At Sullivan Heights Secondary, we incorporate inquiry research, innovative learning and assessment practices and digital literacy in our professional practice which translates into exciting learning opportunities for our students. We are proud to be committed in our endeavour to nurture and support all students in their learning journey. Our outstanding Performing Arts, Technical Programs and Athletics programs allow for a rich and engaging experience for our students. We are a dynamic school community and believe that every student should be provided with enriching experiences in their personal learning.
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At Sullivan Heights we believe literacy is fundamental to support our students in their growth to become responsible educated citizens. We believe that it is our obligation as educators at Sullivan Heights to provide students every opportunity to follow their passions. Research shows that strong literacy skills open the door in a variety of areas that will positively impact their life opportunities. In developing literary skills our students are engaging in the Core Competencies (Communication, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Emotional). We value students' role in the learning process and our teachers use formative assessment, learning rubrics, Standards Based Assessment in their practice to enrich students' understanding of their learning. This also ensures our learners can identify what they know, and what they need to improve on, in their course work.
(Students in a Humanities 8 class sharing their brainstorming and research)
Our students are engaging in the creative thinking and communication core competency. Through their communication students are making connections with others to share their ideas, express their individuality, and further their learning. They think critically as they reflect on information they hear to refine their thinking about historical and current events.
(Students demonstrating the critical thinking involved before engaging in Socratic Seminars)
Students in New Media and Urban Studies classes are using Socratic Seminar discussions. While engaging in Socratic Seminars, our learners are immersed in rigorous dialogue with their peers. Through the process of listening, exchanging ideas, and finding common ground, our learners are developing critical thinking and analytical skills.
The conversation map below captures the many connections our learners are making with their peers as they discuss and make sense of texts they are reading.
(Students preparing for a Debate in their English Class)
Students in our Social Studies, Science, and English classes engage in debates and discussions. For example, in Science students discuss and debate the ethics of genetic modification. Debates build on student's communication and critical thinking skills.
(A student in his Science 9 class reflecting on his Current Events assignment)
(An example of a student's self-reflection on their work in Literary Studies
Digital Literacy- Understanding and navigating through digital resources/biases. All our Grade 8 students learn about the validity of online resources in their Infotech classrooms. Digital literacy is an important skill for our students to develop as it crucial for students analyze biases in online resources/research.
(Annual anthology of student writing)
Creative Writing - We run multiple writing contests throughout the year, The compilation of student work is honoured in an annual anthology called the Rebel Poets Society.
https://www.instagram.com/moosehidefundraiser/?hl=en
Our English 10 classes participated in fundraising for the Moosehide Campaign, and the Red Dress Campaign to stand up against violence against women and children. The students raised money and participated in a walk as part of the Red Dress Campaign in Victoria. This learning helped students engage in the creative thinking competency as they developed individual plans to fundraise for the campaign. In addition, students through this process learned about personal identity and learned about Indigenous worldviews.
https://www.instagram.com/theredressproject_/?hl=en
Literacy is fundamental to our society as it gives people access to information. Our educators at Sullivan Heights recognize that literacy plays a significant role in closing the equity gap by empowering our learners with critical thinking and communication skills they can apply in their lives. We are committed to incorporating literacy skills in all subject areas.
Our focus at Sullivan Heights is to improve students' written communication. These skills are taught and expanded on from Grade 8 to 12. Since instruction and assessment are interconnected our learners engage in reflection and self-assessment to help them understand where they are in their learning process and how they can improve.
Our learning cohort is specifically focussed on the following skills:
Our English and Humanities Departments have been collaborating for the past three years on developing consistency in assessment by using shared learning goals and language. Last year, our learning cohort consisted of one Grade 8 English class and one Grade 9 Humanities class. Our Grade 8 English cohort had 24 students, and worked together since from February-June 2022. Our Grade 9 Humanities cohort had 23 students, and they worked together since September 2021-June 2022.
Our students are introduced to the basic foundations of the writing process. Teachers are explicitly:
Above are the process and skills students are engaging into develop proficiency in the writing process.
This year, there was a further emphasis on multi-disciplinary literacy with an intentional focus on maintaining the above established goals (topic sentences, effectively communicating thinking, defending a position) consistently across subject areas. 2 cohorts of Science 10 comprising of 29 students each worked on continuing to develop their literacy skills and applying their literacy competency in the Science context. The Science teacher utilizing the same language was crucial in maintaining student progress and understanding.
(A student's scientific essay planning sheet demonstrating the goals consistent with the English/Humanities disciplines)
In addition to this work, Sullivan Heights has introduced an enhanced Summer Program in Literacy aimed at those students in Gr.8/9 who are still "developing" their literacy skills on the path towards "proficiency". This program was titled JumpStart by its founding teachers.
Students in our Grade 8 and Grade 9 cohorts have been working on written communication throughout their courses. In addition, students in these classes have been self-assessing themselves using the ministry proficiency scales.
A current snapshot analysis of the evidence at the end of the course:
Grade 8 English Cohort
Grade 9 Humanities Cohort
Skills Survey
The analysis of this evidence indicates our students are trending toward proficiency in the skills area we are teaching. Furthermore, the evidence indicates students are improving in their ability to accurately self-assess.
Our Summer Program in literacy aimed at those students in Gr.8/9 who are still "developing" their literacy skills on the path towards "proficiency" saw students hold one on one interviews with their teacher(s) on day one to site develop and recognize individual goals for their summer enhancement.
In addition, students participated in a survey to assess their progress through JumpStart in reference to the same literacy goals that were outlined for previous cohorts of students in Gr.8/9.
Moving forward, we hope to track the students of the JumpStart cohort as they progress through Grades 9 and 10 respectively to assess the enhancement of the summer program while continuing to build consistency in literacy skills across subject areas.
(2023 JumpStart Cohort - Literacy Enhancement Program)