St. Raphael Elementary School
Learning Plan
Mission *
St. Raphael school provides an environment which fosters the gospel values enabling our students to maximize their potential to love, learn, work and serve,
as Jesus did.
Motto
Working Together in Harmony
Catholic Focus
St. Raphael Catholic School is an elementary school of approximately 250 students, of diverse social and ethnic backgrounds, from Junior Kindergarten to grade 8. The
surrounding community consists of single family dwellings, duplexes, town houses and apartment buildings. St. Raphael is in its 45 th year of providing excellence in
Catholic education to the Malton community. St. Raphael was established to support Catholic parents in their responsibility for the spiritual, moral, academic and physical
needs of their children in accordance with the teachings of the Catholic Church. The school community of St. Raphael is committed to the pursuit of excellence, the
uniqueness of the individual and the education of the whole child.
St. Raphael is a caring community that fosters tolerance and acceptance of others, commitment to our Catholic faith and excellence in student achievement. We provide a
safe and caring school environment, where the gospels of Jesus Christ and Catholic doctrines are an integral part of our daily life and our school community. All activities at
St. Raphael – academic and pastoral work, extracurricular, prayer and worship, administration and management – help to prepare our students for their lives as Catholics
within the community and serving the community.
Our students come to us with a variety of strengths and needs, with their Catholic faith as our common bond. Our prayer life, liturgical celebrations, the sacraments, and
Virtues Education form the foundation of our school program. At St. Raphael, we are proud of our balanced and integrated faith based academic, technology and athletics
programs. We offer our students a well-rounded values-centred education that helps them make good choices for their futures.
Core Principles
CATHOLICITY
Our students come to us with a variety of strengths and needs, with our Catholic faith as our common bond. Our prayer life, liturgical celebrations, the
sacraments, and our faith and value system form the foundation of our school program. Our students will continue to develop an appreciation and knowledge
of the Mass. At St. Raphael Catholic School we strive to demonstrate the Gospel teachings - faith, hope, charity, tolerance and acceptance of others building
on the Ontario School Graduation Expectations. We are responsible for building a community that expresses the joy and hope of our Catholic faith and visibly
symbolizes a deep commitment to academic excellence, life-long learning and faith development.
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
The 21st Century is changing more quickly than at any other time. The world that our students are facing is requiring them to be life-long learners, critical
thinkers, flexible and creative problem-solvers who work well collaboratively and independently. They will need to be responsible global citizens, open-minded
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St. Raphael Elementary School
Learning Plan
and able to communicate effectively with people from all over the world. Students will need to develop habits and strategies that will help them embrace
change with enthusiasm, wonder and a critical eye. All of this while making the most effective use of the technological tools needed for success in today's
world.
We have worked at developing Professional Learning Communities over the last several years. Teachers have been involved in school learning teams and
taken part in dozens of Board and Ministry of Education professional development opportunities. Much time has been spent on building culture, leading
change and managing the complexity that comes along with this.
We must ensure that the essential skills are developed in our schools: critical thinking, communication, collaboration and problem-solving, while developing
curiosity and imagination.
EQAO Grade 3
Reading Grade 3: 67%
Writing Grade 3: 57%
Mathematics Grade 3: 52%
Scores were up in all areas over last year. Reading was up by 3%; Writing was up by 2 % and Mathematics was up by 11%. As noted last year, with only 22
students, each student result can changes the score by more that 4%. Of our group 29% are English Language Learners and 19% were students with diverse
learning needs.
EQAO Grade 6
Reading: 71%
Writing: 71%
Mathematics: 24%
Scores were up in both Reading (9%) and Writing (4%) and down in Mathematics (9%). The were 17students in this grade 6 group and this small number
typically leads to scores that shift significantly from year to year. This group was a relatively transient one. 20% had been in our school three years or
less. Of our group, 29% were English Language Learners and 29% were students with diverse learning needs. Many of our strongest students take
advantage of the Extended French program at other schools. When this group was in grade 4 it was no exception.
While students in both grades who are ELL or who have special learning needs made good progress over the year, it is very difficult for them to achieve level
3 or higher in the assessment in all three areas. Since these student represent such a high percentage of our students, this has a significant impact on our
overall scores. We did an analysis of the results of our students by group and found that our ELL students and students with special needs compared
favourably with similar students across the province. When we compared our students who are not English Language Learners and do not have special
needs with similar students across the province, our students are at or above the provincial average. So we have reason to celebrate the demonstrated
learning of all of our students. We plan to continue to improve over time and have put goals, action plans and action steps in place to help facilitate that
improvement.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
St. Raphael Catholic School encourages the input and involvement of all community stakeholders.
Breakfast, Lunch and Snack Program: With the help of "Breakfast for Learning," the local Knights of Columbus Council, members of the Catholic School
Council, staff, and parent volunteers we do our best to ensure that all of our students learn on a full stomach.
Through formal and informal communication, Open House/Curriculum Night, Progress Report and Report Card interviews we engage in dialogues about
curriculum, and the intellectual and spiritual growth of our students/children.
