Aspire Academy Ottawa

HELLO SPRING!! Our students planted their first seeds this week so now we wait.... Growing and tending to plants is such a lovely and rewarding way to practice patience, learn about plant life cycles and much more. What are you growing this season?? #insideaspireacademy

VIRTUAL TOUR + INFO SESSION! If you're interested in learning more about our programs please join us today or during one of our future info sessions: Hosted via zoom at 3:30PM on the following dates: April 8th, 2021... April 22nd, 2021 April 29th, 2021 May 13th, 2021 May 27th, 2021 Zoom Meeting Details: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87842925705 Meeting ID: 878 4292 5705 Passcode: 402959 Looking forward to see you then! See more

Out and about on our campus doing this fun scavenger hunt There are so many ways to take learning outside of the classroom and we’re thrilled to have the warmer weather again to make outdoor learning that much more enjoyable!! #insideaspireacademy

#autismawarenessmonth

Registration for the 20212022 academic year will open to the community on April 6th While September still seems so far away, now is already the time to consider what option will be best for your child for next year. If you're curious about our programs or are wondering if Aspire is the right fit for your child, these info sessions are a great place to start. Our beloved Director of Clinical Development, Kim Moore, and equally-beloved Principal, Misha Costescu, wil...l be hosting virtual tours/info sessions to share more about everything that we have to offer. Hosted via zoom at 3:30PM on the following dates: April 1st, 2021 April 8th, 2021 April 22nd, 2021 April 29th, 2021 May 13th, 2021 May 27th, 2021 While it will be amazing to have so many of our current students return next year, we're also looking forward to welcoming new students to our community. If you're interested in attending, here is the zoom info: Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87842925705 Meeting ID: 878 4292 5705 Passcode: 402959 Looking forward to seeing you then!

Who got outside to play and learn today?? #insideaspireacademy

Winter fun!! #insideaspireacademy

January at Aspire #insideaspireacademy

Our Beginnings class is kicking off the new year learning about apples! Apple decorating, an apple gluing activity, paper plate apples, apple sauce sensory play and maybe even a bite or two! #insideaspireacademy

Happy 1 year Aspire Anniversary to our fabulous Parent Coordinator Sarah! We are truly grateful for all that you do for our students, parents and educators. You play a special role in our team, you keep things running smoothly and we love all of your creative ideas. A big THANK YOU from all of us! #insideaspireacademy

Oh hey 2021 #insideaspireacademy

Thanks for sharing these kind words about Aspire Academy Kelly. Were so happy you enjoyed your experience with us - well miss you!!

Wondering how you can feel this happy at work? Find a job that taps into your passions, for a company that supports and appreciates you, in an environment that exposes you to lots of smiles and fresh air! Aspire Academy is hiring Educational Therapists, just saying Visit our website for more information about the opportunity or email your resume to [email protected]

Its official! Aspire Academy is now a fully registered private school with the Ontario Ministry of Education. We are very grateful to everyone who helped make this possible #insideaspireacademy #bestnewsof2020

Educational assessments can feel formal, lengthy and overly-clinical... but thats not our style at Aspire! Weve developed an assessment process that reflects our teaching philosophies and really allows us to get to know our students. Heres in the inside scoop: We take our time. Our assessments are completed slowly and thoughtfully throughout the entire first month of the school year. This gives our students a chance to settle in, get comfortable and show us who t...hey really are. We mix and match assessment tools. There are a handful of great assessment tools available, each having its pros and cons, so we mix and match which tools we use depending on the types of skills being assessed and the students' learning style and skill level. We often use more than one assessment tool with each student because we believe it gives us the best overall picture! We measure academic skills based on the Ontario Curriculum (math, language arts, social science, geography etc.) as well as the skills that are necessary for learning, problem solving and higher level critical thinking. We also spend time just hanging out with the students, individually and as a class, so that we can learn more about what interests them and observe how they communicate and interact with others. Our assessments take place in the natural environment of our school, while our students are learning, socializing and having fun. Check back on Wednesday because well be sharing what we do with all this important information once we have it! #educationalassessmentscanbefun #insideaspireacademy See more

