Day School

Our Day School offers a Reggio- inspired education for Kindergarten and Grades 1-6.

 Taking the success of our Early Years Programs, which foster loving and welcoming classrooms enriched with learning, and pairing it with a passion for a new-age style of education, VMA officially started Vincent Massey Academy Day School in 2017.

In refining our approach to learning with the Day School, it was important to us to ensure that we considered how our students learn and feel success in all avenues of life, not just academia. Our classrooms strive to allow our young learners to better understand themselves and how they connect and fit into the world around them. Through a Reggio-inspired learning environment, our program takes pride in offering each child an education that builds on their strengths and challenges their individual needs.

Our balanced approach to education ensures that success is felt throughout all avenues of life. We believe by equipping our students with the tools to succeed not just academically -  but emotionally, socially, and physically - we equip students with the skills necessary to navigate all aspects of life. On a daily basis, we provide our students with the opportunity to test and develop critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and innovation skills. We encourage them to ask questions, take risks, and collaborate with peers to help them in building a growth mindset and take agency over their learning.

Program highlights 

  • Whole child development through a balanced approach to education
  • Small class sizes that allow students to progress through the curriculum self-paced, never capping the grade level they are working in (13 students in Kindergarten and 15 students in Grades 1-6)
  • Large, open classrooms designed to bring our student's learning to life and share our student's self-expression and creative processes
  • Individualized learning for each student to ensure students are challenged daily
  • A mastery approach is used in core subjects to ensure students comprehend entirely a concept before advancing
  • Enriched physical education program with specialized coaches in various sports programs throughout the year
  • Interest and inquiry-based learning supported through a designated Investigative Research learning block
  • Knowledge-building practice that focuses on collaboration and problem-solving skills, idea diversity, and real and authentic problems
  • Project-Based Learning to enforce the real-world application of skills and knowledge, and cross-curricular learning
  • Focus on soft skills such as teamwork and collaboration, social-emotional learning, growth mindsets, and self-image
  • Social Justice and Global Citizenship exploration through community involvement and engagement, age-appropriate discussions and explorations, and safe and accepting space practices
  • Social Emotional Learning to support emotional regulation and personal wellbeing
  • Regular connections with nature to deepen sustainability practices, environmental stewardship and connections with Indigenous teachings
  • Leadership and mentoring opportunities starting in Grade 2
  • School community development through school-wide events, assemblies, and family involvement
  • Monthly field trips and guest presenters

A Glance into our Kindergarten Classrooms

Our Kindergarten classrooms are purposefully designed spaces with exploration, creativity and inquiry at the heart of our designs. Our goal in creating these spaces was to allow children's expressions and inquiries to bring the room to life to allow a space that feels like their own. Each year brings a new group of students' experiences, wonders and understandings of their world to the classroom creating unique spaces from year to year.

While our classroom have learning blocks specific for Literacy and Numeracy, our programs designate a learning block for Investigate Research where our students are able to be the researchers of their own inquiries. By placing the focus for learning on the process than the outcome, students are able to test their hypotheses and playing an active role in their own learning.

A Glance into our Primary Classrooms

Our Primary Classrooms continue to place our students inquires and interests at the heart of their learning. By allowing our students to be the leaders in their explorations, we see unique learning journeys come to life in meaningful ways. Our students show just how competent and capable they truly are when they are tasked with being the researcher of topics they are interested in.

By continuing to place importance on all facets of a balanced education, our primary students are able to make big connections about their world and where they fit into it. Explorations and conversations that discuss Truth and Reconciliation and land-based education, social emotional competencies, race and equality, environmental awareness, and LGBTQ+ allow our students understand learning spans beyond the classroom walls. We take pride in our students seeing themselves as change makers and hope to continue to inspire youth to be apart of social justice.

"The wider the range of possibilities we offer children, the more intense will be their motivations and the richer their experiences."

-Loris Malaguzzi