Sa-Hali Secondary School

School Learning Plan 2018-2019

Sa-Hali Secondary School is committed to preparing students for the future by focusing on literacy, numeracy

and deeper learning through competency driven approaches.

Our Learning Community: Together We Are are…..ogether we are…..

981 Students & Staff

STUDENTS: 903STAFF: 78

67=International49=Teaching Staff

100 =Aboriginal26=Support Staff

106=Ministry Identified Learners3=Principal/Vice Principal

13=Landed Immigrant Learners

400 =Athletic Participants

445=Other Extra-Curricular Participants

Our School Goals

Goal #1:

To incorporate the Core Competencies in all grades so they manifest themselves uniquely in each discipline (Science, Math, PE, English, Social Studies, ADST)

Goal #2:

To provide opportunities for students to deepen their understanding and personalize their learning via the strategy of Project Based Learning

Goal #3:

To create a warm and safe community for all stakeholders

Goal #1: To incorporate the Core Competencies in all grades so they manifest themselves uniquely in each discipline.

Teachers in Department Areas answered the following 4 questions in regards to Goal #1 at Sa-Hali Secondary:

Subject Area

What Practices Help Us?

What are the Challenges?

How do we support ongoing efforts?

What does Progress look like?

Math

· Encourage critical thinking in solving problems

· Students collaborate

· Make connections to real life problems

· Learning gaps and diverse learners

· Lack of cross-curricular opportunities for Numeracy discussions

· Lack of updated resources

· Resources to support new curriculum

· Transition opportunities for partner school students in Numeracy and Mathematics

· ProD for teachers across the Family of Schools to collaborate

·

· Students confident in exploring content within areas of interest

· Students demonstrating improvement on the Numeracy Assessment

· Students using their experiences in Mathematics when providing evidence of Core Competency Development

Science

· Direct teaching

· Daily integration of terminology of the Core Competencies and Learning tasks

· Opportunity for critical thinking problems

· Time to develop critical thinking questions and scenarios

· Instructional Leader structure not department based

· Instructional Leader focus on Science

· Text resources that support the new curriculum

· Fewer students answer “I don’t know” when challenged with critical thinking problems

English/Languages

· Student self assessments

· Use of technology

· Building communication skills

· Teaching self-reflection

· Melding the curriculum to the Core Competencies

· Prioritizing individual learning targets and selecting essential questions for deeper learning.

· Time to create a new program in line with Core Competencies

· Adequate resources

· Lack of consistency with network connections for technology

· Provide time for focussed program collaboration

· Resources that support the new curriculum

· Students become self directed when it comes to reflections and self assessments

· Students understand the language around the Core Competencies and can articulate their thoughts around them

Social Studies

· Direct teaching

· PBL and group work opportunities

· Opportunities for student self reflection

· Time to create a new program in line with Core Competencies

· Adequate resources

· Lack of consistency with network connections for technology

· Provide time for focussed program collaboration

· Resources that support the new curriculum

· Students become self directed when it comes to reflections and self assessments

· Students understand the language around the Core Competencies and can articulate their thoughts around them

Career Education

· Using Core Competencies as “soft skills” for employment

· Connecting the Career Workplace skills to the Core Competencies

· Students working on “Mock” capstone projects

· Time to create a new program in line with Core Competencies

· Adequate resources

· Lack of consistency with network connections for technology

· Provide time for focussed program collaboration

· Resources that support the new curriculum

· Students become self directed when it comes to reflections and self assessments

· Students understand the language around the Core Competencies and can articulate their thoughts around them

ADST/Fine Arts

· Incorporating handouts and assignments that use the new language so that students get accustomed to it

· Using more open projects that provide flexibility for students to demonstrate their learning

· Engaging in activities where problem solving is a vital component

· Giving regular feedback to students on their work so that they know how to improve their connections to the new curriculum

· The cost of the activities for students

· Many projects are dependent on technology which is unreliable

· Ensuring that discussions on Core competencies are engaging so students stay motivated to reflect and self assess

· Continue to provide a focus on technology resourcing

· Create a timetable that provides as much time as possible for students to work on design projects

· Support collaboration efforts across the district and with TRU

· Evolution of deeper questioning by students

· Quality of student personal reflection

· Students collaborating and mentoring each other

· Students better able to regulate their own behaviour

· Increased resiliency in students

Physical & Health Education

· Personal & Social Responsibility assessments

· Student self evaluations. Online Journaling

· 1:1 conversations between teacher & student

· Managing student completion and by-in of self evaluations

· Being in all places at all time as the gym is a busy place with active students

· Time in the daily schedule to support student time to journal

· Students writing realistic goals and self assessments

· Students can properly identify what good social responsibility looks like in the gym

What Success Looks Like in Goal #1:

Evidence

Triumphs

Challenges

Next Steps

74% of students polled in the DEWRS survey stated that they feel confident in their level of understanding of the Core Competencies in their Subject area classes.