Our Aspire Beginnings program is off to such a great start too These kiddos are kind, playful, curious and brave - we couldnt ask for a better group!! #insideaspireacademy

Week 3 #insideaspireacademy

Check out the Employment Opportunities page on our website for more information. If youre interested, please send your resume to [email protected]

We shared this quote shortly after we announced the launch of Aspire Academy (almost one year ago!) but lots of people have joined our community since then so we wanted to share it again. This quote is one of the best! We love it because it really resonates with what we are creating at Aspire Academy. As educators, it is OUR job to create an environment that makes learning possible for each and every one of our students. This involves building a program with flexible, cr...eative and mindful Teachers and Educational Therapists, in a physical environment that fosters learning It also involves really, really getting to know each student, what they like, their strengths and how they learn. To accomplish this, we use a variety of formal and informal assessment tools. It's a critical part of each students journey at Aspire and often the first step after starting with us. We'll be sharing more about our assessment process later this week... stay tuned!! #insideaspireacademy See more

Our students used different mediums to make 3-D plant and animal cells during Senior Science today! #insideaspireacademy

Unexpected discovery on our campus = impromptu mini lesson about mushrooms and fungi #insideaspireacademy

Just hanging out after school #insideaspireacademy

Canadian Geography 101 #insideaspireacademy

This is a great article if youre looking for some new books to read with your kids! Kids today are stressed. They see and hear (often more than parents realize) that the world is in a distressing state... books are a terrific way for kids to see that theyre not alone in their worries... powerful storytelling is healing for everyone.

Wow, week 1 We were so busy we didnt even have the chance to share with all of you! Our students, families, educators and leadership team absolutely rocked the transition this past week!! It was amazing to see everyones hard work pay off. This week exceeded our expectations and got us even more excited for the rest of the school year. #insideaspireacademy #thisisgonnabeagoodyear #innovativeeducation #ourstudentsrock

#insideaspireacademy in September

Wrapping up the summer with some GIANT bubbles! #insideaspireacademy

Lucky find today! #insideaspireacademy

Continued to learn about mindfulness this week and these awesome students created confidence boards with messages that we can all benefit from. If things get tough, Ill never give up cause I know I can! and Not everyone will like me and thats ok, because I LIKE me! Oh, and we ended the week with some awesome karaoke!!! Check out the video in our story! #insideaspireacademy

SEE OUR SMILES BUTTON GIVEAWAY Smiles play such an important role in building connections between our students and educators. While our educators are wearing masks to keep everyone safe, we want to make sure our students and families can still see their friendly faces. Starting in September, our educators will be wearing photo buttons that show the smiles behind their masks. But wait, it gets better! Weve partnered with Ausome Ottawa to spread these personalized photo... buttons across the autism community in Ottawa. Together, were proudly gifting photo buttons to 300 other educators and coaches who support students with ASD in Ottawa. How ausome is that?! If youre an educator or coach who works directly with individuals with ASD and are interested in ordering a button for yourself, or buttons for your team, please contact Emily at [email protected] to reserve your button(s). Quantities are limited so we are gifting on a first come, first served basis and will be placing our button order on Friday, August 28th. See more

We transformed our front foyer into a temporary art exhibit to showcase some of our students most recent work Looks like the curator priced the pieces fairly reasonably, dont you think? #insideaspireacademy

Meet Misha the new Principal at Aspire! Hes passionate, kind, enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and with almost two decades of experience in education under his belt we knew right away that he would be a great addition to our team. Misha will be popping on to say hello tomorrow so please tune in. Hell be sharing more about his teaching philosophies and some of the amazing ideas he has for our school.

