A growing number of students at École Steffie Woima Elementary School has meant a change to the music program.
Principal Hugh Davidson said Tuesday they’ve got 502 students registered which is up about a dozen (from 489) last September in the pre-Kindergarten to Grade 5 school.
“Crowding is an issue in the sense the music room has been converted to a classroom,” he said.
Joan Budd, the school’s music specialist, is travelling from class to class to offer her instruction now.
French immersion continues to grow at a faster pace than other classes, Davidson said. They have two Grade 1 French immersion classes and two Grade 1 English classes. The same is true for Kindergarten classes.
Despite the increase in students, he said they’ve got good class sizes which range from 16 to 30 students per class. “We’re hoping to hear from Central Office how we can support the students’ needs,” he said of the Grade 5 English class which is at 30 students.
The primary focus — one of the main initiatives this year — will be on reading. Another is creating collaborative learning support teams.
Three new staff members joined the school this fall.
Julie Smetaniuk is teaching Kindergarten French immersion. She taught at École La Prairie in Red Deer for four years which included Grade 4 students for one year and Kindergarten for three years.
A resident of Sylvan Lake with her husband and two year old son, she received her Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Alberta’s Campus Saint-Jean.
Nicole Chodak is the new Family School Wellness worker. She’s been a stay-at-home mom for the past six years but previously worked at Child & Family Services Authority in Red Deer and Rocky Mountain House.
She’s volunteered at École Steffie Woima running groups with the previous Family School Wellness worker and is currently treasurer with Scouts Canada 1st Sylvan Lake group.
Chodak has “two beautiful boys, Xanthan, age 6 and Phoenix, age 5, and a wonderful spouse”. They’ve lived in Sylvan Lake for the past two years and in Central Alberta for nine years after moving from Calgary.
She earned a Bachelor of Social Work degree.
Working as one of the administrative support staff is Kelsey Merkley who grew up in Sylvan Lake and attended school here.
She’s married to Matt and had her first baby, Van, in February.