White Rock Elementary
OUR CONTEXT
‘Kindness Rocks’ At White Rock Elementary. Our students recognize how being kind to others can help them feel better about themselves. Students value the friendships they make and realize how being kind to others can help them maintain their friendships as well as establish new ones.
Students Holding Cards They Created and Sold For Their Fundraiser ‘Making Waves’ To Support OceanWise and B.C. Whales.
Students at White Rock are empowered to set their own learning goals and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of forms and media. The arts, the environment, and the well-being of themselves and others are all passions our students use to focus their learning. Our students put into practice what they have learned. Dramatic performances; identifying environmental needs and developing action plans to address the need; seeking ways to help themselves and others increase their sense of self-worth are just a few ways our students demonstrate their accomplishments and their learning.
OUR LEARNERS
Social Awareness and Responsibility involves the awareness, understanding, and appreciation of connections among people, including between people and the natural environment.
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.
Communication is the overriding competency that we use to focus our students’ ability to:
- demonstrate their ability to consider different purposes, audiences, and perspectives in exploring texts;
- demonstrate their ability to use writing to plan, develop, and create texts for a variety of purposes and audiences; and,
- demonstrate their ability to exchange ideas to build shared understanding of the needs and opinions of others.
In the example titles “School Wide” the student is demonstrating an ability to plan and develop a text for a specific purpose and general audience.
The teacher had assigned students the task of expressing their opinion on what they liked or disliked about the school year and to elaborate on their opinion.
In the writing sample “How I Solve Problems” the student is demonstrating an understanding of how to understand the needs and opinions of others.
The teacher had assigned students the task of explaining how they problem solve. Problem solving is one way individuals can ensure that they can build a shared understanding of the opinions of others.
OUR FOCUS
Developing a learning environment where all leaners have a sense of being connected and part of a larger community establishes an environment where all learners feel safe. A safe learning environment helps everyone enhance their ability to empathize with others, to appreciate the perspectives of others, to resolve problems peacefully, and to develop positive relationships. This connectiveness and sense of belonging enables all learners to set higher goals for their learning and achieve greater success in all aspects of their lives.
At White Rock Elementary we see a need employ the curricular competency of communication to have our students:
- demonstrate their ability to use writing to plan, develop, and create texts for a variety of purposes and audiences to enhance their ability to clearly communicate their ideas;
- demonstrate their ability to exchange ideas to build shared understanding of the needs and opinions of others to enhance their ability to work together; and
- demonstrate their ability to consider different purposes, audiences, and perspectives in exploring texts. In having students explore a variety of texts our instructional focus will be on inclusion and building a sense of belonging.
OUR NEXT STEPS
Our students are developing their Social and Emotional skills and capacities. We value a sense of belonging, and an ability to empathize with the needs and opinions of others to achieve success.
In a recent survey of our grade 3 students we found that while 95% of students believed that their teacher cared about them, only 67% of students believed that other adults in the school cared about them. Connecting students to other staff members and developing relationships between all students and staff will serve to improve students’ sense of belonging, and demonstrate to them that all staff members care about them. When asked if school is a place where they felt they belonged 31% of our grade 4 students indicated “all of the time” and 31% indicated “some of the time.”
An ability to work with others requires a focus on a number of skills including communication and problem solving. Evidence of our students’ ability to work in groups indicated that 67% of our grade 4 students believe they work well in groups. Continuing to focus on developing students’ skills in being able to work collaboratively will enhance their learning experiences, and help them to develop important life skills.
The ability to problem solve is linked to the curricular competency of communication. Communication. As students develop and refine their ability to communicate they learn to collaborate with others and understand different points of view. Problem solving and resolving conflict requires effective communication skills. When asked if they can resolve problems in peaceful ways 55% of our students indicated that they can peacefully resolve problems.
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.
