Yellowknife Catholic Schools Programs
Yellowknife Catholic Schools program offerings are all approved by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, through the lens of a Catholic Christian community. We offer a wide variety of programs, which provide parent and student choices to best meet the needs of each student. Our programming not only allows students to choose to follow either an English or French Immersion stream, but also provides alternative educational opportunities for students to explore their passion areas. This section provides more details in regard to what we have to offer.
Curriculum
In YCS schools, we follow the Northwest Territories approved curriculum for all subject areas in JK-9, except Religion, which is a program approved by the Catholic Bishops of Canada. In teaching the NWT Health program, sexuality units offered in Grades 4-9, are adapted to include the Catholic perspective, as developed by Alberta. At the high school level, the Alberta Education curriculum is followed, as adopted by GNWT Education, Culture and Employment with the exception of Religion and Northern Studies. Northern Studies is an NWT developed curriculum, while the Religion programs for Grades 10-12 are locally developed courses from Alberta, approved by the Alberta and NWT Bishops. Information on the NWT curriculum can be found on the Government of the Northwest territories website at: http://www.ece.gov.nt.ca/ New Curriculum for Grades 4-7 and 9 The GNWT Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) is pleased to begin the transition to a new curriculum adapted to the NWT. Students in grades 4,5,6,7 and 9 at Weledeh, ESJS and ESPHS will be trialing the new curriculum this year (2023-24). This means that if your child is in these grades, what they are being asked to do, how they are being asked to do it and how they are reflecting on their work will be different. Lessons, assignments, projects and assessments (ie. summaries of learning or what we used to call report cards) will look different. At the end of their time with us, we want all our students to be innovative, resilient, collaborative, socially responsible, adaptable, and literate critical thinkers and communicators. In order to develop these skills and competencies, we need to move beyond traditional paper and pencil assessments that focus on content knowledge. Learning is not just memorizing. The new curriculum will help students continue to develop a strong foundation in numeracy and literacy, while also focusing on how to solve problems, communicate, work together and use their knowledge in ways that matter in our rapidly changing world. We are really excited about this work as we feel it will help students become capable NWT people, whether that means entering the workforce, developing a trade or moving on to post-secondary education. As this is a trialing year, we will be seeking feedback from educators, students and families about this process and how we can make this a positive shift for our students as we Build Relationships, Cultivate Well Being and Inspire Thinking together. While we don’t have all the answers right now, we are committed to working with staff and families on this exciting journey. If you have any immediate questions, concerns or feedback, please reach out to jenny.reid@ycs.nt. For more information on the new curriculum, please see https://www.ece.gov.nt.ca/en/curriculumrenewal
Early Childhood Education
Junior Kindergarten
Yellowknife Catholic Schools introduced Junior Kindergarten in our schools August 2017. We offer English and Bilingual programs at both Weledeh Catholic and Ecole St. Joseph Schools. These programs are staffed by Early Childhood Educators. Our Junior Kindergarten classrooms follow the NT JK/K curriculum. This program focuses on play based learning, which includes socialization, creative play, literacy and school readiness skills. Children use personal experiences to build and provide opportunity to become more familiar with the world around them. YCS also offers the Junior Kindergarten as a bilingual option. It is our intent that the children will be gradually introduced to the French language through daily routines, play and other appropriate activities. They will develop a basic vocabulary and a love of second language learning. Children must be four years of age on or before December 31st. This is a full-time program with the option of registering part-time.
Kindergarten
This curriculum is a child-centred, developmentally appropriate, integrated program for 4 and 5 year old children. Based on competencies, this program is designed to provide a strong foundation for learning in the early years in a safe and caring environment that promotes the cognitive, social, emotional, spiritual and physical development of all children. Children must be five years of age on or before December 31st. This is a full-time program with the option of registering part-time.
Fine Arts
Drama, Art and Music
Innovative Learning
MakerSpace, Flex Time and Student Mentorship Time
Pre-Trades
Yellowknife Catholic Schools (YCS) realized that it needed to round out programming to better meet the needs of some students. An environment which would foster and produce pre-trades ready students for the northern workforce was needed. We are now proud to offer the following pre-trades programs: ✓ Construction Technology ✓ Hairstyling ✓ Robotics ✓ Welding ✓ Small Engine Mechanics
Second Language Programs
Wiilideh Yati Language Class
Weledeh Catholic School offers students the choice between learning the Wiilideh Yati language or Core French from Grades 1 to 8.
French Second Language
The Yellowknife Catholic School Board offers a wide variety of French programs and services to our students. Find out more about these programs and see how they can benefit your child.