Reflecting on Learning

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Here are some highlights of  learning opportunities that were offered in Mission Public School District during the 2017/2018 school year:

Aboriginal Mentor teachers visited K-12 schools in Mission to ‘dive deeper’ into the resources and stories available on greatspirithand.com

 

 

 

 

Siwal Si’wes Siya Ye Yoyes group visited  the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre and learned about the UBC longhouse. Visit: https://collections.irshdc.ubc.ca/  for digital resources.

Peggy Janicki, MPSD Indigenous Mentor teacher, has been working in K-12 schools and sharing resources:

Teacher Librarian Curriculum Highlights:

Click on the image below to see how K-12 school libraries are supporting the implementation of the redesigned curriculum.

Early Learning:

MPSD Early Learning Coordinator, Diana McCall, has supported Ready, Set, Learn, Welcome to Kindergarten, Empower Learning Series, Little Readers, visits from the Public Library and more!

 

Math Mentor Teacher, Rebekaah Stenner, has been supporting schools with JUMP Math and Building Thinking Classrooms:

Joyful Literacy:

Every Elementary school has sent a team of educators to a Joyful Literacy Summit.  In addition, 50 educators from six schools have embarked on a three year initiative and participated in 8 days of professional development with Dr. Janet Mort’s Joyful Literacy Interventions.

Approximately 600 students from these six schools will be going home with a summer reading packages to support the literacy skills they have been mastering this year!

Other Curriculum and Student Services Pro-D:

Visit the Pro-D page to see all of the workshops and learning sessions that were offered this year.

Local Offerings November 2017

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Here are some additional learning opportunities coming up in Mission this month:

November 27: Early Learning educators (K and Grade 1 teachers, EA’s, etc):

Our Early Learning Connect 75 group will be meeting on Monday November 27th , 3:15pm at the School Board office.

Our theme for the month is: Marvellous Math Make and Take Extravaganza! Please join us to share our/your math ideas. As always we will be making hands on play based math boxes that you can take away and use the next day in your classrooms/programs. Rebekaah Stenner will be joining us for a little Q and A session in order to support the great work you all do.

Please email Diana.mccall@mpsd.ca or call at 604 226-2854 to register so I know how many materials to bring. Space is limited

Provincial Outreach Online Learning Opportunities: (thank you to LSS in Abbotsford School District)

Crisis Prevention Institute – http://www.crisisprevention.com/Home
 Open the Resources tab to find a listing of webinars that are available for anyone to watch.
 Topics include such things as Positive Connections: CPI and Positive Behaviour Support; Supporting all Students: Creating a Safe and Caring School; Real Issues at School: Positive Strategies for Crisis Prevention

Special Education Technology BC – http://www.setbc.org/
 Open the Learning Centre tab to find an alphabetical listing of all resources. There are both print and visual resources in this section. Some relevant examples might include Boardmaker Studio 2012 (collection of presentations and demonstrations), Communication Supports (video on positive interventions for building self-determination and communication skills for people with Autism), Including Students in the Curriculum (2013) (hyperlinked table of activities supporting PLOs for BC students).

POPARD – http://www.autismoutreach.ca/
 Open the elearning tab to find a list of elearning titles
 Titles include such things as PECS, Using Interactive Whiteboards to Provide Differentiated Instruction, Functional Communication Training, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, etc.
 Open the Resources tab to find Website Links that have further training opportunities (e.g. UBC has a series of six webcasts on Autism and Developmental Disabilities

POPFASD – http://www.fasdoutreach.ca/
 Open the eLearning Videos tab to find a videos guide leading you to videos on Learning about FASD, Instructional Planning, Creating a Positive Behaviour Climate, Teaching to Strengths and Needs, Developing the IEP, and Transitions.
 Open the Teacher Resources tab to find links to supportive websites and Training/Courses options

PIOP (Previously PISP) – http://www.pisp.ca/
 This website focuses on student with multiple and complex disabilities (normally our category A students)

 Open the Learning Modules tab to find a set of six modules including Assessment, Developing IEPs, Reporting Progress, Program Planning, Communication and Social Strategies, and Transitions
 Open the Videos and Tutorials tab to find information on Integration, transition, use of switches, How To videos, PE modification, etc.

Others:
The Gray Center – http://www.thegraycenter.org/
 Open the Social Stories tab to learn about Social Stories and how to write them.

Council for Exceptional Children – http://www.cec.sped.org/
 Open the Professional Development tab for information on relevant webinars (examples include upcoming live webinars as well as recorded webinars).
 Recorded webinars include topics such as Behaviour and Positive Behaviour Intervention and Supports,

Co-Teaching and Collaboration, Inclusive Practices, Transitions, etc.
 Note: There is a cost to ordering these webinars.

