Johnston Heights Secondary 22-23
OUR CONTEXT
Who are we?
Johnston Heights Secondary School is a public school in Surrey and welcomes all students. Students begin in the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP). In Grade 11, students can decide to continue into the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (DP) or the BC graduation program (BCED). We, as a learning community, believe all students can find success within the MYP, DP and the BC Graduation Program.
Our students come from a variety of backgrounds and cultures with many different languages spoken at home.
What does student life look like?
At Johnston Heights, the BCED Curriculum is delivered through the lens of the IB. Our students work on a balanced scheduled that is follows a linear timetable. Students explore the BCED curriculum through key concepts, global contexts and explorations while also building approaches to learning /core competency (ATL) skills and developing the learner profile (LP) traits. These elements enhance the learning experience and the delivery of the BCED Curriculum while also giving students a well-rounded experience.
Our students care deeply about the world around them and engage with various cultures within the school respectfully. Our staff and students engage in ongoing self-reflection and service to our community to ensure we build a strong world together. In their classes, students often engage in inquiry-based activities that blend academic rigour with personal interest. To show how student learning connect, students create Personal Projects in Grade 10, Creativity, Activity and Service projects, and a Capstone. It is common to see students working collaboratively in the hallways, designing community service projects, mentoring new students while actively participating in Athletics and the Arts.
Why do we do what we do?
Johnston Heights is a caring school that embraces service and inclusion and that seeks to ensure students can be accommodated comfortably within the school. The school respects and supports diversity as part of its mission. We welcome students with learning differences and offer support provided by our Inclusion, B.A.S.E.S. and counselling team.
OUR LEARNERS
Our Student Learning Focus
The aim of all Johnston Heights students is to develop as internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world. Our students set our shared goals and express their understanding of the world through literacy. To this end, our students rely on the ATLs/Core Competencies to build their individual literacy skills.
What can our students do?
Students show understanding by demonstrating their ATL skills action through literacy based learning activities.
Students practice self management and balance by understanding the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives including intellectual, physical, and emotional well-being. Additionally, they reflect by thoughtfully considering the world and our own ideas and experience.
Students practice the ATL communications skills when they express themselves confidently and creatively in their learning.
Our students appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as use critical and creative thinking skills to analyze and take responsible action on complex problems.
When looking at our students, we see that they:
- Actively participate in classroom learning.
- Actively work to make the school a better place for each other through care and empathy.
- Work with peers and teachers to develop knowledge and skills.
- Perform their best efforts to demonstrate their skills and growth.
- Ensure work is of their own creation and they use academic honesty.
- Reflect on their learning to foster growth.
OUR FOCUS
Understanding how ATL skills and the curriculum support each other is our focus. We seek to support, develop and measure student literacy skills based on the English Language Arts Curriculum and ATLss
The Learning Goals are:
1 ) ATL: Create a Goal, Plan, and Evaluate
2 ) Curriculum: Use writing and design processes to plan, develop, and create engaging and meaningful literary and informational texts for a variety of purposes and audiences
3 ) Curriculum: Express an opinion and support it with credible evidence
4 )ATL: Students will gather and organize relevant information to formulate an argument and draw reasonable conclusions and generalizations and consider ideas from multiple perspectives in classroom activities)
Who is our Cohort?
Our Cohort is a group of 10 students selected from across our Grade 10 Careers Life Education Course. The CLE Teacher team works together to deliver the CLE 10 curriculum, as well as support the IB MYP Personal Project. The IB MYP Personal Project is a literacy based capstone where students are asked to create a product (ATL), perform research(ATL), present their process and product (ATL), and write a report (Literacy).
How will we measure our success?
Students have completed this process historically by creating a product and writing a report.
However, when results were externally moderated, the level of achievement was on average a 3, or Developing on the provincial proficiency scale. The global average is 4/5 or Proficient.
Students will:
- Participate in Instructional Practices related Academic honesty
- Complete Process Journaling
- Create Success Criteria
- Create a Personal project that has a report and product
We will gather evidence from:
- 3 Reflective meetings including exit interview.
- Smart goal hand out and process journal
- Internal Assessment/IB moderation Feedback
- Historical ATL reflections
OUR NEXT STEPS
This year, students focused on the process of developing this project and a report that exuded depth of knowledge.
The process (Various samples from multiple students)
Curricular Competency: ATL: Create a Goal, Plan, and Evaluate
Student Process:
- Complete Process Journaling
- Create Success Criteria
Curricular Competency: Use writing and design processes to plan, develop, and create engaging and meaningful literary and informational texts for a variety of purposes and audiences
Student Process:
Curricular Competency: ATL: Students will gather and organize relevant information to formulate an argument and draw reasonable conclusions and generalizations and consider ideas from multiple perspectives in classroom activities)
Curricular process: Express an opinion and support it with credible evidence
Student Process: Present at Personal Project Fair + Report
The data:
This year, the completion rate was 88% with the average score of 4 or proficient.
Although the project was deepened and overall achievement increased. However, there was a slight decrease in project completion. Thus, the goal moving forward to continue the practices in place for student learning, but also develop tools for a variety of learners.
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.
