Star Academy

Most of us accept the idea that between birth and three years old is a crucial time for the development of our children. It’s when personality and character are formed. It’s when we as parents work so hard to search and research everything from the right shoes to the right car seat; from the right diet to the right games and toys, the right friends to the right preschool – we’re involved all the way. 

Then, BAM! They go into school, where conformity is expected and mediocrity is too often the measure of a model student. Is that enough? Really, after all that effort?

Literacy development starts early in life and is highly correlated with school achievement. While this may strike most of us as common sense, it is amazing how many of our schools have failed to adequately develop literacy skills in our young students.

A core goal of Star Academy is to develop these literacy skills and thereby prepare our students for their continuing academic journey. Recognition (and incorporation into our programme) of a number of components are crucial to meeting this goal:

• All aspects of a child's development —physical, social-emotional, cognitive, language and literacy—are interrelated and interdependent. 
• Key early literacy predictors of reading and school success include oral language, alphabetic code, and print knowledge.
• Well-conceived standards for child outcomes, curriculum content, and teacher preparation help to establish both clarity of purpose and a shared vision for early literacy education.
• Highly capable teachers are required to implement today's more challenging early literacy curriculum. For example, our Primary specialist has more than a decade of experience in this area.
• Teacher knowledge, respect and support for the diversity of children's families, cultures, and linguistic backgrounds are important in early literacy development.
• The more limited a child's experiences with language and literacy, the more likely he or she will have difficulty learning to read. 

Our Kindergarten students find continuity and fluidity within a smaller setting that cares, while simultaneously fostering excellence in academics, from child to child and grade to grade. Consider Star as a one-stop-shop for your child’s education needs. We also offer before and after-school care, homework club / tutoring, an excellent sports program, community atmosphere and an active and supportive parent group. With our commitment come results and tangible benefits for your child.

As early learning experiences are linked with later school achievement, emotional health and social well-being, investing in your child’s future today can bring great dividends for years to come.

Choose your child’s school with the same care shown to everything else. It could change their life.  

Star Academy, where all kids Learn to Love to Learn™

 

 Of the many hot topics in education, second language learning is often overlooked. Even when it is discussed, it’s generally simplified to a debate between full immersion and the government required (minimum) core programs. But like everything else, the choice for how your child learns a second language (and why) is much more nuanced than this dichotomy. That’s why at Star Academy, we take a unique approach. 

     Learning a second language starts early on at Star Academy. While our Grade One students study French twice per week, with an emphasis on exposure and oral language acquisition, both the frequency and type of programming change across the grades – Our curriculum reflects a richer understanding of children’s cognitive and language development. By Grade Eight, Star Academy students have had several years of daily French programming and possess competitive language skills, ready to enter the academic French stream in high school.

     Several benefits of learning a second language are widely acknowledged, including increased future job opportunities and reinforcing a child’s understanding of their first language. However, it is the numerous positive effects on brain growth and cognitive development that make the quality of second language learning programs an essential part of a child’s education: 

● Increased Processing Abilities: Learning a second language builds nervous system connections and skills that result in more effective processing of your surroundings. This includes increased attention and auditory processing. 

● More Efficient Multitasking: When a child’s brain is trained to process 2 different languages, this skill is translated to an ability to switch between tasks more efficiently.

● Creative Thinking Skills: Foreign language learning is in many ways a matter of problem solving, and by learning how to learn a second language you are increasing your creative problem solving skills. Research has shown that “second language instruction provides young children with better cognitive flexibility and creative thinking skills”.

● Brain Growth: Literally. Many studies strongly link learning a second language to brain growth, and several corresponding long-term positive effects.  

     Once viewed in this light, it is clear that starting this skill development early on can only add to the benefits. Yet there are further advantages to early language programming. The fact that younger children pick up a second language more easily is commonly discussed. At Star Academy we capitalize on the educational theories behind this, and use young children’s love of repetition and mimicry to create a developmentally appropriate and fun approach to learning French. Long continuous exposure to second language learning has been cited as key, and our early-start program creates a strong foundation for later studies. 

     Star Academy students begin their journey with French in Grade One to benefit from increased in attention, processing abilities, cognitive flexibility and creative thinking skills across all subject areas. We start young, because a French program is really about much more than just learning a second language.

