Mountainview Montessori 24-25

OUR FOCUS

At Mountainview we have both a core competency focus on our student's Social Emotional Learning (SEL), specifically in the area of Social Awareness and Responsibility and a curricular focus in literacy, specifically writing. 

As a small school community, our SEL cohort is school-wide and our writing focus is grades 1-7. 

1. Social Awareness and Responsibility

Social Awareness and Responsibility involves the awareness, understanding, and appreciation of connections among people, including between people and the natural environment. Social Awareness and Responsibility focuses on interacting with others and the natural world in respectful and caring ways. People who are socially aware and responsible contribute to the well-being of their social and physical environments. They support the development of welcoming and inclusive communities, where people feel safe and have a sense of belonging.

A socially aware and responsible individual contributes positively to their family, community, and environment; empathizes with others and appreciates their perspectives; resolves problems peacefully; and develops and sustains healthy relationships.

In order to develop personal awareness and responsibility in our students, we are focused on developing the following areas: 

• identifying student personal values and strengths and abilities to determine ways they can contribute to their communities and care for the environment
• demonstrating curiosity about their natural world by experiencing and interpreting the local environment
• recognizing our shared responsibility for the local environment
• caring for self, others and neighbourhood through personal or collective approaches
•  self-regulating to resolve problems
•  developing understanding of how relationships and cultural contexts shape who we are and how we build relationships with others

To support our SEL goals, we implemented the following during the 2024-2025 school year:

•  implementation of 7 Sacred Teachings language school wide. We held regular Sacred Teachings themed assemblies over the year to introduce each animal, its meaning, how it relates to our values, behaviours, and treatment of one another. We held these over both the 2023-2024 school year and 2024-2025 school year. 
•  introduced visual posters of all our 7 Sacred Teachings with the developed language throughout the school. 
•  SEL lead introduced 'SEL with Cody'—a segment at each staff meeting where a student-centered SEL activity is shared for teachers to implement in their classrooms.
•  continued implementation of Second Step in all classrooms grade K-6. 
• SEL lead implemented a picture book share and rotating discussion series for all K–7 classes, featuring books that explore both social-emotional learning and racial equity themes.
• enhanced the biodiversity of our school grounds by planting additional trees throughout the property. 
• continued the development of our school garden, expanding it to include six vegetable garden beds alongside our existing six Indigenous plant beds. Students engaged in learning about the traditional indigenous uses of plants, deepening their understanding of local ecosystems and cultural knowledge.
•  applied for a Parks Canada biodiversity grant to support our efforts in increasing biodiversity on our school grounds.

2. Literacy- Writing

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 by their audience. They communicate in an increasing variety of contexts, for a variety of purposes, and often with multiple audiences.

At Mountainview, we are able to express our thoughts and ideas in a clear and coherent manner and communicate effectively.

In the primary grades, we identified the following areas needing further development: 

• planning and creating a piece of personal writing for an audience.

• communicating ideas and information clearly through personal writing.

• communicating using sentences and most conventions of Canadian spelling, grammar and punctuation.

In the intermediate grades, we identified the following areas needing further development: 

• use the writing and design process to plan, develop, and create a piece of personal writing for an audience.

• use language in creative and playful ways to develop style.

• communicate in writing using paragraphs and applying conventions of Canadian spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Between the 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 school years, our students demonstrated significant growth in their writing skills.

FSA results:

In Grade 4, our students’ literacy FSA results showed a remarkable increase in the percentage of students who were on track or extending—from 56% (below the district and provincial averages) to 79% (well above both benchmarks).

In Grade 7, our students’ literacy FSA results remained steady at 82%, consistently performing above both the district and provincial averages, with the majority of students on track or extending in literacy.School Wide Write Results: 

Between Fall 2024 and Spring 2025, our primary students demonstrated a 24% increase in the number of students who were proficient or extending in writing, rising from 39% to 63%.

Between Fall 2024 and Spring 2025, our intermediate students demonstrated a 15% increase in writing proficiency, with the percentage of students who were proficient or extending rising from 50% to 65%.

Through a focused approach to writing instruction—including increased classroom time dedicated to the writing process, targeted professional development for teachers, and the implementation of new instructional resources—we have seen significant growth in our students' writing proficiency.

OUR NEXT STEPS

A Shift in Curricular Focus: Numeracy Focus

Over the past two years, our school has made writing a central focus, resulting in significant student growth in this area. While we will continue to build on this progress, our school team has collectively decided it is time to shift our curricular focus to numeracy.

To launch this new direction, we will begin the 2025–2026 school year with a professional development day in September, where our entire staff will come together to identify a specific area of focus within the broader numeracy framework.

SEL Focus: 

Our work in social-emotional learning (SEL) will continue into the 2025–2026 school year, as we recognize that this is a long-term commitment essential to student well-being and success.

We will: 

•  amplify our message and deepen student engagement, by continuing with student-led assemblies while also expanding our efforts to include classroom-based lessons and activities. This integrated approach will ensure that key messages are reinforced consistently across both school-wide and classroom settings, fostering a stronger and more cohesive learning community.
• continue with the support of our SEL Lead 
• continue to develop our school Peace Garden as a place for reflection, quiet and gardening.  
• introduce lessons and activities beyond assemblies to keep goals front of mine.
• expand our focus to intentionally incorporate themes of racial equity. This includes integrating inclusive literature, facilitating classroom discussions around identity and justice, and providing professional development to support staff in creating equitable and emotionally supportive learning environments for all students.