Autism Community Training – http://www.actcommunity.ca/
 Print material available under the Autism Information tab (includes topics such as Autism Research,

Autism Diagnosis in BC, School Age Children with Autism, Autism Manual for BC, etc.)
 Online Videos available under the Autism Education tab (note that some of these are free, although a majority of them do require an annual license in order to access them). Topics include such things as Education, Integration and Inclusion, Best Practices in Early Intervention, What is ABA and Why is it Important in the Treatment of Autism, etc.

November 18th: ** This session is now full.  Please watch for future offerings.**

 

 

September Learning Resources

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(Source: CLA, 2014)

Welcome to another year of learning and working together.  We have drafted this post with the hope that some of these resources may useful to your planning for September and beyond.

Ministry of Education Curriculum Updates:
  • Please see the Documents and Assessment Strategies pages for Educator Updates regarding FSA’s and Graduation Years (including Gr. 10-12 Curriculum Comparison Guides for all subjects and the draft design of the Numeracy Assessment).
  • A series of videos and booklets on Assessment is being developed and we will post links as soon as they are available.
Learning Sessions and Teaching Resources:
  • Please see the Teacher Developed page for units developed by MPSD teachers, including ADST and Career Education. (Please ask your Teacher Librarian or Jen Lane (jennifer.lane@mpsd.ca) if you require the password to open this page.)
  • ERAC has curated and recommended a collection of K-12 websites that are aligned with the BC redesigned curriculum.  We have added these websites to the Subject Area pages in Resources (K-12).  For K-6 sites, you can also go to Databases and Subject Guides in the Elementary Virtual Learning Commons.
  • September blog posts are published in the Elementary Virtual Learning Commons and are full of teaching ideas and activities! This month we are connecting to growth mindset and the core competencies.  (Check back at the beginning of each month for new posts.)

Coming Soon…..

Please see our previous post for some of MPSD’s fall professional learning opportunities.

We also have a fabulous line-up of speakers and presenters for our 2017/2018 Professional Learning Series.  Details will be posted this fall.

 

Time to Celebrate!

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Thank you to our caring and dedicated educational community in Mission.  This has been a year of sharing and learning together and we look forward to our continued journey next year.

Please find some exciting highlights below that reflect some our of work together this year.

 

Siwal Si’wes Official Press Release:

June 21, 2017

 

Mission School District Unveils its Locally Developed Residential School Curriculum Website on National Aboriginal Day at Xa:ytem B.C.

Survivors, Elders, Educators, RCMP, Mission Mayor and Council, Local First Nation Council members, Community members and students celebrated Nation Aboriginal Day at Xa:ytem on June 21st.  All were there to honour and acknowledge the contributions that Residential School Survivors, Elders and Mission Public School staff made towards a locally developed Residential School Curriculum Website for students and teachers from Kindergarten through to grade 12.

This website entitled, “Stories of Truth”, is the result of a 2 year process of consultation and commitment by the groups mentioned above. The website holds several powerful locally developed video, audio and print resources produced by Siwal Si’wes and Bear Image Productions, and can be found at https://greatspirithand.com

The event began with a traditional feast, followed by an honouring ceremony, speeches and elementary students singing “Leave the World a Little bit Better”, while 3 eagles flew overhead at this Historic BC landmark.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada presented its 94 Calls to Action in December 2015. Call to Action #63 (i) included: Developing and Implementing Kindergarten to Grade Twelve Curriculum and learning resources on Aboriginal Peoples in Canadian history, and the history and legacy of Residential Schools.  This website is a direct result of this call to action.

The goal of this effort is to build student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy and mutual respect. Please visit https://greatspirithand.com and continue your journey towards Reconciliation Today!

Teacher Librarians: Please click on the image below to see a slideshow that demonstrates how each school library embraced elements of the redesigned curriculum this year, including Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspectives, Applied Design Skills and Technology, and more….

Mental Math Carousel Day at Deroche Elementary School:

We are pleased to announce that in September 2017, Rebekaah Stenner (Math educator and current Outreach Manager and Teacher Support for JUMP Math) will join our MPSD curriculum team as a K-12 Math Mentor Teacher.

She has been working this spring at Deroche Elementary School and helped them coordinate and “Mental Math Carousel Day” this June.

Highlights include:

  • The community coming together to share and learn math.
  • The students were enthusiastic and excited to participate.
  • Principal Mike Abercrombie’s homemade hundred’s chart and how much the students enjoyed interacting with it.
  • The families who volunteered! They were open to learning and leading the math stations.
  • Students who don’t normally engage were engaged.
  • The money game was a relevant to students and they practiced the names/values of coins.
  • This has created a culture of thinking about math as something fun and interesting!

See @SD75Curriculum for more success stories shared by schools and educators in our school district. Follow us for updates throughout the summer!