Everyone needs moments when they step back and marvel at how far they've come and the deeds that they have accomplished. Events that bring the whole school together aim to create the shared euphoria of being successful together and creating shared memories out of shared positive experiences. Experiences outside of the classroom are important to more than just enhancing the academic curriculum; they build stronger social skills and emotional confidence in one's ability to try new things. For many days, and even weeks following such an event, students will talk and laugh together about things that happened, and that kind of camaraderie is difficult to create in a typical day-to-day classroom experience. Star Academy’s whole school excursion on February 9th was a powerful reminder of the vibrant spirit that Star Academy brings out in our community. The entire school body embarked on a full day adventure to downtown Toronto's beautiful waterfront where we attended the Make & Skate programme at Harbourfront Center. The day included a half day of skating on their outdoor rink overlooking Lake Ontario, and a half day Art workshop, taught by Harbourfront's skilled artists. Students were given an opportunity to explore new artistic mediums, including clay modeling and Lino printing; many students then gave Skating a try for the first time! Everyone was engaged in the activities and felt safe to try new experiences and experiment with new skills. Those who were more comfortable with art or skating eagerly helped their classmates creating wonderful leadership opportunities. Students and staff alike returned from the day with only positive memories; the day reflected a perfect blend of artistic and athletic experiential learning. With our energetic staff showing their stripes outside of the classroom, Star Academy students soared to new heights, learning new skills and creating new bonds with their teachers and classmates. At Star Academy, our school year is punctuated frequently with such events to continue to give our students new experiences that they can use to grow as young adults, made all the more powerful when they are able to share their accomplishments with their peers. Upcoming monthly events that endeavour to continue our spirit of community building at Star Academy include: Aboriginal Studies Month and Showcase (March 29); Earth Hour (March 30); Earth Day (Apr 22); Science Fair (May 17); and Fun Fair (June 8).

Academic education has seen fads and frenzies force administrators to teach a certain way or to change programming to suit political / cultural needs. What they haven'™t done is project what skills we need to be looking at for our students' futures. Many schools talk about 21st century learning, but how can they do this when they are stuck using 19th century methodology? Common sense tells us that with the advent of new technologies and 'œinstant knowledge', we need to be rethinking some of the skill sets that we teach our youth. This does not mean throwing everything 'œold' away, but rather the amalgamation of existing (successful) methods and new skills. So how does Star manage? An example, to illustrate: consider the whole Language versus Phonics debate that has raged on and off for decades. Why do we need to choose one over the other? We must understand that there is merit to numerous teaching methodologies and adjust our teaching accordingly, paying attention to each individual child. This is the basis for all teaching at Star;“ we do not follow fads or dogma. We research, develop, design, implement, test, and adjust all programming across all strands of learning, as needed. Ten years ago, we noticed that many new students at Star were arriving with decent grades, yet fundamental skill sets were weak across different areas of the curriculum. Many had not been taught the underlying concepts of the skills needed (e.g. fundamentally understanding multiplication). Star recognizes the importance of these foundational skills and develops programmes by scaffolding, facilitating progression across developmental age and grade. Our objective, in all realms, is to learn from our research and assimilate the best into new and existing methodologies, in order to ensure that all of our students'™ future needs will be met, through high school and beyond.

Thank you for the extra time you committed to our interview today. It's such a comforting feeling knowing that Thomas is in the right hands, hands that help mould him into all he can be. We are blessed that he found his way to Star Academy where my life has also been changed. The pressure, frustration, mistrust, sadness and hopelessness I felt the previous years in the public school system were unbearable at times. Knowing your son has more potential for learning and is an amazing, kind, friendly, funny ,loving, creative, unique individual that few teachers could recognize would break any Mom's heart. Every chance I get I tell my story of how you can make your own fork in the road with the right tools like Star Academy and it's "Life Changers". The best way I can Thank You is by telling you I trust you with my precious (and very annoying at times) son and that I believe his future matters to you. Thank you

A summer camp and so much more. Research has consistently shown that core academic skills are maintained and strengthened through interactive activity. We have developed a fantastic, themed, four week programme designed to enlighten, enthuse and invigorate throughout the month of July. Dance to the Music (July 2-6) We are going to kick off the summer with some awesome music and incredible movements. Students will be hopping and bopping as they learn everything from STOMP to Hip Hop – no experience required! World's Wackiest Creations (July 9-13) From robots that draw, to goo that dances, students will look at science's wackiest inventions and create a few of their own! my* Theme Park (July 16-20) Students will not only learn the evolution of theme parks and all the world records attached to them, but will also design and buld their own miniature version – and maybe create a few world records themselves! Let the Games Begin (July 23-27) The Summer Olympics begin July 27th in London, England; we will do our own interpretation of nations, physical feats and celebratory events on a global scale! $285 per week full day programme; Pre-K through Grade 8; 8am-5pm daily For more info, see our website or call 905-891-1555.

Recently, we attended the Learning and the Brain conference in Boston. I can now state, with a good degree of assurance, that learning actually does increase brain volume (or at least basal ganglia volume!). I know mine feels full! This event was a symposium led by today's most knowledgeable neuroscientists and educators.

So, what were the outcomes for Star Academy? Well, research on brain functioning clearly supports the recent implementation of our daily physical education programme. In fact, there are some studies that have shown that between 45-60 minutes a day of fitness will do more for a child's academics than the same amount of extra time in academic classes! Why is this important for us?

