Rutland Senior Secondary School 705 Rutland Road N., Kelowna, B.C. V1X 3B6
Phone 250-870-5110 Fax 250-870-5010
Rutland Senior Secondary (RSS) Executive Summary-2015 School Planning Council Report
We as a SPC are very excited to present an executive summary of the growth and success we are observing and
measuring in this 2014/15 school year at Rutland Senior Secondary School. We as a school community continue to
learn culturally, academically, socially, and creatively. Through our focus on our three pillars of, Academics, Leadership
and Athletics, we see positive growth.
Academics
Throughout North American High Schools a focus has been on improving graduation rates and implementing course
completion programs to help students graduate. In most cases these programs involve a removal of students from
"regular" classes and movement of students into various individual and self-paced models of curriculum delivery and
assessment. From evaluating RSS data over the last years, it becomes clear that our school has done an excellent job
in helping students obtain credits towards graduation. Course completion opportunities existed in the LAT room,
Learning Centre, ROTC program and at Central. In our second year of retooling our student support program in order
to aid classroom teachers so more students can successfully remain in the classroom environment. The belief being
that the rich social learning environment of the classroom is the best environment for most students. Consequently,
significant changes to student support services moving our supports directly into classrooms by providing detailed
profiles of students. The profiles identify student's strengths, challenges and identify specific instructional strategies to
support the student's individual learning needs. The after-school Academic Intervention Program has been expanded to
support students for 1 hour afterschool 4 days a week. As we move our focus on the classroom we have changed our
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment (CIA) coaches to a co-planning, co-teaching and co-learning model where 2
teachers team taught a class in semester 1. In semester 2 the focus has been on leading our staff through exploration
of the new Grade 9 Ministry of Education Draft curriculum.
At RSS, we offer some of the best programs in British Columbia. Our BCIT programs, Forestry, EMR, ADC/Planning 11,
Industrial Education, Hockey & Baseball Academies, ELL/International Education, Languages, Fine Arts, and Applied
skills programs are outstanding. It is impressive to have all these great programs and also have the most students in
the interior of British Columbia write the Advanced Placement Exams. It should be noted that with our decreased
enrolment, some programs have not had the student numbers to remain for this year (Residential Construction and
BCIT Power Equipment/Motorcycle & Inboard Outboard Program).
Leadership
Leadership at RSS has again expanded significantly at RSS this year. There were three Leadership classes in the
timetable this year as well as Link Leadership to help the Grade 10 transition to RSS. The Wellness Team continued
as the overarching structure that supported the following leadership subgroups: Voodoo Voice, Life Savers, Beyond
the Hurt, Athletic council, Grad Council, Amicia, Rotary Interact Group and Yearbook. Our staff and students did many
activities and here is an example of some of the activities: Leadership Grade 10 orientation (LINK), Halloween Fashion
Show, Halloween Haunted House, Halloween for Hunger- students trick or treated for non-perishable food items, Day
of Silence, Terry Fox Run, Christmas food drive, Random Acts of Kindness/ Paying it forward, attended “We Day”,
Spirit Days, RMS Mentorship program, Millennium Development Challenge, Pink Day Anti-bullying, Life Savers
Presentations, Music presentations, Dance productions. For the 2015-16 year, we plan to add a Recreation Leadership
class that will be responsible for organizing intramural activities at lunch time.
Athletics
We continue to have very strong participation in our Athletic programs. This year we had over 500 students participate
in various school teams and programs. Our teams consisted of: Junior Girls Volleyball, Senior Girls Volleyball, Senior
Boys Volleyball, Football, Cross Country Running, Junior Girls Basketball, Senior Girls Basketball, Junior Boys Basketball,
Senior Boys Basketball, Junior/Senior Boys Rugby, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Track & Field, and Cheerleading. We have
a class called Athletic Council which works hard to support our athletic teams. We have a written athletic policy that
we believe will guide our athletic department into future years.
