École St. Norbert Immersion

ESNI offers a wide variety of programs that enhance our student learning experience by providing them opportunities to become better citizens

Every year, our grade 4 students have the opportunity to welcome a baby into their classroom over the course of the school year. Starting in September, the students are introduce to a 2-3 month old infant and his/her parents. Each month the baby visits the classroom and a specific topic is discussed with mom and/or dad. We talk about safety, emotions, caring for an infant, etc. The students are always looking forward to seeing their special friend. We sit around a green carpet with the baby and his parents in the middle of the carpet. For more information on this program, please make sure to visit the Roots of Empathy web site at www.rootsofempathy.org

Career Trek is a non-profit organization that provides innovative educational programming for young people with perceived barriers to entering post-secondary education. Operating at the University of Manitoba, the University of Winnipeg, and Red River College, the program is designed to educate these students (and their families) about the importance of staying in school, aspiring to a post-secondary education and career options. At ESNI, we always send 3 to 4 grade 6 students to this program that takes place on Saturdays from October to April. For more information on this event please make sure to visit the Career Trek web site at: xnet.rrc.mb.ca/careertrek

Kids in the Know is an interactive safety education program for increasing the personal safety of children and reducing their risk of sexual exploitation. It is part of our curriculum at every grade level and has been endorsed by the Seine River School Division. For more information please visit their web site at www.kidsintheknow.ca

ESNI students have the opportunity to be involved in a wide variety of creative programs which allow them to experess their creativity and talent.

Our BAND program is mandatory for all our grade 6 to 8 students. They are given the option to choose their instruments and all classes ar held at the College St-Norbert Collegiate. Our Kindergarten to Grade 5 students are taught MUSIC instructed by a Miss Janzen, our music teacher.


Our grade 5 to 8 students have Art classes in the Art Room. The classes are taught by one of our teachers who has developped a very rich and unique art program.


This same group of Grades 5 to 8 students also have the opportunity to experience a dance class as part of our Phys. Ed. Program. They learn hip hop, yoga, etc.

Students from 5 to 8 are also invited to volunteer for Drama Club. Le "Club de Théâtre" participates in the Festival Provincial Théâtre Jeunesse. For the last 10 years, ESNI has been participating in this event and the provincial title has been claimed twice as a result of plays that were written by our students.

Every year our grade 7 and 8 students have the opportunity to participate in a student exchange program. We visit other provinces such as Quebec, Ontario, BC, Alberta, New-Brunswick. When visiting a community in these provinces we stay with the host families of grade 7 and 8 students. In turn, when these students visit Manitoba they stay with our host-families. We spend a lot of time during the school year communicating with each other in order to establish a strong connection with each other.

This program would not be possible without the support of the following organizations.
CSFEP – Canada Sport Friendship Exchange Program
YMCA -
SEVEC –Society for Educational Visits and Exchanges Canada

Citizenship is an important part of ESNI school life. Inspired by our school division (SRSD), we strive to instil three core values of Honesty, Respect and Empathy in our students which in turn gives them a sense of service to the community. To be of service means that you must be attentive to peoples needs and that you must be prepared to get involved in helping others. In the last four years students from ESNI have been awarded twice the SRSD Citizenship Award and both times have represented our school division at the provincial level. We are very proud.

The Seven Teachings helps us to become better people. Represented by animals, these virtues are used to remind us that we are all part of a community where we need to care for each other. The 7 Teachings are Courage (Bear), Love (Eagle), Wisdom (Beaver), Humility (Wolf), Honesty (Windigo), Respect (Bison) and Truth (Turtle).

Patrols
Our grade 6 students are once again keeping the streets safe out in front of ESNI every morning, during the lunch hour and after school. They are there to ensure our students who walk home do so safely. Peace Keepers: Our grade 5 students are appointed to help our students to solve problems during the three daily recesses

Some of our grade 5 to 8 students help younger students with school work or problems they may encounter.

A group of grade 5 to 8 students organize activities in the school such as Spirit Days and afternoon dances. The student council is also responsible for community projects such as Koats for Kids and Pennies from Heaven. Our school participates every year in the annual Jump Rope for Heart and Hoops for Heart fundraising as well as the Terry Fox Run.

The grade 5 to 8 classes are twinned with early year classes. They get together on a regular basis for book sharing and to work on specific projects

Our grade 7 and 8 students volunteer one afternoon a month at St-Amant Centre and Foyer Valade.

Located directly behind our school, the La Salle River and the River Bottom Forest along its banks provide our students with a unique opportunity to learn about our environment. Every year our students plant new trees and so far have planted over 5000 trees. We maintain trails that limit our impact on the forest while we explore its diversity and uniqueness. We also maintain 8 gardens where you will find a wide variety of Manitoba wild trees and grasses. The Grade 1 to Grade 6 students have Outdoor Education classes every Monday.

Extra-Curricular Activities (Sports):
We offer a wide variety of sports teams to our students. We participate in all divisional sporting events. Our students also participate in IntraMural sports over the noon hour. The following sports are part of our school and our Phys Ed program:

Volleyball
BasketBall
Cross Country Running Club
Cross-Country Ski Club
Badminton
Track and Field
Baseball

Bird Club
This club is open to our grade 1 to 4 students. They have the opportunity to identify birds along the La Salle River behind our school in the Fall and in the Spring.

Book Club
This club is open to grade 6 to 8 students who are interested in reading novels selected by the Manitoba Young Readers Choice Award (MYRCA). We buy 4 copies of each books. The club members read the books and meet once a month to discuss the books.