Programs
Though our numbers are small—we have only 36 students from Grades 7 – 12 – at Lucerne School we offer a full range of academic and elective programs through a variety of innovative practices and as a result of the diverse gifts and backgrounds of our multi-talented secondary staff. Some of our electives include: Shop, Writing, Foods and Nutrition, Fine Arts, Outdoor Education, Fitness 11-12, PE 11-12, and Spanish.
Multi-graded classrooms:
Most of our courses are multi-graded. In some courses such as Math and Science, the curriculum is separate for each grade level; in some courses such as English, students are able to work at a range of levels within a multi-graded classroom. Our teachers are talented at adapting to the individual needs of students.
Small Class Size:
Most of our class sizes are relatively small when compared to our urban counterparts. Our largest class (PE) has 30 students in it but most other classes maintain sizes of 12 – 20. As a result, students get lots of individual attention.
Help for Students with Learning Disabilities and Special Needs:
We offer strong support to students who need extra help with Education Assistants in the classrooms, and the services of our Learning Assistance teacher. In addition, our teaching staff is well versed in strategies to help learners with challenges to be successful in the regular classroom.
High Quality Academic Programs:
Our academic standards are high at Lucerne. Our students score above the district and provincial averages in many of the classes we offer. Our teachers are well trained in current educational research and offer after school and lunch hour tutorial times to all students. We are very proud that Lucerne graduates have won the most prestigious scholarships in Canada, (two students have been awarded the Loran Award in the last ten years), and have their choice of post – secondary options after they graduate from our small but mighty rural school!
Immersion Electives and Independent Learning:
With the 21st Century well on its way, at Lucerne, staff recognize that students need to have more decision making in their own learning – not just how but also when and what. We are offering nine immersion elective weeks that will provide students with credits in Applied Skills and Fine Arts – students will opt to take the course or not depending on their course selection and whether or not they want to be more focused in school or immersed in Photography, Martial Arts, Archaeology, Dance or Drama -just a few of the weeks planned.
Our Facilitated Learning Centre:
Western Canada Learning Network, DESK, Selkirk College Transitions courses — we have them all:
Some of our senior classes are offered through our Facilitated Learning Centre. As we are a small school we rotate academic senior Humanities and Science courses in a two year system that are taught by a teacher. Through using the FLC , these courses can be offered each year. In the centre one teacher and a program assistant work with students to enable them to work at their own pace in a productive manner. Popular courses this year using WCLN are: Drafting 11 & 12, Law 12, Family Studies 12, First Nations 12 and Physics 11 & 12.
No matter what course the student needs, we can find a way to offer it. Students can also elect to take Independent Directed Studies and Navigator courses, both allowing students to pursue a passion, a talent, a skill or an intense area of study beyond the prescriptions of BC’s curriculum.
