The Headteachers of the WOWs schools were fortunate enough to be asked to embark on a British Coucil Exchange Visit to the Huron-Perth & Waterloo School District Boards in SW Ontario in Canada from 27th February to 7th March 2006. We would like to share with you some of our experiences.
The flight to Toronto proved to be uneventful although we had to fly via Amsterdam from Manchester. It seemed strange that after an hour into the flight from Amsterdam to Toronto we were flying back over Manchester although it was at 35,000 ft!!! There was unfortunately just one "hiccup". One of our colleagues had her purse stolen from her bag at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. It contained money and credit cards. Luckily we managed to put a block on the cards but it obviously put a dampener on the rest of the day. We landed in a slight snowstorm at Totonto and made a 2-hour minibus journey to our 'base'in Stratford - a beautiful town near lake Huron, not unlike its English twin sister town. With 5 hour time difference the day's travelling had taken its toll - just time for bed!!!
The next morning we met with all the Principals of the schools we were to visit together with Directors & Superintendents of both School Boards. They were a fabulous group of people who made us feel very welcome and certainly looked after us. This first day was spent in a local High School getting to know everyone. We had a quick tour of Stratford and were given all the arrangements for our visits to schools
Over the next three days we visited a number of Elementary School(equivalent of our Primary Schools) in both School Boards. Immediate differences were noted as the Elementary Schools had older year groups in them (our year 7 & 8). The children wore everyday clothes, and on the whole classrooms were set out in straight lines. Many of the schools were newly built and certainly had excellent resources. The Curriculum appeared to be focused on Reading. The School Boards, equivalent of our LEA, provided the funding. Principals did not appoint any of their staff nor was there any sign of Senior or Middle Management structure with both teachers and Principals being 'moved around' every three to four years.
The weekend was our own an we were able to travel into Toronto on the Saturday. The CN Tower was the popular attraction and everyone got a wonderful view of Toronto & Lake Ontario from the top of the tower. On the Saturday we all journeyed up to Niagara Falls. The trip turned out to be an unforgettable experience. Everyone had a helicopter ride over the falls and took some stunning photographes. The falls at this time of year, with all the snow and ice, were breathtaking. Many of the Headteachers have already shared photographs of the visit with the children and the staff in our schools. After another 3 hour drive from Niagara we arrived back in Stratford - a long tiring weekend with many hours spent in a minibus but well worth it!!!
The group were offered the opportunity to go 'tubing' on Friday evening. It involved sitting on an inner-tube,
holding on for dear life and hurtling down a snow covered hill at what seemed to be 40 mph.
Great fun and no accidents!! Wish we had them over here.
A smaller group were invited to watch a local Ice Hockey Match. None of
us had ever seen a 'live' match and it was indeed an experience. Ice Hockey is very big in Canada with top
earners on $2.5m per year. Beats Teaching!!
The Headteachers of all the WOWS Schools have met since their return and have evaluated the visit to send a report to the British Council. Here are some of their comments........