École Crescent Park 25-26

This year, Crescent Park continued to strengthen its commitment to literacy development through a comprehensive, school-wide approach to reading and writing instruction. Building on previous literacy initiatives, staff implemented research-based practices that supported the development of foundational literacy skills while fostering student voice, creativity, and confidence as writers.

A key component of this year's work was the implementation of Monthly School-wide Writes for all students. These writing opportunities provided consistent practice across grade levels while supporting school-wide literacy goals. Each monthly writing task aligned with the Brainfit Superpower of the Month, intentionally connecting literacy learning with Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). Through common writing prompts and themes, students reflected on shared experiences, developed their writing skills, and expressed their unique perspectives. The collected writing samples provided valuable evidence of student growth over time and created opportunities to celebrate student voice and creativity throughout the school.

In the primary years, literacy instruction continued to integrate reading and writing through a structured focus on phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling, and decoding. These foundational skills served as an essential bridge to successful written communication. Through systematic instruction, students developed an understanding of letter-sound relationships and spelling patterns that enabled them to write with greater independence, accuracy, and confidence.

Across all grade levels, literacy instruction emphasized vocabulary development, sentence construction, grammar, punctuation, and the organization of ideas. As students strengthened their reading and writing skills, they became increasingly able to communicate their thinking clearly and effectively through a variety of written forms. Teachers supported this growth through writing prompts, creative writing opportunities, mentor texts, and structured writing tasks that encouraged students to apply literacy skills in meaningful contexts.

The school-wide writing initiative also provided authentic opportunities for students to share their learning with the broader school community. Student writing was showcased during assemblies and school events, including student-written scripts that were performed to highlight and promote the Brainfit Superpowers. These experiences strengthened student engagement and reinforced the importance of writing as a tool for communication, leadership, and self-expression.

School-wide writing assessments continued to support instructional decision-making and student growth. Teachers collaborated within cohorts to review student writing, calibrate assessment practices, and use the BC Performance Standards to monitor progress over time. Students completed monthly writing tasks throughout the year, with formal assessment evidence collected in December, March, and June. This process provided valuable data to inform instruction, celebrate growth, and identify areas for continued support.

This year's goals included:

• Implementing Monthly School-wide Writes aligned with the Brainfit Superpower of the Month to strengthen writing skills and support SEL learning.
• Providing students with regular opportunities to develop, share, and celebrate their writing through classroom activities, assemblies, and school-wide events.
• Continuing to strengthen instruction in sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, and organization of ideas.
• Supporting teachers through professional learning opportunities and collaborative assessment practices that enhanced literacy instruction.
• Using progress monitoring tools and the BC Performance Standards to track student growth and inform instructional planning.
• Amplifying student voice by creating opportunities for students to reflect on their learning, contribute ideas, and showcase their writing growth through authentic audiences and student-led presentations

Writing data indicates positive growth in student achievement throughout the school year. The percentage of students performing at the Proficient and Extending levels increased, while the number of students in the Emerging and Developing categories decreased.

Key Highlights:

• The percentage of students in the Emerging category decreased from approximately 11% in Term 1 to 5% in Term 3.
• The percentage of students performing at the Proficient level increased from 59% to 66% over the course of the year.
• The percentage of students achieving Extending more than doubled, increasing from 4% in Term 1 to 11% in Term 3.
• The combined percentage of students performing at the Proficient and Extending levels increased from 63% to 77%.
• The percentage of students in the Developing category decreased from 26% to 18%, indicating movement toward proficiency.

As we reflect on the growth and successes of this year's literacy initiatives, we will continue to build on the strong foundation established through our school-wide focus on writing. The implementation of Monthly School-wide Writes, collaborative assessment practices, and structured literacy instruction has strengthened both student achievement and staff capacity. Moving forward, we will focus on sustaining these practices while exploring opportunities to broaden our literacy goals.

Sustain and Refine School-wide Writing Practices

The Monthly School-wide Writes have provided meaningful opportunities for students to develop and showcase their writing while making connections to the Brainfit Superpowers and Social-Emotional Learning. Next year, we will continue to refine this process by:

• Maintaining regular school-wide writing opportunities that support student voice and creativity.
• Using writing samples to monitor growth over time and inform instructional planning.
• Providing authentic audiences for student writing through assemblies, school events, classroom celebrations, and student-led presentations.

Expanding Our Literacy Focus

With the provincial mandate for early literacy screening in Kindergarten through Grade 3, staff have engaged in significant professional learning, collaboration, and reflection around literacy development. Through this work, teachers have strengthened their understanding of the relationship between reading and writing and the importance of early identification and intervention. 

As a result, Crescent Park is exploring the possibility of broadening its Student Learning Plan to include a stronger focus on reading achievement alongside writing development. Staff will consider opportunities to extend literacy screening, assessment, and intervention practices beyond the primary years and explore the feasibility of implementing common literacy measures from Kindergarten through Grade 7. This work will help ensure a cohesive and responsive approach to literacy instruction across the school.

By building on the successes of this year's work and exploring a broader literacy focus, Crescent Park remains committed to fostering confident, capable readers and writers. Through ongoing collaboration, reflection, and responsive instruction, we will continue to support literacy growth and achievement for all students.