Fleetwood Park Secondary
OUR CONTEXT
FLEETWOOD PARK SECONDARY SCHOOL CONTEXT
Fleetwood Park Secondary school is an amazing community with students of diverse backgrounds, abilities and interests. The school has a strong sense of community and tradition. "Dragon spirit" is highly valued! FPSS students are engaged in their learning and demonstrate excellence in all forms of learning every day. Our students value and celebrate the diversity of their school community. They support a friendly and inclusive environment grounded in respect for each individual.
“FPSS is a place of fairness because it is a school that doesn’t discriminate against one’s gender, culture, etc. FPSS has many classes and clubs, including leadership, social justice, Gay-Straight alliance club, multi-cultural club, etc which all advocate for equality and fairness. Fleetwood Park is very multicultural and diverse.”
“Fleetwood Park Second is a place of caring. It has a friendly environment and everyone, for the most part, is kind to each other. There are great relationships between students to students and also between students to teachers. Everyone is respectful and supportive to each other. Teachers want what’s best for their students, and for the most part, students are respectful to their teachers, the staff, their peers, and the school.”
The diversity of our student body is celebrated. This year we have initiated an Indigenous Welcome Post project with our theme of "unity". The project provides a focal point for our school community and is a physical and symbolic reminder of the importance of community. Our school has partnered with Master Carver Mr. Brandon Gabriel from the Kwantlen First Nation. Brandon has interacted across our school community as he has carved the post and discussed its meaning and symbolism. Through his teachings of Indigenous art and culture, through the act of shared artistic creation and through dialogue focussed on the First People's Principles of Learning, we are teaching our students that learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place.)
As an indigenous youth, I was very inspired hearing about the impact these carvers have had in our communities sharing their art and teaching their culture. From getting to work hands on with the tools, learning about carving, and hearing their stories about their practice, it has been really cool watching the development process and getting to be a part of it.
This is a great experience and I have enjoyed learning about the symbols on the welcome post. I have been quite honored for being given this chance and being taught how to use the tools. It is nice to be able to get along with the other kids and relate with their backgrounds.
I have really enjoyed talking with Brandon and the other carvers. Learning about my culture and spending time with elders has been an amazing experience. I can't wait to see the project finished.
OUR LEARNERS
OUR LEARNERS
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is the process that supports adults, youth, and children in developing skills that are necessary for school, work, and life. This includes self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, relationships skills, and social awareness. These skills are embedded in all subject areas in BC's curriculum. Below, we celebrate our learners' successes and strengths in the areas of:
- Social Awareness
- Relationship Skills
Social Awareness
Our Learners understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures and contexts.
Students understand they are a part of a larger system/community yet their individual impact and place within it is valued and significant. Students in our Humanities 9 classes recognize that their fingerprint on the school is greater than the one they left on the canvas in this example. Their fingerprint isn’t necessarily physical and represents the impact they have on peers, teachers and the broader community. Our learners value the potential to have a lasting, positive impact on those around them and believe that this is primary in both their learning and development as members of a community.
“Seeing the fingerprints across the canvas showed us our entire class together and we were also able to see that each of us is unique. We can put our own mark on the school!”
Our Home Economics Department reaffirmed and celebrated our student diversity with their shoe decoration project. Students reflected on own identities and discussed the importance of maintaining healthy and supportive relationships. Students created their own shoe designs that represented themselves and amazed us with their talent and creativity.
Relationship Skills
Our learners demonstrate their abilities to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and to effectively navigate settings with diverse individuals and groups.
Students in our Recreational Leadership course understand that community is based upon strong, positive relationships and take the opportunity to engage with their younger peers to instill the “Dragon F-I-R-E” (Friendship, Integrity, Respect, Empathy) values of Fleetwood Park. In this example, our Rec students developed an Amazing Race event for our incoming Gr.7 students with the goal of welcoming them to Fleetwood Park and building strong community with positive culture. Our learners model empathy, compassion, enthusiasm and concern for others in leading large-scale events like these while developing their ability to communicate effectively and collaboratively problem solve.
“When I did this activity and helped out, I felt together as a school and really close to my fellow volunteers. I was able to connect with the Gr.7s to show them what our school is about and what it means to be a Dragon”
“There were challenges and I learned I needed to adapt with each group. Some participated, while others didn’t. We had to find a way to bring the group together in order for everyone to participate. This took good communication and critical thinking”
The student body across our grade levels engage in teamwork and problem-solving activities in a variety of subjects. Students in our Physical and Health Education classes engaged in regular collaborative problem-solving and team building exercises throughout the course. By means of debrief discussions and self-reflection, our learners recognized that their positive peer interactions and supportive connections increased. Through this, students understand the importance of building positive connection and establishing collaborative and supportive environments to work towards common goals.
“I’ve gained so much confidence in everything. I’ve become more comfortable in expressing myself and I hope my peers feel the same way.”
“Yes, I feel like I have developed stronger, closer and more real relationships with my classmates. I was in a group that I normally don’t surround myself with and [a student] was in that same group for the rest of the day. Since then, I’ve built a closer relationship with her and we are now good friends.”