Students that are new to the school need to be taught the language of the Core Competencies. We cannot begin to believe that we are done the work. It is ongoing.

*Continuing a discussion with classes on the level of Core Competency discussion.

*Continuing to label assignments and Rubrics with Core Competency labels.

Student Learning Scan

· The most important competency I have developed is social skills and the ability to stand for what I believe in.

· I am learning many different things, specifically how to apply core competencies to the work I do.

· I am learning about creative and critical thinking. It’s important to me because it really makes me reflect on the thinks I do.

Many students report that they appreciate learning the Core Competencies. They understand the link to leadership skills and skills they will need for employment success.

Some students don’t see the value in learning the Core Competencies: “I think the Core Competencies are a waste of time; if you cut them out you can have more time for work”

Continuing to educate students as to the importance of developing Core Competencies over strictly Course Content

Goal #2:To provide opportunities for students to deepen their understanding and personalize their learning via the strategy of Project Based Learning

Teachers in Department Areas answered the following 4 questions in regards to Goal #2 at Sa-Hali Secondary:

Subject Area

What Practices Help Us?

What are the Challenges?

How do we support ongoing efforts?

What does Progress look like?

Math

· Open-ended projects when exploring material

· Having students make up their own graphing stories

· Learning gaps and diverse learners

· Finding the time in the high content area

· Staff buy in

· Collaboration time with math teachers in our Family of Schools

·

· Students can confidently apply concepts to real-world scenarios

· Students can creatively explain their understanding to others

· There is a transference of skills into other subjects

Science

· Final presentations of learning instead of a final exam.

· Multiple methods of assessment (UDL strategies)

· Time to develop PBL opportunities and scenarios

· Diverse learners

· Instructional Leader focus on Science

· Text resources that support the new curriculum

· Higher engagement in learners

English/Languages

· Personalize vocabulary lists in second language classrooms

· Differentiate performance tasks - giving student choice

· Peer input & student collaboration

· Struggle with developing new curriculum

· Adequate resources

· Lack of consistency with network connections for technology

· Provide time for focussed program collaboration

· Students become more effective with thinking strategies and less dependent on teacher led discussion and worksheets

Social Studies

· Inquiry assignments on wellness and the big ideas in the curriculum

· Finding balance between PBL, PoL and other courses

· Lack of consistency with technology connections

· Create a structure that supports PoL in the day/week

· ProD on using PBL to support student learning

· Variety and depth of the PoL show deep engagement in the learning.

· Student enthusiasm

Career Education

· Inquiry projects on career options, educational pathways and Capstone projects

· Organizing guest speakers into the class

· Finding topics relevant and interesting for students

· Ongoing ProD across the district to provide opportunity for teacher collaboration

· Positive anecdotal evidence from student reflections

· Increased student articulation in PoL

ADST/Fine Arts

· Planning and providing PBL opportunities and PoL evening gatherings for students and families

· Connecting with TRU

· Connecting with our Family of Schools

· Providing lots of opportunity for student voice and choice in inquiry projects

· Teacher time involved in creating/planning projects is substantial

· Multi-grade classes with diverse learners can be a challenge to ensure deeper learning for all students

· Continue to provide time for collaboration so teachers can put projects together

· ProD for teachers so PBL becomes more streamlined as staff gain experienced.

· High level of student engagement

· Projects highlighted in student portfolios

· Students can reflect on their ability to provide feedback and their own opportunities for improvement

· Staff are more willing to take PBL risks

Physical & Health Education

· Senior projects - developing their own fitness magazine

· Family of schools connection in a leadership capacity

· Students instructing other students

· Space in the gym facility. Sharing the space with many classes

· The participatory nature of PE courses

· Time in the daily schedule to support gym classes in other venues and field trips. A double block within the bell schedule

· Student independence

· Students can explain and demonstrate the foundational skills of sport

· Students have a wellness focus in being active

What Success Looks Like in Goal #2:

Evidence:

Academic Success in Core Areas (All Students):

Triumphs:

85% of course marks are a C+ or better in Core Subject Areas.

