Since 1992, Turnbull School’s small classes and exceptional teachers have provided a well-rounded and enriching academic program, where the emphasis is placed on excellence and caring. Turnbull is a private school in Ottawa, Ontario for Kindergarten to Grade 8. It was founded on the values that children deserve a learning environment where:
- They feel safe and nurtured within a culture of decency and kindness.
- They have extremely qualified, enthusiastic teachers who are thoroughly engaged in each child’s academic and social development.
- The children are happy to come to school every day, excited by their new learning activities.
- Each child’s unique talents, interests, and learning styles are appreciated and fostered.
- They are helped to do their personal best.
- They have unique, enriching opportunities in academics, arts, sports, and community engagement.
- Their classmates are motivated and engaged in learning.
- They are extremely well prepared for success at high school and beyond.
We also believe that our parents deserve:
- Staff who are accessible and accountable.
- To receive meaningful, accurate, and regular feedback on their child’s progress
- timely information about the class and school activities
- A school community where they are welcome and known.
Our motto, A Place to Grow, was created by one of our first students and continues to this day to represent not only the students’ academic and social growth but also the teachers’ commitment to ongoing professional development. Centrally located on 5.5 acres in the quiet Central Experimental Farm area which is a National Historic site, our families have easy access from all regions of Ottawa and the surrounding areas. Fisher Avenue provides convenient access, either by way of Baseline Road or the Queensway / Carling Avenue corridor. With the Experimental Farm across the road and behind our property, the students are surrounded by a green and peaceful environment. Architect Barry Hobin designed our inviting and cheerful facility. It was built in 1996 with an additional wing built-in in 2003.
The play area at the back is completely fenced in, providing a safe area for the children. Two play structures, a soccer field, and an area for junior and senior kindergarten with their play equipment and sandbox all add to the students’ leisure time enjoyment. In addition, a large city park behind the school is used for ice skating, nordic skiing, and as an additional sports field during tournaments.
The security system offers controlled access and gives our parents much peace of mind that their children are safe. The central air conditioning certainly adds an element of comfort when summer approaches. Our learning environment is engaging, modern and a place students enjoy coming to every day.
Turnbull School follows the Ontario Ministry of Education’s Curriculum, but this is just the starting point. Given our small classes, along with the focused and motivated attitude of our students, Turnbull students can complete the required curriculum thoroughly. Our teachers then create engaging and challenging opportunities for all children that broaden and deepen their learning.
Our carefully designed learning experiences promote individual potential. If students can show mastery of the topic of instruction, they then expand their knowledge through an enrichment or extension activity. If they need further assistance to grasp concepts, then the assistance is easily provided, leaving every student progressing confidently. Turnbull School offers comprehensive and enriching programs at all grade levels, creating authentic and stimulating learning experiences for every student. Our classroom expectations focus on positive relationships and each child giving his or her personal best.
Our cross-curricular approach to learning benefits all students. The activities are designed so students can apply their knowledge and skills across various subjects, deepening their comprehension and application of their learning. A history assignment, for example, may be integrated with English class to fine-tune the skills of essay writing, while in computer studies class digital presentation skills, graphics, or animation will show different ways of communicating their knowledge. A topic covered in science class, such as alternative, renewable energy sources, will extend to debating at Grade 8 where students combine and apply their scientific knowledge with oral presentation skills taught in English class, and their skills of expressing fact-based opinions learned in Self and Society class.
By taking this type of inter-disciplinary approach, teachers at Turnbull School help students to develop their abilities in abstract and conceptual reasoning. It is the development of these higher-level thinking skills that are most important as children progress into high school and beyond, and they have always served our graduates so well.
Teaching Study Skills as a core subject in the Junior and Senior grades is just one way we facilitate this. All of our students are challenged by engaging learning experiences that have depth and are creative, as opposed to being highly repetitive. Each child is shown what his/her personal best looks like, and our teachers’ well mapped out learning approach takes them there.
The Kindergarten curriculum reflects the importance of early literacy and numeracy activities, as well as self-initiated inquiry-based pursuits. Our broad program also includes daily physical activity classes, French language classes, as well as science, creative arts, and computer time.
More detail on the French program is available on the French curriculum page. Turnbull School develops both early French skills using the AIM Method and enjoyment for the language, without compromising the children’s development of English literacy and numeracy skills. They then are well prepared for the primary grades (Grades 1 to 3) when 30% of their school week is taught in French. Children who thrive in primary school and whose pathways are set for later academic success are those who enter grade 1 with strong oral communication skills, are confident, able to make friends, are persistent and creative in completing tasks and solving problems, and are excited to learn.
