Carrots and Sticks

As you may have heard, our Sea to Sky Board of Education recently made the decision to move Squamish's Grade 7 students to Don Ross Secondary in September 2014. Our students are pretty excited about being able to join a Middle Years program and have access to hands on learning: wood work, metal work, sewing, cooking, computers, and so on, a year earlier than anticipated. We know that change is hard. We know there will be some growing pains among students, parents and teachers, too. There are still questions we do not have answers for, but hope that over the next six months, the district teams will create a solid plan for transition. One of the first questions I was asked after the decision was made was, "Will the Grade 6's get year end awards?" That got me thinking. In recent years, the teachers and I have been feeling uncomfortable about the Grade 7 awards. We wonder: What values do the awards (withing academia, citizenship, athletics and music) represent? What values are missing? What impact do awards have on the recipients? What impact do they have on the rest of the students? Leaving one school and moving on to another certainly requires some rite of passage. How can we create traditions that are genuine and inclusive? Here is a blog post by a principal in Alberta who spoke at a conference I attended last month. http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/1079 I especially liked his words about family. If we are trying to create a sense of family in our school, why would we praise and acknowledge only a few? I am a firm believer in the futility of using rewards and punishments to motivate people. Carrots and sticks, as we call them, might work for a very short time, but they do not bring about lasting change or growth. In fact, researchers tell us that rewards are actually demotivating over time. A basic need all children have is to be loved unconditionally. As Alfie Kohn says, "All children have a deep need for their parents' approval. That's why praise often "works" in the short term to get them to do what we want....Rather, the child comes to see her "whole self" as good only when she pleases the parent." (p. 40 Unconditional Parenting, 2005) As a staff, we have not made any decisions about year end awards, but we are beginning to think about it and would welcome input. More thoughts to come...

Adult Learning for Student Success

I'm spending this weekend at the Connecting Leaders Conference in Richmond.  I have enjoyed listening to several speakers so far, two of whom have focused on how to make human connections using technology.  What a concept.  Sometimes we think of technology as de-humanizing and isolating.  These speakers have told us countless stories about how Skype, blogging, tweeting, etc. can actually bring us closer, both with our neighbours and with the global community.

One story was about how an 80 year old grandmother, who immigrated from Greece decades ago but had never learned English, began to use email to write to her son, coached by her grandchild, practicing her English and learning to use an iPad all at the same time.

Another story was about a class of grade 5 students in Alberta, connecting via Skype with a class in New Jersey, just after Hurricane Sandy.  They were teaching each other about all kinds of things like extreme weather, emergency preparedness and response, even the difference between metric and Imperial measurement.

When I think back over the past five years at Squamish Elementary, I am struck by how we have evolved in our thinking about technology, including cel phones.  We used to see devices as a threat to teaching and learning.  We had students hide away their phones and feared the worst.  Now we are not so wary, more trusting. Sure, some misuse may still happen, but now we are trying to take advantage of these powerful devices: all of human knowledge in the palms of our hands.

Now we have the task of coaching children in digital citizenship, in critical thinking, so that they can navigate the internet with the ability to question and analyze what they read and see, and use technology with personal integrity.  School should be like a basecamp: the place where you prepare for great adventures, where you come back for coaching, where you are safe and nurtured, but also fully equipped with the tools for success.

Happy New Year!

Grade 1, 2, and 3 students at the building site, co-constructing!

Welcome back to school, everyone.  I hope you all had a wonderful summer.  I enjoyed my summer immensely.  I loved the sunshine.  I got out running in the trails almost every day, I read about thirty murder mysteries, I swam in the ocean and the lakes, I visited the Sunshine Coast, I hung out in Vancouver, I went to Bard on the Beach, and spent a lot of time with my son and daughter, my parents, and my new baby niece, Annabel Violet!  A highlight for me was running the Squamish 50 Miler in August:  15 hours and 41 minutes of pure running enjoyment!

But I missed your children!

Back-to-school time reminds me why I love this profession of teaching and learning.  It is the children's curiosity, their enthusiasm, the energy they have, and their acceptance of each other, quirks and all, that feeds my passion.  Now that I think of it, the above sentence describes the adults in the building, too!

