Eleanor Hall School students and staff are aligning themselves with one of four houses as a fun way to promote a sense of community for the coming year.
Inspired by the four houses of Harry Potter fame, there are a few minor differences as instead of establishing ties with Gryffindor or Ravenclaw using a talking hat, a spinning wheel aligned students with one of the four elements of human nature: mind, spirit, emotion and body.
Students and teachers assigned to each house then decided on a mascot, chant and created a logo and bracelets to flesh out their particular house at a school assembly Sept. 7. Students and teachers will stay with their particular house for the remainder of their time at the school.
“We’re trying to create connections between our youngest with our oldest and build relationships between kids in the school,” said principal Nadine Marchand. “This gives the older kids some leadership opportunities and helps staff make connections with kids. One of the most important things you can do as a school is build relationships.”
Kids will earn points for their particular house by showing exemplary citizenship and strong participation in school events like spirit days and ceremonies.
Each house will have its own colour of bead which will keep track of the point system and will be on display in the school’s lobby so each house can keep tabs on both their progress and their competition.
“We’re trying to encourage to show positive traits and virtues.
“They’ll get little monthly prizes, such as the house that got the most points in a particular month could get ice cream sandwiches.”
The school will also be holding house-related activities on Fridays.
Other than the fun stuff, Marchand added the school was following the PHPS direction of focusing on strong academics in literacy, numeracy and mental health.
Marchand said she’s encouraged by the school’s steady enrolment and was eager to get started on the school year.
“It’s my favourite time of the year, seeing all the new haircuts and outfits that have been carefully chosen,” she said. “We also have a few new staff this year, covering for maternity leave and one teacher returning, so that’s really exciting too.”
