Lower School
STRENGTH-BASED AND
STUDENT-CENTRIC LEARNING
GRADES 3-8
Lower School students attend one of Toronto’s premier independent schools, with a natural curiosity about the world around them. Our school is built to nurture that curiosity for our exceptional students. Our faculty teaches discussion-oriented, collaborative, and personalised classes so learners are equipped for success in secondary school and beyond.
Our program features associate teachers who support individual differences in learning pace and differentiate learning opportunities for support and enrichment. Our interventionists work with students who will benefit from greater support in core language and numeracy skill development.
Teachers use a strength-based approach, meaning they engage students through their greatest abilities, differentiate lessons and assessments to create a more accessible learning environment, and provide opportunities for rich discussion in class and enriched learning. All Lower School students choose elective courses, and our grade eight class has the opportunity to earn a reach ahead high school credit (Learning Strategies) throughout the year.
5.4:1
student:teacher ratio
22
extracurricular clubs and teams
13
elective courses for students to choose from to enrich their learning
STUDENT Schedule
Core French | Discovery Learning | Electives | English | Essential Skills | Mathematics | Physical Education | Science | Social Studies | Visual Arts
With core classes that are unique among schools for 2eTwice-exceptional (2e) students are a diverse group of learners with complicated learning profiles. They exhibit gifts and talents in certain areas and experience impingement on their learning in others. Learn More students, our student body is empowered to develop their talents in elective courses and have frequent field trips and guest speakers. We have designed special events and classes for our bright students to help them thrive, including collaborative, design-based learning in Discovery Learning and “Essential Skills” classes that bring together scholastic habits and a growth mindset.
Elective Courses
Team Sports
Team sports will provide students an opportunity to participate in a wide variety of sports with some competition minus a win-at-all-cost atmosphere. Students will be able to develop or refine skills in a variety of team sports and games that encourage an active and healthy lifestyle. Students will also have the opportunity to develop some fitness goals and improve their muscular and aerobic endurance through fitness circuits and games.
Creative Design
Throughout the term, you’ll dive into the world of active learning, unleashing your creativity to design and bring to life a variety of exciting projects. Together, we’ll embark on a journey, using different materials to turn your imaginative ideas into reality. It’s going to be a term filled with creativity, innovation, and teamwork!
What you will do in Creative Design:
- Perfect your drawing skills
- Fashion Designing- bring your outfits to life!
- Help TSA create posters and advertisements for upcoming events!
- Digital Creations (Cartoons, Memes, and Comic Strips)
- Collaborative Projects
- Design your dream room/house/city!
- Build structures with different materials
Dramatic Arts
Welcome to the world of Dramatic Arts, an engaging course designed for students in grades 3 to 8. This transformative journey blends the allure of storytelling with the excitement of performance, creating a dynamic space for young minds to explore their creative instincts and build unshakable confidence. Through an immersive blend of theatre games, improvisation, character study, and scripted scenes, students unlock the doors to self-expression in a supportive and encouraging environment.
Canada and Conflict
This history and geography elective focuses on Canada’s involvement in wars throughout the 20th century! We will examine World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and much more. We will study the important causes and consequences, battles and locations, and how wars alter the political and human geography of the world.
Public Speaking & Podcast-ing
Is speaking your favourite thing? Public speaking, or the act of performing a speech in front of a live audience, is an integral part of communication and this elective will groom you towards being a confident speaker. You will build your skills while engaging in games such as Round Robin, Photo Story, etc. For those of you who feel you perform better without a live audience, well we have options! You can create Podcasts with themes and topics of your choice and and have your very own followers! Together we will work on developing leadership skills, social skills, listening skills and much more!
Challenge Zone
Need a challenge? Test out your memory, logical thinking, and patterning skills to solve unique problems and puzzles. Learn about history, techniques, and solutions from around the world. Create your own and challenge your friends too!
Coding
Attention students! Are you ready to unlock your potential and embark on an exciting journey into the world of coding? This elective is your chance to learn the fundamental concepts of coding and programming languages in a fun and interactive way. Develop your critical thinking skills and creativity as you design and create your very own projects, from simple animations to complex games!
