TFS - Canada's International School

It was the Mississauga campus that first proposed TFS move to the full MYP and PYP programs. Since then, the teachers have been integrating authentic tasks and inquiry into the curriculum. Philippe Sogon, Grade 6 and 7 social studies and French teacher, adapted the French ministry's geography unit to the MYP philosophy using geocaching. The students are introduced to mapping skills and orientation by reading maps and using a data-only GPS unit. Their culminating task is a hide-and-seek hunt in Searson Park, near the school. With geocaches hidden in the landscape, the students use a map, the GPS and their newly learned skills to find each cache, which contains a hint; once all the caches are discovered, a sentence is revealed. Students lead and serve The popular GPS activity was also adapted for younger grades. M. Sogon shares, "The Grade 3's also learn about the tools of geography, and so this year the Grade 7's partnered with them for a trial game in the schoolyard to introduce them to the concepts." The activity became a leadership opportunity for the Grade 7's, and the Grade 3's were introduced to higher level concepts. In Grade 6 and 7, students are introduced to leading through serving, which is unique to Mississauga. Each, year, they are required to complete 15 hours of community service in the school. M. Sogon says, "By helping, they're learning to give back to the school. They've received a lot, so this is a way for them to give back." The students have helped with concert setup, lighting, activity setup in classes and even started a ping-pong tournament. Ulrik Bedos, Grade 7 homeroom teacher, wanted the oldest students to feel special during their last year. They created a new salon in their classroom this year, complete with sofa and lunch tables, that they designed and budgeted for with the help of the Parents' Association. The salon makes the classroom inviting, learner-centered and comfortable. Technology makes student projects shine Technology-in-the-classroom is another area where the Mississauga campus is forging ahead. Shane Young has introduced robotics from Grade 1 to Grade 7. The younger grades are introduced to Bee-Bots, which are easily programmable. As they develop their skills, the students can start using Pro-Bots, which need more manual input, and by Grade 5 and 6, the students are ready for fully-programmable robots. It's a popular after-school activity and Mr. Young hopes to see students compete in the Lego League challenge next year. The Grade 5 unit "How we express ourselves" saw students learning about computer animation, including Claymation and "objet inert." Mr. Young shares, "we presented an 'I Cannes' film festival with a red carpet, invited all the parents and the students debuted their films to the audience." The parents received a complimentary DVD as a souvenir of their rising stars. Getting outside to learn Outdoor education has been a hallmark of the TFS experience, with students travelling and learning near and far. Mississauga teachers were the first to introduce an overnight stay for young students, with the Grade 1's heading to Camp Tapawingo, near Parry Sound, as far back as 1975. When Régis Boucher started to teach in Mississauga in 1990, he made sure that his students had an outdoor ed experience. His Grade 5 class travelled to the Huntsville region for a week in 1991, with outdoor activities, sailing and cooperative games. His Grade 2 outdoor experience integrated native Canadian storytelling around a campfire, where students could get the real feel for what they had been learning in the classroom. "At first these trips were teacherled initiatives, but with parents' support, it's become a part of what we offer now." Initiated by teacher Brigitte Matthey, Mississauga started the long-running student participation in the Terry Fox Run, with the Toronto campus soon following. Starting in 1992, a number of teachers and families ran at West Deane Park on the official Terry Fox Run Sunday. Since 1995, the campus has been participating in the neighbourhood park as a school most years, with Mississauga raising a total of $47,102 to date, sharing in the dream of a world without cancer. Mississauga also enjoyed silver EcoSchool status along with the Toronto campus, in the two school years from 2009 to 2011. M. Boucher says that conservation started many years before that. He notes, "We tried to make sure that we had better habits in the classroom for conserving energy, reducing waste, and having student-led groups conducting energy audits. Now that we have established these good habits, our conservation efforts are integrated in our daily routines." A hotbed of innovation, the Mississauga campus has initiated programs and philosophies that help make the school truly special. It's a small but mighty campus, and its teachers and students have many exciting ideas that the whole TFS community can take pride in. Students participate in the long-running Terry Fox Run. The Grade 7 classroom and salon. Grade 6 class hunts for hidden caches. entre nous 21

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