Wismer Public School officially opened in September of 2003, as the first school in the Wismer Commons subdivision. We have a thriving and inclusive school where students' strengths, interests and needs are supported, nurtured and celebrated. We encourage students to question, inquire and challenge thinking as they develop their voice as learners in school and throughout their lives.
We are developing a community of learners who feel supported when engaging critically in relevant and authentic inquiry representing multiple perspectives. By being critically literate, students and staff will be able to share ideas, develop understanding and transform knowledge within a local and global context.
History
After the deaths of both David and Lydia Wismer in 1856, the Wismer Family continued to donate property to various community organizations, including the land for the construction of the first school in this area. This original one-room schoolhouse, located near the south west corner of Sixteenth Avenue and Highway #48, was replaced around the year 1864, with a new school to the north, where the present Markham Museum now stands.
In honour of our tenth anniversary, we have redesigned our school logo. Below you can see the original 2003 logo, followed by the 2009 logo and now our 2013 logo all sporting our mascot, the Wismer Wolverine. Whether in school or in the community, our Wismer Wolverines make us proud as students who support one another, take responsibility for their actions and have a fierce commitment to making a difference for social justice.
A busy place...
As Wismer has grown over the years there have been many changes. Our school had an addition in the summer of 2013 to add Full Day Kindergarten to the school as well as adding more classrooms to support our growing population. We not only have a strong academic history but also an avid commitment to student well-being. Partnering with the City of Markham for children’s programs, Youth Assisting Youth for a tutoring program, working with York Regional Police in the VIP program, as well as encouraging our graduates to return to Wismer for community hours, are just a few ways we bring our community together.
At Wismer, we have many exciting opportunities beyond our excellence in academics to support students’ interests and talents.
In the past, we have had a thriving arts program with extracurricular opportunities in: Visual Arts Club, Dance Clubs, Bucket Drumming, Spoken Word, Choir, Bell Choir, Concert Band, Glee Club and a Sign Language Club.
Athletic teams throughout the years have included: Cross Country, Girls’ Running Club, Volleyball, Basketball, Badminton, Track and Field and Soccer.
We also have many opportunities for students to develop their leadership including: Student Council for Intermediate students, Peace Tree Ambassadors, Healthy School Champions, ECOLeague, Our Student Run Writing Club and Student Ambassadors.
Our students and staff also have a passion for supporting local and global communities through charitable initiatives including: Fighting Cancer (Childhood Cancer, Movember, Breast Cancer Awareness), Helping Hands campaign supporting communities who have suffered after natural disasters (2011 Tsunami Relief for Japan and 2013 Typhoon Relief in the Philippines), Food Drives for local communities, and Habitat for Humanity which has become an annual goal for our staff.
Our Mission
Our purpose is to...
- maximize excellence in student learning and achievement
- provide a safe, caring, and inviting atmosphere for learning
- promote a life-long love of learning
- inspire the learners in our care to approach life experiences with enthusiasm,
- integrity, resilience, responsibility, and confidence
- facilitate the making of meaningful "learning connections"
Our Vision
We will ...
- model excellence, personal character, and integrity
- uphold high academic standards and conduct
- engage our students and learners
- strive to meet the diversity of individual needs and learning styles of all our students
- embrace opportunities to improve, develop, and enhance our teaching practices
- provide a climate conducive to social, emotional, and personal growth, well-being, broadening perspective, participation, and success
Our Values
We believe in ...
- effective, open, honest, courteous, and genuine communication
- engaging learners and embracing active involvement
- the critical balance between "pressure" and "support"
- the power of collaboration in learning and working effectively with others
- respect for self, others, and the environment
- personal responsibility, ownership, accountability, and strong work ethic
- the Integrated Arts as an important vehicle for learning and character development
- the responsible use of resources
- inclusion, understanding, acceptance of differences, and equality of opportunity
- the importance of seeking input and feedback
- learning experiences that are "real life" based
- the benefits, enjoyments, and satisfactions of life-long learning
- celebrating our successes
Wismer Public School continues to evolve as a thriving centre for learning. Our staff, students, and community endeavor to engage and empower every student to learn, to achieve success to his/her full potential, and to participate responsibly in a changing Canadian society.
In short, working together, we diligently strive for all of our students to experience and reap the rewards associated with a strong, academic, results-oriented program, within a culture of caring and character.
In keeping with our Board's and our school's "Mission, Vision, and Values" statement, we greatly value the positive, purposeful, and focused instructional and working climate here at Wismer ... one that ultimately facilitates better learning and success for all. We are very proud and appreciative of the many positive comments we have received in this regard from our students, parents, Supply Teachers, and other visitors.
Today, more than ever, students need to learn more than the "three Rs" in order to become productive citizens of the future. Towards this end, we endeavor to instill in our students a strong sense of values, by modeling and practicing the fundamental building blocks of personal character and worth. This, of course, also involves an understanding and appreciation of what it means to be a "world citizen"; given that our school community represents over 35 different first languages spoken at home, this global perspective is certainly "alive and well" at Wismer.