Who We Are

École Howden is a vibrant and expanding French Immersion learning community comprised of approximately 400 students from Kindergarten to Grade 8. We have approximately 39 staff members, including 28 teachers. 

Our school serves the Windsor Park community. We are part of the Collège Béliveau family of schools in the Louis Riel School Division. After their Grade 8 year, students will move on to Collège Béliveau to continue their French Immersion education for Grades 9 to 12.

Mission Statement 

École Howden is a caring, inclusive and engaging learning environment. We foster respectful collaborative relationships between students, staff, family and community to maximize the full academic potential, creativity and wellbeing of every child in our French milieu.

Vision Statement

Guided by our mission, École Howden is committed to be a model of best teaching practices, inclusion, and community.

In order to fulfill our commitment to maximize the full potential of every child:

• Our community will work collaboratively to provide authentic learning experiences so that students are engaged, respectful, empathetic, and active learners.
• School staff will work interdependently to engage all students and promote sustainable learning through innovative, systematic, research- and evidence-based practices to foster critical thinking and true independence in learning.
• Students' learning experiences will guide them toward becoming resilient life-long learners who contribute to a democratic and sustainable world.
• Together, families and faculty will support and encourage our students so that they will proudly and confidently learn and communicate in French and English.École Howden provides a safe, inclusive and engaging learning environment. Through mutual respect and a passion for learning, staff, parents and the school community work together to fulfill our commitment to high levels of success for all of our children, as they grow and learn in our French milieu. 

Our Collective Commitments 

In order to achieve the shared vision of our school, École Howden’s staff has made the following collective commitments:

1. Model the French language and promote French-Canadian culture.
2. Work collaboratively as equal participants to develop, implement and analyze school-based, common assessment tools to guide our practice.
3. Apply assessment and instructional strategies that are based on sound research and promote academic success.
4. Differentiate our practice in order to respond to the needs of the whole learner.
5. Engage students in authentic tasks that connect them to their school, their community and beyond.
6. Provide parents with resources, strategies and information to help their children succeed.  

History

École Howden's name pays tribute to The Honourable J. P. Howden, MD, Senator of Canada. Originally an English language school built in 1965, École Howden became a centre for French Immersion learning in September 1979. There were 197 students registered in its inaugural year. The school continued to flourish and exceeded its capacity by 1982 with 417 students, and peaked in capacity by September 2016 with 500 students, just prior to the opening of École Sage Creek School. The opening of the new school resulted in over 160 Sage Creek students transferring from Howden to their new community school.

Howden By The Numbers

Grades: K–8

Number of Students: 400