Primary Years
Kindergarten to Grade 7
Kindergarten to Grade 7 at Claren focuses equally on providing a strong academic foundation that allows for personalized learning as well as the development of essential social and emotional traits that lead to success in school and life.
Our teachers are skilled at infusing authentic learning experiences into the curriculum to ignite the internal motivation that all young learners naturally have about the world around them. Our teachers encourage and mindfully integrate lessons and language that focus on independence, self-reflection, kindness, and a growth mindset.
An approach with students at the centre
At Claren, we deliver the BC curriculum through a lens that is specific to our Mission, Vision, and Learner Profile, always with the idea of preparing our kids for the future. This means we prioritize certain long term academic and transdisciplinary goals that have been carefully selected to reflect our Mission and use the BC curriculum to deliver on those goals year after year.
Levelled Math and Literacy Groups
We approach the core subjects of reading and math with the student at the centre. This means we assess students at the beginning of the year in math and reading to determine their individual capabilities and needs for the coming year. Based on these assessments, students are placed in reading and math groups school wide to ensure that children are receiving instruction at a level that is “just right” for them.
Small and Combined Grade Level Classrooms
Our students are in intentionally small and combined grade level classrooms to allow for more timely feedback and support from teachers while also having the advantage of interacting with older or younger students receiving mentorship or developing leadership skills within the safety of their own classroom.
Technology in the Classroom
Mindful integration of technology is an integral part of our programming and Learner Profile at all grade levels. Our Kindergarten to Grade 2 students use iPads and beginning in Grade 3 students receive a Chromebook to assist in their learning journey. At Claren, technology is seen as a tool to express creativity and hone critical thinking and research skills. Our technology teacher works closely with the classroom teachers to not only teach specific digital literacy and citizenship skills and expose our students to applications and software, but also to integrate in the technology to support learning in all subject areas from Applied Skills and Design Technology to Visual Art or Science. At Claren we want to expose our students to ever changing technology and its uses to help prepare our children to be adaptive and confident in using all types of technology to express themselves and enhance their own learning journey.
Specialist Teachers
Subject areas such as Art, Music and Physical Education are taught by specialist teachers who have specific training and expertise in those areas. Our classroom teachers integrate these subjects into their units of study to allow for more diverse activities and provide students with exciting lessons, and once per week they are also taught by specialist teachers. Once a week Claren partners with a martial arts and lacrosse coach who has designed a special curriculum for our students to develop a love for both individual and team activities exposing them to a wide range of skills and continuing to develop a growth mindset.
Mandarin as a Second Language
At Claren, beginning in Grade 5 our intermediate students receive Mandarin instruction as a second language. Mandarin as a second language at our school was chosen mindfully, reflecting the changing nature of our world with more awareness in both an entrepreneurial and global sense.
