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Bonaccord Elementary is a large school in the Guildford/Fleetwood area of North Surrey.   As an area characterized by growth and densification, our school community is culturally diverse with over 46 languages  spoken in the home.   48% of our students are English Language Learners.    A growing number of families benefit from the support services provided through our district Community School Partnerships. Our Breakfast Club, Attendance Matters and Jumpstart Programs  and more recently, a district lunch program are a few examples of this support.    Bonaccord is also home to an Intensive Literacy Support Program in which many of the students attend from outside of catchment. Our students also benefit from the fundraising efforts of our hardworking PAC resulting in enhanced programming at the school. As part of the School Plan process, staff engaged in a school scan to determine what we currently know about our learners.

Information about student perceptions were collected from our most recent MDI (Middle Years Development Index) as well as our Grade 4&7 Learning Surveys completed in 2021.  Students report a positive connectedness to adults and peers at school.  Student  self-reporting of optimism, empathy, self esteem and happiness appear to be on par with other schools in the district.  Beliefs about a positive school climate and school sense of belonging were rated slightly above district norms.

Student perception about academic self-concept was slightly below the school district average.  In the past, teachers noted that though our students were generally hard-workers, they did not often take risks in their learning.

In general, teachers described Bonaccord students as friendly, cooperative and respectful learners who arrive at school happy and willing to learn.  As a result of a long-standing effort to teach socially responsible behaviour, students appear to have a clear understanding and adherence to school expectations based on our Bonaccord STARS MOTTO initiated in 2006.  We also see improved application and understanding of self-regulation strategies among our students as a result of our most recent school goal initiated in 2018.    With classroom strategies in place,  it  is time to identify a new school focus.

2021-2022

2020-2021

Due to a priority of COVID protocols, blended learning classes our staff maintained the goal of Self Regulation as a critical area of focus.

Results of  the Grade 4 and 7 MDI ( Middle Years Development Instrument) 

• 85% of Grade 4 and 92% of Grade 7 students reported the ability to adapt their behaviour to achieve a goal in the future
• 93% of Grade 4 and 87% of Grade 7 students reported the ability to adapt their behaviour or emotions to meet an immediate goal.

2018-2020 Evidence 

Our shared focus this year was to continue our efforts to provide explicit instruction on self-regulation language and related exploration of self regulation strategies and tools  in our classrooms.

Trends 

• Zones of Regulation continued to provide a common language  to describe our energy levels and emotions
• Students are becoming increasingly more familiar with classroom tools and strategies to maintain focus on their learning.

Zones of Regulation language incorporated into curriculum learning  

Zones of Regulation Language and Visuals are posted in our classrooms.  Students continue to use the colours (Zones)   to describe their emotions and energy levels.   This common language is also used to respond to Literacy.  Click on the image to view the full image.

Classroom Focus Tools

Classroom self-regulation tools are available for students to help minimize visual and auditory distractions.  Students choose to use these tools to help with focus and for calming.

Breathing

Mindful breathing has taken many forms in our classrooms this year.

Using a Hoberman Sphere as a Breathing Tool 

Students practice mindful breathing using the visual supports of a Hoberman Sphere.  (Click on the video to view)

Listening-Connections with Nature 

Learning to use all our senses to help self-regulate is a life skill. In the first photo,  students were blindfolded and directed to a tree by a partner.  They were required to feel the details of the tree with their hands before being led back to their starting position, where their blindfolds were removed.  The final step was having students locate their tree by using their hands once again to feel for specific bumps and ridges .  The next two images capture an activity where students were asked to practice the art of listening by recording all the sounds they could hear while sitting really still, focused and with a calm mind.  Learning to listen is a tough, but important life skill that should be practiced regularly.

Active Listening in the Classroom 

The first image captures students using a chime to practice the skill of active listening.  The second image depicts grade 2 students using a talking stick to practice the skill of active listening during classroom discussions.  The last image depicts Kindergarten students listening to Music using the “magic stone” challenge.  Students  put a glass stone on their foreheads and the goal is to lay still enough to keep it there for the entire relaxation time.

Video Of Mindful Listening Using A Chime

In the following video, a grade 5/6 teacher uses a chime to practice active listening.  The chime is struck and students stand up when they can no longer hear the tone produced.

A Grade Two Teacher’s Reflection on the use of a Chime

• Students practice mindful breathing using the chime. We stay in this calm state after taking some breaths for the amount of time it takes for the chime to stop ringing after it is struck. The students enjoy it and always ask to do it a second time as they say they like the peaceful and restful feelings they have while sitting quietly. (Grade 2)

Student Reflections from an Audio Mindfulness Activity  

• Grade Two students shared their thinking after participating in an audio mindfulness exercise, The Secret of the Heart Chamber from Sitting Still Like a Frog.   https://www.shambhala.com/sittingstilllikeafrog/ .      After the audio exercise was finished, students had time to let the exercise sink in.  The quotes below are a few examples from their reflective discussion.

