Bridgeview Elementary 24-25
OUR CONTEXT
Bridgeview Elementary is located in North Surrey’s City Centre and serves a vibrant community of learners with a wide range of strengths, experiences, and needs. As a designated Inner City School, our students benefit from additional staffing and targeted supports that help remove barriers related to poverty, language, and access to services. These resources ensure students have equitable opportunities to thrive—both academically and socially.
At Bridgeview, literacy is a key part of every student’s learning journey. From Kindergarten to Grade 7, students engage in meaningful reading, writing, and communication experiences designed to grow their confidence and skills. Instruction is tailored to meet learners where they are, using explicit teaching, small-group support, and ongoing feedback to help every student make progress.
Our learning spaces are designed to support student well-being and belonging. We create opportunities for learners to explore who they are, connect with others, and see their identities reflected in what they learn. Relationships—with peers, staff, and families—are at the heart of our school community, and we work together to ensure each student feels safe, valued, and supported in reaching their full potential.
OUR LEARNERS
Bridgeview Elementary is a vibrant and diverse school community. Our students come from across the globe, with over 28 languages spoken at home. More than 50% of our learners are designated English Language Learners, and 5.46% of our students self-identify as Indigenous, including First Nations and Métis. This rich diversity is a cornerstone of our identity and drives our commitment to equity, inclusion, and culturally responsive teaching.
At Bridgeview, we believe that every learner should feel a strong sense of belonging and see themselves reflected in their learning environment. We intentionally prioritize representation in our classrooms—particularly through literature and literacy instruction—so students can "see themselves in the classroom" and build meaningful connections to what they learn. Our literacy program is designed to meet students where they are, providing opportunities to grow and thrive regardless of their starting point.
We recognize that strong literacy skills are foundational for success across all areas of learning. Our students are encouraged to share their stories, explore multiple perspectives, and use language to express complex thoughts and ideas. Daily reading and writing opportunities—both at school and at home—are paired with strategies that help learners make personal connections to text, develop critical thinking skills, and communicate effectively.
We place an emphasis on engaging students in literacy experiences that reflect their cultural identities and lived experiences. Activities such as literature circles, story workshops, and visual storytelling promote student voice and foster deeper comprehension, collaboration, and communication. These practices also help learners build empathy and connect meaningfully with their peers.
Our early learners benefit from targeted support through initiatives such as the Early Literacy Phonemic Awareness Tool – Surrey (ELPATS) and the Inner City Early Learning Initiative (ICEL). These programs provide in-class coaching and resources that focus on oral language, phonemic awareness, and emergent reading skills, helping Kindergarten and Grade 1 students establish a strong foundation for future success.
Ultimately, we aim to nurture thoughtful, confident, and capable learners who are equipped to engage critically and compassionately with the world around them. Our students are becoming not only readers and writers, but also creative and collaborative thinkers prepared for a complex and interconnected future.
OUR FOCUS
Bridgeview Students Are Becoming Stronger Readers
At Bridgeview Elementary, students are developing as readers in ways that reflect who they are, how they learn, and what matters to them. With more than half of students speaking a language other than English at home—and 28 home languages represented—reading is more than decoding words. For Bridgeview learners, reading is a way to connect, understand, and be seen.
Across all grades, students are working toward key goals from the BC English Language Arts curriculum, including:
Accessing and understanding a range of texts for different purposes
Using strategies before, during, and after reading to support comprehension
Making personal, cultural, and social connections to texts
Responding in creative, critical, and personal ways through writing, drawing, speaking, or performing
Kindergarten Focus: Building the Foundations of Reading
A cohort of Kindergarten students was selected to represent the development of early literacy skills at Bridgeview. These students explored the sounds of language through songs, rhymes, and games. They learned to isolate beginning and ending sounds, identify letters and their sounds, and blend phonemes to read simple words. They engaged in shared reading, storytelling, and oral language activities that supported the development of print awareness and sound-symbol relationships.
Students used tools like story pictures, retell mats, and phonemic awareness games to build confidence and joy in reading. Books that reflected students’ families, cultures, and languages helped learners see themselves in stories and develop personal connections to text.
