Cristina Syrnyk's Class

          I am currently in my 3^rd year of teaching. The first year I taught with Edmonton Public, then switched last year to Edmonton Catholic and St. Alphonsus. All of this time has been spent in kindergarten (as well as my practicum which I also did in kindergarten).

           St. Alphonsus is an inner-city elementary-junior high school with an extremely varied student population. The majority of families are lower income with low education levels, and many have languages other than English as their first language. Many students also come from homes that include alcohol and drug abuse, physical abuse, and/or negligence. The school has a high transiency rate.

           This year, our school has a small Early Childhood Program in a  wonderfully large physical space. Registrations came slowly, but by October we had 14 students (9 boys and 5 girls). 9 of my students speak languages other than English at home, while another 3 have Native Culture to Celebrate as well. Although Fine-Motor and Speech-Language Testing is not complete, 4 students have been identified for Program Unit Funding (2 for Speech-Language, 1 for Fine and Gross Motor, and 1 for Speech-Language and Fine-Motor). We are also one of the schools piloting the extended program, so we cover curriculum in our morning sessions and do alternative programming primarily in the afternoon (TaeKwonDo, Swimming, Skating, Gymnastics, Art, etc…).  

          Our Operating Hours are Mon, Tues, Wed 8:30-11:50, 12:40-3:05; Thursday 8:30-12:20; no school on Fridays (except for special days).