Semiahmoo Secondary

Focus Areas:  Literacy and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) 

Literacy is the act of being able to read, write, speak and listen to communicate effectively in order to make sense of the world and is critical for academic success (https://literacytrust.org).  Many factors come into play when focusing on literacy skills for our students: a student's background, possible gaps in schooling, language proficiency in English, diverse learning needs, attendance and mental health.  For many of our at-risk learners, social-emotional learning, which is the ability to develop skills in self-awareness, self-control and communication goes hand-in-hand with the development of strong literacy skills.  Semiahmoo is known for is strong commitment to rigor in academics, but for our cohort learners, those who are most at-risk, the ability to build skills in both literacy and SEL learning is key.

The "Why"

An examination of data has identified a cohort group of approximately 429 students (5.3%) at Semiahmoo who are considered academically vulnerable due to a variety of factors.  This identified cohort group primarily includes students whose first language is not English and those with diverse learning needs.  Analysis reveals that almost one-third of our ELL learners are at a developing level or lower in English proficiency.  For many of these students, the development of academic vocabulary and the connection with school culture, along with relationship building, is a focus for our school. 

"I was scared about making friends or speaking in class.  When I met someone who spoke the same language, I felt good about coming to school." 

In addition, over one-half of all students considered academically vulnerable have diverse learning needs.  Attendance data revealed a much higher rate of absenteeism for this cohort group as well.  Putting more universal supports in place for these students will help to strengthen our goal of strong literacy skills.

 " Helping someone to read and write effectively or acquire the basic math skills so many of us take for granted, improves the future of everyone in society.  Literacy is critical to economic development as well as individual and community well-being."  - https://projectliteracy.ca 

Further school-based data such as logs from our Youth Care Workers, counselling appointments, and disciplinary referrals, reveal a connection between academic vulnerability and the need for a focus on social-emotional (SEL) learning to develop communication skills; to build relationships; to understand themselves and to self-manage.   Students who possess strong skills in SEL tend to do better academically than those who do not have these skills in place.   Students  with low SEL tended to have more issues with class attendance and low academic performance, as well as more check-ins/visits to counsellors, youth care workers, aboriginal workers and administration.

Student Learning Goals: 

Learning goals for our cohort group include:

• Access information and ideas for diverse purposes and from a variety of sources.
• Thinking critically to develop ideas.
• Analyze cause-effect relationships.
• Develop understanding and appreciation of the factors that contribute to a healthy sense of oneself.
• Transfer and apply learning to new situations.
• Develop and reflect on processes, monitor progress and adjust procedures in light of criteria and feedback.
• Collaborate effectively and interact supportively and effectively.

Collaboration 

Our cohort learners collaborated on projects, presentations, and activities.  In science class, students worked together in small groups to determine answers to a hypothesis.  In English 8, students interacted through a variety of apps to share their writing with the whole class.  Math students worked together to solve advanced problems and used whiteboards to race each other to the answers.  In social studies, group presentations using PowerPoint and Sway, provided an opportunity for students to use digital media.  Finally, in Fashion Design, student collaboration led to the design and creation of hoodies and full dress forms.  

Science class table workPair work on dress forms n Textiles

Thinking Critically

Semiahmoo students were able to analyze cause-effect relationships and think critically to develop new ideas.  To present their learning, students also learned how to access information from a variety of sources and to evaluate the information to create something new. Social studies students developed flip books that outlined important aspects of past and present Canadian society and history;  science students created graphic organizers to explain systems, and art and media students designed and created free-form cities to represent different geometrical shapes. 

Graphic Organizer in ScienceGeometric City in Arts

Social Studies Flip Book

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL):

This year, our cohort group worked on understanding and appreciating how many factors can lead to a healthy sense of oneself.  Students wrote self-reflections in classes to set and then re-evaluate their learning goals.  Students practiced team building and built self-confidence at a Wild Play field experience.  In PHE, students connected with other cultures through activities such as Bhangra dancing. In English, students wrote self-identity poems and created memoirs based on life experiences.  Also in PHE, students in this cohort completed self-assessments to connect their overall learning to core competencies such as communication, thinking and personal and social interaction. 