The answer is twofold. First, as our society becomes increasingly sedentary, setting up our youth to understand and believe in the importance of lifelong activity and fitness (and its ability to prevent conditions such as obesity) will not only help them as individuals, but will also benefit our health care system as they grow older. Secondly, and of immediate interest, brain imaging studies clearly demonstrate the dramatic effect that increased fitness has on learning, attention and memory. Evidently, Star Academy is on the right track! Interestingly, the speakers were criticizing recent trends towards increased demands on curriculum. The process of learning, as well as ensuring that children are engaged, have been cited as being two of the most important factors affecting learning, rather than, say, the actual subject of study.

Star Academy's philosophy speaks directly to this.

During our Bees Buzz-Buzz unit, we studied many different things about bees. They are very fascinating little creatures and it is difficult to imagine that these little bugs account for over half of the world's food that the humans consume! It was a little frightening to learn about the Colony Collapse Disorder, also called for CCD. We know very little about the reasons behind this but one thing is for sure that it needs to be stopped as soon as possible! The equation is simple: no bees, no fruits, no veggies, no flowers...this will lead to some herbivores disappearing from the Earth and it is like a chain reaction....some carnivores will also not be seen on Earth anymore! Have you met a person who is scared of bees? I am pretty sure you have! It is partly because of the way bees are shown in movies, specially killer bees. But in real life, when a honeybee stings, it dies, because the stinger is a part of their bodies! Question: Why do bees make their hives out of hexagonal honey combs? Answer: Because they do not know any other shape! The hexagon is a special shape for the bees and in a class activity we learned that it is the perfect shape to make hives because it tessellates well, is strong and leaves no excess space. And of course bee hives look beautiful because of this shape! Honey bees make honey which is actually the only food made by insects and consumed by humans! But they also make certain other things like bee pollen, bee jelly etc which are very nutritive! We also got to taste some different kinds of honey in our Bee Open Hive (House). Different kinds of honey have varying colors, depending on the kind of flowers that the bees collected the nectar from. For our Bees Unit, we also built a skep, which is over two meters tall and about 1.8 meters in width. It is a bee hive which the school students built using chicken wire, and lots of tissue for papier-mâché`. It is proudly sitting in our school's foyer! For these four weeks, the whole school was 'abuzzzz' with bee-information! We watched videos and movies , read about bees on-line and did many other activities that helped us know more about bees and understand these fabulous, hardworking creatures a little better!

It is said that you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. I believe the same holds true for people and knowledge. I am thrilled to be a teacher at Star Academy, where developing a thirst for learning in students is so richly encouraged. My own learning journey has been a galloping adventure. I have written for children's television, edited books for young people, and taught in settings ranging from inner-city libraries in Toronto to rural schools in the misty mountains of Japan. Along the way, I have met extraordinary people who have invariably been creative risk-takers, innovative problem-solvers, and voraciously curious. It is a dream come true to join a learning community where we are fostering exactly that kind of thirsty learner. Every day is a new opportunity for us all to giddyup!

Since the beginning of Star Academy, everything that has been designed and implemented has been based on research rather than trends or fads -the eleven month school year with staggered breaks, all day kindergarten, focus of language development and life-long fitness are just a few examples of what makes Star Academy different from everyone else. We firmly believe that we offer the best education to our student body at a 10:1 ratio. And this will never change. Research consistently supports our view that student-specific skill training delivered in a low class ratio will see higher student achievement. It also shows that if students aptitude in certain areas of study receive a lower ratio and challenging work that they are motivated and excited to learn. Understanding this, we developed a unique series of structured OPUS programmes. The OPUS programmes are optional and tailored to meet the needs of the student with the skill development area of choice. All core academic areas are offered in OPUS at a 5:1 ratio, including phys ed.