 

Physical Exercise

Dance, Fitness Stations and Yoga are depicted below.  It is believed that physical activity prior to classroom learning improves focus.

Integrating Self-Regulation with Dance 

An Art Starts Grant was applied for and awarded in December 2018, and the Mindful Dance Project, with choreographer Lisa Sars, began in January 2019. Students in Grade Two and Three were involved in a 6 week program exploring self-regulation and how their emotions  can be translated into movement. Some of the classes chose to further explore  Zones of Regulation and,  specifically, how excitement levels (Red, Yellow, Blue and Green) could be reflected in both the students’ movements and in the music they selected to dance to.

Positive Mindset

Positive self-talk is a strategy used to build persistence and focus with difficult tasks.  Positive self-talk is like telling our brain the positive things that it needs to hear in order to overcome negative thoughts.   In the Heart image, students made a list of the positive things they do in their day.

Drumming and Dance 

This year our enhancement worker and counsellor explored calming strategies through Drumming and Dance.

Additional Evidence of Growth

Zones Language Classroom Assessment

• 100% can name the 4 Zones identified in our Zones of Regulation Program and can name at least one emotion for each zone
•  67%  can identify correctly  three emotions for each zone.  This is up from 24% last spring.
•  82%  can correctly name the energy level for each zone
• 88% can identify at least 1 strategy to improve focus; 55% can identify 3 or more strategies.  This is up from 24% last spring.
• Students reported a number of frequently used strategies to maintain/improve focus listed from most to least reported:  focused breath (33); headphones (21); movement (17); privacy screen (9);  water consumption (10); and music (6)

Ministry Learning Survey

Questions were added to the ministry survey for grades 4 and 7 to determine student awareness and  understanding of self-regulation practice in our school.

• Every student in Gr. 4 and 7 indicated that they are able to indicate what zone they are in when they are at school.
• 86% of Gr.4 and 7 students indicated that they are able to use a strategy at school to ‘calm down.’

The ministry portion of the survey also provided us with additional insights about our students’ well-being:

• Only 73% of Gr.4’s and 59% of Grade 7’s report that they have breakfast every day.
• Only 29% of Gr.7 students report having a good night’s sleep each night; and 44% of Gr.4’s indicate that they wake up tired each day.
• 52% of Gr. 7’s report feeling some stress/anxiety at school; 37% of Gr. 4’s reported feeling stress/anxiety.  This is lower than the District average but still concerning for our staff.
• Only 34% of Gr. 7’s and 31% of Gr.4’s reported getting more than 2.5 hours of exercise per week.

As healthy habits play an integral role in students’ ability to self-regulate;  staff are concerned with the results noted above.

Parent Survey Results 

• 77% of parents  reported that their child uses ‘Zones’ language at home  occasionally/regularly.
• 76% of parents reported a positive change in their child’s ability to recover from upset.
• Parents reported a variety of self-regulation strategies used by their children including positive self-talk (38%); quiet spot (35%); focused breathing (29%); exercise (26%);  and Goal-setting (20%)
• 89% of parents surveyed indicated an interest in attending an information night at the school to learn more about self-regulation

 2017-2018 Evidence: 

Our focus question for the 2017-2018 year was as  follows:  How can we help our students become aware of and learn to become focused learners?  How can we incorporate this learning into our ongoing work with core competency language;  particularly the personal self awareness areas.

Evidence of Self-Regulation Language and Visuals in our Classrooms: 

• Teachers are using a variety of self-regulation resources including  MindUp, 2nd Step, Zones of Regulation,  online tools and picture books to explicitly teach self-regulation language and strategies in their classroom.
• The vast majority of enrolling teachers have ‘self-regulation’  visuals posted in their classroom.
• The most commonly utilized visual, based on staff consensus, is the Zones of Regulation.
• Self-regulation visuals are noted in other areas of the school including the music room, library, LST rooms, the school office and childcare worker spaces.
• Our Bonaccord Kindergarten Team participated in a pilot project to introduce and teach SEL practices to parents of children entering Kindergarten through our  ‘Welcome to Kindergarten Event’.

• The following images depict a visual presence of self-regulation language and instruction in our classrooms:

Evidence of Self-Regulation Practice:

• The majority of classroom teachers noted that they frequently use the ‘Zones’ language and visuals to increase focus in their classroom.
• The vast majority of classroom teachers were either ‘dabbling’ or using a specific resource consistently
• The majority of non-enrolling teachers commented that they hear students using the “Zones” language to describe their energy levels.
• Every non-enrolling staff member reported that they have seen students using self-regulation strategies at least a few times during pull-out learning sessions.