PHE Self-Assessment - Click on this link to view a PHE Self-Assessment connection to Curricular and Core Competencies

Building Confidence at Wild PlayLearning Bhangra DancingGrade 8 Mental Health Talk

Literacy:

Strengthening literacy skills for our cohort students will be a top priority as literacy impacts all areas of academic and personal life.  In our literacy focus, Semiahmoo will take a two pronged approach involving both staff and students. 

Staff:

Semiahmoo staff will continue to both design and to attend Professional Development sessions that focus on the following topics:

• performance based learning
• building academic vocabulary
• integration of First Nations Principles of learning and First Nations content
• assessment 
• universal supports for at-risk students and students with diverse learning needs

Our Communicating Student Learning (CSL) Coordinator will continue to provide opportunities for teachers to  collaborate including book studies and Lunch and Learn sessions.  Topics covered in these sessions have been on reporting changes, assisting students with transitional years (for example,  grade 7 to 8 and grade 9 to 10), and the creation of templates for student goal setting and reflection.

Our EA and ABA support staff will continue with campus-based, quarterly Pro-D meetings to share strategies for working with our diverse learners; communication and collaboration with teachers, and other student-centered topics. These staff members work closely with our diverse learners and are part of the school support team. 

Students

For this coming year, our cohort students will continue to focus heavily on continuing improvement in literacy skills.  In classes, students will continue have multiple opportunities to demonstrate learning in a variety of ways.  For example, many students are now presenting their learning through multimedia and digital literacy as an alternative to traditional pen and paper tasks.  Click on the link below to see a digital assessment: May's Journey in Foods class.  

    Digital Literacy - May's Journey in Foods 

Semiahmoo senior students helped to support literacy goals for our cohort group as peer tutors.  This year, and next, we have a large number of senior students serving in this role.  Peer tutors worked closely with our Grade 8s and 9s.  As tutors, these students provide mentorship and role modeling for our junior grades.  The majority  assist in academic classes such as English, mathematics, science and social studies.  This coming year, our peer tutors will also hold homework clubs before and after school. 

Social Emotional Learning (SEL):

SEL continues to be a high priority for our cohort group.  Students begin the year with survey questions designed by our CSL team.  These questions focus on students' ideas around learning, grades and motivation. 

 Examples of survey questions are below: 

In Physical and Health Education, SEL goals are woven into the curriculum.  Students learn about healthy decision-making, signs and symptoms of stress and anxiety, how to respond to bullying and discrimination, and how to promote active and healthy living.  This year and next, students will continue to participate in a variety of activities designed to imbed these concepts into their daily lives.  Below is an example of a student's self-assessment:

Understanding that mental health can have an impact on student learning, our Counselling team, along with Aboriginal and Youth Care Workers, will continue to provide opportunities for students to experience the connection between learning and well-being.  Throughout the year, students have multiple supports in place to explore how SEL can impact their overall school success.  One popular event is the Semiahmoo Annual Mental Health Day sponsored by the Counselling Department and the Mental Health Club.  Each year, students have the opportunity to play games, interact with positive adult role models and discover methods to cope with issues such as anxiety.  Our Youth Care Workers host a weekly Girls Group, a safe place for students to come and discuss topics of relevance to them.  The Coordinators of our Gay/Straight Alliance also provide a variety of activities and meeting space for our LGBTQ2+ youth as well as access to supports within the community.  Moving forward our students will continue to understand that a healthy mind and body has a cause and effect impact on literacy and academics. 

One of many activities for Mental Health DayDe-stressing:  Making stress balls to use as a fidget tool

GSA Pride Display 

As we continue into next year, students will continue to strengthen literacy skills by focusing on key curricular goals.  In addition, the continuation of courses such as our Connections program will provide students with time to take ownership of their learning and to work one-to-one with a teacher/mentor.  Core curricular components will be embedded in learning activities to allow students ways to explore social-emotional learning and to connect with the Core Competencies.  Partnerships with community supports and the Semiahmoo First Nations will continue to be integral to student success.   Throughout the year, evidence will continue to be gathered to determine progress on student goals.