To monitor student growth, we used the Early Literacy Phonemic Awareness Tool – Surrey (ELPATS). In September, few students demonstrated early phonological awareness skills. By June, the number of students proficient in isolating, segmenting, and blending sounds had increased significantly. This growth reflects stronger language awareness and readiness for Grade 1 reading.
Grades 2–7: Deepening Comprehension and Voice
In the intermediate grades, students are expanding their reading strategies and engaging with more complex texts. They use comprehension strategies such as predicting, inferring, visualizing, and summarizing to make sense of what they read. Through literature circles, book clubs, and reading conferences, students share their thinking and learn from different perspectives.
Reading instruction supports students in selecting texts that matter to them—from novels and nonfiction to graphic texts and digital media. Students reflect on themes, characters, and identity, and respond using sketch notes, discussion, and personal writing.
Students describe their growth as readers in their own words:
“I can use strategies like sounding out and breaking up words when I get stuck.”
“Now I ask questions while I read. It helps me understand the story better.”
“I like reading books that remind me of my culture or where my family is from.”
Classroom self-assessments, reading journals, and goal-setting conversations help students reflect on their progress and build ownership of their learning. Many students are noticing improvements in their comprehension and confidence and are setting new goals for themselves.
What We Noticed
Students across all grades are becoming more confident, engaged readers. Kindergarten students are developing phonemic awareness and foundational literacy habits, while older students are thinking critically about texts, sharing ideas, and connecting reading to their own lives. Whether through oral storytelling, visual notes, or written reflections, students are using language to make sense of the world and express who they are.
At Bridgeview, students are learning that reading is not just about finding the right answer—it’s about connection, expression, and growth. They are becoming readers who think deeply, celebrate diversity, and carry their learning beyond the page.
Students describe their reading growth in the following ways:
“I can use strategies like sounding out and breaking up words when I get stuck.”
“Now I ask questions while I read. It helps me understand the story better.”
“I like reading books that remind me of my culture or where my family is from."
Students are also reflecting on their progress through self-assessments, reading journals, and classroom discussions. They are noticing how much their confidence and comprehension have improved and are setting new goals for themselves as readers.
At Bridgeview, students are learning that reading is not just about finding the right answer — it’s about understanding, connection, and growth. They are becoming readers who think deeply, celebrate differences, and enjoy the journey that every book brings.
OUR NEXT STEPS
This year at Bridgeview, our early literacy focus was on supporting Kindergarten students in developing strong phonemic awareness skills using the Early Literacy Phonemic Awareness Tool – Surrey (ELPATS). Students engaged in daily opportunities to explore and play with the sounds of language, building essential early reading skills such as oral language, phoneme isolation, segmentation, and blending. These foundational skills are critical stepping stones for future reading success.
From the beginning of the year, students were encouraged to listen closely to sounds, take words apart, and experiment with combining sounds in playful and meaningful ways. Through a combination of structured activities and play-based learning, they made steady progress in recognizing and working with individual phonemes—key components of early decoding.
The chart below shows the growth made by this Kindergarten cohort over the course of the year. In September, only a small number of students demonstrated early phonological awareness skills. By June, many students had mastered initial and final phoneme isolation, along with 2-phoneme segmentation. Notably, there was significant growth in more advanced skills such as 3- and 4-phoneme segmentation and blending. This progress highlights the increased confidence, awareness, and reading readiness of our youngest learners.
Next Steps
To continue supporting early readers, we will:
Create daily opportunities for students to play with sounds and strengthen phonemic awareness through songs, games, and routines.
Use ELPATS early in the year to identify where each student is at and provide the right support.
Connect oral language to reading through storytelling, singing, and classroom sharing.
Offer decodable books and word games to help students apply their sound knowledge to real reading.
Work closely with Grade 1 teachers to support a smooth transition and continued growth.
Share simple literacy strategies with families so students can practice in both English and their home languages.
These steps will help all students continue growing into confident, joyful readers.
Surrey Schools
Formed in 1906, the Surrey School District currently has the largest student enrolment in British Columbia and is one of the few growing districts in the province. It is governed by a publicly elected board of seven trustees.
The district serves the cities of Surrey and White Rock and the rural area of Barnston Island.
