What is RTCSS?
The Rosedale Traditional Community School is a combination of two former schools, Rosedale Elementary School and Rosedale Traditional Middle School.
The Rosedale Traditional Community School Society (RTCSS) https://www.rtcss.ca/ was formed in the spring of 2011 by a group of Rosedale community members, and was incorporated as a Society in October 2011. The society was formed to promote and advocate the concept of "community education" and to provide a means of empowering the members of the community to address their local needs and to encourage and support the development of community participation.
The objectives of RTCSS is to assess, coordinate and provide quality programs and services that meet the needs of the Rosedale community members.
Through the direction and guidance of RTCSS and board, the community school coordinator and community volunteers will work to provide educational, recreational, and social opportunities for community members of all ages and abilities.
The new Rosedale Traditional Community School has been designed and implemented as a Community School to provide access and use of its facilities to develop and maintain programs, services and events, and to enable the community to fulfill their needs and attain lifelong learning opportunities.
The Rosedale Traditional Community School Society (RTCSS) is a non-profit organization that was formed to identify and link community needs and to provide for the participation of all community residents in social, educational, and recreational activities. Ongoing programs and services are offered daily within the Rosedale Traditional Community School"s facilities. Use of the facilities has been made possible due to the partnership between School District 33 # and the City of Chilliwack.
"Our Mission is to provide broad inclusive programming for all ages in a safe and welcoming environment, providing lifelong learning opportunities for all ages."
RTCSS Board
Guiding Principles
RTCSS embraces the community education model, which advocates a process for empowering citizens in a community to address local needs in an apolitical manner. It is guided by eleven principles, namely:
Inclusiveness - our association and the community school embrace people from all walks of life and we encourage community participation and involvement. "In the interests of inclusiveness within RTCSS's goals and procedures, RTCSS has a policy in place to offer assistance in extenuating circumstances, to promote opportunities for program involvement. Please call the Community School Coordinator, in confidence, to access assistance."
Shared Resources - we will utilize the resources of the Rosedale Traditional Community and the wider community to enhance learning skills development.
Lifelong Learning - we believe in the concept of "everyone a learner, everyone a teacher", and that programs and services should be accessible to people of all ages and abilities.
Integrated Services - we acknowledge that our strength will be in the development of a positive working relationship with school, public and private agencies, so that we can provide our community with the best programs and services possible.
Environmental Awareness - we believe in instilling an environmental ethic by:
Helping to create and preserve appropriate outdoor environments;
Ensuring various environmentally-focused school and community programs and services are available;
Facilitating community access to knowledgeable environmental resource people.
Responsiveness - we strive to facilitate and/or provide programs and services that meet the identified needs of the community.
Leadership Development - we believe we have a responsibility to foster ownership of the community school by providing opportunities to develop leadership skills and by encouraging people to take on leadership roles and assignments.
Sustainability - we recognize that we need to take the initiative to ensure the continuity of programs and resources of the community school.
Neighbourhood Based Actions - we encourage and support local initiatives to provide programs and services in our community.
Safety and Security - we are committed to encouraging community involvement in creating and maintaining a safe, secure environment for our children. We will support and encourage programs, services, and community action aimed at maintaining a safe community.
Partners-in-Learning - we will ensure that the Rosedale Traditional Community School Society does not conflict with or take away from the educational process and needs of Rosedale Traditional Community School - a Community School. Rather, it should enhance the learning environment of the School.