Three features always come to the forefront when people think of RSS. First, the students at RSS are truly amazing
and pleasure to work and learn with. Second, the staff love their school and are proud to be part of the Voodoo
environment. Finally, RSS offers an incredible array of educational opportunities for students. Our course offering are
second to none.
“A CARING COMMUNITY CHALLENGING STUDENTS TO PURSUE EXCELLENCE IN LIFELONG ENDEAVOURS"
Rutland Senior Secondary School 705 Rutland Road N., Kelowna, B.C. V1X 3B6
Phone 250-870-5110 Fax 250-870-5010
Last Year's Goals
After reviewing our data and discussions with staff and the SPC, it was agreed that we should continue with the goals
developed last year with the addition of the Grade 9 focus goal. New information or strategies are in Bold and
Italics.
Rutland Senior Secondary - School Goals
2013-2014 to 2015-2016
What do we hope to Achieve?
1)
Better prepare our students for opportunities after high school by helping our students develop
the Attributes of a Learner: Learner, Thinker, Innovator, Collaborator, and Contributor.
How do we measure this?
‐ Student survey
‐ Increase of students in post-secondary programs
‐ Number of Dual Credit students and programs
‐ MAP evaluation data - develop assessment criteria and monitor for increase in students receiving
excellence
‐ District Scholarship data - students required to report on attainment of attributes as part of District
Scholarship presentation
‐ Increase in student facilitated activities (e.g. Lifesavers, Wellness team)
‐ RESULTS: Student facilitated activities have increased – almost all activities are now
planned and executed by students. 2014-2015 showed 66 RSS students involved in dual
credit programs offered through SD23, including several in-house programs such as
Forestry, EMR, BCIT Diesel, and BCIT Electrician. Also, RSS had 17 of 46 students in the
District register for Dual Credit Programs at Okanagan College. New MAP evaluation
forms used by panelists have been created so we can establish base-line data on
excellence. RSS student survey has not yet been completed - pending.
Strategies:
Grade 10 Career Exploration program
Planning 10, WEX 12, Transitions 12 program review
Career focus in academic programs - Integration of academic units and practical/applied career
exploration (eg. Math 11 and Electrical)
‐ Increase job shadows, spotlight sessions, field trips
‐ Provide students exploration of Okanagan College programs and exposure to trades
‐ Each course/department has lessons that focus on subject related careers through practical examples.
Creation of "real world" connection to what is being taught in classes
‐ Expand parent information sessions about dual credit programs
‐ Promotion of Attributes through Planning 11, Career Transitions and in classrooms
‐ Readiness certificates based on Attributes
‐ Promote the vocabulary of the attributes with staff, students and parents
‐ Staff to use terminology in daily delivery of lessons with practical examples
‐ Educate students what the Attribute terms mean
‐ Expand Peer Support programs
Most responsible people:
‐ Administration
‐ Career Programs personnel
‐ All teachers
What is new for 2015-2016?
‐ Career Transitions 12 will be required by all Grade 12 students before they can have a
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spare class
Career Transitions 12 University preparation course will be created as a before school
class focusing on preparing our most academic students for university
HACE/Transition for Grade 9 students
Start-up activities – prior to school open day
4 January HACE days during exam week
Rutland Senior Secondary School 705 Rutland Road N., Kelowna, B.C. V1X 3B6
Phone 250-870-5110 Fax 250-870-5010
HACE Program
Counsellor – Healthy Relationships, Resiliency Training
Science – Substance Misuse Prevention
Social Studies – Family Life
PE – Health and Healthy Living, Safety and Injury Prevention
Math – Education and Careers
Career Programs - Take your Kid to Work Day
What do we hope to Achieve?
2)
Better support and engagement of students in classrooms
How do we measure this?
