Mission Public School District is located on the Traditional, Ancestral, Unsurrendered, and Shared territories of Stó:lō people, of Leq'á:mel, Semá:th, Máthxwi, Sq'éwlets and Qwó:ltl'el First Nations, stewards of this land since time immemorial. Halq'eméylem is the language of this land and of Stó:lō ancestors. The place from where Halq’eméylem (Upriver dialect) originates is Leq’á:mel. The language comes from the land, and it has been this way since time immemorial. We, as members of the Stave Falls school community, embrace our commitments to strengthening partnerships and relationships with all First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities.
Stave Falls Elementary is an outdoor school with a Forest & Nature focus-based curriculum located in the beautiful Stave Falls area of Mission, BC. We are a public school within the Mission School District currently enrolling 117 students from Kindergarten to Grade 6. Our Forest & Nature program differentiates us from other Mission schools by offering a special focus on the standard BC curriculum and spending more time outdoors.
We offer students the opportunity to explore and learn in the natural environment every day.
Through an inquiry-based approach, students will be engaged in their learning through daily, meaningful interactions with nature in many of our surrounding forest areas. Our learning is based on these principles aligning with the re-designed BC Curriculum and Core Competencies:
- Curriculum Connection
- Indigenous Worldviews and Perspectives
- Experiential Education
- Hands-On Learning
- Cultivating Curiosity
- Purposeful Play
- Environmental Stewardship
We aim to provide a safe and supportive environment where all students can learn and grow.
Our mission is to ensure that all students fulfill their potential in becoming happy and confident lifelong learners inspired by wonder, understanding and a compassionate connection to the natural world. Whether it be creating a bug hotel, building survival shelters, making cedar bracelets with an elder, or analyzing the health of a tree, students will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the real world in their life long journey to become educated citizens.
Our school logo was originally designed by Brandon Gabriel of Kwantlen First Nation. The owl, citməxʷ, is important to the local First Nation people and their culture. Owls come in many varieties, but the most common type of owl found near Stave Falls are barn and screech owls.
We are the Stave Falls Owls.
The owl is considered to be a messenger of spirits of the ancestors of the humans who have lived here for thousands of years. They have excellent eye sight that can see through dimensions of realities, as told by the local Kwantlen, Katzie, and Matsqui First Nations people.
