Superintendant's Update
November 2011
The purpose of the Superintendent’s Update is to highlight activities and events related to our ongoing efforts to achieve success for every student in Mission Public Schools.
Previous Updates:
Mission Public Schools wishes to express its sincere appreciation to our teachers, support staff and administration for their hard work and tremendous efforts in providing a smooth opening for our students. All of the staff within our district have continued to hold the education of our students as a top priority during this time. As we settle in to the 2011-2012 school year, I wanted to share a few of the initiatives our students and staff will be exploring this year, and to acknowledge some of the people who are working to make them possible.
ABC School
Arts Based Curriculum (ABC) School launched this fall at Edwin S. Richards Elementary School. The program uses fine arts to support and enhance teaching and learning of the core curriculum. Some examples of how this is achieved include using dance to reinforce mathematical or scientific concepts or using music and song to support lessons about the environment. Currently, a Grade 2/3 teacher and a Grade 5/6 teacher have elected to participate in the program, which is voluntary. Other schools that have implemented this program in B.C. have reported many positive benefits, including encouraging creativity, team work and problem-solving skills in a group environment, and inclusivity of all students, especially those with special needs.
Full-day Kindergarten
As with all other school districts in British Columbia, Mission now provides full-day kindergarten at all elementary schools in the district. This change has generally been viewed as positive among parents, teachers and educators. Last month the BC Principals and Vice Principals Association released a report titled Taking the Pulse, which evaluated the initial successes of the full-day kindergarten program in the 2010/2011 school year. The report gave an overall assessment of the program and viewed it as an overwhelming success. In Mission, we have extended our own Aboriginal learning kit to all kindergarten classes in the district now that full-day kindergarten has been implemented. The Aboriginal cultural curriculum includes 32 First Nations stories, suggested First Nations arts and crafts and an authentic aboriginal carpet for story time. These teaching elements help us honour the rich culture of our local Aboriginal peoples.
Middle School within the School
The transition to the “Middle School within the School” teaching methodology has now taken place at all three high schools in the district. This philosophy incorporates Grade 7, 8 and 9 students into the high-school setting, while allowing them their own space within the high-school environment. The transition to a Middle School model was implemented over a two-year period, with Grade 9’s beginning the transition in the 2010-11 school year and Grade 7 and 8's transitioning in the 2011-12 school year. The feedback from students and teachers has been very positive.
Mission Restorative Resolutions
Mission Public School District has partnered with Mission Restorative Resolutions (MRR) to develop a pilot project on restorative justice and non-violent communication in the classroom. MRR is a District of Mission service that provides highly-trained volunteer facilitators to guide individuals through a restorative process by creating a safe and respectful environment. The first school to participate in this project is Albert McMahon Elementary School. The project began in September in a Grade 5/6 class with the help of MRR staffer Mai Iverson, who has completed a five-day training seminar titled Educate the Educators – Peace Classrooms. The program will continue throughout the school year. By bringing this program into our schools, our hope is to help students further develop their conflict resolution abilities through the principles of peace and justice. Partnering with a community organization to provide innovative education programming is also an important step for Mission Public Schools as we continue to develop our relationship with our community.
Teacher Job Action
The BC Public School Employers Association and the BC Teachers’ Federation continue to negotiate a new agreement for all teachers in the province. Beginning September 6, teachers in B.C. initiated phase one of their job action. To date, this has not caused any disruptions to student learning or teaching time. Each school in the district has made the necessary arrangements to ensure student supervision and administrative tasks are handled by school administrators. All parties are continuing to put students first as they work through the hurdles of this challenging time. Although the bargaining process creates challenges for the school system, our teachers continue to provide quality core education for students as part of the district’s commitment to ensure success for every child. We thank you for your understanding and patience as the parties work through the process. We will continue to provide information about the teacher job action on the school district website, and will send information home with students and to the Parent Advisory Councils at each school as it becomes available. If you require further clarification I would encourage you to phone your child’s school principal or my office at 604-826-6286.
We Day
We Day 2011 took place October 13 in Vancouver. Students in grade 6 and up from all elementary, middle and high schools in our district attended the event together with approximately 18,000 students from across British Columbia. We Day is an initiative of Free the Children and Me to We, an organization successfully motivating young people in Canada and around the world to make and encourage social and environmental change. This year’s event inspired and celebrated the youth movement for global change and included an incredible roster of speakers, including Mikhail Gorbachev, Mia Farrow and Shaquille O’Neal. Past We Day participants from Mission have gone on to be leaders in their schools and communities, mentoring their peers, hosting fundraisers for the homeless, and traveling to Kenya with Me to We to do development work and learn about challenges facing youth in other countries.
Virtual Classrooms
Thanks to modern technology, teachers from Mission Secondary School were able to teach a Calculus 12 course to any Grade 12 student in the district last year. Thirteen of the enrolled students physically attend the course, while the remaining 17 were video-conferenced in from their respective schools. This year the Virtual Classroom concept has been expanded. For the 2011/2012 year, the district is also offering virtual classes at Hatzic and Heritage Park Secondary schools in French 12, Geography 12, Calculus 12, Spanish 12 and Statistics 12. The students use Smart Boards and are able to interact with the teacher directly.
Business Academy
In November, the board will review a project plan for the creation of a Business Academy which is being developed by Principal Jim Pearce at Mission Middle/Secondary school. The academy will provide laddering and mentoring opportunities for students interested in learning about business.
Intergenerational Dance Program
Mission Public Schools has approved an intergenerational dance program for the 2011-12 school year. This program will involve 6 to 7 children attending a local care home once a week for a dance/ballet class. This project encourages intergenerational collaboration and provides children with an opportunity to build confidence and self-esteem through performing arts.