Welcome to
Westmount Charter School!

Westmount Charter School is a publicly funded K-12 school for gifted students in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Our fifteenth instructional year begins September 1, 2010. Our school opened in 1996 with 116 students in grades 1-3; and we have now grown to a K-12 student population of well over 1,000!

As a Charter School, we are expected to develop and share innovative practices in education, and our History and Innovations web page outlines some of our contributions to the education of gifted learners. In the spirit of sharing and welcoming, Westmount will be presenting the first annual Pillars of Gifted Education Conference on Oct 22-23, 2010. Featuring keynote presenters Dr. Tracy Cross and Dr. Richard Olenchak, this Conference will include presentations from fifteen other speakers, including university researchers, administrators, teachers and counselors of gifted students, all related to the social-emotional development of gifted students.

The basics

Our Vision:
"Westmount Charter School, "as a partner in the best learning system in the world", will be recognized as the centre for excellence in gifted education."

Our Purpose:
"To provide qualitatively differentiated educational programming for Kindergarten through Grade 12 students who are gifted." (The Charter, 1998)

Our Definition of Giftedness:
"Students are gifted when they perform, or show potential for performing, remarkably high levels of accomplishment in learning rate, depth of knowledge, and reasoning and problem-solving abilities when compared to others of their age, experience, and environment."

Our Program provides:
- an established program, now embarking on its fifteenth year of educating gifted learners
- a multi-faceted understanding of giftedness
- small class sizes and a caring learning environment that honours differences
- differentiated programming where teachers and students make modifications to process, product and /or pace within the Alberta Education curriculum to best reflect the student’s learning needs
- an emphasis on developing the whole child
- an emphasis on teaching students how to learn
- an emphasis on understanding concepts, and on developing a variety of creative ways for students to "show what they know"
- a qualified and dedicated staff
- school bussing and good access via Calgary Transit
- opportunities for volunteerism and humanitarian involvement in the world
- the opportunity to stay at the same school from the beginning of elementary grades to high school graduation, a huge difference from many gifted programs which focus only on the middle years.

Our Admin Team
Martha Faulkner, Principal
Marylyn Waters, Assistant Principal
Hal Curties, Vice Principal
Dani Sever, Vice Principal
Chris Hooper, Vice Principal

Joe Frank, Superintendent
Megan O'Hara, Secretary-Treasurer.

25 August 2010

Current and Coming Events

(click on "monthly calendar" at right for a full listing of events)

September 1:
first day of the 2010-2011 School Year.

September 6:
no school - Labour Day holiday.

September 13:
School Council meeting, 7:00 PM in Board Room 137. All Westmount parents are invited!

September 16:
meet the Teacher night - 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM. This is the only Meet the Teacher night in the school year, so mid-high parents are advised to check the term two timetable as well as term one!

September 24:
Professional Development day, no classes.

Make a donation to Westmount! Click here for School Council's donation letter and form.

At all times, remember to dress your children for the elements - PLEASE ensure that your child is wearing appropriate footwear, jacket, cap, sunscreen, etc. as dictated by anticipated weather conditions. If your K-grade 9 student is wearing sandals, flip-flops, crocs, etc. they also need to have athletic shoes handy for their PE and Daily Physical Activity. We do monitor the weather conditions, but on most days, Physical Education students of all ages, as well as elementary-grade children with recess and lunch times, can expect to be outside. To check the Calgary weather conditions and forecast, click here.

If your son/daughter is going to be late or absent, please remember to call the attendance line at 403.217.0559. When you call, please identify the reason for absence and if your child is ill, the main symptoms of the illness.