Our Beautiful and Inspiring Spaces
We believe the educational setting is very important for learning and a general sense of happiness.
As such we are thrilled to be located on the 600 acre property of the Ignatius Centre, only five minutes from downtown Guelph.
Ignatius has a diverse network of trails, with exciting forest, meadow, river and stream settings that offer a myriad of opportunities for play and exploration year round.
Our fully equipped classrooms are beautiful with high ceilings and inspiring views over the grounds.
The inside and outside areas are directly connected and function as an integrated whole, facilitating the flow of materials and ideas.
Outdoors
The outdoor facilities are rich and varied in natural and cultural resources. The location offers extraordinary learning opportunities in every season. The natural areas consist of diverse cultivated and wild ecotypes, including meadows, forests, creek and gardens. The network of hiking trails offers year round opportunities for exploration.
When outside the children can use tools for building, gardening, gathering and examining, such as microscope, trowels, buckets, magnifying glasses, nets, jars, etc.
Ignatius is a pioneer of organic sustainable agriculture. It is home to a thriving garden community, organic farm, innovative enterprises and community organizations providing exceptional real-world learning opportunities for children.
Ignatius has led initiatives such as “Plant an Old Growth Forest”, leading to the decommissioning of Marden Creek dam, freeing the creek for the first time in 180 years.
Indoors
Our facilities are beautiful and inspiring lots of natural materials and colors.
The classrooms have lots of soft lighting, plants, area rugs and comfortable places. They are divided into smaller, more intimate areas to enable focused activity. The furniture is student-sized and comfortable.
They are well stocked with open-ended, quality toys, tools and materials to extend and facilitate learning and discovery, including; a high quality library, continuously updated with books and references to expand on the students areas of focus and interest, a variety of safe, quality art supplies, a large assortment of natural building materials and tools, materials to inspire imagination and creativity, and a variety of age appropriate puzzles and games.
Kitchen Garden
Food integrates many aspects of the human experience, including culture, education, community, health, and the environment. Growing and preparing food provides relevant real-life opportunities for introducing children to mathematics, science and technology. The culture of food is a natural and inviting forum for helping children’s social, language and communication development.
The business of growing and foraging for food builds ecological and food literacy that connects children to their food and the natural world, setting healthy eating and activity patterns for life. Through participation in food cultivation, harvesting, preparation and celebration, children begin to understand the road from seed to table.The outdoor facilities are rich and varied in natural and cultural resources. The location offers extraordinary learning opportunities in every season. The natural areas consist of diverse cultivated and wild ecotypes, including meadows, forests, creeks, and gardens. The network of hiking trails offers all year opportunities for all sorts of exploration, gathering, cooking, and play.
