David Brankin Elementary 22-23
OUR CONTEXT
David Brankin Elementary is a tri-track school located in the Whalley neighbourhood of Surrey. We have a regular program for students in our catchment as well as an Intensive Arts Program and an Intensive Intervention Support Program for students who come from all over Surrey. David Brankin Elementary has 408 students of which 214 are ELL, 51 have special needs or diverse abilities and 11 are Indigenous.
The students at David Brankin are happy, enthusiastic and caring. They are brave, risk takers and collaborators. They enjoy learning, playing and working with a variety of peers and staff. Students understand that each of them is special and unique and part of what makes David Brankin a diverse and vibrant learning community.
OUR LEARNERS
People who are socially aware and responsible contribute to the well-being of their social and physical environments. They support the development of welcoming and inclusive communities, where people feel safe and have a sense of belonging.
A socially aware and responsible individual contributes positively to their family, community, and environment; empathizes with others and appreciates their perspectives; resolves problems peacefully; and develops and sustains healthy relationships.
Schools are social spaces where students have many opportunities to learn and practice social awareness and responsibility. Below are examples highlighting our students’ strengths in their social emotional skills.
Our learners look for ways to make their classroom, school, community, and natural world a better place.
David Brankin Elementary, students contribute positively to their family, community, and environment.
 Helping clean up after a big wind storm. |  Decorating Houses for Birds to Use in our Courtyard. |
 Making New Year's Resolutions |  Kindergarten Kindness Agreement |
At David Brankin Elementary students actively participate in our ROAR initiative. All staff hand out ROAR tickets to students practicing their ROAR. Every ticket represents students being responsible, open hearted, active, and/or respectful.
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ROAR tickets are posted on this bulletin board and it is consistently filled with wonderful examples of our students making our school a better place.
Our Learners Value Diversity
David Brankin Elementary students value diversity, defend human rights, advocate for issues, and interact ethically with others. They are inclusive in their language and behaviour and recognize that everyone has something to contribute. Their approach to inclusive relationships exemplifies commitment to developing positive communities.
 |  Orange Shirt Day |
 Walk for Wenjack |  Celebrating Lunar New Year |
OUR FOCUS
This year, our focus is to use literature to encourage students to make deeper personal connections with the ROAR characteristics.
In the B.C. English Language Arts Curriculum every grade level has curricular competencies related to using texts to make meaning.
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By exploring stories and other texts, we can gain a better understanding of ourselves, our families, and our communities. Stories have the power to connect us to others and the world around us.
To support this focus, every class reads the same book that corresponds to a letter in ROAR. Additionally, every month, we hold a school assembly where teachers and students can delve deeper into each characteristic. During these assemblies, classes share their connections to the stories we have read together. We also draw names of students who win copies of the book to take home and additional copies for their classrooms.
In addition to the assigned books, we gather more stories from the library each month that tie in well with the ROAR characteristics. These books are displayed in the main school foyer, and teachers borrow them throughout the month to read with their classes, further enhancing the learning of each ROAR characteristic. Students are also encouraged to read these books and discuss them with their friends as they walk through the area.
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| Characteristic | ROAR Book of the Month | Evidence of Connections |
| Responsibility | Even Superheroes Make Mistakes, by Shelly Becker | |
| Open Hearted | my heart, by corinna luyken | |
| Active | Sometimes People March, by Tessa Allen | |
| Respectful |  |
Teachers used literature to encourage students to make deeper personal connections with the ROAR characteristics.
"The ROAR Assemblies have helped Kindergarten students understand what the ROAR means and they are much more motivated to earn a ticket by displaying responsible, open-hearted, active, and respectful actions."
"I appreciated the books being available to read over the month to help students understand what it means to be responsible, open hearted, active and respectful.
"My students didn't really know what ROAR was all about, they just knew they received tickets for doing something good. The books that we read and the assemblies helped them learn about ROAR and I hear them talking about being responsible, open hearted, active and respectful and recognizing when classmates are showing these characteristics."
OUR NEXT STEPS
Building on the deeper connections students have made with being responsible, open hearted, active and respectful, we will move forward to focus on communication. The communication competency in the B.C. English Language Arts Curriculum encompasses the knowledge, skills, processes and dispositions we associate with interactions with others. Through their communication, students acquire, develop and transform ideas and information, and make connections with others to share their ideas, express their individuality, further their learning, and get things done. The communication competency is fundamental to finding satisfaction, purpose and joy.
Everyone has a unique story to share. Through listening and speaking we connect with each other and build a common understanding. David Brankin's ROAR framework will next be used to encourage students to focus on their listening and speaking skills so we can all become better at communicating through being responsible, open hearted, active and respectful.
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.
