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École Deer Meadow School

About Us

Introduction

École Deer Meadow School has Grades 5 through 8 and is located in the southwest corner of Olds. We are an island in a residential development. The school was built in 1992 and it serves the needs of approx. 460 students in the middle grades, five through eight, who live in the town of Olds and the surrounding rural area. Approximately 40% of the students are bussed to school while 60% are urban students.The Olds community is noted for its farming, ranching, light industry, oil and gas exploration, refining, and Olds College.

Middle school philosophy and practice are the guiding force behind what we do. The teaching and support staff are child-centred professionals who have a strong interest in examining and implementing middle school philosophy and practice. Teachers bring a variety of educational backgrounds to the school, teach a variety of subjects and contribute significantly outside the classroom to provide a multitude of opportunities for students to feel they “belong” to their school. The common denominator for all staff is their commitment to middle years students and their education.

In addition to a strong academic program, students have access to staff and community volunteer directed extracurricular activities, events, clubs, projects and fundraising opportunities to develop their “awareness of self and their obligation to the global community”.

Motto

Encourage, engage, inspire!

Mission

By building meaningful relationships, Deer Meadow will cultivate a spirit of excellence. Collaboratively we will engage each student in all aspects of learning.

Beliefs

École Deer Meadow School will be recognized in our community for upholding high standards, establishing a culture of integrity and personalizing learning in order to develop compassionate, responsible citizens.

Principal's Message

Dear parents, if you want your kids at a boring old regular school, we’d be happy to recommend one! I am so proud to be the principal of Deer Meadow. My first full time teaching gig was here. When I got that job, I called everyone on my contact list to brag that I’d just landed in a dream. The reputation of Deer Meadow in this community and others has been a solid one since day one. I now sit in the office that was previously occupied by amazing principals who cared deeply about the school. You should know that I continue with that very tradition of caring most about the school and all the great people, big and small, inside it.

I still refer to the ‘Meadow’ as the school that Dot built. Dot Negropontes was Deer Meadow’s first principal. Unfortunately, we lost her a few years ago, but we haven’t lost her vision. We remain highly dedicated to the education of middle level students. If you own one of these students you understand how they’re totally different creatures than kids at other stages of life. Stuck right between the innocence of childhood and full blown adulthood, adolescents are becoming socially aware while trying to figure out the person in the mirror. We feed them curriculum, yes, but make no mistake, we feed their souls too. In middle school philosophy lingo, we educate the “whole child”, even if you send us half!

We have been very intentional about the adults that we put in front of our students. Experts at content, but really good at connections with your kids, when you entrust your child with us, know that we are making the best decisions with the best intentions regarding their whole education. We enjoy being your partners in raising children. So keep making them. We’re happy to know them.