• The following images provide examples of self-regulation practice in our classrooms- 

Evidence Collected Through Teacher Assessment: 

Teachers observed students during the fall term to identify three  students who appeared to be in one of the first 3  self-regulation ‘zones’ for large portions of the day.  These selected students provided us with a cross section of the student population from K-7.

• Blue Zone:  Tired/sad/unengaged
• Green Zone: Calm and alert/ focused/ engaged
• Yellow Zone:  fidgety/anxious/distracted

Teachers monitored the identified students’ responses to explicit teaching and practice in the language and strategies of self-regulation.

Students completed a spring assessment to determine their understanding of the ‘Zones’ language.  The responses from our target group ( 66 students) showed promise across all grade levels.

• 98% of students could accurately name the 4 zones of self-regulation
• 100% of students could identify at  least one feeling and 24% could name more than three feelings for each zone.
• 74% could accurately name the energy level associated with each zone
• 92% could identify at least one strategy and 24% could name more than 3 strategies  to maintain/improve focus.

Evidence of Self-Assessment relating to our Core Competency language: 

Students are showing an increasing awareness and vocabulary in relation to self-regulation.  Please see our student quotes in section 7-Celebrating Success.

Additional Information:

This year our grade four students completed the Middle Years Development Instrument which is a self-report (survey) that asks children about their thoughts, feelings and experiences in school and in the community.  Bonaccord students’ perceptions about the long term self-regulation skills were in keeping with the district average.  Their perception about short term self-regulation, or how well they can adapt behaviour or emotions (e.g. calming down,) is slightly above the district average.

2016-2017- Adjusting our Focus- Evidence: 

During the 2016-2017 school year,  our staff began to explore the competencies of Personal Responsibility and the potential these competencies might have in increasing our students’ ability to manage their emotions, to focus and ultimately, to take more ownership of their learning.    As some of our teachers reported early success with SEL programming this year, our staff decided to collect information from our school community to identify an area of focus.   Observations from classroom teachers, together with parent and student surveys revealed a consistent pattern.

The following is a summary of our findings:

A team of teachers  joined our Focus Group (for school planning) to help explore the SEL needs at Bonaccord. This group met frequently to develop a plan to find out our school needs. They were involved in creating surveys, collecting and collating data, and narrowing our focus question to suit Bonaccord students’ needs.

Teacher Observations:

A significant percentage of students  experience difficulty with regulating their emotions, adjusting arousal levels, and maintaining focus at school.

 Grade Six Student Survey:

Using the “Perform Well” Survey on Self-Regulation, Grade 6 students reported their individual perception as to their ability to regulate their emotions, set learning goals, and maintain focus on learning tasks.  Students appeared to be confident in their ability regulate emotions, but less confident in their ability to set learning goals or maintain focus

Grade 1-5 Interviews:

Anecdotal comments were collected in response to questions addressing Personal Responsibility.  Though the comments varied greatly,  some common themes were identified:

-1/3 of our students reported have difficulty focusing
-Some of our students could identify strategies to self-regulate
-Students need support to develop self-awareness
-Noise was identified as a distractor
– Upsets from home and school affect ability to focus
-Students described ‘taking responsibility for learning’ as listening to the teacher and following instructions
-Students are aware of goal-setting, but did not really know why goals are important
-Students find it challenging to articulate a plan for a goal- ‘try harder’ is commonly used as a plan.
-There is a fear of making mistakes- avoid taking risks

Parent Survey:

160 parents responded to our survey regarding their child’s personal responsibility competencies.  Completion of homework was often noted as evidence of a child taking responsibility for their learning.  Parents also identified strategies used at home to support their child’s efforts to recover from upset.  Though some parents noted independence in these areas, many reported the need for adult support.  In addition to anecdotal comments, we asked parents to rate their child’s tendency to become easily upset, distracted or fidgety as these behaviours are indicators of self-regulation challenges.

Because the ability to focus on learning is dependent on the ability to manage our emotions and arousal levels, it is thought that supporting student growth with these competencies will have an overall positive effect on school success.   Based on the responses from our students, our parents and our collective observations from staff,  we believe a school focus on self-regulation is warranted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOCUS for 2021-2022

To gather current evidence about our learners to determine our next school focus

FOCUS for 2020-2021

Due to a priority of COVID protocols, blended learning classes our staff maintained the goal of Self Regulation as a critical area of focus.

FOCUS for 2019-2020

Overall good progress was made in terms of awareness levels with our students. Our next step will involve closing the gap between KNOWING and DOING.