‐ Grade 12 Grad Rate - increase from 95% to 98% by 2016
‐ Improve attendance by 5% per year
‐ Improved dropout rates - all withdraws will be tracked in detail and reviewed and compared each
year
‐ Dropout rate from classes to LC/ROTC/Central - tracking of students
‐ Staff satisfaction survey
‐ Student survey
‐ Decrease failure rate for grade 10 students
‐ RESULTS: Self-paced packaged curriculum in the LC has decreased in 3 years from over
80 courses offered to under 10 courses. This means more students are staying in their
assigned classes. More students are accessing the after school AIP program for additional
support (new program). More teachers are trying a variety of teaching strategies (e.g.
Social Studies practicing PBL, Oral final exams). CIA coaches (10 teachers) team taught a
class in first semester: co-planning, co-teaching, co-learning.
Strategies:
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Student Support Team will inform staff, students and parent by documentation and face to face
conversations about student strengths, weaknesses, and needs as well as providing, supporting and
modeling differentiated instructional strategies and following up in a timely fashion then more
students will remain and be engaged in classes because of improved learning experiences for all
students
Identify and support five Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment coaches to improve learning and
teaching
Focus on 3 staff identified areas: Assessment, Teaching Strategies, Co-Planning & Co-Teaching
Work with feeder schools to improve Grade 9 to 10 transition
Focus on supporting Grade 10 core subjects (e.g. English 10 Reading assessment)
Utilizing academic interventions supported by student support services
Be proactive with interventions and not reactive
Help classroom teachers focus on differentiated instruction verses removal of struggling students to a
lower course or self-paced program
Most Responsible People:
‐ Administration
‐ Student Support Services staff
‐ CIA Coaches
‐ All teaching staff
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What is new for 2015-2016?
‐ School class times will be adjusted to balance the block times. Tutorial will be removed
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for the 2015-16 year and reviewed at the end of the year
CIA coaches will be provided for the core Grade 9 courses (En, Math, Sc, En)
Rutland Senior Secondary School 705 Rutland Road N., Kelowna, B.C. V1X 3B6
Phone 250-870-5110 Fax 250-870-5010
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The student support team will focus on screening, monitoring and targeted interventions
using a Response to Intervention model
Additional LIF staffing will be focused on the Grade 9/10 most at-risk student
What do we hope to Achieve?
3)
Improve Voodoo spirit, culture and wellness
How do we measure this?
‐ Student Wellness
‐ Students satisfaction surveys
‐ Track and develop baseline data for:
 Referrals to mental health clinician
 Number of students participating in anxiety group
 Students leaving RSS due to related Mental Health Issues
 Students leaving RSS due to related Drug & Alcohol Issues
 Students accessing School Nurse program
 Staff lessons on stress reduction
‐ Increase pass rate for grade 10 students
‐ Staff Wellness
‐ Staff satisfaction survey: increased positive attitude about RSS and positive job satisfaction
‐ RESULTS: RSS students have accessed D&A and Mental Health services. More students
are involved in various helping groups than ever before at RSS. Teachers are coming into
the staffroom and talking during Soup Fridays. Presentations have been provided for staff
on Anxiety and D&A issues at staff meetings.
Strategies:
Student: promote School Spirit activities; focus on activities that raise school pride; start peer
counselling program; Lifesavers program; Grad Council; Students Council (Voodoo Voice); Athletic
Council; Counsellors present on anxiety in Planning 11; keep parents, students and the community
connected through bi-weekly e-mail newsletters, and website
‐ Staff: teambuilding activities, social activities, staff fitness program (e.g. hikes, snowshoeing, cross
training), collaboration cross curricular, sitting with different people at meetings, once a month soup
days, focus on good mouthing our school
Most Responsible People:
‐ Administration
‐ Counsellors
‐ Sunshine committee
‐ Staff Social committee
‐ All teaching staff are asked to participate
What is new for 2015-2016?
‐ Recreation Leadership will be created to support a lunch time intramural program
‐ Link Leadership will focus on the transition of 700 students to RSS in September 2015.
