Our Programs

The basis of our English program is a strong focus on literature. We believe that reading—extensively, broadly, and often—is the best way to develop a child's reasoning, written communication skills, and general intelligence. Each child is assigned an age-appropriate reading list of both popular classics and lesser-known works, to be read at home and explored in depth during class.

Our students exercise their writing skills in short essays and compositions, and study spelling and grammar in lessons dedicated to these subjects. Since most of our students are English-Russian bilingual, we pay special attention to ensuring that their English literacy is well above par.

As with our English program, the foundation of our French program is literature. At Roots Private School, we take our place in a bilingual culture seriously. To this end, we use a special French-education program adapted from Quebec (which has a strong visual and online component), study French works of literature, and dedicate more hours weekly to French than many other schools in the province.

With the help of these factors, our students develop genuine comfort and dexterity with the French language. Our goal is for our students to emerge from their education truly bilingual (and in many cases, trilingual).

This optional course of study is designed for students with a background in speaking Russian. A focused study of formal Russian grammar and literature fortifies and develops these students' oral communication skills and literacy, such that it reaches an academic, rather than merely colloquial, level of proficiency.

We aim to connect Russian grammatical concepts to students' studies of English and French in order to increase their fluency across these languages. Students read classic works of Russian literature in addition to world literature translated into Russian.

For interested students who do not already speak Russian, our school also offers Russian as a Second Language.

Music is a well-researched way to enhance skills far beyond the musical. The study of music has been implicated in the development of numerous qualities, from mathematical reasoning to empathy.

Our students study various musical genres, from classical to modern, develop their sense of rhythm with hands-on percussion practice, memorize and learn songs in English, French, and Russian, learn about the structure of an orchestra, and study the components of melody (rhythm, timbre, tempo, and dynamics).

Students have the opportunity to apply their skills by performing at our school events.

Drama at Roots Private School is more than a creative outlet for our students. It's an opportunity for students to develop their memory, self-confidence, sense of responsibility, ability to work as a member of a team, and to utilize the skills they've learned in their language studies (English, French, Russian).

Of course, it's also an important creative and literary exercise, since students have the freedom to transform into different characters, many from classic theatrical works. We believe that the focused work on voice and body that happens in drama class fortifies our students for healthy communication and social interactions in the rest of their lives.

Interested students also work on costume creation, and drama students prepare performances for our themed school celebrations, such as New Years, Valentine's Day, Fall Ball, and so on.

Our health and physical education program promotes both physical exercise and a solid theoretical understanding of important concepts like healthy eating. Much of our physical education program occurs at the Maple Community Centre gymnasium, a three-minute walk from our school, where our students practice team sports.

In the case of inclement weather, we are amply equipped to teach light yoga and stretching in our building. We also screen health education videos in our library auditorium.

As for seasonal physical activity, our students practice skating in the winter and swimming during warmer months.

"Every Chess master was once a beginner."

At Roots, we recognize Chess as a mental sport that exercises our students’ focus and improves their concentration. Since 2021, chess lessons have been integrated into the Roots curriculum for all grades. Chess requires one to problem solve and be able to closely analyze their and their opponent’s movements, thus enabling students to work and develop creative and critical thinking skills. Each lesson provides students with opportunities to learn important interpersonal skills, such as good sportsmanship, patience, and respect for others. Near the end of the year, students have the opportunity to use their newfound skills and compete with peers in a school-wide chess tournament. Chess masters from each grade then compete with one another in one final round to determine the winner.