Kaleden Elementary School 152 Linden Avenue Kaleden, BC V0H 1K0 Principal: Heather Rose
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (2014‐15) Kaleden Context Kaleden is a rural community located 13 kilometres south of Penticton. Kaleden Elementary School provides education to approximately 100 students in Kindergarten through grade 5. As a school community, we value and pride ourselves on an inclusive approach to education, where all students are welcomed and appreciated for the various strengths and talents that they bring. The Kaleden community is close knit and the school, in many ways, serves as a hub for the community. Kaleden Elementary School is a place where families can be seen gathering socially during and outside of the instructional day. Parents at Kaleden are very supportive and involved, particularly with activities and events that nurture and develop social and emotional development of children. Kaleden Elementary School:  strives to ensure that individual students experience personal success  values open and timely communication with parents  values and encourages parental support and involvement at the school  is dedicated to the preparation of caring and responsible learners Our school is supported by an active PAC. This support provides a meaningful connection to the surrounding environment and offers students the chance for involvement with and in service to others. INQUIRY QUESTION What will be the effects of using the “Mind Up” program (as a school-wide focus) over the
course of a school year?
RATIONALE: What evidence compelled us to ask this question? Through discussion and staff book study of “Calm, Alert and Learning” by Stuart Shanker over the course of the 2013/2014 school year, it was decided that the staff wanted to explore the topic of self‐regulation; specifically targeting the emotional, biological and cognitive domains. After completing a school‐wide “needs assessment” survey in the fall of 2014, it was decided a couple of resources would be a “good fit” in order to achieve our goal. The programs we decided on were “Mind Up” and “Friends”. Mind Up would be used as a school‐wide approach while the Friends program would be taught within the target age groups of Kindergarten and Gr. 4/5. Page 2
ACTION PLAN OBJECTIVES: Specific Steps to answer our question OR More specific questions? Our first step was to have staff complete a “needs assessment” survey in September. From there, the staff decided that they wanted to focus on the program “Mind Up” to use as the basis of a school‐wide focus on the topic of self‐regulation and mindfulness. We met as a staff on the Provincial Pro‐D Day to get familiar with the resource and to develop an implementation plan for the year. We brainstormed other activities to incorporate into this school‐wide theme in order to add further meaning and interest. Year 1: Implementation of School‐Wide Self‐regulation/Mindfulness Goal Topic Target Grade Resources Goals Time Frame Yoga sessions K‐5 Tamara Semple To learn mindfulness body/mind connection 4 sessions in January
Mind Up K‐5 “Mind Up” program Become familiar with “Mind Up” program
October 24 Pro‐D Day
Mind Up K‐5 Mind Up Facilitators guide
To implement “Mind Up” program that promotes the teaching of mindfulness and self‐regulation October: individual classes
Teaches students about feelings and how to cope with everyday challenges. Teaches pro‐social behaviours and problem solving skills. October ‐ completion: Fun Friends Fun Friends K/1 & “Fun Friends” Program Friends for Life Gr.4/5 “Friends for Life” Program January: School‐wide multi‐age classes January ‐ completion: Gr. 4/5 class STRUCTURES AND STRATEGIES: For all students and our most vulnerable learners. Consideration was given to those students that may benefit from or need any extra support regarding any facets of our planned activities surrounding our school‐wide focus. ASSESSMENT PROCESS & TOOLS: What will we use to measure our success? Staff: A portion of each staff meeting was spent reviewing the previous month’s activities/theme surrounding our goal. Teachers shared thoughts, feelings & student samples surrounding our goal. A more formalized survey was given to staff in order to assess the effects of this school‐wide focus. School District No. 67 (Okanagan-Skaha)
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PROFESSIONAL LEARNING: How will we increase our capacity and collaboration? This spring, three staff members attended a conference together on the topic of student self‐regulation and challenging behaviour. Staff in attendance will be sharing out key learnings as well as how these can further support our school goal at a future staff meeting. Next fall, we plan come together as a staff to explore and learn more about resources we would like to focus on collectively for the 2015/2016 school year. We will continue to encourage the school‐wide use the common self‐regulation and mindfulness language as well as core practices we used and developed this year. RESOURCES: What do we currently have and what do we need? Self‐regulation support materials on Pearson Education website. “Mind Up” teacher resource. Picture books to support each monthly theme within the “Mind Up” resource. “Zones of Regulation” resource will need to be purchased for 2015/2016 school year. PARENT INVOLVEMENT: How parents will become partners in our efforts? Each month, the Principal shares the monthly focus with parent partners through the school website, PAC meetings and bulletin board display in the front hallway. EVIDENCE KEY FINDINGS: What did we find out? We found that students and staff generally enjoyed the Mind Up program. All students, regardless of their physical, intellectual, social or emotional challenges were able to be meaningfully included in this school‐wide theme. Many classes developed a routine of mindful breathing a twice per day after outside play. Teachers noticed that students generally seemed more calm and ready to learn after completing this routine. Students and staff found a great deal of enjoyment in the set of four Yoga sessions all classes took part in. Working collectively and collaboratively as a whole‐school over the course of a year is a meaningful way to bring a school together as well as helping staff and students form connections with one another. School District No. 67 (Okanagan-Skaha)
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NARRATIVE: What successes and/or challenges are not reflected in the data? A further need the Kaleden staff identified at the onset of the 2014/2015 school year was the need to form a sense of common purpose within the school. Although Kaleden is a small school, the staff felt they needed a common goal to help the school feel more cohesive. Working together as a staff and school within the “Mind Up” curriculum has given the school a common language to use with one another as well as create shared experiences. This has helped to transform the climate and culture of our school to one where everyone feels a deeper sense of connection to one another as well as moving toward a common purpose and goal. REFLECTION AND SUMMARY REFLECTIONS: What did we learn? How did it make a difference? Based on evidence from observations and the staff survey we learned that: Students and staff enjoyed working together as a collective toward a common goal. Students and staff found value and meaning in different ways depending on the particular theme and activity (ies) surrounding it. Staff found value in incorporating aspects of the Mind Up program into their daily routines. Students have begun to embed “mindfulness language” into their everyday conversations. Students enjoyed seeing and hearing examples as well as earning recognition for their contributions toward monthly themes. The consistent mindful breathing exercises helped students calm and self‐regulate themselves after outdoor play. Staff appreciated the consistent use of language and messages for all. The Mind Up program has helped our students become more thoughtful and aware of themselves, the people around them and their environment. When an entire building is speaking the same language (program‐based) and working toward a common goal, a transformative change is the result. FUTURE PLANNING: Where do we go from here? After some initial reflection regarding our success in a whole‐school implementation of a program, we realize that we would like to continue this approach in subsequent years. The “Mind Up” program has helped to foster a strong foundation within our staff and students in understanding the basics of self‐
regulation and mindfulness. However, we feel that we would now like to focus on using a resource that will encourage the teaching of specific skills to our students within the area of self‐regulation. We plan to use the resource “Zones of Regulation” in order to achieve this purpose for the 2015/2016 school year. School District No. 67 (Okanagan-Skaha)
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School Planning Council: Name (Principal): Name (Parent): Name (Parent): Name (Parent): School District No. 67 (Okanagan-Skaha)