Part 1: Analysis of Context
1. What do we know about our learners?
Clayton Heights is a school that is based very much on the notion of “service” learning. Our learners are caring, considerate helpful.
We have created a focus on leadership and the support of charitable causes.
Social emotional learning is key to the success of our students.
We are a community of acceptance and diversity. There is a place for every student.
In our community of learners, there is a strong focus on the service aspect – our goal will be to increase the engagement of al learners at Clayton Heights. As we move forward, we need to help students see success in its many forms and provide avenues for them to experience success.
2. What evidence supports what we know about our learners?
Clayton Heights is a vibrant learning community that works to integrate academic, social and emotional dimensions into its framework.
Surveys with our students indicate the following:
- the school atmosphere is warm and welcoming
- the school rules and expectations and clear
- there is a feeling of mutual respect between students and teachers
- the students are very concerned with community and global issues
- they love to share their successes
The school has a myriad of activities and events that work to celebrate our learners:
- Project Equal
- Students Council
- Grad Council
- Environmental Club
- Model UN
- Reality Club
- Drive
- Link Crew
- Recycling Committee
- Inspire
Events
- Halloween for Hunger
- Charity Bake Sales
- Christmas Hamper Drive
- Stampede
- 36 hour Famine
- Reality Week
- Seniors Dinner
- Grade 8 Retreat
- Link Crew nights
- Terry Fox Run
- Anti-Bullying Day
- Year End Carnival
- Teacher Thank you’s
- Exam Relief days
Part 2: Focus and Planning
3. What focus emerges as a question to pursue?
The focus for Clayton Heights lies with the word success. As we move forward within the next two years to a school that downsizes, we want to create a new identity for the school.
Out of this quest for a new identity comes the word success. We want to redefine the word success in the Clayton Way.
What does Success look like at Clayton Heights? Within this question, we can expand:
- What is the Clayton Identity?
- What are the different types of success that we have at Clayton?
- What does and should success look like?
- How can we celebrate where we have been and then celebrate the path we are taking?
- What are the components of success
- How can we engage all students?
We are in the process of creating surveys and questions that will allow students to be feel supported and heard. We want to build trust in our learning community. The culture of trust and respect is crucial to our school plan.
In addition , the model of communication that will inform our plan is that of “Open-to-learning” conversations (OTL leadership).
4. What professional learning do we need?
“If I had one hour to save the world, I would spend 55 minutes defining the problem and then five minutes solving it” (Albert Einstein).
Open to Learning leadership based on Vivane Robinson (University of Auckland) is something that our leadership team will engage in with our staff and students.
Open-to-Learning Conversations
- increase the validity of information (e.g., understand thoughts, opinions, reasoning, inferences and feelings)
- increase respect (e.g., treat others as well intentioned, interested in learning and capable of contributing to your own learning)
- increase commitment (e.g., foster ownership of decisions through transparent and shared processes)
Robinson, Hohepa and Lloyd, 2009
Our plan is to use OTL to start the conversations that will allow us to gain insight into what we are trying to achieve. 
5. What is our plan?