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LINK activities will include a showcase of the various wellness groups from which
students can benefit and in which they can participate
Peer Mentorship program will be developed by counsellors to help our students
Peer Tutoring program procedures will be reviewed and program will be expanded to
include students supporting academically vulnerable students
Communication tools will include social media
Rutland Senior Secondary School 705 Rutland Road N., Kelowna, B.C. V1X 3B6
Phone 250-870-5110 Fax 250-870-5010
Student Survey:
 During April 2014, a student survey was created and implemented to over 700 students at RSS. This survey
focused directly on our school goals and specifically student engagement. The survey will be edited and
provided to students for April 2015.
Grade 9 Focus:
 With the Grade 9 students attending RSS starting in September 2015, the school has focused on the following
Grade 9 Transition plan
Grade 9 Transition Plan for September 2015
Grade 9 Committee Belief Statement
We believe that Safety/Belonging is important
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Students are more successful when they feel like they belong
Gr. 9’s need their own place
Gr. 9’s need to know how to access their support network
There should be opportunities for Gr. 9’s to find a niche
We need to develop mentors in other grades to support Gr. 9’s
We believe that exposure and awareness to our full range of programs and courses is important
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Academic cohorts will best meet the needs of Gr. 9’s (tracking and supporting)
Provide Gr. 9’s with a variety of exploratory options to help discover/develop their passions
Gr. 9’s will need extra social/emotional and academic support
We believe that Extra-Curricular and Social events are important
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Grade specific events and activities to create traditions will aid transition
Opportunities in I.E., Fine Arts and Athletics should be available and showcased
The happiest students and parents are those that feel connected and involved
We believe that Communication and Community are important
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We can create specific events to involve parents and the community
PAC can be enhanced by the addition of Gr. 9 parents
We can improve our communication with parents and the community
We believe that Teachers need to be supported through the transition
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Clarify teaching assignments as early as possible
Observing Presentations of Learning at RMS/SMS will benefit the transition
We can only do the best that we can; perfection isn’t necessary
Collaborative time is important
Exemplars of Gr. 9 work will benefit course planning
Rutland Senior Secondary School 705 Rutland Road N., Kelowna, B.C. V1X 3B6
Phone 250-870-5110 Fax 250-870-5010
Course Selection Sheet
Rationale: 3 main goals were identified by the Grade 9 Committee and staff input
1) English, Math, Science and Social Studies 9 will be provided teaming opportunities
a. 30 students stay together as cohort
b. Allows for more efficient support services intervention
c. Screening: Suggestion that a reading fluency, reading comprehension, writing and math screener be
done in first month to help teachers differentiate instruction
d. Monitoring: RTI (Response to Intervention) support services monitor and track students who are not
meeting academic expectations
e. Intervention: students are not academically streamed at the grade 9 level. However, interventions
and remediation support will be provided based on individual needs. Students may temporarily be
removed from elective classes to address specific learning issues. Academic Intervention Program will
also provide support at lunch and after school.
2) Most electives will be exploratory and incorporate more than one subject area. Course may involve 2 or more
themes and will not necessarily be 10 weeks.
3) HACE 9 will be integrated into the core academic program
RSS SPC 2014-2015
Alan Lalonde, Principal
Thomas Gruenenwald, Vice-Principal
Debra Oegema, Parent
Ken Jack, Parent
Shelly Fearnley, Parent
Johnny Roy, Grade 12 Student
Kenzie Ross, Grade 11 Student
Nina Vukic, Grade 10 Student
Common Acronyms
ADC – Applied Digital Communications
AIP – Academic Intervention Program
BCIT – BC Institute of Technology
CIA – Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment
CPS – Central Programs & Services
D&A – Drug & Alcohol
ELL – English Language Learner
EMR – Emergency Medical Responder
HACE – Health and Career Education
IE – Industrial Education
LC – Learning Centre
LIF – Learning Improvement Fund
MAP – My Action Plan
OC – Okanagan College
PAC – Parent Advisory Council
PBL – Project-Based Learning
RTI – Response to Intervention
WEX – Work Experience