In the grand scheme of life, we are led to believe that bigger is better. When it comes to education, however, that is not always the case. At GPCI, we believe that small things can be immensely powerful. Are there cases where having more options would be beneficial? Absolutely. Fortunately, the benefits of a small school setting greatly outweigh its disadvantages. Small schools have a unique ability to focus on building relationships and connections amongst staff and students. Our classrooms become communities, and they provide increased opportunities for students to participate in learning. We can closely monitor the success of our students and track their learning and development because we know each and every one of our students.
Outside of the classroom, we make direct connections to our community. Our students are currently doing a Christmas hamper food drive in our community, visiting and learning at the local daycare within their Family Studies course, volunteering as assistant coaches at the elementary school and in minor hockey, helping with the HOPE Club’s events, delivering Meals on Wheels, and volunteering for the Lion’s Club bingo. This year we even have a group of students working with Access TV, recording content for the local television channel. Each year, we host a volunteer fair at our school in September, where we invite local groups to come and explain the opportunities that they have for student volunteerism. Each one of our students sign up to volunteer. Within our school, students can take part in the Leadership Team, Yearbook and Student Voice. These experiences provide them with lifelong skills and expose them to possible career aspirations after school.
In large schools, students must ‘try out’ or ‘audition’ to participate in extracurricular events, whereas small schools enable all students to take part in extracurricular clubs and sports. GPCI has a thriving extracurricular program. Within the eight years that I have been at GPCI, we have won seven provincial banners, with the most recent being our varsity girls volleyball team this past weekend in Fisher River. Our small school provides opportunities for both boys and girls to participate in golf, cross-country running, volleyball, basketball, hockey, badminton, and track and field, sometimes with both junior and varsity options. This alone is quite a feat, considering we only have five teaching staff to utilize for coaches. Through those sports, we have 82% of our student population participating in at least one extracurricular sport, with 87% of those students being multi-sport athletes.
Since we can closely monitor all students in a small school, our graduation rate is above the provincial average. During my time here at GPCI, our graduation rate has consistently been between 95 – 100%. We pride ourselves on consistent communication with students and families, so that we can support students to be successful.
School should not be just about academics, it should be about developing a well-rounded young adult. At GPCI, we foster the growth of our students academically, and we provide them with the opportunity to become community-minded leaders. We equip them with the skills that they need to be successful after high school, whether that be continuing their education or starting their careers. We may be small, but we are mighty!