École Peace Arch

Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors (from First Peoples Principles of Learning). Through the lens of indigenous perspectives our team of educators have been explicitly teaching to inclusion and diversity this 2021/22 school year. At Peace Arch we want our students to care about themselves, others and this place. 

Our intermediate students in learn to care about themselves and others during Health class, using picture books and First Peoples Principles of Learning:

Using text and story as a means to help them understand themselves and make connections to others and to the world, students will:

• understand that learning involves recognizing the consequences of one’s actions
• understand that learning is holistic, reflexive, experiential and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place)
• understand that learning requires exploration of ones’ identity

Intermediate teacher reflection:  Using the Indigenous Pedagogy of Circles (The Sharing Circle: Stories about First Nations Culture) students were explicitly taught the purpose of sitting in a talking circle. Throughout the school year, students sat in circle to better understand the health curriculum in particular bullying, stereotyping, discrimination, emotional changes during puberty and personal identities. The vehicle to deliver this curriculum was through picture books.

Picture books allow for student to learn about other’s experiences in the world. Students were explicitly taught that when author’s write their stories, they are giving the readers permission to share their perspectives and experiences that we may not realize even exist. It was hoped that using picture books would not only help deepen student understanding of themselves and others, but also to allow the students to see themselves in their education.

This did in fact materialize: After reading the book And Three Makes Tango by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, a student raised their hand and asked, ‘Is this a true story?’ Once it was confirmed, they replied ‘Perfect. I want to show my parents as evidence that LGBTQ is real and I am real’.

Truth and Reconciliation (Caring for Self, Others and this Place)

Connection to this place has framed our beginning in the important work of moving toward Truth and Reconciliation; in particular, our connection to this land on the unceded traditional territory of the Semiahmoo Nation.  With this focus, students will cultivate their appreciation and understanding of this place where our school resides.

Left Photo: Field trip to Grand Chief Bernard Roberta Charles Plaza; Right Photo: A primary class visits the Cen'Alien (pronounced Quan'Alien) Welcome Posts at Earl Marriott Secondary. 

A primary group of learners engaged in a year-long learning inquiry, focusing on our local area Semiahmoo/Coast Salish/White Rock, including learning about the Semiahmoo First Nation and exploring sea life stewardship at White Rock beach.

Primary teacher reflection: The principal shared the history of the Welcome posts that stand in the entry hall of Earl Marriott Secondary. Leonard Wells was the Semiahmoo master carver who created the male and female welcome posts. The welcome posts represent the captain of the reef net fishery which connects to the EMS Mascot, Mariner. The Captain of the reef net was responsible for managing the people and making sure everyone was safe and that enough food was harvested for the winter.

The principal also highlighted the importance of recognizing the relationship the Semiahmoo First Nation has with Earl Marriott and the local community. These posts were designed to welcome us into a safe place, and to connect us to the past and remind us of who we are and where we are going. The Semiahmoo people had welcome posts in front of their longhouses.

I am grateful that me and my students have gained a better understanding and appreciation of the Semiahmoo First Nation/ Coast Salish culture from the past, present and future through our inquiry this school year.

An educator brought her general observation about the shifting culture at Peace Arch to the administrations’ attention, stating that the work our staff and students have done this school 2021/22 school year has brought our school community (staff and learners) “leaps and bounds” in our understanding, acceptance and celebrations of inclusion.  We are observing our students advocating for one another, being “allies”, spearheading initiatives that promote inclusion, and safely and comfortably exploring their best and true selves in open and honest ways.

A primary class became ambassadors to our playground, noticing creatures that needed our protection.  They discovered a nest of Mason Bees in the ground at the edge of our playing field and alerted the caring adults to help them teach the other students about the bees so they would understand and leave them alone to continue their important work as pollinators!  This is no doubt a direct result of the work they had done as a class exploring sea life stewardship.  Through their enhanced awareness of Place these children have truly come to care deeply about this place (our school grounds and environment).

With these examples in mind, we plan to engage in the following next steps into the 2022/23 school year:

• To continue deepening our understanding of self, others, and place through our Caring Curriculum
• To use our Caring Curriculum as a focus to improve student writing
• To use written communication as a means of reflecting and talking about our understandings of self, others, and place

In addition to our intentional work with students cultivating their Personal and Social Responsibility, we plan to incorporate a Communication Competency Goal:

Communication competency encompasses the set of abilities that students use to impart and exchange information, experiences and ideas, to explore the world around them. Communication competency provides a bridge between students’ learning, their personal and social identity and relationships, and the world in which they interact.

• Our students acquire, interpret, and present information
• Our students explain/recount and reflect on experiences

Writing will become a further strategy to teach reflection and deepen understandings of inclusion and diversity. It will also allow us an opportunity to hone our students’ skills as writers. Using topics related to inclusion and diversity, students will reflect on and write about their understandings of inclusion and diversity.

Examining student writing through the lens of the BC Performance Standards will guide educators to the explicit skills that need to be taught to individuals and to the whole class.

• In the Fall, students will engage in a school wide write.  These writing samples will inform us about our learners’ strengths as writers and areas requiring improvement
• In the Spring, reflecting on student writing samples will provide opportunity to celebrate growth and once again prioritize what to teach.