At BISSE we believe in empowering our students. We believe that each student has an individual learning journey. Each child is capable of learning, and BISSE aims to unlock that learning journey and the potential in each child. With the right team of professionals, a passion for learning can be lit, a child’s independence can be developed, and their creativity inspired. When students feel safe, comfortable and accepted, they are ready to learn. When they are surrounded by confidence, belief and security, their self-esteem blooms, their skills develop and their independence grows. Our teachers, therapists and leaders believe in the abilities of our students. They push for opportunities for our students to shine, for teaching moments, and for activities which tap into our students’ creativity.
While we follow the US Common Core curriculum, we adapt and modify each student’s learning journey according to their Individual Education Plan. We meet the child where their abilities lie and plot achievable goals. Those goals are set by a team. The team involves the parent, the teachers, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, behavior therapists, school counsellors and the principal. Specialist subject teachers extend the students’ learning, through hands-on practical experiences. While math and literacy are essential, executive functions, life skills and study skills are explicitly taught. How to manage time, balance a budget, and prepare a healthy meal or dress for an interview are as essential as understanding a fraction or writing a persuasive letter. Science might be taught in the lab, outside in the garden, or infused with an art lesson. Subjects are integrated, and topics are reinforced. Concepts are taught through hands-on, experiential learning, in a multi-sensorial way. Our students learn when they move and when their senses are ignited. Our teachers are passionate about what they do and how they do it, they are active learners and involved in their own life-long learning to discover ways to teach, inspire, document and communicate.
Our relationships with our community, with parents, the Ministry of Education, and the greater special needs community is important to our development and growth as a school. As we build on what we do, we know that we are creating a valuable and necessary pathway for an important part of our community. A community that deserves the right kind of attention, development and celebration.
Regards,
Jeanette Buckley Principal