2017/2018 Learning Opportunities:  Save the Date!

Our curriculum team are already planning professional learning opportunities for the fall.  Here’s what is planned so far, stay tuned for more opportunities to be shared in the fall:

  • Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Training:
    • Tuesday, August 29th (Principals and Management)
    • Wednesday, August 30th (All Staff Refresher, 8:00-1:00) (Click here for details.)
  •  Early Learning Day , Friday, September 8th at Fraserview Learning Centre: Kindergarten teachers and Strong Start facilitators, Literacy and Mental Math focus.
  • School Goals Day, Friday, September 22nd:
  • JUMP Math for K-6 (as well as Educational Assistants and interested middle school teachers)
  • Middle Schools: TBA
  • Mission Secondary School: QBQ Presentation

Computational Thinking and Coding Workshops:

  • Wednesday, October 4th, 3:30-5:00
  • Wednesday, November 15th, 3:30-5:00
  • Provincial Professional Development Day, Friday, October 20th:  Mission Public School District has partnered with local community groups to offer the Pulling Together one-day conference at Heritage Park Middle School.  Registration is now open with an early bird rate until September 22nd.

Click on the image below to register!

  • Mission Public School District Curriculum Day, Monday, October 23rd: TBA in September, but watch for math assessment learning opportunities, Innovative Career Education tools and more!

 

Spring Update: Curriculum Implementation

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Core Competencies:

We continue to add resources to the Competencies page to support learning around Self-Assessment of the Core Competencies.

Teachers have requested that a common introduction to the self-assessment be provided by the district. Please see your administrator for the introduction developed with feedback from educators that can be used on K-9 report cards to introduce the self-assessment.

Career Education K-12:

Resource Announcement: Mission Public School District has purchased the following two digital resources for the new K-12 Career Education curriculum.  Stay tuned for learning opportunities in the 2017/2018 school year.

All About Me: Career Education Kindergarten-Grade 6

myBlueprint: Career Education Grade 7-12

JUMP Math K-6:  

District-funded resources for all K-6 teachers and students have been ordered and are on the way!

 

Mark your calendar for training on September 22nd for all K-6 teachers.

Early Literacy:

Mission Public School District sent a team of six schools to the January 2017 Joyful Literacy conference in Victoria.  A shared learning session took place in April and we received positive feedback from educators who attended the conference.

 

Below are some of the responses from educators trying out the strategies and expressing their needs moving forward:

We would like to continue the conversation about about establishing common goals for reading expectations to support early literacy in our school district.

Calling all K-3 Educators: Please join us at our next Early Literacy meeting at the School Board Office on Tuesday, May 16th, 2:45-4:15. This is an opportunity to participate in the decision-making process to establish common, district-wide standards for reading levels K-Grade 3 which will be implemented September 2017.  Please bring sample resources, past standards/expectations or any other resources that might be useful to the conversation.

Literacy Professional Development Opportunity:

Congratulations to the MPSD educators who applied to attend the Joyful Writing Summit June 2-3 in Vancouver. Applications were due on May 5th to participate in this professional development opportunity.

 

 

Roundtable on Assessment: Follow-Up

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roundtable

During the last week of November, we met with three groups of Kindergarten – Grade 9 educators to discuss the challenges and current positive assessment practices in Mission Public School District.

roundtable_tweet

Feedback was gathered from small groups of educators (teachers and administrators) at each Roundtable on Assessment.  They were asked to respond to two questions:

  1. What are the challenges for you in terms of classroom and school-based assessment and/or reporting?
  2. Are there things that are working for you in terms of classroom and school-based assessment that you would like to share?

Please click on the links below to read the collated reports from each grade grouping:

Kindergarten – Grade 3 Educator Feedback

Grade 4 – Grade 6 Educator Feedback

Middle School Educator Feedback

Some of the common themes identified at the Roundtables include:

  • The need for consistent and meaningful literacy and numeracy assessment practices;
  • Self-assessment teaching strategies and meaningful self-assessment practices;
  • Learning about different reporting options and how to engage the whole learning community in the process.

And the winners are…..

There was a draw for Professional Learning Resources at each sharing session. Congratulations to the teacher-winners! Your books have been ordered and we hope to deliver them to you before the winter holiday begins.

                      School                                                                                      Book Title/Link

West Heights Community School Joyful Literacy Interventions Part One
Dewdney Elementary Learning to Write and Loving It!
Hillside Traditional School Joyful Literacy Interventions Part One
Ecole Christine Morrison Science First Peoples (FNESC)
West Heights Community School Creating Cultures of Thinking
Edwin S. Richards Elementary K-10 Science & Ethnobotany
Ecole Heritage Park Middle School Righting Canada’s Wrongs – Residential School
Hatzic Middle School Teaching About Historical Thinking
Hatzic Middle School Powerful Readers – A. Gear
Hatzic Middle School Powerful Readers – A. Gear

October 24 District Curriculum Day

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Through discussion at our JEAC meeting and from feedback from various schools we are leaving the planning for each school’s October 24th Curriculum Implementation day up to each individual K-9 school.  Teachers in most schools seem ready and prepared to continue collaborating with colleagues and accessing their school resources, teacher librarians, and our curriculum websites, including Siwal Si’wes to further their learning.

