Maple Leaf International School

Elementary School Programme • Grades 1 - 8

The Elementary program builds on the foundation set up by the Kindergarten program and is cumulative from Grades 1 - 8 in all subject areas.  From Grades 1 - 6 the maximum number of students per class is 20 and in Grades 7 & 8 the maximum is 22.

Up to Grade 6 the home-room teacher is responsible for teaching most subjects except for Music, Art and Spanish which are taught by specialist teachers.  In grades 7 and 8, each teacher brings expertise in one or more subject areas.  In Grade 7, students have a limited amount of movement between classes as their home-room teacher is responsible for Language Arts, Drama, Health, and one other subject area.  In Grade 8 the students are on full rotary and may only see their home-room teacher for one or two subjects.

Independent, thinking and questioning ...

During the elementary years a great emphasis is placed on the development of life skills, referred to as Learning Skills in the Ontario curriculum.  Students are coached and encouraged to become independent, self-directed learners.  Through the development of higher order thinking skills, students are encouraged to think outside the box and to ask questions of themselves, their peers and their teachers that would enhance their learning and development.