Challenges:

Math and then Science marks depict the lowest level of student success compared to other departments

Next Steps:

Concentrate teacher professional development on formative assessment strategies to support math learners and provide relevant information to teachers on the support required by learners.

Numeracy Levels:

Gr 8 Numeracy DNRGrade 9 Numeracy DNRGrade 10 Numeracy

Triumphs:

Achievement levels are consistent across Grades 8-10. 30+% of those who completed the DNR and January Numeracy assessment are at Proficiency Level. 50% of students’ tests are Approaching.

Challenges:

Students at Sa-Hali Secondary school are showing lower proficiency rates in Mathematics than in other Core subject areas as well as in the Numeracy assessment. Although course Mathematics proficiency is higher than the proficiency of the Numeracy assessment, there is room for improvement as compared to the other areas.

Next Steps:

Staff at Sa-Hali Secondary will continue to look at UDL strategies to support all learners, as well as future professional development in Formative Assessment Strategies to support this department. Focused Spirals of Inquiry in department areas such as Numeracy will support this work.

Integrated Learning Centre (ILC):

ILC Triumphs:

In the Student Learning Scan, Sa-Hali students shared that their LAC blocks were fundamental to their success at school. Students shared that they find best support with difficult subject areas by attending the ILC either in pull out fashion, or in whole blocks. One student mentions: “My greatest success was passing Math. It was incredibly hard for me to and I am proud I did it”. Students have also mentioned their appreciation for the social groups provided by the ILC and the breakfast program in the mornings. The ILC provides incredible feedback to our Learning Community on the status of student support. Each teacher receives updated “thumbnail” information each semester regarding the Ministry Identified students and their case managers each semester. As well, inservice is provided several times a year for teachers to learn to access IEPs via MyEd. One example of literacy success has been the New Media 10 program that SET BC supported with learning grants. Students have been able to work on journalism type questions that they are passionate about, and film interviews using IPad technology. New Media Success provides a link to a video explaining this program.

ILC Challenges:

Since 2017, there has been a rapid increase in Ministry Identified students needing support in the ILC. Support required for students without category but with core area challenges has also rapidly grown. This has posed significant challenges to the Student Support Services department to maintain services to all learners and to staff. At the level of LART time in the ILC, UDL strategies were difficult to complete in a collaborative sense with classroom teachers and Level B testing was slow to complete.

ILC Next Steps:

With the increase in staffing in the ILC to 3.0 FTE, many of the challenges can be met; Teachers and LARTs can collaborate to support students and even co-teach while maintaining support for students within the ILC itself. By the statistics gathered in the ILC, most students are utilizing core subject support in areas of Math and English, which supports the new Instructional Leader structure that is upcoming in the areas of Numeracy and Literacy. As well, the upcoming plan of utilizing the Spirals of Inquiry format and Formative Assessment strategies and professional development should support learning in these areas.

Aboriginal Academic Successes:

Triumphs:

Aboriginal students at Sa-Hali Secondary School are finding academic success in the core areas, with 68% of students achieving a C+ or Better grade. Areas of significant improvements can be seen in Math, Science and Social Studies, while the English success rates have maintained. In the area of Math, most student successfully complete the Math course they are enrolled in.

Challenges:

In all course areas, there is still a gap for our Aboriginal learners when comparing achievement levels of C+ or Better, of approximately 17% between Non Aboriginal and Aboriginal students.

A second challenge presented is demonstrated in our Aboriginal students participating in the more academic streams of Mathematics courses. The majority of our Aboriginal learners are taking Workplace and Foundations Mathematics to cover graduation requirements than Pre-Calculus Mathematics for future academic programs.

Next Steps:

Continued work to lower the achievement gap is required at Sa-Hali Secondary. With our continued focus on building culture and equity amongst all learners. We will continue to work on the Aboriginal Enhancement Goals, and utilizing the First Nations Principles of Learning to create connections that allow these learners to thrive and build resiliency in their learning to reach for high levels. Our work on a future Numeracy goal and the Spiral of Inquiry that Instructional Leaders and supporting teachers will work through will provide us with a framework to support these students in their learning and help us determine the best way to meet their needs.