We live in a changing world, where it is becoming ever-important to take steps towards conserving the Earth's resources for generations to come. At Star Academy, environmental awareness has always been a priority for both staff and students alike. Through participation in global events such as Earth Hour and Earth Day, we raise the awareness of students and create lasting habits of eco-friendliness. Students from Star Academy were privileged to be included in David Suzuki's Birthday Webinar, where they were able to listen to Dr. Suzuki speak about environment issues and respond directly to the students' inquiries. While three 'R's have clearly become part of our collective vocabulary, the one that is most effectively managed in schools is Recycling. But establishing guidelines for recycling, compost and garbage is only the first step to ensuring that everything is properly disposed of. Recycling and composting has to be a matter of habit for the students and staff. Turning good recycling theory into practice takes time and a lot of effort, but can be fun. Engaging students in games and challenges to see who can produce the least amount of actual garbage is a good way to build awareness around the school and teach students to 'Reduce' packaging and to 'Reuse' containers. Our school year began with a 'Litterless Lunch' challenge between classes. This spring, a team of students at Star Academy have even created a Science Fair project to find fun solutions to common dilemmas arising from sorting the waste produced around the school. Technology is a given part of our students' worlds since they were born. In itself, technology can be a solution to problems of waste in schools, as digitizing records, documents and communication saves paper. However, as technology constantly develops and changes, we are then left with another problem, that of electronic waste. Toxic components make electronics environmental hazards if thrown away, and proper recycling facilities are inconvenient and sometimes costly. Staff and students at Star Academy believe that recycling options for electronic devices and batteries need to be more convenient. By creating a drop-off location for these items in the school, students are made aware of the need to recycle these devices, and families can conveniently dispose of them as needed. We have partnered with a recycling facility that picks up the various electronic items and recycles 100% of the devices into new products. Students are gaining increasingly more awareness of the 'Reduce' and 'Reuse' aspects of environmental change. Consumerism and over-consumption are high in this era of easily replaceable electronics and dollar store purchases. Recycling is far better than creating garbage, but it still consumes energy and produces waste. Reducing the amount of "stuff" that we purchase, along with using reusing as much as we can, minimizes what we need to dispose of, whether recycled or "trashed". In reality, reducing our usage and reusing items is a 'greener' way to effect change and to conserve our resources and should be the focus of continued efforts towards environmental awareness in schools. Students learn best when behaviours are modelled. Here are some simple solutions that Star Academy has found that have helped the students in the school to Reduce, Reuse & Recycle: REDUCE ·combine 2 pages onto each side of a sheet when photocopying or printing (which may seem small at first, but young eyes adapt to this quickly); ·reduce textbooks by purchasing online licences or using websites for research; ·use mini-whiteboards instead of paper for various activities; ·establish a Garbage-Free lunch policy to reduce waste; ·use reusable food baggies, like 'Snack Taxis', instead of plastic zipper baggies. REUSE ·collect used paper (one-sided) in the classroom for later usage; ·ask parents to donate old letterhead to use for photocopying; ·photocopy on reused paper (single-sided); ·encourage students to use reusable containers for snacks; ·use travel mugs for hot drinks and reusable bottles for water and juice; ·collect items that can be reused for art activities around the school (i.e. Toilet paper rolls, margarine containers, glass jars, etc.) RECYCLE ·turn recycling into a fun activity for staff and students -- create challenges for classes to properly sort their recycling and compost; ·educate students on the local guidelines for recycling to ensure that only recyclable materials are placed into recycle bins, which reduces energy spent sorting material at a later time; ·designate an area of the school for collecting electronic waste and batteries from families and partner with a recycling company who will pick it up on a regular basis. Written by: Kelly Farrell & Sonia Satov - educators at Star Academy

Being a parent is all about unconditional love. I know this because I read it in Chatelaine magazine when I was 14. I then proceeded to bring it and show it to my mom. "See, parenting is all about unconditional love." I was a little worried because my mom was no pushover. And she looked at me she was also pretty swift and she thought for a moment and then she said, that may be but that doesn't mean you're going to like it. So when I think about our experience, my experience, Claire's, the people around me a Star Academy, I actually think about that concept of unconditional love and what it means to parent and what it has meant in school. And I think of unconditional love as really encompassing three ideas. One is that you always believe that your children can be more than they are today; the second is that you are always ready to be surprised and the third is that you know when to let go and get out of the way. These three things I know from my own experience having to learn the hard way and seeing every day in Star Academy. If we talk about believing that your children can be more than they are that should be the easy one but it is very different to want them to be more than they are then to believe they can be more than they are. And those of you who like us went through and experienced another school system first where a lot of lip service is paid to the idea that each child should reach their potential. But, you know, we push them along to the next grade and put them in a program. Then you come to Star you realize what it means to have people believe that your child can do more. And then you see it happen. And that takes you to that second stage which is always be ready to be surprised. And one of the things again I see at Star Academy it isn't so much that they know the answers or they know the right teaching method but that they know that there is no one right teaching method and that you have to be ready to take the next step or left turn or the try it this way and we'll see how it works. And I know that being ready to be surprised everyday Claire surprises me, everyday that she takes on something challenging, moves to some new level or new place you see that surprise and you have to let go. Which takes you to the third piece of it. As a parent people will tell you that you have to learn to let go of your dreams. I have come to realize that this is true, for only when you let go of your dreams for your child is their room for theirs. When you can forgo your dreams and expectations you make room for them to fill it with their dreams and their expectations and their plans for the future and that's what Star has given to us and that's what we in turn have to give to our children as they move on to the next really, really scary step and I did promise Belinda that I wouldn't bug her about starting a high school anymore because at some point we actually have to move on too and its part of our next step and our next letting go. And if that's what unconditional love is, boy it's hard but I am absolutely sure of it.