Professional Learning 2021-2022

• Individual/Group Professional Development opportunities to expand  current/best practice potential for staff development relating to student need
•  Book Study Groups targeting potential areas of focus

Professional Learning 2020-2021

• New staff introduced to Zones of Regulation as a common language throughout our school
• Zones of Regulation, Mind UP, and 2nd Steps were offered to staff where appropriate

Professional Learning 2019-2020:

• Professional Development Summer Session on YOGA with children
• Professional Development Summer Session on GROWTH MINDSET
• September  Professional Development Day Session:  MINDFULNESS IN THE CLASSROOM

Professional Learning 2018-2019:

• Professional Development Day on Childhood Trauma
• Teacher Group Book Study – Mindset-The New Psychology of Success
• Review of the 5 Domain Model of Self Regulation (Stuart Shankar)
• Self-Regulation Environment Reflection Tool- ( MEHRIT centre)

Professional Learning 2017-2018:

• Explore and implement Evidence Based Programs- Second Step, Mind up, Zones of Regulation.
• Professional Development Day on addressing student anxiety
• Team Dinner Series on Social Emotional Learning topics

Professional Learning 2016-2017:

During this exploratory year we  have already started with relevant Professional Development in the area of Self-Regulation. In November, we  had a large group of staff members take part in a Book Study, Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness by Deborah Schoeberlein David. These teachers reflected on the chapters, tried new techniques and approaches, and shared their experiences with the group. Early in the fall, 5 classroom teachers were also supported by the SEL teacher using the Second Step Program and components of Mindfulness. During the May Pro-D last year, Taunya Shaw provided staff with an introductory presentation on self-regulation.

 

 

 

Action Plan: 

2021-2022

• Identify a team of teachers to guide our inquiry process
• Gather information about our learners through classroom assessment, student/staff/parent surveys
• Provide dialogue opportunities at staff meetings and Administrative Planning Day resulting in an area of focus
• Create an initial Inquiry question to guide our work

2020-2021

Due to a priority of COVID protocols, blended learning classes our staff maintained the goal of Self Regulation as a critical area of focus.

2019-2020

Based on our exploratory work achieved last year, staff will  pair a self-regulation strategy with an academic task to determine its effectiveness on improving student focus and productivity.

September Planning Day

• Review evidence and assessment collected during 2018-2019 school year; Identification of 1-3 specific strategies to pair with an Academic Task.

Action Plan Process

1.    Teachers formed inquiry groups based on their curiosity around how the use of a specific self-regulation strategy would positively impact improved student focus on a task.

2.    Inquiry questions were developed to guide our process using the following generic model:  To what extent will (academic task output) increase when it is (preceded by/paired) with  a (self-regulation Activity)

3.    Common protocol such as duration of task, time of day, and number of trials were established

4.    All groups to collect  pre and post evidence  in two ways:

•  Completion of a Teacher Scan  to measure observable on task/focus behaviours during the targeted academic task
•   Collection of student output response as an additional measure of focus

October 

• Collection of Baseline Productivity Data;  Isolated specific practice with Identified strategy
• Parent Information Night

November/December 

•   Pairing of strategy with academic task 2-3x per week- Midway check-in at November Staff Meeting
•     Post-Action evidence collected and shared at November Staff Meeting to determine next steps.

January -June

•   Continued application of  identified strategies
•   Transitional Plans :  Maintaining Strategies in place; dialogue towards new School Focus

2018-2019

An analysis of our 2017-2018 evidence was completed to determine our next steps.  Based on this discussion an action plan was developed.

SCHOOL WIDE ACTION PLAN 

• Continue to provide guided practice with self-regulation language and strategies
• Provide specific opportunities for students to internalize what calm focus looks like, feels like and sounds like. ( calm and alert vs. zoned out)
• Explore opportunities to building parent awareness and knowledge

OTHER GRADE LEVEL INQUIRY

• Teachers and students in Grades 2 and 3 will work with an Artist in Residence to explore self-regulation and emotions through Dance
• Our Intensive Literacy Program will explore the use of the “Natural World” as a self-regulating environment.

2017-2018

• Staff will identify a School Wide Strategy (Explicit Teaching of Arousal States) common to all programs.  This strategy will be reinforced through classroom practice and other school structures such as monthly assemblies.

2016-2017

• Inquiry Teams explore professional reading and teaching resources intended for classroom use.   Recommendations made to staff.
• Evidence collected from School Community (Parents, Teachers, Students) to determine focus
• Whole Staff introduction by Taunya Shaw (District SEL coordinator)
• Inquiry question established based on evidence collected and recommendations from inquiry team