali, Spanish, Tamil, Turkish, Urdu, and Vietnamese. Students from our community also share a variety of connections to religious, creed and spiritual affiliations, including Agnostic, Atheism, Buddhism, Christianity, Orthodox Christianity, Hinduism, Indigenous Spirituality, Judaism, Islam, and Sikhism. 

In a recent school-based survey, focusing specifically on which holidays, celebrations and traditions are observed by our parents and students, participants from our school community shared the days of significance that are celebrated by their families. Communication through social media, morning announcements, and weekly FMPS Wolf Pack Messages to parents, acknowledge the various holidays and celebrations that our school community participates in.  We work with families to best support their children during various times throughout the year to ensure that their well-being, spiritual, physical and academic needs are met.  We encourage our students and parents/guardians to communicate with staff any accommodations required due to religious holidays, celebrations or traditions observed. Some of the celebrations and holidays that our families participate in include: 

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At FMPS, our ultimate goal is to celebrate and recognize the diversity of our staff and student population, and to create a space where everyone feels valued, safe and respected and to prepare students to achieve success in life and to develop the skills and characteristics as outlined in the OCDSB Exit OutcomesIn our recent community survey, parents/guardians acknowledged some of the work that FMPS is engaged in and shared the following:

“The FMPS staff are very conscious of the different cultural backgrounds at the school. I often hear the teachers inviting their children to discuss family traditions with the class - it's great to see them model a genuine interest (and respect) for the diversity in our school, so the kids learn and adopt the same attitude. Well done!”

“I think FMPS does a great job at recognizing and making mention of the various holidays and days of significance.”

Through a variety of learning opportunities, our students and staff are actively involved in discussions related to social justice, diversity, inclusivity, anti-racism and equity. We are engaged in work related to examining, reflecting and identifying our own unconscious biases, and we continually strive to implement culturally responsive instructional strategies. This includes purchasing culturally relevant materials and engaging in ongoing professional dialogue related to these important issues. We reach out and make use of  community and District resources to enrich the learning for our students, and we anchor our work in the goals outlined in the OCDSB Indigenous, Equity and Human Rights Roadmap.  Recently, our students engaged in a virtual “The Saidat Show” learning experience which focused specifically on Black History Month. We continue to look for ways to ensure that all students see themselves in their learning, and this includes ensuring that culturally responsive resources are being used and implemented on a daily basis.

We recognize that in order for students to reach their full potential, both academically and socially, they need to feel safe, and have an overall positive experience in school. In the 2019-2020 Valuing Voices-Identity Matters! survey, 78% of 150 participants shared that their child always/often feels happy and they enjoy their daily activities at school while 85% indicated that their child feels a positive sense of belonging. We recognize that over time this data may change and it is up to our staff to be flexible and adjust to the needs of our community. 
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n our 2018-2019 school climate survey, some of our students shared a few comments about their experiences at FMPS:

“One thing I like about this school is how diverse this school is.”

“What I like about this school is that everyone in the school is very nice and that the teachers really understand you and make you feel safe and trustworthy.”

“My teacher always wants me to learn a lot of stuff and to never give up”.

We are proud of the ongoing equity and inclusive learning that our staff, students and parent community have engaged in so far, and we look forward to strengthening this journey in the years to come with our entire Wolf Pack community.

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Data collected from Valuing Voices - Identity Matters! Survey 2019-2020 and FMPS Community Survey April 2021

Our Students and Staff

At FMPS, there are approximately 550 students enrolled each year from Year 1 Kindergarten to Grade 6.  

Farley Mowat PS has a staff of approximately 45. This includes administrators, full and part time teachers, educational assistants, early childhood educators, office staff, library technician, and our custodial team. Many of our teachers have additional qualifications and specialties in a variety of areas including Special Education, the Arts, Physical Education, English as a Second Language, Mathematics, Reading and French as a Second Language.  Our entire staff meets regularly to support school, board and ministry initiatives, as well as extra-curricular activities. Our staff participates regularly in workshops to support ongoing professional growth opportunities and we have a strong mentoring culture where experienced staff members assist and encourage our beginning teachers and staff new to our school.

Additional support for our students and community comes from a Multicultural Liaison Officer who is on an as needed basis. Monthly visits from our school-assigned Speech Language Pathologist, Social Worker, Occupational Therapist and Psychologist supplement support for staff, students and learning.

Our School Council & Volunteers

We have volunteers assisting in a variety of roles throughout the school, such as reading to children, preparing learning materials and assisting with field trips. Our parents contribute through fundraising, special lunches and special events. Parents regularly attend our “Wolf Pack” assemblies where the school recognizes the accomplishments of students and staff. 

Our School Council works closely with the school staff supporting and advising on school issues. The School Council connects with the greater school community through monthly council meetings, and regular communications through the school weekly Wolf Pack messages.  More information can about our School Council be found by clicking onto the tab labelled "School Council"on this website.

The greater community is very supportive of our school. They provide prizes to raffle on movie nights as well as participating and supporting our annual Talent Show in May. 

Mission Statement

Our vision is clear and simple: 

In cooperation with the school community, we work diligently to ensure that all students reach their full potential, feel seen, heard and have a strong sense of belonging.
Our school is a safe and caring community where we develop independent, respectful and responsible citizens who engage in lifelong learning.

Programs and Services

Academic Programs

  • JK/SK 
  • Grade 1 to 6 English Regular Program with Core French
  • Grade 1 to Grade 6 Early French Immersion Program 

Special Education and ESL Programs

Our Student Support Team is made up of Learning Support (LST), Learning Resource (LRT) and English as Second Language (ESL) Teachers. They collaborate with all staff to support students with special needs through a co-teaching, integrated model. Our LST and LRT teachers are in classrooms during literacy and numeracy learning times, and they work with students to provide a variety of support at other times of the day. Additionally, we have Educational Assistants who provide safety, behaviour and academic support for students both in the classroom and outside during recess.

Clubs and Activities

In the Wolf Pack, we engage in a wide range of activities beyond the classroom. Our sports programs include intramural school based activities that encourage widespread participation. Our students compete with other schools in the board in soccer, cross country running, basketball, volleyball, and other sports.

Our School Council has been very supportive of our extra- and co-curricular activities. Among other things, they have provided playground equipment, buddy benches, sports jerseys, Lego robotics kits, technology, sound and lighting equipment, choir music, stage stairs and arts performances for the students.  Our School Council has funded our Outdoor classroom. 

Facilities and Resources

Farley Mowat Public School was designed to be fully accessible. There is abundant natural light in all areas of the school, and there are bright, open common areas and hallways. The school has excellent gym facilities with a full regulation basketball court main gym that can be divided into two half-court size gyms with an automated divider. A fold down stage is available in the gym. There are five well equipped kindergarten rooms, 18 regular classrooms, a beautiful bright library, as well as literacy and math resource rooms. We also have portable classrooms on site. The school yard has a soccer field, basketball court, primary play structure and fenced kindergarten play structure. Our school is adjacent to Cresthaven Park and our students use the park during Physical Education classes. Waterbridge School Age Daycare is attached to the school.

 

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