Experimental Art
No art experience? No problem! In this course, we will extend the boundaries of what art is. We will be scientists and experiment with new ways of using materials. Put on your metaphorical lab coat, grab a paintbrush and get ready to investigate! What happens when you mix paint with salt or can you spray-paint with tie dye? In each class, we will explore a mix of visual art materials and imaginative ways of using them. By the end of the course, you will have tried and developed a new creative set of artist skills.
Music
Welcome to Music! In this course, we will learn musical elements such as rhythm, pitch, notation, and expression through hands-on activities like boom whackers and singing. We will also explore different instruments, musical genres, composing, and performing.
Literacy Adventures
Do you want to delve into another world and find new ways to express yourself? Come and explore the different genres of literature including- horror, fantasy and science fiction. Let your imagination run wild and create your own innovative and creative pieces of writing. You will also be encouraged to work with others to share your ideas and engage in a number of fun activities and literature-styled games. If you want to enhance your leadership skills and confidence you will also have the opportunity to help edit and contribute to “The Howler”. Your literary adventures await!
Outdoor Education
Throughout this course, you will partake in active learning in the outdoors. You will discover, learn, and collaboratively explore nature and use skills like teamwork to complete tasks related to outdoor skills. We will engage in gardening, compass/map skills, a scavenger hunt, team bonding games, and going green (Eco-school).
Spanish for Beginners
Are you interested in learning a new language? Why not give Spanish a try? Through fun activities, games, and music, you can learn how to speak the world’s second-most spoken language and discover the diverse cultures of Spanish speakers all over the world.
Did you know…?
- Spanish has 474.7 million native speakers
- Out of all the languages that come from Latin, Spanish has the most speakers – even more than French!
- The country with the largest number of Spanish speakers is not Spain, but Mexico!
- It is the official language in 20 countries!
- Learn how to speak this exciting language and take part in fun activities with your peers!
Conversational French
Conversational French will provide our students the opportunity to exercise and deepen their knowledge of the French language with the help of oral exercises, dialogue, and other interactive forms of communication. Speaking a second language is something that can be both challenging and fun. By discussing different topics in French, learning, singing, watching short documentaries, participating in small debates, formulating more complex sentences, and reading short articles in French, our students will be able to improve their skills in this language, which is an essential part of Canadian cultural and national identity.
Key Features
Learning is challenging, and we prepare our students for an uncertain world before them. All of our students are given the attention and guidance they need to exceed their goals in the following ways:
Every TSA student is equipped with a Learning Plan that outlines their strengths, growth opportunities, strategies for success, accessibility needs, and accommodations. These plans are woven directly into the curriculum they participate in.
Students who have a healthy ambition and excel in particular areas, including scholastic specialisation (subject-specific scholar and certificate awards), community building (Vice-Principal’s List), and overall academic excellence (Principal’s List), are acknowledged in a series of varied annual award programs.
Based on empirical support, TSA employs a balanced school day approach to timetabling. Each school day is composed of six 45-minute periods class periods and two 45-minute nutritional breaks for students. Activities, clubs, and intramural teams are offered as social activities, and students have more time and choice for their meals and snacks.
Advisors meet regularly with their students throughout the school year. The start of the year is focused on goal-setting and identifying areas for enrichment and additional support. As the year progresses, students work to build self-awareness, critical thinking, and advocacy skills.
More from Becks Barstow
Middle School Program (Grades 7-8)
- Assessment
- Homework
- Future planning
- Studentship
The middle school program provides a developmentally appropriate runway for students to learn and build the skills required for grade 8 and, eventually, high school. It is structured to accommodate the diverse and unique academic and social needs of 2eTwice-exceptional (2e) students are a diverse group of learners with complicated learning profiles. They exhibit gifts and talents in certain areas and experience impingement on their learning in others. Learn More learners.
Key Features
Our program features a progressive sequence of demands, expectations, and responsibilities that students take on incrementally over time. Particularly in core classes (English, math, science, and social studies), students can expect to experience increasing expectations in the following areas:
- Task management
- Homework
- Student ownership, accountability, and communication
- Assessment (tests and exams)
- Major learning events (Self-Directed Learning projects and the social sciences fair)
- Goal-setting