School Profile:
Coldstream Elementary School is located in the municipality of Coldstream to the east of Vernon. Currently there are 340 students. We take pride in all aspects of our academic success and community spirit. The Coldstream school community is built on strong values and continually promotes care and support for every student. We are responsive to our students strengths and needs by striving to offer opportunities to enhance student learning, academic rigor, and social and emotional well-being in a variety of ways. Our staff work closely with families and community partners to make our school the best it can be, keeping our students at the centre of our focus. We have continued to grow through with a strong PAC (Parent Advisory Council), international student exchanges and many enriching arts and cultural pursuits. It is our vision and desire that all children receive an education that will prepare them well for life in the 21st century.
School Mission Statement
It is the mission of Coldstream Elementary that students will achieve and celebrate successful learning in a supportive environment which promotes social and environmental responsibility.
Our school community focuses on the whole child, ensuring we provide a safe and healthy learning environment for every student. The parent community is caring and involved, contributing to a supportive team that wants what is best for student success and well-being. Coldstream Staff have implemented BC’s revised curriculum well, including a rich Fine Arts Program, using technologies to enhance learning and communication of learning, and using assessment and reflection to progress over time. Our motto “Coldstream Cares” serves to guide our school-wide decisions and students have a clear understanding of expectations as well as the support that is available to them. Our students are thriving and our school is a positive place to work and learn.
Our school places high importance on the success of students in the key areas of literacy, numeracy and student engagement. Our umbrella goals are supported by specific initiatives for inquiry and change.
Goal #1: To improve student strategies in the area of self-regulation and anxiety.
The area of mental health and wellness is of increasing concern. Staff report an increased need to support their students in the area of anxiety and/or self-regulation that is surpassing the number of academic concerns in a given class. Results from the annual Student Learning Survey indicate that there is a need to support students in their needs for safety, belonging and well-being, including managing stress and anxiety. To support this area, we access proactive strategies, such as EASE, to support students. We know that success in all areas of academics, student engagement and social/emotional well-being will be increased with an improvement in the skills and supports for self-regulation and anxiety.
Goal #2: To improve student engagement.
BC’s redesigned curriculum is promoting greater student engagement in the learning process. Our school is focused on increasing student engagement by providing more opportunities for students to show curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion through innovation, formative feedback, cultural awareness, instructional design and the principles of growth mindset. Our school provides personalized learning opportunities for each student.
Goal #3: To improve student academic achievement in reading.
A review of student achievement shows that most of our readers who are emerging are in the primary grades. This supports our rationale to target literacy instruction as an early intervention.
Skills and Strategies focus for our Emerging readers: Developing fluency, expression, predicting and reading for meaning
Skills and Strategies focus for our ‘On Track’ readers: Increase comprehension by developing inferring and questioning skills, as well as extracting main ideas from text.
Goal #4: To improve academic achievement in numeracy.
Reviewing student success in numeracy, it is recognized that the challenges in maths increase as students enter the higher grades with an increased demand for academic rigor. Our school is focused on instructional differentiation and practices to meet the diversity of learning needs in our intermediate grades.
School Profile:
Coldstream Elementary School is located in the municipality of Coldstream to the east of Vernon. Currently there are 340 students. We take pride in all aspects of our academic success and community spirit. The Coldstream school community is built on strong values and continually promotes care and support for every student. We are responsive to our students strengths and needs by striving to offer opportunities to enhance student learning, academic rigor, and social and emotional well-being in a variety of ways. Our staff work closely with families and community partners to make our school the best it can be, keeping our students at the centre of our focus. We have continued to grow through with a strong PAC (Parent Advisory Council), international student exchanges and many enriching arts and cultural pursuits. It is our vision and desire that all children receive an education that will prepare them well for life in the 21st century.
School Mission Statement
It is the mission of Coldstream Elementary that students will achieve and celebrate successful learning in a supportive environment which promotes social and environmental responsibility.
