Horsefly Elementary-Jr. Secondary

2017-2018: The principal of Horsefly School, Kelly Glen, continues as the school's PLC Facilitator. Rick Miller continued in the role during the final months of the year. They are working on this inquiry:

• Focus: Sense of belonging and community
• Checking: Teachers took the following actions during the year:
  • Weekly outdoor ed class, including walking, snowshoeing and birdwatching.
  • Weekly journaling during/after our outdoor ed classes.
  • Creation of “on sight” nature art (Andy Goldworthy inspired).
  • During our outdoor ed classes, focusing on the interconnectedness of our environment.
  • Observation of things like bugs, birds, salmon, wildlife, and the impact of human activity.

All the “Taking Action” points mentioned above were participated in throughout the whole year, despite the numerous changes in classroom teachers. Some of the classes were more involved in the journal writing and creative writing based on the outdoor walks, but all classes did complete some writing projects. The teachers report that students were more enthusiastic about their writing due to the connections and observations they’d made during their walks and with the outdoor art they produced on their walks. As the year progressed more high-level art was produced and students’ writing, based on the environment and the wildlife they observed, improved in length and quality. The teachers also reported that students were very disappointed if their outdoor ed classes had to be cancelled and that they were more engaged in other subjects when they could apply the knowledge and experience they had been a part of. The teachers belief that, based on their observation of students’ enthusiasm and the quality of their writing, that the project was a huge success and the answer to the inquiry is the outdoor ed classes most definitely inspire the artistic and linguistic abilities of the students at Horsefly school.

• Reflection: The staff is glad that they had the opportunity to be a part of this inquiry and hope that once the school’s outdoor classroom is built with this further enhance the students’ connections and spur them on to produce even better artistic and linguistic assignments.

2016-2017: The new principal of Horsefly School, Kelly Glen, is also the school's PLC Facilitator. They are working on this inquiry:

• Outdoor Education questions varied from teacher to teacher: Will using the outdoors increase student engagement (and awareness)? Will taking our classroom to an outdoor setting using experiential, place-based learning cause an increase in students’ ability to focus and stay on-task. Will taking students outside on a weekly basis, help students develop a greater understanding and knowledge of their natural environment?
• Analysis: The Outdoor Education program put in place by the teacher in connection with the Science and Social Studies curriculum and with the Wild School BC program (Year One) has increased student engagement and awareness.

The students were able to produce engaging PowerPoint presentations about the flora and fauna they encountered using pictures they had taken while on outdoor walks. Having discussed the types of animals that live in this area, the students did internet research on various creatures of their choice, collecting their data into a field guide, outlining that animal’s characteristics, habitat, food requirements and tracks.

From the student survey asking the question -” What has changed about your environmental awareness as a result of taking outdoor education class?” – Nearly all students indicated that they had learned about their environment by what they had experienced from class. They felt that their time spent in nature had a positive effect on how they view nature. More encouraging was the number of respondents who desired an increase in the time they can learn about nature while outdoors. They would like to do it more.

• Reflection: Having taught an Outdoor Education class for two years now as part of our PE program, I see the benefits of such classes as twofold. First they are an opportunity for some good, physical aerobic exercise. The kind that leaves you with rosy cheeks, a smile on your face, a sense of accomplishment and a generally upbeat and positive outlook to the day. Second it fosters in children the importance of their “natural” home and the creatures they share it with. In order to develop an awareness and appreciation of one’s natural environment, requires immersion into that environment, with a focus on using our senses to become attuned to it – which in children is just awakening their latent “animal instincts” of listening, smelling, seeing and being ever present in their awareness while being in nature (that sixth sense). Through thoughtful mentoring, this end can be realized, producing an individual who not only knows about their natural home, but has a desire to learn and experience more about it beyond their time at school. And ultimately when someone is connected to the plants and animals and the beauty of their natural home, they are more apt to care for it and preserve it.

So this short inquiry has shown me a need to develop more activities for classes that I can use to engage children while being outdoors. The desire to learn such things is present in them. Ways to support and foster that need is the direction of future inquires. Collaboration with Frances and others interested in similar types of learning has greatly helped and are a positive way to share ideas.

2015-2016: Holly Zurak will once again support the work of the PLC at Horsefly School.

• How will teaching pre-literacy skills, including phonemic awareness, improve overall literacy of our K-4 students to become (grade level) readers? (Grades K-4)
• Analysis: All Kindergarten students improved their letter recognition and letter sound knowledge; they all know some sight words. Three students and recently another have joined the Gr. 1 and 2 reading groups. All but one Grade 1/2 students have improved their reading levels. All Gr. 1 students are at or above grade level. All Gr. 2 students, except one, started the year well below grade level. 6 out of 9 students reading near the end of Gr. 2 or above.
• Reflection: Along with the teaching of spelling rules, pre-literacy skills were embedded in daily work and structured reading times. Direct teaching of letters, letter sounds, vowel sounds, and spelling patterns was used daily in real situations. I believe that the results on the S.W.W., spelling assessment, and reading assessments clearly show that students have learned and applied the pre-literacy skills and more. The students are enjoying being readers and beginning writers.
• How will the use of the Daily 5 structure and teaching strategies improve students’ powerful and expressive language in personal writing? (Grades 5-7)
• Analysis: All students have improved along the performance standards (quick scales) for School Wide Write in their personal (narrative) writing. The students in grade 7 showed the least improvement in the area of descriptive writing, which could be attributed to many factors; including lack of interest in the assessment itself. In weekly writing journals (part of Daily 5 rotation), students did free-writing from prompts (creative writing, opinion, persuasive, and reflective) and all of the students have shown growth in the depth and stamina of their writes. Some reluctant writers went from writing a half page to 2 or 3 pages of written text. In Word Work, students engaged with the online program “Spelling City” in daily word work with vocabulary lists from Words Their Way. Most students moved forward by at least one category (for example, within words to syllables and affixes). Some students were difficult to move, including students who already spelled in the derivational relations category.
• Reflection: All students enjoyed learning their language arts program through the Daily 5 model, and reported “having choices over their daily practice” as their top reason for enjoying the switch to the program. The teacher found the structure to be excellent for differentiating instruction and creating time and space to work more closely with individual students. This program worked well with this group of students and should be continued next school year.

2014-2015: The new principal of Horsefly School, Holly Crandall, is also the school's PLC Facilitator. She is working with a very experienced staff on this inquiry:

• How will student’s reading comprehension and reading engagement improve if staff demonstrate, model and coach explicit “Reading Power” strategies?
• Analysis: Reading scores have improved for students at Horsefly School, as analyzed by a variety of measurement tools, including teacher observations.
• Reflection: While we did focus in on reading, and about reading strategies in particular, we didn’t focus on Gear’s strategies as specifically as intended in our stated goal. Reading scores did improve in all three divisions over the year. We didn’t get to a student engagement survey, and our collective feeling was that the events of this year in particular made it difficult to get into things as deeply as we know an inquiry should be. We are very interested in pursuing a new focus for our inquiry next year, and are looking at a new model of PLC in our school in terms of scheduling and how we “spend the time.”