École Riverdale 23-24
OUR CONTEXT
École Riverdale is a unique and diverse school in the Guildford area. We are proud to represent over 470 students and 45 languages from all over the world. Riverdale is a place where we hope all our students find a place to belong. We love to learn from one another and with one another.
As Ravens, we focus on developing six important traits that will guide us on a positive journey both at school and in our community. The traits are honesty, respect, empathy, kindness, resilience, and uniqueness.
Here's some Ravens to share with you the many reasons why Riverdale is a unique and remarkable place to learn...
OUR LEARNERS
Our Ravens are readers, writers, and communicators. These are the skills of literacy, which is foundational to further learning and joy in life. At Riverdale we strive to meet each learner where their literacy skills are currently at and support them to continue learning and growing in these areas. We are a dual tract school, and we have learners developing literacy skills in both English and French. We also have many learners who are developing English as their second, third, fourth or even fifth language.
The Core Competencies of Communicating, Thinking, and Personal/Social Responsibility are highly connected to literacy. At Riverdale, we foster the development of these core competencies as connected to all curricular areas. Our Ravens enjoy working with one another and learning together. They love to be involved in creative work where they can share ideas, try out new thoughts, and create their own designs. Our students are working on developing critical and reflective thinking skills. Our students are good citizens who contribute to the community of Riverdale and beyond in many ways.
Our Ravens love stories and use them in a variety of ways to learn and develop.
We often consider stories to be imaginative and fictional. However, we each have a story and so does each living and non-living thing on this Earth. Sharing a story is sharing part of who we are and the journey that we are on. Each story is important and valuable, full of learnings and knowledge.
"There is power in story; when we share stories, we build understanding and relationships. We connect with one another on a whole different level." ~Charlene and Wilson Bearhead from Resurgence
Our learners are readers of stories.
Core Competency: I can get new ideas or reinterpret others’ ideas in novel ways.
Our students love to engage in stories whether they are being read to them, they are reading with their friends, or they have found a quiet space and a good book to read on their own. Stories peak interest, build creativity, expand our minds, lead to greater questions and explorations. Stories, both fictional and non-fictional, open the doors to new worlds, ideas, and perspectives. 
Our learners are creators of stories.
Core Competency: I communicate confidently, using forms and strategies that show attention to my audience and purpose.
Whether it is an imaginative story about rocket ships and aliens, or a story based on their experiences, such as their mischievous dog, a challenging moment, or their celebration of Ramadan, our students have stories to share. Through the creation of their stories, students share their ideas, wonderings, and curiosity. They reveal who they are and what they value, as well as their hopes and dreams. Through their story creation they find new ways to connect to one another and through the connection learn from one another.
Our learners are story tellers.
Core Competency: I have pride in who I am. I understand that I am a part of larger communities.
From Indigenous cultures we learn the importance of oral storytelling to pass on knowledge and to share identity. As we gather in our classroom communities, we use oral storytelling to share our experiences and hear the experiences of others. In these moments we find belonging in our community. We build an understanding and appreciation of others. The more sharing that happens the stronger community and belonging become. When we belong, we are safe to risk, to learn, to grow, and to be proud of who we are in our community.
Our students love to learn through story. At Riverdale we are committed to focusing on developing literacy skills in all our learners, so they develop a joy of reading, strengthen their own voice to share their stories, and a willingness to hear the stories of others. Story is what connects us.
OUR FOCUS
As we celebrate and recognize the importance of stories to our Ravens, we have chosen to continue our literacy focus. Last year we focused in on some of our early learners and the use of decodable books to help them become readers.
This year we shifted our focus to the reading skill of fluency. Fluency is about having a flow and smoothness to the reading of stories. However, fluency is also an oral story telling skill as we learn to express ourselves in a way that is articulate, eloquent and expressive. Fluency is highly connected to story.
Our focus cohort this year was some of our middle year students (grades 4 and 5). Our student learning goals, as connected to the curriculum were:
- Consider different purposes, audiences, and perspectives in exploring texts
- Demonstrate awareness of the oral tradition in First Peoples cultures
- Identify how story in First Peoples cultures connects people to land
- Use oral storytelling processes
Several classes participated in this focus. Each teacher selected a cohort of readers from their class that demonstrated limited fluency when reading texts. These students were slow to decode words and needed extra time or practice to be able to do so.
To target and guide student's success with the above goals the following learning experiences were used:
- Spelling with a focus on sound patterns
- Choral reading activities
- Repetitive reading of a text
- Online reading and listening to texts
- Daily reading time
- Recording and listening to own reading
- Partner reading and reading with teacher
OUR NEXT STEPS
Collected evidence of our students’ learning demonstrates that our focus fluency is having a positive impact on our middle year students.
Our evidence is based on data collected throughout the year. In early December, our grade 4 and 5 teachers assessed their students on fluency, which included expression and volume, phrasing, smoothness, and pace. From these assessments teachers created a cohort of students that were developing in fluency. Our team of teachers worked closely together on both assessment tools used, resources selected, and strategies implemented. Our cohort was assessed in December and again in the spring. Here are the results of our pre and post assessments.
With a focus on fluency, we saw many improvements in the reading pace and smoothness of our cohort. Based on teacher reflections and observations, these improvements were also noted:
- Students who read at home every evening tended to improve at a more rapid pace.
- Students exhibited greater confidence as readers.
- Students were enjoying reading with partners and choral reading as a class.
- Students acquiring English language also benefitted from the strategies implemented for fluency.
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.