Our school community focuses on the whole child, ensuring we provide a safe and healthy learning environment for every student. The parent community is caring and involved, contributing to a supportive team that wants what is best for student success and well-being. Coldstream Staff have implemented BC’s revised curriculum well, including a rich Fine Arts Program, using technologies to enhance learning and communication of learning, and using assessment and reflection to progress over time. Our motto “Coldstream Cares” serves to guide our school-wide decisions and students have a clear understanding of expectations as well as the support that is available to them. Our students are thriving and our school is a positive place to work and learn.
Our school places high importance on the success of students in the key areas of literacy, numeracy and student engagement. Our umbrella goals are supported by specific initiatives for inquiry and change.
Goal #1: To improve student strategies in the area of self-regulation and anxiety.
The area of mental health and wellness is of increasing concern. Staff report an increased need to support their students in the area of anxiety and/or self-regulation that is surpassing the number of academic concerns in a given class. Results from the annual Student Learning Survey indicate that there is a need to support students in their needs for safety, belonging and well-being, including managing stress and anxiety. To support this area, we access proactive strategies, such as EASE, to support students. We know that success in all areas of academics, student engagement and social/emotional well-being will be increased with an improvement in the skills and supports for self-regulation and anxiety.
Goal #2: To improve student engagement.
BC’s redesigned curriculum is promoting greater student engagement in the learning process. Our school is focused on increasing student engagement by providing more opportunities for students to show curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion through innovation, formative feedback, cultural awareness, instructional design and the principles of growth mindset. Our school provides personalized learning opportunities for each student.
Goal #3: To improve student academic achievement in reading.
A review of student achievement shows that most of our readers who are emerging are in the primary grades. This supports our rationale to target literacy instruction as an early intervention.
Skills and Strategies focus for our Emerging readers: Developing fluency, expression, predicting and reading for meaning
Skills and Strategies focus for our ‘On Track’ readers: Increase comprehension by developing inferring and questioning skills, as well as extracting main ideas from text.
Goal #4: To improve academic achievement in numeracy.
Reviewing student success in numeracy, it is recognized that the challenges in maths increase as students enter the higher grades with an increased demand for academic rigor. Our school is focused on instructional differentiation and practices to meet the diversity of learning needs in our intermediate grades.
Checking
Have we made enough of a difference?
Checking
Have we made enough of a difference?
We continue to use evidence of learning data to determine if our actions are making a substantial difference for all of our learners.
Evidence from a variety of sources, including:
•FSAs
•Student Learning Surveys
•PM Benchmarks
•Site-based school staff surveys
Teacher professional observations and anecdotal evidence is also used.
Results from the past 3 years:
Scanning
What’s going on for our learners?
Scanning
What’s going on for our learners?
Focusing
Incorporate First Peoples Principles of Learning throughout our school community.
Improve student engagement.
Improve student achievement in literacy and numeracy.
Focusing
Incorporate First Peoples Principles of Learning throughout our school community.
Improve student engagement.
Improve student achievement in literacy and numeracy.
Developing a Hunch
Reflecting on our professional practices:
Developing a Hunch
Reflecting on our professional practices:
•How is our professional practice contributing to what’s working and to what’s not?
•How will we open up our thinking to adapt our practices to best support our learners?
•What strategies/tools can we use to best support our learners?
Learning
What professional learning do we need in order to better support our students’ success?
Learning
What professional learning do we need in order to better support our students’ success?
•EASE training
•Raising awareness of mental health, strategies for well-being
•Raising awareness of local indigenous culture
•Differentiating instruction
•Providing meaningful, formative feedback
•Training and collaboration to develop innovative strategies and best practices in Literacy and Numeracy instruction
•Engaging community partners and families in the education process through effective, timely communication
Taking Action
What will we do differently?
Taking Action
What will we do differently?
•Develop our understanding of effective and powerful strategies that will help us positively impact learners to and achieve our goals.
•Work as a collaborative, supportive team to collegially build our understanding and to be able to persist in our learning as professionals
•Engage our students in all stages of the learning process.
•Communicate student learning as part of the learning process through timely and effective feedback that allows students the opportunity to incorporate feedback for growth: Name it, Notice it, Nurture it
•Ensure our school environment is equitable for all learners