Hall's Prairie »

Hall’s Prairie Elementary is a school of 142 students, in a rural setting, that has seen substantial growth in the past few years.  We have six divisions from Kindergarten through Grade 7, with a number of combined grade classes, and will be expanding to nine divisions for the 2017/18 school year.   We have  some diversity in our student population, with a number of different languages represented, and are fortunate to have a high percentage of students of Aboriginal descent.  In the past, our learners came from the rural properties that surround the school, and now, our learners are coming to our school from a combination of the rural properties and the new development in the Douglas / Summerfield area.  

The rapid growth in our school population has afforded new opportunities for our students in the form of a larger cohort of peers to collaborate with, learn with, and make friendships with.  With growth in our population, we have been able to establish co-ed sports teams that have participated in SESAA (Surrey Elementary Schools Athletics Association) organized events and we have been able to provide other extra-curricular activities in the form of lunch time games club and noon hour hockey .  We have also been fortunate to expand the educational resources available to our students to support their learning in literacy, numeracy, and applied skills and design.  

At Hall’s Prairie, we have a very active and involved parent group and PAC who do a phenomenal job in supporting our students and fundraising for our school. The Hall’s Prairie Country Market, a PAC coordinated event, is a long standing tradition at the school that provides an opportunity to connect with our community and raise funds to support our students.  Our parents play an active role in their child’s learning and engage in our school in a variety of ways from noisy reading and volunteering in class and on field trips, to actively participating in fundraising and school community events.

Like most children, our learners at Hall’s Prairie are inquisitive and thrive in inquiry based learning experiences.  Our teachers provide of variety of learning opportunities and structure lessons in ways to try to meet all types and styles of learners.  Students at Hall’s Prairie are keen to get involved around the school and can be seen volunteering as lunch monitors, daily announcers, recycling monitors and grounds clean up, and they are quick to volunteer their time any opportunity they get.  

At times, our students struggle to self advocate, manage their emotions, manage peer relationships, and build resiliency.  Some of the other things that we know about our learners include:

Areas of Strength

• eager to learn
• enthusiastic
• kind
• some are intrinsically motivated
• inclusive
• accepting of others
• athletic and energetic
• able to identify feelings

Areas for Further Growth

• develop self-regulation strategies ( impulsivity & self control)
• develop strategies to manage emotions
• develop critical thinking skills
• develop a sense of ownership for learning and behaviour

• older students are great with their little buddies
• students are often eager to help out around the school
• students ask thoughtful questions in class and are aware that they have questions to ask
• some students self advocate for their learning in class by seeking clarification and soliciting feedback from others
• small cohort groups of students struggle with peer relationships and often reference issues from the past when dealing with conflict with others
• a number of self regulation tools are being used in classrooms
• students are reluctant or slow to be accountable for their choices and behaviour
• some students are detached from their learning and lack a sense of ownership for their learning and their behaviour
• most common reason for school based team referrals is student behaviour
• parents frequently address concerns about behaviour on the bus or interactions with peers
• students have the ability to identify interests

One of Surrey School District’s Priority Practises is Social Emotional Learning and this is an area that our learners at Hall’s Prairie struggle with.  The questions that our staff are looking to explore include:

• How we can support and facilitate the growth of our students in the area of social emotional learning?
• As a staff, how do we foster the competencies of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making?
• Will the implementation of programs such as Second Step and Zones of Regulation help foster the competencies and skills that our students need to be more grounded in their social emotional learning?

At our May 2017 planning day, staff decided unanimously in favour of devoting a day at the end of August to engage in Professional Development in the area of Social Emotional Learning.  The focus for this day will be to explore two programs; The Zones of Regulation and Second Step.  

Staff are also looking for support from our SEL helping teachers, Distict Resource Counsellors, and District Behaviour Specialists in an effort to teach our students to identify and manage their emotions.

The Beginning

 In September 2016, we, as a staff, took some time to discuss what we know about our learnings.  Through this discussion, the concern around social emotional learning began to evolve.

First Reflection

At our planning day in May, we spent time as a staff checking and responding to questions in small groups.   Here are the unedited responses of staff:

What is working in the area of social emotional learning?

• Emotional self-awareness – they can talk about what they are feeling, vocalize their needs, solve small problems, seeing the counsellor, access support staff
• Tools – able to use specific language to express Zone they are in
• Increasing ability to advocate for their needs
• Students starting to identify their emotions, and how they can affect others emotions
• Some growth in impulse control (once an hour rather than once a minute:))
• Students are growing in their empathy and understanding of a situation
• Mentorship of big and little buddies – positive relationships

What struggles do you continue to see?

• Continuity of counselling/CCW – they lack a person that is invested in the relationship with them
• Transitioning to Green Zone
• Problem solving
• Struggle to learn from previous mistakes/actions (positive or negative)
• Poking the beast (purposeful actions)
• Lack of awareness of consequences before acting
• Tools vs. toys
• Consistency of program
• More support at recess
• Role-modelling (raising the bar)

 What do we do or are we doing when things are not working for our students?

• Communication through planner
• Behaviour check in for parents
• Positive reinforcement- visits to other classrooms
• Safe space
• Providing a place to regulate until they can join the class in the green zone
• Bucket filling
• gradual/soft start
• Student choice (freedom, celebrations, etc.)
• Positive reinforcement for those buying into classroom routines and expectations
• Sensory tools (personal tool boxes)
• Role playing, problem solving, cookie cutter language
• A little guilt goes a long way…
• Establish relationship
• Moving from role models to mentors – the language to help each other – peer mentoring
• Hang out with Mrs. Tarnowski
• Classroom/school ground clean up
• Lunch Club
• School pride
• Trying to make proactive measures

Next Steps

This August, staff will engage in a professional development day to explore deeper in the area of social emotional learning.  Staff will be looking for closely at The Zones of Regulation and Second Step resources to see how these may help us to foster and nurture the awareness, strategies, and tools needed to be more competent in the area of Social Emotional Learning.

Following the summer professional development day, we will look to implement The Zones of Regulation in the first week of school with a commitment to teaching lessons 1 through 3 by the end of the first week.  Teachers will then continue through the program once classes have been set for the year.  Staff will also work to incorporate and teach the Second Step program.

We have set our next planning day for September 2017 in an effort to revisit our summer learning and to check in to where we are at in implementing the two programs in our school.