WMEMS ‘helped my son grow and thrive’

Winnipeg Mennonite Elementary & Middle Schools (WMEMS) has created a safe and nurturing place for my child to learn and grow.

My son started grade five at WMEMS in 2021. He had been at another school in Winnipeg for the previous two years and was struggling. Doing homework was a big struggle for him and a big fight for us. He constantly complained about math and refused to do activities outside the regular school day.

The hardest part for us as his parents was watching him struggle to make friends. He had one friend in grade three before they were split up between the three large classes that made up his grade. The classes were so large that he was overwhelmed and barely talked to anyone in grade four.

Before we arrived at WMEMS, current parents contacted us to say their kids were my son’s age, and they wanted to give them a chance to meet before school started. So he made friends before school even started. Then when he arrived, every student already knew his name, because the teacher had told them already the year before. His class had just 18 kids, and by the end of his first week he knew most of their names and already had four good friends.

Concerned about his academics, we approached the teacher shortly after school started to ask how he was doing. The teacher had already noticed his struggles with math and had taken steps to reduce his workload while pairing him with the student service teacher to get some extra help. We were incredibly impressed with the care the teacher took and continued to take throughout the year.

Today, our son continues to grow as a student and as a person. He has picked up a love for cooking thanks to the home economics class he takes. He has many friends that he likes to play and work with. And he just came back from a two-night trip, something he refused to do before this year.

WMEMS’s small classes, caring teachers, and fantastic community have helped my son grow and thrive. We are grateful that we chose to send him to this school and for the incredible teachers that have made a difference in his life.

—written by a WMEMS parent. WMEMS is a K-8 school with campuses in Fort Garry and St. James.