About Us

General School Information

Kensal Park began as a French Immersion school in 1985 and was renovated and enlarged in 1992. Five additional classrooms were added in 2007. The school offers classes from Kindergarten through to Grade 8 and the students follow the same Curriculum Guidelines as English language schools except that a minimum of eighty percent of their instructional time is in French. Please note that Kindergarten is fully in English, and spaces are limited. There is a lottery process to apply for a Kindergarten spot at Kensal Park, and those who are not offered a spot are placed on a wait list. Please contact the office for further information.

The only entry point when children may begin French Immersion is grade one.

Free transportation is provided to students who reside more than two kilometers from the school and who live within the designated boundary area which presently includes residents west of Wharncliffe and south of the Thames River.

Highlights of the Kensal Park facility include:

a fully equipped double gym with stage,
a spacious library and resource centre with multimedia computers
a computer lab with Internet access and extensive French and English software.

All classrooms in grades one to eight are equipped with Interactive Whiteboards (Smartboards). The London School Age Program offers an after school program on site.

Co-instructional Activities

Kensal offers a wide variety of co-instructional activities both during and after school. Some of these include:

cross country
intramural sports
track and field
math challenge
choirs
Grade 7 & 8 bands
student prefects
library club
competitive sports

Noteworthy Items

Each year, we try to incorporate as many authentic learning opportunities as possible to facilitate the learning of the French language and foster an appreciation for other cultures. Some of these experiences have included the following:

French musical groups
Multicultural dancers and presenters
Trips to the theatre
London Art Gallery
guest speakers who talk about their experiences around the world

The following list highlights a few of the ways in which Kensal recognizes and honours student achievement and accomplishments.

J'aime parler français (monthly award for spoken French)

Volunteers at the School

It is our belief that the school and parents are partners in educating children and open lines of communication are important. We encourage parental involvement in many ways. Parents may be involved in organizing fund raising, participating in committee work such as Fun Fair, being part of the school council, working one-on-one with students in English and/or French, helping teachers with preparing materials, sharing expertise with classes, supervising a class during lunch, accompanying students on class trips, as well as promoting and sharing a variety of cultures and languages.

Measures of Student Achievement and Success

At Thames Valley, we believe that assessment and evaluation of student achievement are integral parts of the learning process. Information gathered through assessment and evaluation helps teachers to determine students' strengths and weaknesses in their achievement of the curriculum expectations. It also serves to guide teachers in adapting curriculum and instructional approaches to students' needs and in assessing the overall effectiveness of programs and classroom practices. A variety of methods are used to gauge student progress including: teacher observation, classroom tests, projects and other examples of student work.

Contact(s)