Milliken Public School's Mission Statement
Milliken PS is located in the Midland and McNicoll area of Scarborough. Its name was taken from the United Empire Loyalist pioneer family headed by Norman Milliken. The school has been serving the Milliken community since opening in 1983.
We are proud to offer a structured, well-balanced and inclusive curriculum for students in Junior Kindergarten through Grade 8. Our support programs offer a variety of services to students in the school, including English as a Second Language, as well as intensive resource programs to support students with their individual academic needs. Our Co-curricular program is exemplary, and offers our students a wide variety of activities in which to participate, in both the arts and athletics.
Character Traits
The TDSB Character Traits include Respect, Responsibility, Empathy, Kindness, Teamwork, Fairness, Honesty, Co-operation, Integrity, and Perseverance. We focus on one trait each month and hold a school assembly to recognize individual students for exemplifying the specific trait. Their pictures are displayed on the character plaques in the front foyer as role models. Although there is one specific character trait featured each month, the staff at Milliken works hard to ensure that each trait is taught, encouraged, and reviewed throughout the year in order to help develop social and emotional life skills in our students.
More Information About Milliken Public School
Our Commitment and Focus
Our school commitment is to improve student achievement across the curriculum, with a specific focus on Literacy and Numeracy. We are also working hard to ensure that all students are represented and can see themselves in the learning.
Literacy
Our data indicates that our students need to continue working on identifying important ideas, as well as making inferences and connections in order to effectively respond to and evaluate reading texts. We will focus our efforts to improve student achievement by using strategies such as more effective questioning, descriptive feedback, and higher-order thinking skills.
Numeracy
Problem solving across all strands is the area in which we need to focus to improve achievement in Mathematics. Teachers will be incorporating differentiated instructional strategies into their lessons, as well as fully implementing problem-solving math congresses as part of their program.
Student Leadership
As our young people will be the leaders of tomorrow, we provide many opportunities for them to develop leadership skills. Some students are ESL Ambassadors; some are Student Council Reps or Houseleague Captains; some tutor younger students as part of a partnership with License to Learn; while others mentor ESL students as part of our partnership with TDSB Newcomer Kids.
Additional Features
- Commitment to Technology
- Expanding Use of SMART Boards
- Mobile Wireless Lab
Student Life - Where You Belong
GO TEAM
At Milliken, our focus is on developing the whole child. In addition to a strong and balanced academic program, we have a very comprehensive list of co-curricular activities in which the students can participate throughout the year.
Some of these activities include the following: Band, Choir, Boys' Book Club, Girls' Club, Houseleague Games, Computer Club, Games Club, Cross-Country, Kilometre Club, Volleyball, Folk Dance, Dance Club, Soccer Club, Track and Field, Office Helpers, Student Ambassadors, Student Council, Primary Art Club and the Newcomers Club.
We strive to provide opportunities for our students to attend field trips that have a strong curriculum connection. Recognizing the importance of the Arts in education, we also plan at least three dramatic or musical performances throughout the year. We endeavour to ensure that these performances expose the students to a wide variety of artistic experiences which represent the diversity of our city.
WHAT SETS US APART
Milliken is proud to be an EcoSchool ... and especially pleased to be one of the few that has attained the new Platinum designation. Staff and students have worked hard to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
The school has reduced its waste considerably by introducing the Boomerang Lunch (e.g., what comes into the lunchroom is either consumed or goes home). We have also switched to once-a-week garbage and recycling pick-up.
Students participate in fall and spring yard clean-up, as well as gardening activities. Teachers incorporate and embed eco-literacy into their programs in a cross-curricular fashion, and our School Improvement Plan articulates our commitment to EcoSchool initiatives.
PARENT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
At Milliken, we value our partnerships with the community. As many of our School Council parents have graduated from Milliken with their children, we are in a rebuilding phase! We encourage all parents to attend our meetings which take place as needed from 6:30 to 7:30 P.M. We offer free babysitting and interpreting, and hope that you will join us at our informative meetings.
We are also actively involved with a number of other community partners, such as: Toronto Public Health, Ryerson University Nursing Program, Faculty of Education Student Teachers, High School Co-op Students, Parent Volunteers, Toronto Police Service Education Programs, Toronto Fire Department Risk Watch, Junior Achievement, and Skills Canada.