Bruce Public School's Mission Statement
Originally named "Leslie Garden School", Bruce Jr. Public School is located in the Leslieville area in a space previously occupied by The Leslie Nursery Gardens. When the nursery was sold, construction started and a new school opened in 1923. We provide Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 and our philosophy is that students learn best in a school that values community. To this end, we take pride in our partnerships with families, our onsite childcare and the students themselves.
Families of Bruce PS students can choose to purchase childcare from 7:30 to the start of the regular school day (9:00am) and from 3:30 to 6:00pm. Please come to the office or give us a call and we'll be happy to have our partners in education, Woodgreen community Services answer all of your questions.
Balance and Varied Learning Opportunities for All
Families, staff and Bruce community partners strive to provide meaningful learning experiences for all of our students. Regularly scheduled professional development opportunities provide our staff with the ability to create a Professional Learning Community in which to plan for rich learning experiences for our students. We also invite families to be active participants in creating an excellent learning environment through participation in our School Activity Council, the Caring and Safe School Committee, and through volunteering in the school.
At Bruce PS we take pride in being a small community school. For us, community is at the heart of all we do. We have an open door policy, and truly value the voices of our students and their families. Having a Kindergarten to Grade 8s experience in a small school is a great opportunity for our students, as our staff can get to know and connect with every student.
More Information About Bruce Public School
Health and Physical Activity
We recognize that children need to learn about the love of maintaining a healthy mind in a healthy body. Collaboratively with our Health and Physical Education teacher, staff at Bruce are focused on providing a wide variety of heart healthy active experiences that will help children and families to make good choices about daily physical activities.
In addition to providing a balanced and fun daily physical education program, we are trying to provide our students with experiences as varied through clubs, activities and a variety of team sports.
We love our volunteers!
A wide variety of volunteers add to our learning family at Bruce. We have a variety of volunteer opportunities, and really value the sharing of our volunteers' time, skills and enthusiasm. We welcome and appreciate everyone!
We are always looking for volunteers to help us both during and after the instructional day. If you are interested please let us know. All volunteers require a Police Reference Check and these forms can be found on the TDSB website
Arts education is integral to a well balanced life
We strive to provide a full spectrum of learning opportunities for our students and families. Visual arts, dance, drumming, band, ORFF percussion music and drama opportunities all support our goal of teaching a love of the arts.
The murals in our halls reflect our belief that we all have to work together to make an inclusive environment in which everyone can succeed. Our grade 1-3 hall has images of what the students think inclusion looks like at school. Our grade 4-8 hall have images associated with having the courage to stand for something, but also having the courage to listen to other.
Morning Meal
Our school provides a healthy morning meal to every student, providing a snack made up of three food groups. Our nutrition program is supported by parent involvement. We also teach our students about growing and harvesting healthy foods with seasonal lessons in our vegetable gardens.
Additional Features
- Many team-sport opportunities
- Band for Grade7/8 students
- ORFF instruments for classroom use
- Computer Lab
- Scientists in Schools
- Art and Music classes
- Roots of Empathy
Student Life - Where You Belong
GO TEAM
We are a small yet active school community made up of caring kind people who have created an inclusive place of learning for all. With the enthusiastic support of our School Advisory Council, community partners, and dedicated staff, student life is rich and varied. We start off in September with a wonderful community pot luck and curriculum night. Annually we host an Arts Open House, during which families can see a variety of performances and art installations that reflect the amazing creativity of our students. A wide range of sports and physical activities offered before, during and after the instructional day contribute to a general enthusiasm for life at Bruce School. Visiting artists, writers and performers add to the learning experiences that we provide, along with many trips and excursions to the many points of interest in and around the city of Toronto.
Don't be surprised to see Bruce students at Toronto art galleries, sports venues, green houses or on the TTC heading to the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art to make original clay sculptures!
WHAT SETS US APART
Our philosophy is that we create the best learning environment for our students when we work together as a community, and it can be seen in everything we do. We constantly strive to work with everyone in order to grow as a school. Teachers work collaboratively to identify areas for growth and create plans on how to address them. An active effort is made to listen to what the students have to say about how we can be a better environment for them (our Positive Space Club, which is teacher guided but student driven, is a good example of this in action). Families are consulted on how to best support school growth through their participation on the Caring and Safe Schools Committee and the School Advisory Council. There is a wonderful feeling in the building, and it's a direct result of everyone working together to make this a great place to learn!
PARENT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Our School Advisory Council (SAC) works closely with the Principal and all staff members to enhance the life of the school. Parents are an integral part of the learning process, assisting on field trips, building a strong sense of community with events such as our Fallowe'en Fair, our December Holiday Hoopla, our Winter Dance-a-thon, evening Skate event at Greenwood Park and our Spring Fun Fair and BBQ, and supporting special committees e.g. School Improvement, Information Technology, Ward Council.
All caregivers are welcome and encouraged to play an active role in the life of our school. It's really up to you to determine how much time you want to, and are able to give, to help with the important learning that your child will be doing at Bruce. You'll always find a helping hand and friend at Bruce and we encourage you to get involved!