Our School Abraham Erb P.S. opened in September 2005. The school is named after pioneer Abraham Erb (1772-1830), the founder of Waterloo. In 1805, Erb purchased 900 acres of bush land on the site of what is now referred to as the City of Waterloo. He settled here in 1806 and two years later erected the first sawmill. His gristmill, built in 1816, remained in continuous operation for 111 years. Abraham Erb was responsible for building Waterloo’s first schoolhouse in 1820, which has now been re-located to Waterloo Park. The school is located in the North West corner of Waterloo near the University of Waterloo in Ward 2. Abraham Erb P.S. serves part of the communities of Laurelwood, Columbia Forest and Laurel Creek Village. Most of the students walk to school, and one bus only services students who qualify for transportation. Our Students Approximately 427 students are enrolled in JK-6 at Abraham Erb P.S. After graduating from grade 6, students either move on to attend Laurelwood P.S. or Edna Staebler P.S. for grades 7 and 8 and then Sir John A. MacDonald (SJAM) for grades 9-12. As of this September, 2013, we will have French Immersion to grade 3, with Full Day Kindergarten. We will also be offering Extended Day programming for kindergarten up to grade 2, as well as the Youth Development Program for ages 8 to 12 years. The following student awards are given to selected students graduating from grade 6. 1) The Ontario Principal’s Council Award given to the student who demonstrates leadership among their peers. 2) The Elaine Weatherup School Spirit Award is given to the student who demonstrates excellent school spirit. 3) Citizenship Award is given to one male and one female student who are viewed as having a generous and loving spirit, high athletic accomplishment, academic excellence and good citizenship. Students at Abraham Erb come from over 35 different countries. We enjoy learning about the diverse backgrounds of our student population and celebrating the diversity of our community. As a school community, we strive to create a safe and respectful learning environment for all students. Our Staff At Abraham Erb P.S., we are proud to have a staff that is committed to fostering academic excellence and responsible citizenship within our students. Currently there are 50 staff in various positions including: principal, teacher, secretary, custodian, educational assistant, child and youth worker, early childhood educator, lunchroom monitor, and parking lot attendant. Parents and Community The Abraham Erb P.S. School Council meets once a month. This dedicated group of parents works collaboratively with school staff to maximize the success of our students. School Council members are involved in a variety of ways. Their fundraising efforts support many projects around the school such as the Abraham Erb Playground, Greening Project and Home Reading Program. Parents also assist in the office and are active volunteers in the classrooms.

Address 710 Laurelwood Drive

Waterloo, Ontario N2V 2V3

Phone

519 747-7694

Staff Voicemail 519 570 8051

Plus mailbox #

Attendance Line 519 570-8051

Mailbox #3896

School Hours 9:00am – 3:20pm

Nutritional/Activity

Breaks 11-00-11:40 a.m.

1:10pm – 1:50 p.m.

Office Hours 8:00am – 4:00pm

Website

www.wrdsb.on.ca

Principal Tatania Stroud

Abraham Erb Public School Junior School (JK-6)

School Profile

Special Programs In addition to the regular curriculum offered at the school, Abraham Erb P.S. has developed a Primary Home Reading Program to encourage all JK-Grade 3 readers to take books home on a daily basis. Our school library has a computer lab with approximately 20 networked Macintosh computers. Most pods also have computers available for student and teacher use. Special Education Programs At Abraham Erb, we work diligently to provide assistance to students who are identified as having special needs. Strong Start is a volunteer program that is offered to early literacy learners and focuses on letters, sounds and words. EMPOWER is also an early literacy program run in small groups led by a Special Education Resource Teacher. This program is sometimes available to identified students in grades 1-5. Corrective Reading is another literacy program that is sometimes available to identified students in grades 4-6. This is a direct instruction program also conducted in small groups. Special Education Resource Teachers and Educational Assistants help throughout the school in a variety of ways to assist the learning of many students. Abraham Erb is also host to a Junior Assessment Placement Class for the WRDSB. Eight grade 4-6 students from across the region are placed in this particular class for a one year period. Led by an experienced teacher and two child and youth workers, this program operates for a full year and works to integrate the selected students back into their regular school program. This program is affiliated with multiple external agencies, which provide a full range of educational, health and psychiatric services. English Language Learner Program Abraham Erb has a part-time E.L.L. (English Language Learner) teacher who assists our identified E.L.L. students with all aspects of their school life. Approximately 25% of our students are designated as E.L.L.

Safe Schools Initiatives Code of Behaviour: How we “Otter” behave at Abraham Erb P.S.

• Think before you do • Respect yourself and others • Be Safe

Be a Buddy, Not a Bully

In partnership with the Region of Waterloo Public Health and WRDSB, the Imagine Program has been developed to further assist local elementary schools in building safer, healthier school communities. Abraham Erb has implemented the Imagine Program as a school wide initiative aimed at creating a positive school climate with the ultimate goal of eliminating bullying from the school. We accomplish this through class meetings, reading buddies, grade appropriate social skills activities, assemblies, colour house activities, intramurals, clubs and leadership opportunities for children. We are very proud of the positive school climate that exists in our building.

Facilities and Resources

Abraham Erb is a two story building with classrooms arranged in pods. The primary pod areas are located on

the first floor directly down the hall from the library. The junior pods are located on the second floor. The school has an excellent library equipped with approximately 20 computers. As mentioned previously, each pod area also has additional computers. Located down the hall from the library is a double gymnasium, two well-equipped storage rooms and two separate change rooms. Outside the school we have a playground equipped with a full basketball court, 2 soccer fields, creative playground, kindergarten climbing area, tetherball poles, a primary basketball net and junior fitness stations. In addition the tarmac area includes painted guidelines for tarmac cooperative games. Clubs and Activities Intramural activities that occur throughout the year include such things as dodgeball, volleyball, basketball, dance, math club, chess club and many more. Student helpers from junior grades assist as lunchroom monitors, office helpers, door monitors, safety and bus patrols and morning announcers. Students also do many other jobs as needed. We encourage our junior students to be good role models and provide many leadership opportunities for our grade 5 and 6 students. Measures of Student Achievement

and Success Student success can be measured in a number of ways, most importantly through progress in developing learning skills. The Growing Success Progress Report, and Term 1 and Term 2 Report Cards are an excellent benchmark for student progress. In addition EQAO results are available – refer to the WRDSB at http://www.wrdsb.on.ca School Success Plans and Initiatives Each year, our school develops a school success plan aimed at improving student achievement. For the 2012-2013 school year our area of focus will concentrate on communicating student thinking in writing through math. Please visit our school anytime at:

710 Laurelwood Dr., Waterloo, ON N2V 2V3 Staff Voicemail: 519 570-8051 plus mailbox #

Office: 519 747-7694 Attendance: 519-570-8051 3896#