Ray Shepherd Elementary 22-23

At Ray Shepherd, we take pride in building a strong sense of school culture that includes the greater community to provide authentic and meaningful learning opportunities for our students. We engage in collaboration in a variety of ways, and seek participation from our families and the greater community.

At Ray Shepherd, we understand that learning happens within a social context, and that there is a cultural component of knowledge. With the support of our PAC, we continue to seek ways to highlight cultural celebrations, and honor cultural knowledge from those within our community. We acknowledge that there is no one way to do anything, and the more opportunities we have to learn from people who are different than us, the more we will learn about the world, and ultimately ourselves.

Please see the following highlights of our learning community...

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING

We are proud of our focus on social and emotional learning and how we integrate these concepts into our daily routines, curriculum, and school goals. Some examples of our focus on Social Emotional Learning include: our positive behavioural support plan (SOAR), evidence-based SEL programming, and an in-house Social and Emotional Learning lead teacher.

IDENTITY AND SENSE OF BELONGING

Our identity as hawks is used as a tangible metaphor for the qualities we want to celebrate within our community.

MONTHLY ASSEMBLIES

We gather as a learning community at the end of each month to highlight learning, cultivate student voice, focus on SEL themes, and celebrate student successes. Students are the focus!

ENCOURAGING POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR

Our goals for student behaviour (acceptable behaviour) are outlined in the acronym "SOAR". Students are acknowledged with a "hawk feather" by a staff member when they are noticed demonstrating this positive behaviour. Students then enter these feathers into a draw box for a chance to win gift cards on the last day of each week. Thank you to our PAC for supporting this initiative by providing the gifts cards each week!

LOOSE PARTS "DISCOVERY ROOM"

At Ray Shepherd, we have a dedicated room for a "Loose Parts" program. This room provides an opportunity for students  to express themselves and their learning by using a variety of different manipulatives to communicate.

MENTORSHIP PILOT PROJECT

Our school has the District's pilot project that encourages in-house mentorship support for any staff who are interested. The focus is primarily on early career teachers and mentor teachers working collaboratively to create a professional learning community that supports student learning.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP

Our school offers multiple access points for all students to contribute based on interests and strengths (social responsibility). Student leadership opportunities include: Playground pals, lunch monitors, tech helpers, fundraising, communication team, big buddies, garden club, and recycling team.

DIVERSITY CLUB

At Ray Shepherd, we celebrate our diversity and encourage conversations that promote and discuss equity and inclusion. Students meet in a safe space where they are encouraged to be themselves and celebrate their identity in positive ways.

OUTDOOR LEARNING

Outdoor learning opportunities have beecome heavily embedded in our educational programming here at Ray Shepherd. We are fortunate to have some pockets of natural space including a "mini forest" on our property. Other outdoor spaces frequently used include Bell Forest Park which is adjacent to our school property. Classes utilize this space to engage in hands-on, place-based learning. Our classes also participate in off-campus excursions to our neighbouring beaches, and even to further destinations like A Rocha ecology centre and Galiano Island.

INDIGENOUS LEARNING

The First Peoples Principles of Learning are embedded in announcements, assemblies, and classroom activities. At Ray Shepherd, we acknowledge that learning happens in a social setting,  is based in relationship, and should reflect the history of the land and its original peoples.

Our school is also supported by the District's "Inidgenous Connections Team" who coordinate cultural programming on a monthly basis to support Indigenous students at Ray Shepherd and their sense of identity and belonging.

PAC

Our dedicated and involved parent community actively fundraise to support learning opportunities for students throughout the school year. Without the support of our PAC, many of our amazing learning opportunities would not be possible.