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Griffins fly high

“What is a Griffin?” you wonder.

Well, the simple definition would be a mythological creature that has the head and wings of an eagle to go with the body of a lion. A griffin is a legendary animal that is both majestic and powerful. Glen Street Public School is grateful to be represented by such an almighty symbol.

You may think the bar is set high, that because of our mascot we would not be able to live up to the expectations. Well, the students and the staff of Glen Street work hard and our pride may live up to that vision after all.

With the school’s student population just over 435, a lot goes on during class and after school hours as well.

It is a priority of our principals, teachers and parents to encourage a healthy and safe environment for the students.

However, that doesn’t mean school can’t be fun!

With many teams and clubs under the nose of Glen Street, various students have something to look forward to after their hard-working hours in class.

Our most popular extracurricular activities would be sports. Starting the school year off with volleyball, to basketball and intramural floor hockey, just to be followed by soccer, baseball and track and field seasons, isn’t too much to gratify Glen Street’s community.

We also have incentive programs for the intermediate classes, which lead to end-of-the-month field trips or dances. Here at Glen Street, congeniality is happily rewarded.

S.A.S.S, chess, guitar, and breakfast club add even more onto the long list of productive events that raise the enthusiasm of our staff and students.

We all work as a team and try to build success as a team, with individual efforts. We know how it feels to struggle, but also how it feels to achieve. We are, in fact, the Glen Street Griffins!

Kim Pho is a Grade 8 student at Glen Street Public School.

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Glen Street anchored by community

Apr 7, 2008 By: Moya Dillon

OSHAWA -- A lot has changed since Glen Street Public School was constructed in 1971.

For one, the neighbouring apple orchard has long since disappeared and been replaced with housing. But one thing that hasn’t changed and has been strengthened by the surrounding residents, is the strong sense of community that makes Glen Street more than just a school to its students.

“We look after them body and soul,” said teacher Linda Ski, who’s worked at the school for 30 years. “Even parents who’ve moved call to see if they can send their children as out-of-area students. They always say ‘You do so much for our kids.’ ”

Vice-principal David Marchand emphasizes the importance of community involvement not only to benefit the students, but also to address the needs of parents. Some programs aimed at parents include a service fair that coincides with parent-teacher night, where various community organizations set up booths to advertise their services as well as parenting clinics and a preschool for children that are too young to attend kindergarten.

“A lot of people are coming and going in the area,” Mr. Marchand said. There’s a lot of rentals, so many parents aren’t aware of the services available to them in the city. Statscan called this a high-needs area, so we do anything we can to help our parents, which in turn helps our kids.”

The school also maintains a close relationship with Oshawa Public Health, which runs various programs, including immunization clinics and a girls’ hangout program. The school also makes sure to provide rewards for the kids. An incentives program sends students on trips to places such as the Toronto Zoo, Toronto Marlies games and even skiing.

“A lot of the kids get many of their experiences through the school, with trips and stuff like that. We take that very seriously,” Mr. Marchand said of the 400-plus students. Both principal Robert Lamb and Mr. Marchand praise the school’s dedicated staff, which is responsible for running many of the school’s programs, including a five-day-a-week breakfast program, a chess club run by the school librarian and an after-school print-making workshop run by another teacher.

“When we were recently hiring we asked a Grade 8 student what they were looking for in a teacher,” Mr. Marchand said. “He said ‘Someone who doesn’t give up on us.’ ”

In addition to their staff, they also praise the students themselves, who they say are always appreciative of the staff’s efforts and respectful of the school itself. As Mr. Lamb describes it, Glen Street has become a type of community hub for surrounding residents.

“It’s not closed-classroom education; it’s a community school.”