At Bayview Glen, learning comes to life through meaningful experiences that build confidence, character, and real-world skills. From managing finances to stepping onto the stage for the very first time, each journey reflects growth, creativity, and a strong sense of community.
Wealth Health: Developing Financial Literacy Through Respect, Responsibility, and Citizenship
Written by Gareth Jones, Lower School Educator
A First Step on Stage: JK Spring Festival
Written by Alison Roy, Lower School Educator
Wealth Health: Developing Financial Literacy Through Respect, Responsibility, and Citizenship
Written by Gareth Jones,
Lower School Educator
Wealth Health is Bayview Glen’s Grade 5 Financial Literacy Signature Programme. Through real-world experiences and meaningful community connections, students learn about budgeting, saving, investing, and philanthropy while developing a deeper understanding of respect, responsibility, and the impact that financial choices can have on themselves and others.
At the heart of the programme is the Bank of Bayview Glen, a virtual banking system that runs throughout the school year. Students earn income through classroom responsibilities and actions aligned with our core values, while managing expenses such as rent and other bills. These ongoing experiences provide authentic opportunities to make decisions, solve problems, and take responsibility for their choices.
Students are encouraged to think not only about their present selves, but also about their future selves. Through learning about saving and investing, they explore the importance of planning ahead and making thoughtful decisions. This learning is brought to life through a student stock market built around Bayview Glen’s core values of Courage, Curiosity, and Compassion.
A key component of the programme is our partnership with the North York Harvest Food Bank. Through monthly food drives, student leadership opportunities, reflection, and engagement with North York Harvest’s work, students explore food insecurity in Toronto and beyond. This helps them understand that financial literacy extends far beyond personal budgets and bank accounts.
Students are challenged to consider the wider impact of their choices and the role that philanthropy, empathy, and responsible citizenship play in building stronger communities. In doing so, they learn that financial literacy is not simply about managing money; it is about understanding how our decisions affect others and recognizing that the choices we make can have a meaningful impact on the communities around us.
A First Step on Stage: JK Spring Festival
Written by Alison Roy,
Lower School Educator
It is a true sign that the end of the school year is near when the JK’s perform their Spring Festival. Every grade from SK to Grade 5 has already done more than one of these amazing shows in their school life at Bayview Glen, so they know what to expect. For the JK’s, this is the first time for many of them to be on a stage, memorizing lines, and wearing a costume. These mini musicals showcase the culmination of months of practice and commitment by each student from JK to Grade 5. The last of these festivals is also the first for the JK’s.
This year, the music was a compilation of two musicals – Squirm and Going Buggy. It showcased the JK’s dressed as bats, worms, spiders, ladybugs, snakes, and bees – things that make us squirm. There was a great element of entertainment and fun, but hidden in these festivals, children acquire many life skills that set them up for success beyond the stage. Children learn to work together as a team to bring each song to life. That means that four-year-old little actors practice the difficult skill of sitting still and listening to others. Children learn about the importance of practicing to improve skills like public speaking and storytelling. They tap into their unique creativity and learn about self-expression. They must really concentrate to know where they are on stage. They gain confidence as they memorize their lines and work with each other to create something special. Some of the quietest students have blossomed into confident actors through this process from March to May.
Rehearsals started with learning the music in March. With a focus on call-and-response teaching, students learned the lyrics to the songs. To become the characters, they used their imaginations and crawled, flew, glided, or ran to be the different animals in their classroom space. From this, they discovered their unique way to self-express. Bouncing and twirling are always JK favourites!
The JK’s sang five songs: Squirm, Cool to Be a Worm, Bees, Give a Bat a Call, and Buggy Wug Ball. Yes, the songs were very fun, but each also had a distinct beat that children reacted to, and that kept them together as a team. Each song had a message, so children learned to enunciate and tell the story to the audience. They also acquired new vocabulary and learned about the characteristics of each squirmy friend.
With no previous knowledge to work from and no idea as to what was to come until they were on stage, the JK’s really succeeded at their first show. After performing for their parents, they wanted to know when they could do it again. Months of coaching from their homeroom teachers, their parents, and their Music teacher have started them on their Spring Festival journey at Bayview Glen. Congratulations, JK’s!”