In addition, Siwal Si’wes is offering several professional learning opportunities that some of your staff may want to take advantage of on that day.  (Please see below for details.)

Our structured plans this year focus more on the Grade 10-12 curriculum and we began working with the MSS planning team on September 27th.

October 24th Learning Opportunities:

SWSWlogoAttention: All CUPE members  

Non Instructional Day St. Mary’s Opt In form

After last year’s Residential School tour there was sufficient interest to organize a CUPE focused, guided tour of St. Mary’s Residential School.  This tour will commence at 12:00pm and will end at 2:00pm, October 24th  2016.

Click and print: CUPE Opt In form

 

SWSWlogoAttention: All Teachers  

Non Instructional Day St. Mary’s Opt In form

After last year’s Residential School tour there was sufficient interest to organize another guided tour of St. Mary’s Residential School.  This tour will commence at 1:00pm and will end at 3:00pm, October 24th  2016.

Click and print: Teachers Opt In form

 

SWSWlogoAttention: All Teachers 

Non Instructional Day Interactive Sto:lo Government Presentation

Siwal Si’wes is organizing an Interactive Sto:lo Government Presentation with Peggy Janicki from school district 34, on October 24th from 8:30 – 12:00 at Ecole Heritage Park Middle School Drama Room.

This interactive presentation is designed for teachers of Grades 3 through 12. Learning outcomes: Pre-Contact Sto:lo history, Consensus, Contact, Reservation Law, Indian Residential School, Civilization Act and Present day. This presentation will provide teachers with lesson plans (including handouts) and a greater understanding of the Sto:lo people.

Click and print: Sto:lo Government Presentation Opt In form

Welcome Back to Learning!

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Our team is looking forward to learning with you this year!  Here is a glimpse of what we accomplished together last year and some of the opportunities as we move forward with implementing the redesigned curriculum in 2016/2017.

2015/2016 Year in review:

  • Re-establishment of the JEAC planning committee;
  • Selection of 28 K-9 teacher planners who attended two planning days and coordinated two curriculum implementation days;
  • District supported two collaboration days for teachers to work with colleagues to explore the redesigned curriculum;
  • Aboriginal mentor teacher presentations at February 22nd NID, resources from the Siwal Si’wes Library highlighted;
  • Reconciliation tour of St. Mary’s Residential School on May 2nd with a waiting list for 2016/2017 school year;
  • Print and digital resources being shared on our district learning commons “Curriculum Connections” (10 000+ views, 200 Tweets sharing strategies/ resources/community events)Tweet4Tweet3Tweet2

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  • Educators from each school attended a tour of the Stave West area and Zajac Ranch where they shared ideas for using the space for Outdoor Education initiatives;
  • Print resource ‘Invent to Learn’ purchased for every school to help support the new K-12 Applied Design Skills and Technologies curriculum. In addition, some teacher librarians attended a four week Makerspace webinar series and are curating resources and ideas for maker-oriented activities;
  • Two after-school learning sessions offered by the Curriculum Department focused on technology integration and resource strategies;
  • District partnership with The Critical Thinking Consortium enables teachers to access high quality digital learning resources. Binders of “The Competency Toolkit” were purchased for each school with over 70 lessons focused on thinking and literacy skills embedded into content areas.

What’s New:

Launching Fall 2016:

  • CALM: A self-regulation curriculum developed by the Fraser Valley Child Development Centre.  Training will be provided to Kindergarten teachers and Strong Start Coordinators on September 9th.
  • Assessment Committee: We plan to establish an assessment committee in September. The goal of this committee will be to share assessment practices, gather resources and co-develop community goals for assessment tools that support the redesigned curriculum.
  • Curriculum Implementation Planning: JEAC and teacher facilitators will plan our October 24thNID for both K-9 and 10-12 groups.
  • Technology Committee: Will be established September 2016.

Purpose:

  1. Set broad educational goals and direction for students at all grade levels with the use of technology;
  2. Establish a vision of seamless integration of IT into instruction in a variety of course and subject areas;
  3. Ensure sustainability and stability of IT throughout the district; and
  4. Plan IT purchasing throughout the district in an organized and logical manner.

Stay connected:

  • Use our new Calendar tab on Curriculum Connections for curriculum related events and learning opportunities.
  • Follow us on Twitter @SD75Curriculum for links to resources, ideas and updates.