Whitby Mission Statement
Whitby inspires a passion for learning and empowers each child to take responsibility as an open-minded, principled citizen in a global community.
Whitby inspires a passion for learning and empowers each child to take responsibility as an open-minded, principled citizen in a global community.
Whitby will be the school of choice offering a compelling educational continuum, recognized for excellence and for embracing innovation.
The purpose of this inclusion policy is to provide the overarching context for creating an inclusive learning community that supports all students to reach their full potential. The inclusion policy is underpinned by the Learning Support Handbook, the EAL Handbook, the Admission policy, the Language Policy, the Academic Integrity Policy, and the Assessment Handbook.
Mission Statement: Whitby inspires a passion for learning and empowers each child to take responsibility as an open-minded, principled citizen in a global community.
The Whitby mission statement is the foundation for our inclusion policy. The inclusion policy aspires to fulfill each aspect of the mission statement as follows:
Whitby inspires a passion for learning…
Whitby supports the educational, social, emotional, and behavioral needs of all our students, helping each student to become an independent and healthy life-long learner. Learner variability and diversity is valued in our classrooms and valued as a resource for building an inclusive community. Our learning community inspires a passion for learning by supporting each individual student to reach their full potential supported by Montessori and International Baccalaureate philosophies as they place the student at the center of learning and consider the whole child.
… empowers each child to take responsibility as open-minded, principled citizens in a global community.
The student is at the center of all learning support and this policy validates the equal status of all learners and the context and cultures from which they have come. Our policies sustain and empower the whole child and his/her/their family as we support the child’s learning journey and remove barriers to learning.
We believe a Whitby education is about allowing students to define success on their own terms by inspiring their love of learning, broadening their sense of responsibility, developing their critical thinking skills, and empowering them to take action in a global community. These are the ideals that we value and they inform our teaching, learning and curriculum development each and every day. We aim to create an affirmative and responsive environment that promotes a sense of belonging, safety, self-worth, and whole growth for every student.
We believe that all teachers are teachers of all students and it is the responsibility of all those who interact with students to provide a supportive environment, focusing on the unique talents, abilities, and needs of the whole child.
We believe that inclusion is the ongoing process of increasing access and engagement and removing barriers to learning for all students.
We believe that teaching and learning at Whitby is designed to remove barriers to learning. The four principles of teaching that promote equal access to the curriculum for all learners across the continuum of IB learning are considered and applied in all our classrooms:
Removing barriers to learning is a community effort and we strive to clearly communicate. The rights and responsibilities of our stakeholders must be considered in the context of all our policies.
This handbook was reviewed during the 2022-2023 school year. It will be reviewed every three years to reflect best practice and the needs of the Whitby School community.
