Cocurriculars
At Montcrest, our cocurricular program is designed to help students discover, develop, and thrive in athletics, the arts, leadership, and special interest areas.
Our students explore their interests, embrace new challenges and risks, and learn resilience in equal measure. Our balanced approach to cocurriculars encourages students to get involved in school life. It also recognizes that academics come first, and that students also need time to practise and build relationships during social times like recess.
Students are encouraged to participate in the cocurriculars of their choice during any or all of our three terms. Participation is voluntary and based on each student’s interests and comfort level.
The Director of Performing Arts & Cocurriculars and the Director of Athletics work collaboratively with students, homeroom teachers, parents, and teachers offering cocurriculars to help each student identify new or existing areas of interest, and make a plan that best suits them.
At Montcrest, our co-curricular program is designed to help students discover, develop, and thrive in athletics, the arts, leadership, and special interest areas.
Our students explore their interests, embrace new challenges and risks, and learn resilience in equal measure. Our balanced approach to co-curriculars encourages students to get involved in school life. It also recognizes that academics come first, and that students also need time to practise and build relationships during social times like recess. Students are encouraged to participate in the co-curriculars of their choice during any or all of our three terms. Participation is voluntary and based on each student’s interests and comfort level.
The Cocurricular Coordinator and the Director of Athletics work collaboratively with students, homeroom teachers, parents, and teachers to help each student identify new or existing areas of interest, and make a plan that best suits them.
Our athletic program at Montcrest fosters a sense of cooperation, development, competition, inclusion, and school spirit. Montcrest teams are coached by our staff who have a passion for sport. We occasionally bring in professional outside instructors to prepare our players for the upcoming season of team sports.
Our cocurricular & athletic program provides vital learning stages in our students’ educational, social, emotional, and physical journey of development. Grounded in 6 Human Commonalities, framed via our partnership with The Common Ground Collaborative, our cocurricular program helps students to find their own experiential pathways. It both enriches who they are and reflects their interests.
We gradually build competency at the appropriate developmental level, so that our students are equipped for success, not only in high school, but in all the exciting and challenging years beyond.
We want our young people to leave us with a set of ‘transportable gifts’, skill sets that they will really use, and really need, to be successful in the complex, changing context of today’s interconnected world.
Through the lens of 6 Human Commonalities, our cocurricular program builds success, growth, and engaged learners for life.
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Purpose and Balance: We all seek meaning and purpose in our existence and we strive towards achieving balance in our lives. We desire and require physical & emotional wellbeing to be fit for life through personal meaning experiences. |
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Imagination and Creativity: We are all creators; we are all capable of imagining new futures and making them real. We encourage creative expression in our students and help them to find new ways to interpret the world. |
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Sustainability and Systems: We all share a duty of stewardship for the ecosystems we inhabit and to understand how they work. We are connected to our environment. We learn the symbiotic relationship about how our environment shapes us and how we shape our environment. |
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Patterns and Principles: We all look for recurring patterns and enduring principles to help us make sense of things. We are problem solvers who seek to understand the bigger picture in life. |
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Stories and Signals: We are all storytellers; we all send messages to each other. We use our voices to communicate to others what is worth listening to. We look for meaning. We connect with the world. We are communicators. |
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Individuals and Groups: We all seek personal identity, we all need a place to belong. We want to make positive change in our school, community, and in the world. |
Our Co-curricular Program builds success, growth, and engaged learners, for life.
“The expert in anything was once a beginner.” Helen Hayes
Our cocurricular offerings are divided into four categories:
1) Commitment Clubs
Have a mandatory attendance component, usually meet more than once a week, and work towards a performance, competition, publication, event, or other visible goal.
Examples: Athletic teams, Montcrest Singers, Montcrest Players, Yearbook Club, Scratch Programming, Outdoor Cooking Club, Kids’ Lit Quiz etc.
2) Flexible Clubs
Have some attendance component but can be flexible, usually meet once a week, or meet periodically.
Examples:Jazz Club, Writing Club, Caribou Math, Senior Book Club, Cardboard Prop Construction Club, Forest of Reading Book Clubs, Costume, Hair, and Makeup Clubs for shows.
3) Drop-in Clubs
Students may drop-in as they wish, no attendance component, meet once a week or periodically.
Examples: Skipping Club, Garden Drop-in, Riverdale Scout Expeditions, Art Studio Drop-in etc.
4) Specialty Programs (Fee required)
Specialty Programs are fun, interesting, and interactive programs that are run and operated by outside experts. These take place at recess times during the school day. Information and pricing are shared in the Montcrest Mirror as well as on our website and the ParentPortal.
Examples: Private Music Lessons (drum, piano, guitar, and brass), Hip Hop, Action Potential etc.
Montcrest teams are coached by our staff who have a passion for sport. We also occasionally bring in professional outside instructors to prepare our players for the upcoming season of team sports.
We offer our students three levels of opportunity to participate in our athletic program:
1) Intramural Program
The intramural program is open to all Grade 1-8 students and is meant to be a fun, competitive, skill-building, and cooperative opportunity that builds student relationships and school spirit. The activities offered will often coincide with the competitive and development teams that are occurring during that term.
2) Development Program
Our athletic development club program focuses on skill development, team play, sportsmanship, and fun. Any student who wants to work on their game is welcome to join the Development Club. There are no tryouts. Participants are expected to attend regular sessions.
3) Competitive Team Program
Montcrest teams compete in a variety of sports against other independent schools within the CISAA. Our competitive teams require a high level of commitment from our athletes, therefore they are only permitted to play on one team per season. The amount of playing time a player receives will depend on the player’s skill, attitude, game experience, and the status of the game (league, exhibition, or playoff). Team practices take place two or three times weekly; some starting as early as 7:00 a.m. Students must learn to manage their time carefully, remembering that academics always come first. It is the expectation that if your child commits to a school team, that they attend all practices, games, and final tournaments.
Students who do not participate in our competitive team program will have an opportunity to participate in our development and/or intramural program.
Montcrest students in Grades 1 – 8 can book private instrumental music lessons through the Beats and Bars Music School. Instruments for individual music lessons include: Guitar, Piano, Brass (Trumpet, Trombone, Euphonium), Woodwind (Flute, Clarinet and Saxophone), Vocals and Drums.
In addition to individual lessons, they also offer group lessons for Guitar and Ukulele, as well as ‘Rock Band’. Rock Band offers your child the opportunity to develop ensemble skills while playing fun, popular music in a range of genres as a band.
Lessons will take place during recess times throughout the school day and after school.
Please note that this program is not operated by Montcrest School and Montcrest holds no responsibility for the programming or booking of Beats and Bars private music lessons.
To sign up, please click here.
Questions? Please email info@beatsandbars.ca
Montcrest School: Thrive
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