Everyone deserves an education #educationispower #insideaspireacademy

Our students have been learning to recognize which things that they can and cannot control, as well as the importance of putting energy into the things inside their bodies that they CAN control. #insideaspireacademy

Meet Sarah our Parent Coordinator! She is the friendly face thats greeting our students and doing daily health screenings when they arrive on campus. She also supports new families as they start their journey at Aspire and helps our Leadership Team with the many things we have going on behind the scenes. As the mother of two boys, she brings great perspective to this role and were happy to have her on our team! #insideaspireacademy

Our students have been busy learning about plants They germinated popcorn seeds in plastic baggies (with and without water) and have been making observations about how they are growing. Theyve recently transferred their little plants into soil and cant wait to keep watching them grow! #insideaspireacademy

At Aspire Academy, we value employees who are curious, passionate, empathetic, adaptable and honest. We look for individuals who won't just fit into our culture, but help to make it better! We are currently hiring Certified Teachers and Educational Therapists for the 2020-2021 academic year. Job descriptions are posted on our website! If youre interested in applying for one of our available positions, please email your resume and cover letter to [email protected] We proudly provide all new employees with ample training, support and encouragement as they start their journey at Aspire.

Have you guys heard about GoNoodle?? They share free movement and mindfulness videos for children of all ages and stages. Their videos are fun, colourful, creative and designed by child development experts so we love them at Aspire Check them out if youre looking for something that will get your kids/students up and moving! #insideaspireacademy

Were extra grateful for our STEM education partner, Coder Sports Academy. Victoria, one of their awesome educators, has been helping out with some of our learners and theyve been having a blast! CoderSports teaches coding literacy to kids of all ages They offer some pretty cool programs so we recommend that you check them out! www.codersports.com

Weve said it before and well say it again: were super impressed with how our Aspire community has handled the ups and downs of the past few months. Our students, families and educators have adjusted so well to the new policies weve implemented to keep everyone safe. Things look a little different than wed like so heres a reminder that there are smiles under our masks!! #insideaspireacademy

Over the past few weeks, Kim has had the opportunity to work with Dr. Dana Gadaire, sleep expert and mother of four. Her sleep wisdom is too good to keep to ourselves, so were hosting a virtual workshop with Dr. Gadaire on Thursday, July 30th at 7:00pm! If youre interested in attending, please email [email protected] to reserve your spot

The Feelings Hotel is such a creative way to talk about and explore feelings

This is a great article - thanks for sharing Emerging Minds!

Are you looking for another fun and interactive way to beat the heat while still keeping the kiddos entertained? My recommendation for this week... ice exploration Like many of the other activities Ive shared with you, this one doesnt require fancy materials and is pretty simple to do. Simply freeze several small toys or coins in water in an ice cube tray then let your kids have fun chipping away at the ice and melting it down to find whats inside. Materials: A...ll you need is an ice cube tray, several small toys or coins, a bowl of warm water, an eye dropper or syringe, a thick paintbrush and a toy hammer! Steps: Start by filling an ice cube tray 2/3 full with water then let your kiddos decide what they want to freeze in the ice. We put small colourful dinosaurs and fruit into ours Next, pop them in the freezer and wait for them to freeze. We checked the status of ours SEVERAL times throughout the day, which created great opportunities to talk about how and why water changes to ice. My kids loved that the cubes were a little more frozen each time we checked. Once the water was frozen solid, we took the ice cubes and a warm bowl of water outside. My kids were eager to get the toys and fruit out by dripping the water into the ice with the paintbrush to start the melting process!They also squirted the ice with warm water using the syringe and eyedropper. Once the ice really started to melt they used a toy started hammer to get the surprises out! Teachable Moments: Observing liquid change to solid and the reversal of solid changing back to liquid! Colour identification (we chose small rubber colourful dinosaurs and fruit and as we popped the animals out we got to label the colours) Wrist strength, fine motor skills and hand eye coordination when using the tools. Pinching and pulling the eye dropper and syringe to fill and re-fill are amazing strengthening exercises and being able to hammer and make contact with the object youre hammering requires significant hand eye coordination! Object identification and language - if you freeze coins in the ice its a great opportunity to practice the names and monetary value of each coin! You can also count the coins as you break them free from the ice. Temperature exploration - feeling the difference between the cold Ive and warm water. See more

Summer fun!! #insideaspireacademy

Noisy, untidy, messy and unpredictable We love it all! #insideaspireacademy