Ellendale Elementary 23-24
OUR CONTEXT
Ellendale Elementary is built on the shared, traditional, unceded territory of the Coast Salish. It is a beautiful place to learn, located next to the forested Invergarry Park and Bon Accord Creek. The neighbourhood is composed of families who have lived in the area for generations as well as families new to Canada. We are a small school with 190 students enrolled, and we are rich in diversity, both culturally and academically. Our families communicate in 25 different home languages and our children have many different learning styles. Ellendale is inclusive. It is a warm, welcoming community where everyone belongs.
As a school community, we are committed to student centred decision making that fosters a positive learning environment full of opportunity. It is very important that students and staff feel connected, safe and respected. We are fortunate to have a large Library Learning Commons at the heart of our school that is shared by all students and staff. Our small size allows for active collaboration and friendly learning environment where everyone knows each other.
Learning at Ellendale happens both in and out of the classrooms. Students work together, and many classes collaborate in shared learning activities. Outdoor learning in Invergarry Park's small forest is valued. On the playground, students play together across the grade levels, and look out for one another.
Ellendale has a before and after school care program run by the City of Surrey. We also enjoy a number of lunch time and after school activities provided through the Community Schools Partnership such as Lunch Time Frenzies, Jumpstart and BLAST. Additionally, Ellendale is supported by the Feeding Futures program and we supply breakfasts and lunches for students who need it.
OUR LEARNERS
At Ellendale, we know that our learners come from diverse experience and backgrounds. They all respond to schooling differently and we are focussed on creating approachable entry points so that learning is accessible to all of our students. We anchor the learning with the Core Competencies: Communication, Thinking, and Personal and Social. A solid foundation in the competencies will support our learners in their ability to work with ideas, make connections, transform their thinking, and share their learning with others.
We are fortunate at Ellendale to be a small community. It results in a learning environment where all staff and students are able to get to know one another. With that familiarity, we are able to foster a strong, supportive "school family" for our learners where we can work to address the social emotional needs as they arise. We know that a child must have these needs met in order to be ready to learn.
Our learners are at varying stages of language development. This is influenced by cultural backgrounds, learning styles, learning needs, and/or English language knowledge:
- At this time, Ellendale has 18 students who identify as indigenous.
- Ellendale has 93 identified English Language Learners. There are 113 students with a language other than English at home. The top three languages spoken at home, other than English, are Punjabi, Arabic and Vietnamese. Other languages include Hindi, Spanish, Tagalog, Urdu, Farsi, Sinhala, and Tamil. Out of the 93 students who are identified as English Language Learners, 52 of them have been assessed as emerging or developing.
- Ellendale has 42 students with diverse needs or abilities, 23 students with low incidence designations and 19 students with high incidence designations.
We want to meet our students where they are at in their learning, support them in their academic growth in order to help them meet their full potential and celebrate that learning. We know that patience and time are needed for learning. We also know that language comprehension is influenced by cultural experience, along with other knowledge and experiences.
OUR FOCUS
We currently have a Literacy focus - Curricular Competency: Comprehend and connect (reading, listening, viewing). Within that focus, our teachers are working to reinforce the big ideas that
- Language and story can be a source of creativity and joy.
- Stories and other texts can be shared through pictures and words.
- Through listening and speaking, we connect with others and share our world.
- Playing with language helps us discover how language works.
In consideration of the BC Curriculum in reference to Communicating:
Communicating encompasses the set of abilities that people use to impart and exchange information, experiences, and ideas; to explore the world around them; and to understand and effectively use communication forms, strategies, and technologies. Communicating provides a bridge between peoples’ learning, their personal and social identity, and the world in which they interact.
People who communicate effectively use their skills and strategies intentionally to ensure understanding their audience. They communicate in an increasing variety of contexts, for a variety of purposes, and often with multiple audiences. (https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies/communication/communicating)
Furthermore, we want to build our students' ability to
- connect and engage with others (Students engage in informal and structured conversations in which they listen, contribute, develop understanding and relationships, and learn to consider diverse perspectives. This facet of communication is closely linked to the building and sustaining of relationships at home, at school, in the community, and through social media.)
- focus on intent and purpose (Students communicate with intention and purpose. They understand that communication can influence, entertain, teach, inspire, and help us make sense of the world and our experiences. They recognize the role the audience plays in constructing meaning, and they make strategic choices to help convey their messages and create their intended impact. They draw from a range of forms, media, and techniques, monitoring and adjusting their approaches and assessing their effects.)
- acquire and present information (Students communicate by receiving and presenting information. They inquire into topics of interest and topics related to their studies. They acquire information from a variety of sources, including people, print materials, and media; this may involve listening, viewing, or reading, and requires understanding of how to interpret information. They present information for many purposes and audiences, and their presentations often feature media and technology.)
We believe it is important to focus on building strong language skills in order for our students to thrive in successful communication between themselves and with their teachers. With Universal Designs for Learning in mind, using effective language lessons and resources will strengthen the literacy skills of all our learners.
OUR NEXT STEPS
As we continue to strive for a quality learning environment where all learners thrive, our next steps include:
- Early Literacy Teacher will be working with our lower primary classes and their teachers. The Early Literacy Intervention program is provided by the Education Services department and supported by the Literacy Helping Teachers. It focuses on phonemic awareness through a whole group model in class. The classroom teacher and the early literacy teacher co-teach. The goal is for two touch points a week, during which time the class is usually divided into four groups. As the groups work through literacy centres, the classroom teacher and the early literacy teacher are able to focus in for guided learning with two of the four groups. This intervention includes reader response work, letter and word work, and read alouds. The LINKS to Literacy resource has been implemented and we are now going to look at implementing the UFLI resources.
- Our primary teachers and our learning support teachers will be implementing the UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute) resources - using the UFLI Foundations Toolbox and recommended student readers. The toolbox includes lesson resources, decodable text guides, printable resources and home support.
- We intend to effectively implement the use of visuals to support language development, pronunciation and reading. These include:
Heart Word cards (irregular words)
Sound Wall cards (visual guidance on how to pronounce sounds)
Wall cards (visual guidance on how to pronounce sounds), and Grapheme cards (written symbols that represents sounds (phoneme)).
- Responding to Readers team - We have a team of teachers who have registered to be part of the Responding to Readers initiative provided by the school district. Responding to Readers is based on the science of reading and is evidence based. It looks at the five pillars of reading: comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, phonemic awareness, and phonics and word study. The teachers will be supported by the District Literacy Helping Teachers in this process. We want to teach our students to read purposefully and use meaningful assessment when evaluating that reading skill.
We have the intention to use shared language and language lesson approaches across the classes so that student learning has a strong foundation and can be built upon with each year. We will continue to be mindful that learning takes patience and time. We also know that sustainability is developed through routines.
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.
