Our School
Westwind Public School opened its doors on September 6, 2011. Nestled in the southern part of Stittsville, Westwind is named after one of the first developments called Westwind Farms. Westwind is surrounded by mixed family dwellings in the front of the school and a forested area gracing our back play yard.
Westwind Public School offers beautiful spaces for creativity and collaboration. The two-story structure 4,600 sq m. Junior Kindergarten to Gr. 6 elementary school, at capacity will hold 600 students. The building incorporates 7 kindergarten classrooms, 19 regular classrooms, a double gymnasium and wireless network access throughout the school. Vibrant colours enliven the school along with large floor to ceiling windows allowing natural light throughout. Wood framed shadow boxes and benches in meeting areas and the fun pencil people on male and female washrooms all add unique design touches to the structure.
Our school library, named after Daisey Jinkinson, a beloved Stittsville area teacher, is large, airy and open concept in design, home to a modest but growing collection of books. Our Extended Care program, currently with 143 children, provides a seamless day for many families, with children being in care before and after school.
Currently we have 669 students from Junior Kindergarten to Gr. 6. Our population will increase based on present trends. We expect to grow rapidly over the next few years. We offer Full Day Learning and Extended Care and currently have 176 Junior and Senior Kindergarten students. A dual track school, we have students enrolled in Regular English and Early French Immersion programs. Following Gr. 6 our students will attend Goulbourn Middle School. Our students are energetic, physically active, young people from diverse backgrounds who embrace creativity and learning.
Westwind Public School has a dynamic staff that brings a rich variety of talent and expertise to our students. Staff with a range of educational qualifications in Special Education, English as a Second Language, Science, Visual Arts, Literacy, Numeracy and Technology share their energy, passion and expertise within and outside of the classroom. Our staff consists of 41 teachers, 14 Early Childhood Educators, 4 Early Learning Assistants, 3 Educational Assistants, 2.5 Office staff, 0.5 Librarian Technician, 1 Chief Custodian and 2 Evening Custodians, a Vice Principal and Principal. Each person brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that enriches our school.
At Westwind Public School, we realize the importance of maintaining community partnerships and are always looking for ways to involve our community partners to add meaning to our students’ experiences. We thank Stittsville Public School for donating a bench in honour of their former students. We are grateful to CIBC for supporting us in the 67’s Adopt a School Program. Through their generosity, we are able to acknowledge the good work of our students with tickets to 67’s hockey games. CIBC also generously donates to our special events, such as the Official Opening Ceremony. We thank Starbucks as well for adopting us and providing coffee for our special events, and Mike McNeely for his generous donations of refreshments for our Meet the Teacher Night and Official Opening Ceremony. We are indeed fortunate in our community support and we acknowledge this in our monthly newsletters, website and personal thank you letters to our supporters.
Mission Statement
At Westwind, we strive to reach every student within a culture of caring. By creating a strong sense of belonging, a place where difference is valued and honoured, we support each learner to be the best that they can be. We inspire excellence in learning, student leadership and citizenship and challenge our students to be risk takers, think critically and creatively and be the change they want to see, catalysts within our school and community.
Facilities and Resources
Westwind Public School is a beautiful two-story building offering an abundance of natural light, open spaces and vibrant colours. Our technologically enhanced school offers wireless access, student laptops on carts, Elmos and In Focus projectors targeted at bringing the world into our classrooms. Our double gym, with Murphy stage provides ample opportunity for athletic and creative pursuits. The Daisey Jinkinson library, with floor to ceiling windows has a growing collection of books. Teacher resource areas, Literacy, Math, Science and Technology rooms are busy meeting places supporting ongoing collaboration. Our school yard, offers ample opportunity for healthy play and exercise with a basketball court, soccer field, pavement games, 2 play structures and a fenced kindergarten play area.
Programs and Services:
Academic Programs
- Regular English with Core French – (20 minutes for JK/SK, 40 minutes For Gr. 1-6)
- Early French Immersion SK – Gr. 6 English instruction for 60 minutes beginning in Gr. 2
- Full Day Kindergarten Program (Junior and Senior Kindergarten)
Special Education and ESL Programs
Through in class support and targeted interventions programs our team works collaboratively with our teachers to support the varied needs of our students. The in school team includes 1 Learning Support Teacher, 1 Learning Resource teacher, and 3 Educational Assistants. Our Professional Support Staff who come to our school on a weekly/bi weekly basis include our Psychologist, Social Worker, Speech and Language Pathologist, Learning Support Consultant, Occupational Therapist, ESL Itinerant Teacher and Speech Therapist.
Clubs and Activities:
Our students benefit from our extensive extracurricular activities:
- Wide Range of Intramural Athletics
- Competitive School Athletic teams
- Spirit Days
- Choir
- Terry Fox Run
- Drama Club
- Lunch Monitors
- Bus Monitors
- Kindergarten Helpers
- Reading Buddies
- Student Announcements
- Jump Rope for Heart ECO club
- Arts and Crafts Club Dance Clubs
- Play Days