East Kensington Elementary 23-24
OUR CONTEXT
"We all belong here."
East Kensington motto is "We all belong here."
Through daily outdoor learning experiences, children in the EKOLogy program develop a sense of wonder and gratitude in the beauty, diversity and complexity of the world to become environmentally and socially responsible people with a passion for lifelong learning. Children in our EKOLogy program spend time each day learning outside the classroom.
Our outdoor learning program:
- provides outdoor experiences that integrate B.C.'s curriculum with children's innate wonderings and curiosity.
- allows teachers to facilitate emergent, experiential, inquiry-based, play-based, and place-based learning.
- allows teachers to help children to identify, co-manage and navigate risk. Opportunities to experience risk are seen as an integral part of learning and healthy development.
- aligns with the First Peoples Principles of Learning.
- develops students' core competencies. Experiential learning in the outdoors fosters children's competencies as creative and critical thinkers, effective communicators, and people who are personally, socially and environmentally aware.
OUR LEARNERS
OUR LEARNERS
Social and emotional learning is a process in which children develop in their ability to use creative and critical thinking skills to be able to articulate their emotions in a healthy manner. Social Emotional Learning tools include recognizing and managing emotions, caring and creating positive relationships with others, making good decisions, and learning ethical and responsible views when it comes to decision making. Social Emotional Learning is embedded throughout the BC curriculum and is deeply woven within The First Peoples Principles of Learning. East Kensington learners understand that learning is holistic reflective, experiential and relational.
Our learners can think critically, have the ability to reflect on their actions and are able to have honest and clear forms of communication. This allows them to create a better understanding of themselves as well as their social responsibilities to each other, the school community and the environment in which they learn in.
In this photo, students and teachers brainstorm about the local environment and what seasonal patterns are occur throughout the school year. Students do daily observations, where they track the moon cycles, weather, calendar and changes they notices in the living ecosystems. Once a month, the class gathers to collaborate and bring awareness to the changes they have noticed. It opens up discussion and critical thinking practices for our students to better understand their social role and responsibility in the environment they live in.
In this photo, students were asked to observe, sketch and re-create a natural habitat they may find in the eco-system. Students worked on self-regulation, collaborative partnerships and creative thinking practices to show their learning and understanding. This student found a mindful space where they could sketch a bird habitat and then worked with a partner to gather natural materials to create what they believed the bird habitat would look like. The students then shared their inquiry and learning with other groups in the class.
OUR FOCUS
Language and story can be a source of creativity and joy. Ministry of Education Language Arts Big Idea
Language shapes how we see the world-and ourselves. We have a choice in the words we use to describe ourselves, others, and the world around us. The words we choose and the meanings we attach to them influence our decisions, beliefs, and wellbeing.
Studies have shown that phonemic awareness is a foundational skill, essential for learning to read. As students learn to identify sounds through oral and auditory activities, they become phonemically aware. Engaging in phonemic awareness instruction develops students’ understanding of sounds, and that knowledge directly impacts their spelling and writing.
Conversations with LST lead to inquiry into what K is doing to strengthen language acquisition.
In order to strengthen our students phonemic awareness, our Kindergarten classes are using a new Language Arts program called Heggerty. We followed the following process in order to determine its effectiveness:
- Assess level of student phonemic awareness by summarizing results from Early Learning Phonemic Awareness Tool Survey (ELPATS) and anecdotal information from teachers.
- Kindergarten teachers administer the Early Learning Phonemic Awareness Tool Survey (ELPATS) in January/February to assess students' initial level of phonemic awareness.
- Compare ELPATS results at the end of the year to determine growth over the year.
- Compare ELPATS results from years prior to implementation of Heggerty.
OUR NEXT STEPS
The Heggerty program has improved students' phonemic awareness. The strengths of the program were its structure, accessibility, and consistency. A new program called Ufli has all of these elements which have made Heggerty effective plus a more robust and comprehensive set of supporting resources. As a result we will:
- In coordination with the LST department, we will implement the Ufli Foundations Reading Program
- Use the ELPATS in grades 1-3 as diagnostic tool to determine where students require extra support.
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.
