School Plan Year 2 or 3

- Page 1 -

Vancouver School District School Plan for Queen Mary Year 2 (2018) of 3 Year Plan, 2017 - 2019

GENERAL SCHOOL STORY:

Queen Mary Elementary school is situated in the residential community of West Point Grey. The school is located next to Trimble Park and is within walking distance of a small business community on West 10th Avenue. Our recently completed seismic upgrade (2016) has created spaces conducive to a collaborative team-based approach to teaching and learning at all grade levels, reflective of our core beliefs in collaborative decision-making and work as a Professional Learning Community.

Queen Mary supports the varied learning needs of approximately 318 students, including a significant number of international and local students who speak English as a second language. A portion of our student population have identified special needs and are fully integrated into classes. Staff use a variety of authentic and formative assessment tools and strategies. We are participating in the District pilot program for Communicating Student Learning, designed to help District reporting practices better align with the redesigned curriculum.

We are entering Year 2 of a school plan around building responsible citizenship and community, as well as continuing our goal of increasing knowledge and appreciation of Indigenous histories, traditions, cultures and contributions among all students. At Queen Mary there is a focus on Outdoor Education and ecological food and plant systems, with part of our grounds housing an Indigenous landscape. We are also heavily invested in using technology to enhance student learning with multiple laptop carts and usage of iPads to supplement student understanding. Our library also houses an extensive MakerSpace area and class sets of robotics kits. Students are supported in developing coding and engineering skills with the use of programs such as Scratch, VEX Robotics and 3D printing. Collaboration time is built into our Teacher Librarian’s schedule to accommodate shared learning for staff and students alike.

Parents are active supporters of school programs. They volunteer in many ways such as supporting student safety through Safe Arrival and the Walk Whatever the Weather initiative. Parents help promote classroom activities, nature walks, our environmental program as well as extra-curricular programs such as sports and leadership. They have also been active in a variety of other school community functions and fund-raising initiatives to enrich the classroom and school facilities. The school’s catchment area includes the Jericho Lands formally owned by the Department of National Defense and recently acquired by Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Wauthuth.

2A. WHAT DID WE SEE?

A measure of student resilience is the number of meaningful adult relationships present in their life. The

MDI results from 2017-2018 indicate that Queen Mary students report having fewer connections to

School Plan Year 2 or 3

- Page 2 -

adults in their community compared to their peers in the District. However, they have strong peer

relationships and a strong sense of well-being. They also identify solid physical indicators of general and

social well-being, and report high engagement with after school activities. On the MDI Well-Being Index,

45% of the student population are considered to be thriving.

These statistics coincide with what is observed by staff. The general student population at Queen Mary Elementary thrives on hands on and experiential learning, where opportunities for independence and creativity are facilitated. Students enjoy working with peers, but at times face challenges with self-regulation and conflict resolution. Staff have noticed the impact on learning due to the number of after school activities, as the school setting becomes an environment for socialization and passive rather than active participation in learning. An example of this is an emphasis on the ‘end result’ instead of the process. Many students are focused on the ‘grade’. This in turn leads to many lacking intrinsic motivation to take an active role in their learning and some are disconnected from the school-wide culture, displaying a lack of accountability or investment in the school community. We would like to see more students embracing a ‘growth mindset’ to allow risk-taking in their learning.

2B. WHAT DO WE NEED TO RE-ADJUST?

We are narrowing our focus (from: How do we build a positive, caring and supportive community of learners which celebrates diversity through personalized transformative learning?) to specific attributes that reflect the Positive Personal and Culture Identity, Personal Awareness and Responsibility and Social Responsibility core competencies. Thus we are focused less on an “end goal” of a letter grade and retention of information, and more on facilitating a skill set that can be applied to all learning and social development. We believe this will help us address student mindset and accountability.

Our focus on building community and responsible citizenship emphasizing active involvement in the learning processs will also lend itself to supporting the development of meaningful adult relationships in the school community.

INQUIRY QUESTION (previously known as “Goal”)

Inquiry question for 2018-2019 How do we continue to build a positive, caring and supportive community of learners that possess

empathy, a growth mindset and investment into our school culture?

School Plan Year 2 or 3

- Page 3 -

WHAT IS YOUR NEW PLAN?

Our refocused plan involves the school community actively working to Grow our World Together. This will include both indoor and outdoor learning and leadership opportunities for all community members:

1. Direct teaching to develop a growth mindset; reflecting on the process of learning as opposed to the finished product (grade)

2. Primary inclusion project: combining several primary classes once a week for group learning activities around school awareness (Code of Conduct, staff names and roles, playground & lunchroom expectations, etc.), camaraderie, friendship skills and leadership

3. Building leadership in the upper intermediates at the beginning of the year to serve as captains and then leading to a gradual release of responsibility to younger grades to take on more leadership initiatives. For example: Grade 6/7 classes can be responsible for Safety Patrol in Sept-March with grade 5/6 classes taking ownership from April-June.

4. Walk Whatever the Weather initiative beginning May 31st, 2018: connecting environmental awareness with a sense of community (ie ‘walking trains’, ongoing parent support)

5. Indigenous knowledge: Construction of indigenous garden space with a focus on integration of Indigenous ways of being into daily life (e.g. using medicinal plants from our Indigenous Learning Gardens)

6. Tending class Garden plots

WHAT SUPPORTS WILL WE NEED?

Continued parental encouragement of school initiatives (Walk Whatever the Weather)

continued PAC funding/support for nature walks

Ongoing professional development around CSL

collaboration time

management and maintenance of Indigenous gardens over the summer (i.e. summer watering program)

HOW WILL WE KNOW WE’RE SUCCESSFUL?

The completion and maintenance of a healthy Indigenous garden and food based garden

continued student and parent participation in the “Walk Whatever the Weather” initiative

use of the outdoor classroom space on school grounds

anecdotal reports from staff and parents

Continued monitoring of MDI results

School Plan Year 2 or 3

- Page 4 -

HOW WILL WE SHARE?

Staff reporting of usage of space and gardens

integration into classroom curriculum

PAC newslestters

slideshows at assemblies

Open House presentations

class websites

school website

trustee visits

District-wide Indigenous Goal: To increase knowledge, acceptance, empathy, awareness and appreciation of Indigenous histories, traditions, cultures and contributions among all students.

What do we know about the Indigenous Learners in Our School?

Currently we have one student in Grade 4 with Indigenous heritage.

WHAT HAVE WE DONE AT OUR SCHOOL TO SUPPORT ALL LEARNERS

IN REGARDS TO THIS GOAL?

Active inclusion of the First Peoples Principles of Learning in curriculum delivery

primary grades viewing of Raven Tales DVD set

use of Indigenous acknowledgement during school assemblies

integration of traditional games and dance

class healing circle time to share concerns and moments of joys

school wide series of nature walks to Pacific Spirit Park & Jericho Park to learn about the interaction between nature and life, Indigenous medicinal plants local to our environment, and environmental stewardship

Use of Indigenous teacher to teach about indigenous plants

construction of Indigenous garden space on our school property and school wide involvement in integrating gardening skills and building awareness of nature and our daily life

School Plan Year 2 or 3

- Page 5 -

WHAT WILL WE CONTINUE TO DO IN THIS AREA?

continued construction of indigenous garden space

expanded classroom nature walks to include all divisions

HOW DO WE KNOW THAT WE ARE BEING SUCCESSFUL IN THIS AREA?

Natural integration into the classroom program and school culture without being limited to set boundaries of times for engaging in First Peoples Principals of Learning (i.e. supporting the well-being of the self, family, community, land; experiential learning; relational learning; recognizing the consequences of one’s actions).