About Us
Philosophy
Our philosophy on education is; make it fun, motivational, inspiring and most of all memorable. Look at, listen to, and learn from your students. They are a key to their own education. Use their interests to create their learning environment. Be a positive role model; children emulate what they see. Finally, treat everyone with respect. Life is a great journey, and on any great journey you should start off well equipped. Education, whether acquired in the classroom or out in the world, is one of life's greatest tools, and once acquired, can never be taken away.
Mission
"... all children deserve to believe in themselves"
Great Journeys Learning Center was founded on the premise that children's love of learning occurs during fun, thought-provoking activities that tap into their natural curiosity. Field-trips, music, drama, dance, yoga, mindfulness, French, along with a myriad of activities are incorporated into the children's days. We believe it is our responsibility to make learning fun and to give children as many varied opportunities as possible.
Great Journeys offers a secure, nurturing environment to enable each child to develop to their fullest potential.
Beliefs and Core Values
Great Journeys Learning Center is founded on three core beliefs:
1. The importance of the individual student
2. The maximization of each child's potential in a fun and thoughtful way.
3. The necessity for active participation and cooperation of all members of the school and home communities.
The following belief and core value statements also serve to guide decision and policy-making within Great Journeys Learning Center:
We believe that all persons deserve to be treated with love, respect and dignity.
We believe that children learn best through their own exploration and interests, thus it is up to us to provide those opportunities.
We believe that each person has unique gifts and talents, which in collaboration with others, advances the learning of each student. As a school we have the responsibility to help develop those gifts.
We are not just a service provider; we are a community that includes families, students, teachers and staff.
We value parents as partners in the education of their children.
We believe that parents are given the responsibility for the education of their children and the school works closely with the family to achieve this goal.
We recognize that the parental involvement in the school creates a positive environment that benefits all parties involved.
The school works closely with parents in helping the students to learn and solve their school related problems. This includes providing competent teachers, a full and balanced curriculum, regular reporting, supervision of the students and the program, and cooperation with the home.
We believe that excellent achievement takes place in a context of excellent teaching.
About Our Program
Great Journeys Learning Center offers full-day Preschool, Junior Kindergarten, and Alberta accredited Kindergarten program.
The Preschool program is for children who are three years old, the Junior Kindergarten program is for children who are four years old, and the Kindergarten program is for children who will be at least five by December 31st of that school year. For the parents' convenience, and continuity for the children, we also provide before and after care, from 6:00 am - 9:00 am and 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm. This allows working parents to have peace of mind knowing that their child is in a safe, nurturing environment, with familiar teachers and friends, throughout the day.
We provide a secure, nurturing environment with a varied selection of materials that both stimulate and facilitate play. By staff employing active listening skills and taking a genuine interest in answering student questions, we promote the enthusiasm and interest of the children.
In order to accommodate the diverse needs of our students, we incorporate a variety of teaching strategies and materials. We believe strongly in the implementation of centers as a tool for fostering independence, self-confidence, responsibility, cooperation and constructive work habits in children.
The development of a child’s self-esteem is a core component of our school’s philosophy, and is therefore a pivotal point in the planning and execution of the daily activities taking place at GJLC. To promote a sense of belonging and to create a climate of social and economic equality, we ask that all children attending Great Journeys Learning Center wear our school uniform.