Growing Together…Caring, Capable Citizens in a Changing World
We are currently meeting the educational needs of approximately 376 students enrolled from Kindergarten through Grade 7. We are located in a pristine area of Coldstream with connections to Mackie House, Sovereign Park, Bishop’s Bird Sanctuary, Kal Park and lake, and Coldstream creek. There are sixteen teaching staff, two administrators, an itinerant counsellor, a teacher-librarian, school based resource teachers in addition to twelve support staff (clerical, CEA’s, custodian, noon hour and bus supervisors). We work together to ensure that all students are actively engaged in their learning in an environment that facilitates belonging. We take pride in being a welcoming school community, with high standards of achievement in academics, fine arts, athletics, and social responsibility.
At Kidston School we recognize that learning happens on a continuum and that students learn at different rates and in different ways. Student success is demonstrated through curiosity, kindness, helping one another, a sense of personal well being, thinking and reasoning, creativity and a zest for life and learning.
Trust, honesty, respect for each other – staff, parents and students. We work collaboratively to ensure all staff and students can be successful. Kidston is very fortunate to be surrounded by wonderful outdoor classrooms- Fylton Forest, Kalavista Lagoon, orchards, Mackie house, Creekside Park, Kalamalka Lake where place based learning can happen naturally. We also have our school garden where lots of hands-on, discovery and inquiry based learning happens. There is a real sense of community at Kidston Elementary.
Building on our Kidston Kindness theme we plan on adding a 4th C to our goal – CONTRIBUTE. We want students to begin to give back and self-reflect on how they can make a difference.
We will be supporting our struggling readers using the program Intensive Phonological Awareness.
Using the resource: Preventing Misguided Reading teachers will explore how to better improve their reading instruction.
Upper intermediate teachers will work on the focus question: What structures can we incorporate in the math classroom that will lead to a more individualized approach to teaching math and as a result increase students numeracy understandings and skills?
Growing Together…Caring, Capable Citizens in a Changing World
We are currently meeting the educational needs of approximately 376 students enrolled from Kindergarten through Grade 7. We are located in a pristine area of Coldstream with connections to Mackie House, Sovereign Park, Bishop’s Bird Sanctuary, Kal Park and lake, and Coldstream creek. There are sixteen teaching staff, two administrators, an itinerant counsellor, a teacher-librarian, school based resource teachers in addition to twelve support staff (clerical, CEA’s, custodian, noon hour and bus supervisors). We work together to ensure that all students are actively engaged in their learning in an environment that facilitates belonging. We take pride in being a welcoming school community, with high standards of achievement in academics, fine arts, athletics, and social responsibility.
At Kidston School we recognize that learning happens on a continuum and that students learn at different rates and in different ways. Student success is demonstrated through curiosity, kindness, helping one another, a sense of personal well being, thinking and reasoning, creativity and a zest for life and learning.
Trust, honesty, respect for each other – staff, parents and students. We work collaboratively to ensure all staff and students can be successful. Kidston is very fortunate to be surrounded by wonderful outdoor classrooms- Fylton Forest, Kalavista Lagoon, orchards, Mackie house, Creekside Park, Kalamalka Lake where place based learning can happen naturally. We also have our school garden where lots of hands-on, discovery and inquiry based learning happens. There is a real sense of community at Kidston Elementary.
Building on our Kidston Kindness theme we plan on adding a 4th C to our goal – CONTRIBUTE. We want students to begin to give back and self-reflect on how they can make a difference.
We will be supporting our struggling readers using the program Intensive Phonological Awareness.
Using the resource: Preventing Misguided Reading teachers will explore how to better improve their reading instruction.
Upper intermediate teachers will work on the focus question: What structures can we incorporate in the math classroom that will lead to a more individualized approach to teaching math and as a result increase students numeracy understandings and skills?
Checking
Improved scores/data
Student writing
Checking
Improved scores/data
CIMS reports indicate that behavioural incidents have decreased by 34% over last year with our efforts to develop citizenship through Kidston Kindness focusing on the 3 C’s – Caring, Cooperation, and Courtesy. Examples of ways we achieved this were: teaching of self-regulation skills, WITS, SOGI awareness, bi-weekly assemblies, whole school cooperative activities, daily reinforcement of Kidston Kindness Behaviour expectations rubric, Principals Tea, Kidston Kindness tickets, and the Kidston Discovery Garden project.
Student writing
Engaging students in writing activities that were relevant, interesting, and connecting writing to the core competency communication improved writing at Kidston by 22%.
BC Writing Performance Standards, whole class writes, and report card data were looked at as well as the fall FSA scores for grades 4&7.
Scanning
School Based Data
Kidston Kindness
Place Based Learning
Scanning
School Based Data
PM Benchmarks
Whole Class Reading Assessments
BC Performance Standards
Student writing samples
Early Literacy Screener
District Numeracy Assessments
Report cards
Student self reflections/assessments
FSA results (grade 4&7)
Kidston Kindness
Place Based Learning
Literature circles at Kal Park: Learning about First People’s Principles of Learning and ways of knowing.
Focusing
Developing Citizenship
Writing
Focusing
Developing Citizenship
Developing Citizenship through Kidston Kindness: Caring, Courtesy, Cooperation, and Contribute for a positive community!
Filling wool socks for delivery to the Upper Room Mission
Writing
How can we improve students’ writing to be better communicators?
We are confident in our current practice in reading development and while we will continue to develop our practice of improving reading the Kidston staff are focusing on the written component of Literacy. With curricular change it is important that we examine our practice as we transition into the new curriculum. Personal Writing will be our conduit to examine the new curriculum while addressing an area of that will help our students’ academic progress. We also recognize that to demonstrate our reading proficiency, we will have to respond in writing to show our understanding of what we have read. As we move into Inquiry Based Learning, students writing skills and understanding of the process will be required to demonstrate their learning in all subject areas.
Developing a Hunch
Engaging hands on learning
Developing a Hunch
Engaging hands on learning
Students are much more engaged when given multiple ways to demonstrate their learning, especially using hands-on approaches.
Learning
Solving problems using WITS
Learning
Solving problems using WITS
Taking Action
Developing Citizenship Through Kidston Kindness
Writing
Taking Action
Developing Citizenship Through Kidston Kindness
Caring, courtesy and community building activities, visible messages, sharing of information at assemblies, buddy class activities, The Virtues Project, and Community projects
Writing
Connect and Engage with others (to share and develop ideas)
Explain/Recount and reflect on Experiences and Accomplishments students reflect; receive and offer feedback and from this and then extend
Novelty and Value…I want my teacher to notice; I think this piece will help; using the writing to express personal thoughts on a topic.
Generating Ideas…recognizing how students get ideas for writing; knowing what helps them; taking time and strategies to foster ideas
Developing Ideas…creative ideas; evaluate them; decide which to develop; refine them; realize goals with writing