Goal #3:To create a warm and safe community for all stakeholders

Connections to Culture:

Triumphs:

The week of Sucwentwecw activities joined students in reflecting in their Connections to their family, their natural environment and to the Community. Students in each class created drawings of their reflections and they were joined together in a class and school mural. In the Student Learning Scan, students reported that they enjoyed this activity and learning more about the local Aboriginal Culture. One student shared: “My greatest success this year has been learning about the First Nations in SS and making a poster about the land and the blanket activity”. Another triumph has been the integration of the Sa-Hali Sabres Instagram page, which allows for a social media presence that promotes positive student activities and communication with our learning community. More successes are demonstrated in the following:

· Assembly presentations to students

· Safer schools - Digital Literacy and online safety

· Lesra Martin - Creating a Positive Outlook and Holding Hope

· Kevin Brookes - ICBC speaker - safe and responsible driving - Senior Students

· Transition activities

· Family of Schools Projects that connect our Elementary school partners with Secondary classes. Several PBL projects have been showcased throughout the year and allow for connections across multiple Learning Communities, the students, the staff and the parents.

· Grade 7 Math Extravaganza Day: A very successful day when our Elementary Grade 7 partner classes came to work with some Grade 10-11 students on Math challenges and then complete the Gauss Math Contest.

· Mind the Gap projects with TRU - 3 projects were completed this year. Students and Teachers had many positive comments to make about the collaboration and learning.

Next Steps:

Developing a Transition Committee in June 2019 to create alignment in transition activities to support not only our incoming Grade 8 students but also students who are new Sa-Hali Sabres from other Schools, Districts and Provinces. Leadership classes, LINK crews and Intramural activities will provide a focus for Culture building across our Learning Community. Peer tutoring and LINK students will work to provide mentorship connections with students and help build positive connections between junior and senior students. We are committed to continue the work with our Family of Schools partners and having a focus on Inquiry Projects which encourage student collaboration.

Moving Forward in 2019-2020

From the feedback provided, we have the following thoughts to support learning at Sa-Hali Secondary School

1. In regards to Learning Partner Engagement - Specifics:

a. Encouraging Feedback from our students in the form of Learning Surveys – this could be from our Principal’s Advisory Groups, Parent Groups during Parent-Teacher Interviews, the Aboriginal Boys and Girls clubs

b. Working to develop our 2020 EXPO project to celebrate student learning with our community

2. Specific Support Framework:

a. Ensuring that we properly share the successes from our Inclusive Learning Center and the supports provided

b. Developing a CORE team that meets to share and support Aboriginal learning within the school

c. Encourage the development and use of the lunch time Peer Tutoring model in the school

d. Continue to encourage staff engagement with our RTI model and CORE meetings for students

3. Aboriginal Support Strategies:

a. Development of a Boys and Girls club to support more Aboriginal students in their culture

b. Work to engage Aboriginal learners in our student learning scans to get feedback specifically from them on their learning and how they best learn.

c. Intentionally discuss as a staff strategies to engage our Aboriginal learners so they increase their successes in Numeracy and engage in more academic levels of Mathematics.

4. Specific Numeracy Oriented support strategy: For this year we have a Numeracy instructional leader to support a spiral of Inquiry in Numeracy. Grade 8 and 9 classes will be engaging in the Numeracy assessment each semester at the end of their Math 8 and 9 courses. As well, Numeracy has been added as a mosaic class for all Grade 8’s and 9’s. Formative assessment strategies have been encouraged as a way to support learning in classrooms.

5. Professional Learning Plan:

a. To use Collaboration time and Instructional Leaders to engage in professional inquires that support the following Big-Picture Questions:

i. What is going on for our Learners?

ii. How do we know?

iii. Why does it matter?

iv. What can we do to make a meaningful difference?

b. Instructional Leaders have been changed to focus areas of the following:

i. Literacy

ii. Numeracy

iii. STEM

iv. Humanities

v. Career Education

vi. Physical and Health Education

vii. Student Support Services

c. Engagement with the Big Questions will be discussed and shared monthly to inform our SLP in an ongoing shared google doc