École Laronde 23-24
OUR CONTEXT
École Laronde
Bienvenue à notre école situé sur les belles terres traditionnelles et non-cédées des peuples Semiahmoo. Laronde Elementary is the only fully French Immersion School in Surrey School District. We have 464 students that come to learn in French and become immersed in the French Language. We are a choice program and kindergarten students apply through a lottery system. We currently have 3 full kindergarten classes and we have a waitlist for next year. All classes are taught in French and in grade 3 the students start learning English. Walking through the halls, you will hear teachers, IESW's, support staff and students speaking in French. We have many families who come from far distances to attend our school. We have a very active PAC that supports the various extra programs and activities that we offer at our school.
Students at Laronde
Our learners come from a variety of backgrounds and diverse family situations. We are seeing a positive change in the varying cultures, backgrounds and demographics of the area. We have several families who are English language learners who are choosing to enrol their children in our school with the hopes of widening their language acquisition. Several families also want their children to have an extra challenge of learning in a new language. Many families have no French background and they put their trust in our school to help their children achieve their language and learning goals.
What we know about our learners.
Our students are well cared for by their families - they are healthy and physically active. They have busy after-school lives. The students are friendly, helpful, respectful and creative. Our students do well on province-wide assessments and generally do well academically. Most students in grade 7 continue with French Immersion and go on to receive a dual Dogwood.
Speaking in French
One of the challenges for students at Laronde is to always speak in French. Different classrooms use a variety of ways to help encourage the use of French. We have had a school wide focus to encourage the use of French, or teachers will develop positive motivational strategies within their classes to encourage students to speak in French. It truly is a pleasure to hear so many students using French while talking with friends or asking teachers questions.
OUR LEARNERS
The focus of Laronde's student learning plan is improving our student's social and emotional awareness and wellbeing. We noticed that during and after COVID students felt more anxious, disconnected and stressed. We want to ensure that our students can identify and talk about their emotions, enhance their skills to create positive thoughts and experiences, develop positive relationships with peers and adults as well as problem solve.
Our learners can use various strategies to stay calm when facing a problem and figuring out how to solve it. They say they like to use the following strategies: five finger breathing, going for a short walk, having some time alone, reading a book, colouring, drawing and talking to an adult to help them stay calm.
Our learners understand how to identify and manage their emotions (in French and English). They are aware of what they are feeling and they can use their words to express how they feel.
Our learners can manage their emotions in a way that is constructive and appropriate. They can ask for help when they are unable to solve a problem on their own.
OUR FOCUS
Social Emotional Learning
Our goal at Laronde has been to create an environment where students feel safe, welcome and cared for. A place where they are able to try new things, challenge themselves and find the passions that resonate within themselves. For this to occur, we feel that students need the basic skills to help with self-regulation, communicating their needs and feelings and knowing how to solve problems.
Student Learning Goals:
Students are aware of what they are feeling and can use their words to express how they feel.
Students can manage their emotions in a way that is constructive and appropriate. Most can ask for help when they are unable to solve a problem on their own.
Students can problem solve and use STEP to help find solutions to their problems.
Say the problem
Think of solutions
Explore possible outcomes
Pick a solution
BC Curricular Competencies:
At Laronde, we have been following and implementing a school wide program that teaches, reviews and reinforces building social-emotional skills, such as nurturing positive relationships, managing emotions, and meeting goals so that students can thrive in school and in life.
Growth Mindset and Goal-setting
- I can set and achieve realistic learning goals for myself ( CE gr. K-3)
- I can set realistic short and longer term goals, define a path, and monitor progress. (CE gr. 4-7)
Emotion management
- I can express ideas, emotions and personal experiences using visuals and gestures. (FLA gr. K-3)
- I can explore and describe strategies for managing physical, emotional, and social changes during puberty. ( PHE gr. 5-7 )
Empathy and Kindness
- I can develop and demonstrate respectful behaviours when participating in activities with others ( PHE gr. K-2)
- I can describe and apply strategies for developing and maintaining positive relationships ( PHE gr. 3-7)
Problem Solving
- I can identify and describe feelings and worries and strategies for dealing with them (PHE gr. K-2)
- Describe and assess strategies for responding to discrimination, stereotyping, and bullying (PHE gr. 4-7)
OUR NEXT STEPS
We have noticed that our students are developing skills to identify and regulate their emotions. Based on MDI data, 89% of students surveyed say they can calm themselves when excited or upset. This supports the hard work we have been doing as a school to help students identify their feelings and find ways to stay calm before deciding on next steps. From the same cohort of students surveyed 91% say they care about the feelings of others, showing that they have empathy. This is terrific news as this has been a focus at Laronde for the past few years. When students care about others they are more likely to want to resolve conflicts or issues in more peaceful and productive ways. Furthermore 72% of students said they felt they are thriving when responding to 4 out of 5 questions about their wellbeing. As a staff, we have noticed that when students care about themselves and others, as well as identify and manage their feelings this has led to an overall positive change in our school culture. As a school, we will continue to discuss, learn about and practice emotion identification and management, problem solving skills, growth mindset and deepen our empathy and kindness.
Looking forward...
Next year, we will continue to work on developing, maintaining and improving our practices to make sure that students at Laronde continue to thrive and learn. One area of focus for the staff will be on developing stronger connections with students. Again, based on the MDI data for this year's cohort, 16% of students reported that they did not have an adult at school as an asset. We would like all students to know and feel that they have at least one trusted adult at the school who they can turn to for help and support. The school will continue to have buddy classes to help younger and older students engage with each other as well as with various staff members. The staff will endeavour to connect with students outside of the classroom during recess, special events, as well as while coaching and hosting various clubs.
Combining Literacy (reading, writing and physical) with Social Emotional Learning
This year, several teachers were engaged and participated in the Responding tor Readers initiative through the district. We will continue to develop our teaching strategies to be up to date with the latest practices and innovative ideas. We will continue to explore the science of reading and work on developing students' reading and writing skills, especially through the lens of Social Emotional Learning.
We will also continue to implement new practices for physical literacy with the hopes of encouraging increased movement, increased activity and awareness of health and wellness for students to understand the benefits of being active, not only for healthy living, but also for increased learning and social and emotional regulation.
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.