OUR FOCUS
OUR FOCUS
Every day, our learners are presented with opportunities to practice and demonstrate their Social and Emotional Learning skills and capabilities. Our team of educators provide our learners with these essential skills to set them up for success in today's rapidly changing world. To identify students’ overall strengths and areas for growth, we have focused on Social Awareness and Relationship Skills in a cohort. This cohort includes a diverse range of learners that are representative of our school’s population and across all subject areas.
The SEL competencies we focused on in relation to “Social Awareness” include:
- Taking others' perspectives
- Identifying diverse social norms, including unjust ones.
- Understanding and expressing gratitude
Below are examples of our students’ classroom experiences as they relate to social awareness.
Understanding and expressing gratitude
Members of this program engage in continual discussion throughout their learning on topics involving social awareness/relationship skills and how these topics relate to overall school culture. Understanding the importance of empathy, kindness and compassion, the students seek multiple entry points into engaging with the greater school community. Our learners worked together promoting kindness across a school-wide, week-long "Kindness Week" initiative and continued to engage in meaningful acts of kindness and gratitude throughout the school year. Our students recognize the value of these small but important points of contact to maintain the cohesion of our school community.
“While good leaders may be kind and supportive, the best ones know how to empathize with whoever they’re working with and understand where they are coming from. In doing so, you can foster a good sense of trust and respect, as well as ensure your team knows they are being heard.
To me, empathy is everything. I believe all too often humanity gets caught up in their own world and forgets that a multiple of people exist around us. We get so focused on how we’re thinking or feeling that we forget not everyone thinks, feels, or reacts the same way we do. As a result, ignorance and narrow-mindedness in society persists.”
“In leadership, gratitude is a way of telling the teammates and members we are working with that how important their role is no matter how big or small. It helps the leader connect with the team on a personal level and makes everyone feel like they are on an equal level. Gratitude is absolutely necessary for building relationships.”
The SEL competencies we focused on in relation to “Relationship Skills” across all subject areas include:
- Communicating effectively
- Demonstrating cultural competency
- Showing leadership in groups.
Below are examples of our students’ classroom experiences as they relate to relationship skills.
Communicating effectively
Students develop their communication and leadership skills while also recognizing the need to appreciate different perspectives and the input of others.
The Grade 8 Retreat is a learning experience that strengthens the communication of the Leadership students and our grade 8 students.
“I think what made my group successful was how much we collaborated with each other. Having everyone collaborate and work together made the whole experience a lot more engaging. We were able to bounce ideas off each other so that it was much more meaningful and you would really get something out of it.”
OUR NEXT STEPS
OUR NEXT STEPS
Our learners are developing their SEL skills and capacities. In the focus area of Social Awareness, students demonstrated an increase in their ability to:
- Take other's perspectives
- Identify diverse social norms, including unjust ones
- Understand and express gratitude.
Identify diverse social norms, including unjust ones.
Teachers indicated that all students were able to demonstrate greater levels of proficiency in communicating effectively through the multidisciplinary experiences of the Grade 8 Retreat.
In the focus area of Relationship Skills, students demonstrated an increase in their ability to:
- Communicate effectively
- Demonstrate cultural competency
- Show leadership in groups.
Show leadership in groups.
Students within this cohort were focused on the development of their Leadership skills across subject areas. At the end of their course, students were asked to self-assess their development through their achievement across all courses. This student-generated data is an indicator of strong growth of their leadership competencies.
Student Self-Assessment:
Students in this cohort class assigned themselves a final mark for their in-class participation and achievement based on the following rubric:
1-4 | 5-6 | 7-8 | 9-10 | |
In Class Activities and Participation | Sometimes it appears that you are just going through the motions. | A little slow to get started and sometimes you take a while to wake up and participate. Minimal effort. | You are excited about leadership and all of the activities. You participate once in a while, and you are clearly engaged in all activities. | You are always participating. You actively seek out new group members, openly communicate and put your best effort forward with a smile. Can you say SUPERSTAR! |
The average student self-assessment for their participation and achievement in this class regarding their development of "leadership in groups" was: 8.3/10
The ability to problem-solve effectively is central to the development of leadership skills. During the Retreat, students engaged in a design and build activity where mathematical thinking was essential. The ability to problem-solve through this experience was directly related to the success of the learning activity. Teachers indicated that through this activity 90 % of students demonstrated growth in their problem-solving abilities. Through the activity, teachers reported that students became more proficient in problem-solving in response to the situation.
Moving Forward
Advancing our learners skillsets in social awareness and leadership skills have been very important. Our students have progressed in their understanding of themselves and how this connects to their interactions with their peers, our school, and the surrounding community. As we continue with this work, we will build on it in the following ways.
Social Awareness
- We will increase opportunities for students to voice their opinions about the culture of our school. We will give students voice and gather their perspectives about our school in regards to respect and safety for everyone, discrimination, and anti-racism systems and structures.
Relationship Skills
- We will further develop students relationship skills by providing this cohort of students increased opportunities to interact, guide and support our Grade 8 students after the Grade 8 Retreat and throughout the school year. We envision the development of multiple "touch-back" sessions and culture building activities that will enhance the skills of this cohort and positively influence our youngest students.
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.
