Our School
Roberta Bondar Public School is a large elementary school named after the Canadian Astronaut, doctor, researcher and public speaker and is located in the South Keys/Greenboro area of the city. Our community of learners, teachers and parents strive to engage each student in a challenging learning environment that celebrates the perse intellectual, social, emotional, physical, and cultural needs of all children and nourishes the potential of each inpidual in our community.
Every day at Roberta Bondar PS we emphasize the importance of the 3 R’s: Respect, Responsibility and Resourcefulness. Students are encouraged to set high standards for themselves, develop positive work habits and become responsible and respectful members of our global community. Our school motto “Soaring Beyond” encourages everyone in our community of learners to set personal goals and to always strive to be the best that they can be.
Our Students
Roberta Bondar PS has an approximate enrolment of 720 highly motivated and involved students. Each year students join us for grade 7 from two feeder schools: Robert Bateman and Dunlop P.S. We are also happy to welcome students new to our community at various grade levels. Our students represent a global community and bring with them a wide variety of cultures, languages and traditions, lending a rich atmosphere to our facility. Our students celebrate persity and promote acceptance of one another. Through positive discipline and character building, our older students are role models for academic achievement and the development of good character. Our grade 8 students attend Ridgemont, Canterbury, or Hillcrest High Schools.
Our Staff
Our dedicated staff of over 70 professionals work together in a learning community directed at promoting academic excellence for every student. Additional staff expertise in SpecialEducation, English as a Second Language, athletics and music further enrich the learning experience of our students. Our staff continually upgrades skills by attending summer courses, school, district and Ministry initiative workshops and seminars and other professional development opportunities. Our school community also benefits from the services of a LibraryTechnician, Ottawa Police School Resource Officer, Public Health Nurse and Multi-Cultural Officer, Social Worker, Speech Language Pathologist, and Psychologist among other professional services.
Our Community
Situated in Ottawa South, Roberta Bondar PS draws and educates students from the South Keys/Greenboro, Hunt Club Park and Upper Hunt Club communities. Our community reflects arich persity in culture, language and traditions.
Our School Council in partnership with our administration and staff provides a positive and safe educational experience for all of our students. Council meetings are held on the fourth Thursday of each month and a monthly newsletter is distributed to keep parents and the community informed of School Council events and initiatives.
Roberta Bondar’s volunteers play a major role at the school. They work closely with staff in activities such as “Kiss and Ride”, “Meet the Teacher Night” classroom help, sporting events,field trips and fund-raising. Our volunteers are comprised of parents/guardians, grandparents,former Roberta Bondar PS students and students within the school. We are also thrilled with the partnership we have created with the Ottawa Reads organization and each week wewelcome employees from the Ottawa Police Service who volunteer their time to read with students from our primary pision. The school and the grounds are frequently used by the community outside of school hours and there is a child care centre at our school for students from Kindergarten to age twelve.
Mission Statement
We commit to building a safe and respectful learning environment that encourages confident,responsible, independent, life-long learners striving for excellence.
Nous nous engageons à créer un milieu d'apprentissage, où règne le respect et la sécurité, quiencouragera l'épanouissement à long terme d'un étudiant confiant, responsable et autonome.
Facilities and Resources
Roberta Bondar is a fully equipped school with extensive facilities including:
- Two gyms, (with change rooms facilities), two soccer and touch-football fields, a library, two science labs, a student success room, a literacy resource centre, a guidance/ISST office, a math manipulatives room and amenities such as air conditioning. The school also houses a conference room and 1 sensory or body break room to support the sensory needs and learning of our students.
- There is computer technology in every classroom and several classrooms have Smart Boards.
- Roberta Bondar has an established Extended Day Program which provides parents of students in the Kindergarten program to age twelve with access to before and after school programs. The programs are led by registered early childhood educators with a focus on recreational and social activities and an opportunity to work on homework.
- The school is in walking distance to the Greenboro Community Centre and Library where many after-school and weekend activities are held.
- The school is situated adjacent to a well-developed park area.
Programs and Services
Academic Programs
Roberta Bondar is a dual track school offering:
- Bilingual, 2-year, full-day kindergarten program
- Regular English program 1 – 8
- Early French Immersion 1 – 8
- Instrumental music Grades 7 – 8
- Visual Arts, Dance and Drama
Classroom Organization
This year Roberta Bondar Public School has 14 Regular English classes and 14 Early French Immersion classes. We also have a junior/intermediate program for students with developmental disabilities.
Special Education and ESL Programs
Our school focuses on the inpidual needs of each student and provides specialized programs for those with exceptional needs:
- ESL programs for students in grades 1 – 8
- One Developmental Disability program
- An inclusive model for Primary/Junior/Intermediate Special Education Learning program
- A Learning Support program with an extensive referral system
Clubs and Activities
- Junior & Intermediate Choirs
- Mosquitoes Suck Club
- Cooking Club
- Student Council
- Environmental Club
- Jump Rope/Hoops for Heart
- Ski Club
- Athletic Sport Teams & Intramurals
- Student Council
- Music Bands
- Library Club
- Lunch Monitor program
- Terry Fox Run
- Homework Program
- School Breakfast Program
Safe Schools Initiatives
We are proud of the students, teachers and parents at Roberta Bondar Public School. Through partnerships between home and school, teacher and student, students will acquire the skills and attitudes that will help them to meet with success in a safe school setting. In keeping with the OCDSB policies and procedures surrounding Safe and Inclusive Schools, our expectations for student behaviour will contribute to their success through the development of positive attitudes towards learning and interaction with others. Roberta Bondar PS staff and students and families are working together to create an environment that assists students who have had to deal with bullying by fully embracing and using the strategies in the WITS and LEADS program. A progressive discipline approach to classroom management is applied and reinforced with the Above the Line poster system by all staff and parents are always viewed as partners in the implementation of our behavioural expectations.