About Us
Nestled in the heart of Gander, Newfoundland, Gander Academy is located at 55 Fraser Road. There is currently an enrollment of 518 students between Kindergarten and Grade 3. Students at Gander Academy are provided with an opportunity to study in the English or French Immersion Stream.
The staff of Gander Academy consists of classroom teachers, instructional resource teachers (who support students with learning disabilities in the classroom), specialist teachers in the areas of guidance & counselling, music, physical education, and learning resources/librarian, as well as administration (principal and vice-principal). The school has several student assistants, who also support students in class. In addition to staff based at the school, students can access District itinerant teachers in the areas of speech-language pathology, hearing impairment, visual impairment, behavioural support, and educational psychology. Secretarial, maintenance, and custodial support services are provided.
Gander Academy offers a broad and balanced curriculum to all its students. When registering for school at the Kindergarten level, students are offered the choice of English or French Immersion.
Irrespective of the option they choose, all students study the prescribed provincial curriculum. The majority of the instructional day is spent studying language arts, mathematics, social studies and science. However, all students are exposed to a very strong music, art, physical education and French program.
KINDERGARTEN
The Kindergarten Program at Gander Academy, as described in the provincial document Early Beginnings: A Kindergarten Curriculum Guide, is designed to support the intellectual, physical, social, emotional, spiritual, and moral development of the four- and five-year-old child.
Inherent in the Kindergarten Program is the recognition that children are individuals, every child is unique and the diverse needs and developmental levels of children can be accommodated through developmentally appropriate practices. The Kindergarten Program provides for integrated and discrete learning in: language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, health, physical education, religious education, and core French.
PRIMARY
The curriculum in Grades 1, 2, and 3, as prescribed by the provincial government is designed to develop fundamental knowledge, skills, and values. The curriculum is a differentiated one with prescribed content and core objectives in: English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, core French, music, art, physical education, health and religious education.
The focus at Gander Academy as in all primary level schools in Newfoundland and Labrador is on the growth and development of the learner (intellectually, socially, emotionally, spiritually, and physically). The overall method of instruction is activity-inquiry, a hands-on, minds-on approach to learning that helps children meet each learning situation in such a way that it will have meaning for them. Making connections and developing abilities across subject areas is one way of enhancing children's understanding of concepts, values, and skills. However, there is an expectation that student achievement at the primary level will result from a combination of discrete and connected teaching/ learning experiences.
The primary school is a learning environment sensitive to each child's needs and developmental level. It recognizes that each child is a worthwhile individual with potential for growth and development. In the primary school, parents and educators are partners in the child's education.