Rosemary Heights »

Rosemary Heights, constructed in 2008 is  a relatively new school in the community of South Surrey. The high socio-economic neighbourhood consists of mostly single family homes and town homes. The school population has grown rapidly each year growing from 244 students to 577 with a high degree of international students and students with  special needs. This has resulted in the addition of four modular classrooms, three portables and a permanent addition of two classrooms.  With the rapid development in  housing in the area, the school will continue to be at capacity for the next few years.

There is a profound sense of pride in the  community.  Parents are actively involved throughout the PAC and various school events such as Parent Social, Spring Carnival, Sports day, Movie Nights, hot lunch program and Terry Fox run. Parents are active participants in their child’s learning and any classroom/school event is always well attended.

Most of the professional staff are very experienced. Staff members are enthusiastically  involved in both curricular and extra curricular activities. Many pilot  programs for the District  such as digital portfolios, assessment for learning,  STEM and coding have been piloted by teachers at Rosemary Heights. The school  is a technology rich and technology is accessed everyday as a learning tool.

Staff members work collaboratively planning for learning  and create rich learning environments for students.

Students are generally motivated and dedicated learners. They are very active in all school teams and activities.

Rosemary elementary mural 

Students in Gr 4 and 7  score well on the FSA   with an average overall rating of 7.9 for the past 5 years.

Grade 7 students write the Gauss math every year with students consistently scoring an average of 110.

The majority of our students from LST and classroom assessments are meeting or exceeding expectations in Language Arts and Math.

Students are better at metacognition as evidenced in their self reflections on Fresh Grade and with explaining their thinking.

Parents have a better understanding that we are trying to shift practice in Education away from the industrial model of sorting children into categories of achievement. We are moving toward a learning model where students are at the center and have more ownership of their learning. We want a conversation about learning rather than a finite mark.  As Einstein said, “not everything that counts can be counted”.

How will a learning commons help foster a greater collaborative teaching and learning environment?

How will we engage the students in taking ownership of the core competencies?

Where did we come from?

–       No  STEM projects (2013-2014)

–       Genius Hour (2014) in one class

–       Students  had been learning mostly from text books, not much open-endedness in assignments or projects . More traditional approach to teaching

–       Teachers open and willing to explore, but lacked resources, information and opportunities

-Core competencies are “new” to the curriculum. The language is new to students and teachers

-Students need to know and understand the language to be able to engage in deep learning

Parents rooted in old ways of teaching and learning.

Continue to pursue opportunities offered by the district for release time to discuss and collaborate with colleagues.

Continue to plan, share, reflect on our practice in grade groups and across the grades.

Continue working with the District helping teachers to enhance practice in Coding, STEM, ADST

GR 7 and Librarian Learning STEM Together

Continue with improving our assessment practices with participation in sharing at staff meetings, and being part of the district programs

Teachers in grade groups are using the language and “playing” with a variety of methods then discussing findings.

Continue to participate in district offered workshops in Socials, Science, Coding,  A Novel Approach and in the Learning by Design Dinner Series with Faye Brownlie (Gr 4, 6 and 7)

Successful in obtaining a Priority Practices Learning Grant for Gr 4/5 teachers looking at an  ADST Curriculum Design and Quality Assessment Focus

Participation in a Design and Make Summer Institute

Design and Make Summer Learning

Perseverance in Design

Where do we want to go?

–       transform learning and teaching by allowing more freedom in a shared space

–       provide teaching and learning environments to foster the curiosities of students

–       continue to actively engage in student-led passion projects, such as Genius Hour, with more resources and tools to connect with a wider, global community/audience

–       adaptable vision, and recognize that 21st century learners’ needs are diverse

Students are given a variety of ways to show their learning over time

–       ignite our journey by creating a MakerSpace in the library where creation, invention, and learning are encouraged

Open shared space learning

–       encourage students to take risks in a safe environment

–       expand our use of technology so as to contribute to students’ and teachers’ digital literacy and fluency

Learning with technology

–       less structure and more open plans

–       create opportunities for built-in multi-age exploration of shared interests (whole school challenges-Perseverance Activity “The  most Magnificent Thing”, Power of YET, Cardboard Challenge-It’s not a box!)

Younger and older buddies learning from each other

–       each month a different theme based on student input of co-op blocks for coding, maker space, genius hour, etc.

–       encourage a culture of perseverance and creativity

Rate ratio and speed through Cars and Ramps exploration