Catholic School Learning Plan for St. Josephine Bakhita Catholic Elementary
School
Annual Progress Report
Shared Priorities:
Creating Catholic Conditions for Well-Being, Learning and Leading
Outcomes:
1.0 By the end of three years, there will be an increase in successful practices that support
well-being.
Outcome Progress Comments
6/4/2015: At St. Josephine Bakhita School, students have been provided with the opportunity to be involved in
clubs, athletics, the arts and leadership opportunities. We continue to implement our virtues program which
focusses on modeling and living the virtues daily in school and at home. There have been numerous presentations
on Anti-bullying throughout the school year. . Annual events have included Grandfriend's Day, Multi-Cultural Night,
Christmas Concert, Playday/Outdoor Movie Night. We will continue to promote student well-being by providing
students with many opportunities and through modelled examples of virtuous faith-filled behaviour. Students
have responded positively and continue to demonstrate more confidence and collaborative behavior. Masses
were held at the school and Father Nosan visited classes regularly during the year. Many successful social justice
projects took place during the year such as Terry Fox Walk, Walk for Sick Kids and Food Drives. Our school Faith
Ambassadors lead our adult faith development by facilitating staff liturgies and reflections.
Shared Priorities:
Building Collaborative Practices Through Inquiry
Outcomes:
2.0 By the end of three years, there will be an increase in successful practices that support
collaborative inquiry.
Outcome Progress Comments
5/26/2015: Our School Wide Collobrative Inquiry was, "If we use Open Ended questions in our Three-Part Lessons
then all levels of learners will become better Problem-Solvers.". Grade level partners and speciality teachers
developed an inquiry that fell under the school wide inquiry umbrella. They used observation charts, notes and
video documentation to assess student progress. All teachers, in collaboration with the Special Assignment
Teacher and school administrators have implemented an inquiry-based approach to learning. This is evident in
both professional development and individual student learning. Teachers are identifying needs, posing relevant
questions and evaluating key strategies related to the inquiry. Throughout the 2014-2015 school year the staff
inquiry involved the understanding and development of a growth mindset and the impact on our students' ability
to articulate appropriate strategies supporting their learning. Staff found that students are using problem solving
strategies without prompting, students are beginning to listen to and with each other (teacher is becoming the
learner as opposed to leader, students are beginning to verbalize their opinions, students are beginning to ask
questions and students are beginning to communicate their representations and understanding more confidently
in math (Video math diaries). Implications for Continuous Improvement next year will include exploring other parts
of student voice (i.e. now that they know how to talk accountably, move to giving their voice an action into other
areas of the classroom. e.g. using student voice to build instructional practise) and activities that will support the
implementation of Creating Pathways to Success document.
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SkoVision™ Report
6/29/2015
Catholic School Learning Plan for St. Josephine Bakhita Catholic Elementary
School
Annual Progress Report
Shared Priorities:
Enhancing Transitional Practices
Outcomes:
3.0 By the end of three years, there will be an increase in successful practices that support
transitional practices.
Outcome Progress Comments
5/26/2015: To support the seamless transition processes of our students, we continue to implement the following
transition initiatives: Cross Panel transition meetings (sharing of information for 'at risk' students) have occurred
involving St. Edmund Campion and their respective feeder school; transition meetings have been held for all
transitioning students with ASD; all parents of students requiring specialized programming in Secondary School
provided with accurate information, and implementation of transition plans for all students on Individual
Education Plans.
Special Education and Support Services initiatives have been implemented to support students with diverse
learning needs (i.e. planned entry and consistent use of Transitioning Kits to make transition to new schools and
grades seamless and successful).
We continue to organize Welcome to Kindergarten evenings, where we include a presentation on the Full Day Playbased program for parents.
Intermediate staff participated in transition information meetings, where teachers were informed about
secondary school initiatives and practices. All grade eight students participated in the Orientation Day at the
feeder school.
Comprehensive education and career/life planning programs were available to meet the needs, interests and
aspirations of all learners. Intermediate students navigated the My Blue Print program and primary /junior
students worked on All About Me portfolios.
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SkoVision™ Report
6/29/2015
Catholic School Learning Plan for St. Josephine Bakhita Catholic Elementary
School
Annual Progress Report
Shared Priorities:
Knowing the Learner through Assessment
Outcomes:
4.0 By the end of three years, there will be an increase in sucessful practices that support
knowing the learner through assessment.
Outcome Progress Comments
6/4/2015: Throughout the 2014-15 school year, teachers continued to focus on identifying Learning Goals, coconstructing / developing Success Criteria with students and providing effective Descriptive Feedback to students
through conferencing. All of these assessment practices were consistently reviewed and explored by staff at staff
meetings and Professional Activity Days. We continued to apply the expected practices of Guided Reading and
Guided Practice in our classrooms. With descriptive feedback, students have demonstrated an improvement in
identifying what is expected of them, setting personal goals for improvement in student achievement and
articulating the appropriate strategies supporting their learning.
Educators implemented three-part lessons regularly focusing on student inquiry, investigation and communication.
Regular administrative visits in the classroom were scheduled to observe the collaborative inquiry model and the
three-part lesson plan. Evidence of student progress included student work posted on walls, investigation based
lessons and the Bansho method of instruction. We frequently used the resources from Edu-gains website, the
Board portal, and the Guides to Effective Instruction for Math.
Through the collaborative inquiry model, teachers are able to assess more often through conversations,
observation and communication of student learning. The goal of this year was to assess learning more often, while
evaluating less. The use of math manipulatives was also a focus for this year to offer students the opportunity to
demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.
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SkoVision™ Report
6/29/2015
Catholic School Learning Plan for St. Josephine Bakhita Catholic Elementary
School
Annual Progress Report
Shared Priorities:
Responding through Effective Instruction
Outcomes:
5.0 By the end of three years, there will be an increase in successful practices that support
effective instruction.
Outcome Progress Comments
6/4/2015: All teachers continue to implement effective teaching practices that support successful instruction.
These strategies include Collaborative Inquiry, Encouraging a Growth Mindset, Using the Classroom as 'the third
teacher', Guided Reading, Guided Practice, use of Technology (implementation of iPads), Three-Part Math Lesson,
Differentiating Instruction, Student Inquiry and Class Profiles.
Teachers continue a differentiated approach to learning, where an understanding of a student's interests,
strengths and needs, as well as of their backgrounds help the teacher plan effective instruction and assessment.
The teachers engage students in lessons by activating their prior learning, clarifying the purpose for learning and
making connections to contexts that will help students see relevance in what they are learning.
Through cross-curricular learning, students are provided with opportunities to learn related content and skills in
two or more subjects. This integrated learning model allows students to work towards meeting expectations in
two or more subjects within a single unit or lesson. Implementing these strategies has developed engaged
students who are cultivating an individual ownership of their learning.
For 2015-2016, we are looking at transitioning some classrooms to Responsive Learning Classrooms. In a barrierfree learning environment, these classrooms facilitate collaboration, academic choice and foster critical thinking.
An improvement in comfort level and self-confidence fosters an increase in achievement level and sense of student
wellbeing.
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SkoVision™ Report
6/29/2015