One hundred years ago, the children of the first classes at Caswell Community School played games at recess among the cows in Robert Caswell's pasture. Today, the Caswell neighbourhood is well known for its character homes and quiet side streets. It is a Saskatoon neighbourhood where young families can find affordable housing. We are tucked away amongst large Manitoba Maples, elms and pines just two blocks from the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST), Kelsey Campus. As a community school, we have a full-time Community Coordinator and half-time Nutrition Coordinator. Students also have access to programs such as Kinsmen Hockey and Little Kicks Soccer, breakfast and lunch programs, Book n Bagel, and Care and Share business partners who support children in need. Community schools have a greater capacity to provide full family support.
New families to Caswell often comment about the warm, friendly feeling they experience when entering our school. This is a tribute to our superb staff. In addition, we are indebted to the many senior citizens who volunteer at Caswell on a regular basis to work one-on-one with our students. Recently, when we expressed our thanks to one of our volunteers, their response was: We must thank you, for letting us work with these precious children. We are immensely proud of our Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 8 school, which is also home to one of Saskatoon Public Schools two Academically Talented (AcTal) programs. The AcTal students enjoy a congregated setting where their academic skills are stretched through enrichment of the curriculum. All students enjoy Caswell's bright, large, windowed classrooms and wide hallways. We love getting together for weekly assemblies, special meals, In Motion activities and Nutrition Positive lunches. We've entered one of the largest teams (77 students, parents and staff) in Saskatoon's Bridge City Boogie (i.e., a run-walk event) in support of Read Saskatoon and Saskatoon's Crisis Nursery. Each year, our Grade 5 to 8 bands bring back trophies from various competitions. This year, one of Caswell's students earned the opportunity to compete in the National CanSpell competition. Another student will be heading off to the National Heritage Fair in Ottawa as Saskatoon and regions first place winner.
Our families reflect Saskatoon's diverse population. Over 10% of our students are new immigrants. They provide richness to our school culture as we share in their language, dress, customs and food. As we are introduced to more cultures, we endeavour to find ways of taking advantage of the relationships we can build. Every socio-economic strand is represented in our school. All students are respected and expected to respect one another. Because many of our parents are students at SIAST, our plan is to provide an adult tutoring service along with a Caswell student study hall on a weekly basis.
Keeping our diversity in mind, the purpose of Caswell Community School is to provide a safe, trusting, and positive place for teaching and learning. We endeavour to support the learning needs of families, children and members of the community. In our learning community, we celebrate diversity, respect others and ourselves, take responsibility for our actions, value life long learning, and strive to always do our best. Caswell has a one hundred year history of caring about its community.