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St. Raphael Elementary School
Learning Plan
St. Raphael is involved in many other community partnerships such as: Peel Regional Police, Malton Community Centre, and the Mississauga Library.
PARISH-HOME-SCHOOL
We continue to foster student spiritual development within the image of Christ through the celebration of virtues education with the parish and school
community. The school works with Our Lady of the Airways Parish to support Sacramental Preparation and faith development with parents. St. Raphael
School provides support for Parish charitable works initiatives: ShareLife, St. Vincent de Paul, and local community needs.
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
St. Raphael Catholic School is in its 45th year. There have been substantial renovations in the last few years:
-Kindergarten classrooms were retrofitted to accommodate the Full Day Early Learning-Kindergarten program
- painting throughout the school
- some new furniture
- air conditioning
- all new plumbing in all bathrooms
- new fountains including eco-friendly water filling stations
- a new boiler
- new entrance doors
- new electrical system
- a new gym floor
- an elevator
- a daycare
- a new library
- a third retrofitted K-1 classroom
- a new early years playground
St. Raphael Catholic School adheres to procedures and regulations that ensure fiscal responsibility. Board, School Generated and Catholic School Council
funds are aligned to the Financial Accountability Guidelines.
St. Raphael Catholic School models and promotes good stewardship of resources through:
- Eco-Schools Team
- Recycling Team
- Growing and maintaining of flower beds
- Annual Earth Day Community Clean up
- Other Earth Day activities
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St. Raphael Elementary School
Learning Plan
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St. Raphael Elementary School
Learning Plan
Creating Catholic Conditions for Well-Being, Learning and Leading
Outcomes
1.0 By June 2016, there will be an increase in the proportion of students who feel that their voice is valued and heard within a supportive community. A safe
learning environment encourages risk-taking needed for relevant learning. This will be demonstrated in class observations, conversations and documentation.
Action Plans
Have students apply the skills and procedures of accountable talk to more effectively communicate learning in the context of literacy in general with a
particular focus on Guided Reading and Guided Practice.
Have students apply the skills and procedures of accountable talk to more effectively communicate learning in the context of numeracy in general with a
particular focus on the 3 Part Math Lesson Model.
Theory of Action: “What is the impact of a deliberate focus on accountable talk on students’ ability to effectively communicate learning?”
Building Collaborative Practices Through Inquiry
Outcomes
2.0 By June 2016, there will be an increase in the proportion of students who feel they are co-learners who can take ownership for their own learning as
demonstrated in student engagement and academic results.
Action Plans
Increase Catholic learners' feelings of inclusivity as well as efficacy, engagement, and commitment to inquire into problems of practice through
collaborative practices.
2.1 By June 2016, there will be an increase in the proportion of staff who are able to effectively utilize the Collaborative Inquiry Learning Model to further their
own learning and instructional effectiveness as demonstrated in Collaborative Inquiry consolidation and reflection activities.
Action Plans
Embracing the power of “co” through the collaborative inquiry process, teams of learners will actively engage in joint work to improve well-being,
learning, and achievement.
Enhancing Transitional Practices
Outcomes
3.0 By June 2016, there will be an increase in the proportion of students who are supported seamlessly and consistently throughout their entire educational
journey so that they can reach their full potential as demonstrated by successful transitions between grades and panels.
Action Plans
Ensure that intermediate students are familiar with different high school placements and pathways.
Put measures into effect to ensure smooth transitions into and out of each grade level.
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St. Raphael Elementary School
Learning Plan
Knowing the Learner through Assessment
Outcomes
4.0 By June 2016, there will be an increase in the proportion of students who are able to use: learning goals; success criteria; descriptive feedback; peer and
self-assessment; and personal goals for improvement to be more reflective and effective learners as demonstrated in their overall achievement.
Action Plans
Make learning and thinking visible through assessment as and of learning.
4.1 By June 2016, there will be an increase in the proportion of educators who increased their understanding of assessment for and as learning, as a result of
professional learning opportunities, as demonstrated by CSLP professional learning feedback, observations by the Principal and student engagement in the
process.
Action Plans
All educators will become proficient in the use of the 6 practices as outlined in Growing Success.
Responding through Effective Instruction
Outcomes
5.0 By June 2016, there will be an increase in the proportion of educators who effectively implement the expected practices of guided reading, guided practice,
and the three part lesson model as observed by the Principal and demonstrated in student achievement.
Action Plans
All classroom teachers will implement Guided Reading on a daily basis as part of an effective Balanced Literacy Program.
Analyze EQAO and other data for Literacy to identify focused interventions for improvement.
Analyze EQAO and other data to determine focused interventions for improvement.
Classroom teachers will implement Independent Reading as part of an effective Balanced Literacy Program.
Classroom teachers will implement Process Writing as part of an effective Balanced Literacy Program.
Expected Practice Guided Reading/Guided Practice
Independent Reading is implemented as part of the Gradual Release of Responsibility process.
Numeracy Expected Practice 3 Part Math Lesson Model
Writing Workshop
Outcome Timeframe
Action Plan Priority
Long-term
High
Medium-term
Medium
Short-term
Low
Not Assigned
Not Assigned
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St. Raphael Elementary School
Learning Plan
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