The "New Year" also inspires us to set goals for the next ten months.  I try to set SMART goals:  specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely.  And I encourage students to set SMART goals, too.  Not like, "I want to get straight A's," but more like, "I want to learn all of my timestables by Christmas," or "I want to manage my time on my projects and finish them by the due dates."  So my goals for this year include:

• to learn all new students' names by Christmas
• to get into all classrooms and teach, and release teachers to collaborate
• to talk to my staff every month about how to make learning as engaging for all students as possible

And I'd like to have fun, while doing that!  Learning should be fun, not all the time, but most of the time!  Just like running a marathon:  it can be painful at times, but well worth the outcome and sense of accomplishment.

Have a great 2013 - 2014!

Turning the Page: 2012 - 2013

Jumping for joy on Sports Day



Go Blue Team




Climbing Burgers and Fries




Our new Hexamid/Spider Web/Climbing Thing!




Be the Change!



Rainy Day Reading Buddies

These are some of my favourite images from this school year. 

Our school is now at capacity as we have, over the past two years, integrated the District French Immersion Program.  It has been a pleasure to welcome many new families to our school commuity.  Growth and change can be painful sometimes.  In the past five years since I have been here as principal, our school has doubled in size.  We've faced new challenges such as:  How do we get 400+ students into the building in an orderly fashion each morning?  How can we help the French Immersion and English students coexist and develop some mutual appreciation?  How will we share computer lab and gym in a fair and equitable way?  How will Ms. Sorban teach all of those intermediate students to play band instruments and not lose her mind?

Luckily, we are a team at SQES!  People with energy, enthusiasm and optimism can always find a way to overcome obstacles together.  That includes teachers, support staff, parents and students, as well.  Thank you everyone for making 2012 - 2013 a memorable year!  Here's looking forward to September with the same positive, purposeful perspective!

Opportunities to Shine

This week, our students had a couple of big events.  Mr. Parker and Mrs. Johnston's classes went camping to Evans Lake, the Grade 7 French Immersion students spent three days at Camp Summit, and about 50 students in grades 3 - 7 participated in the District Track and Field meet.

I was able to join the kids at Evans Lake for a morning and was so impressed with the setting, the counsellors, the activities, the parents who volunteered their time, and with the students themselves.  When I arrived, one group was practicing archery.  I remember hearing a story about the actress Geena Davis.  She was not very athletic growing up, but picked up a bow and arrow at the age of 41.  It turns out, she was so talented that she almost qualified for the Sidney Olympics. She placed 24th of 300 and did not qualify for the team, but participated as a wild-card entry in the Sydney International Golden Arrow competition.  What if one of our students had such a skill that might never be uncovered if they did not have opportunity!

Another group of students was rock climbing.  This is another sport with seemingly unlikely heroes.  It is not the fastest, the strongest or the most coordinated person who is often the best climber.  In fact, it's more likely to be the quiet, but most thoughtful and flexible one.  As I watched Mr. Parker, Mr. Hinchcliffe and Alison belay the kids, I wondered who might carry on with the sport in high school, where they have indoor climbing walls.  We live in such a climbing mecca:  it is so important that our students have the opportunity to try it out for themselves.

A third group of students were canoeing.  I was disappointed to have missed my chance to join them.  Not being a strong swimmer, I have not really enjoyed boating in the past.  But last summer I signed up for a four hour kayak lesson with my daughter, and I was so nervous! I could not sleep the night before.  I do not really know what I was afraid of, but with the excellent coaching of our instructor, I managed to get in the kayak, purposely tip out of it (!) and get back in.  Then we paddled around Deep Bay on Bowen Island and I so enjoyed it.  Being able to take a risk and face a fear can be a life-changing experience.  Every student needs a gentle encouraging coach beside him or her, to take those risks and live to tell the tale.

I wish I could have attended the Track and Field Meet, but Mrs. Yates' class and I had our last visit with Baby Jacob, our Roots of Empathy Baby that afternoon.  However, when Mrs. Fanzega and the students came back, they showed me their ribbons and shared their experiences.  Two stories from the day gave me goosebumps.  The first was about Luke, who, during the 800 m race, saw that his friend Ryan was really struggling.  Rather than leave him to finish alone, Luke slowed down and encourages Ryan all the way through the finish line.  It gives me goosebumps again just typing this.

Another anecdote was from Mickey, who was in the lead in the grade 6 boys 100 meter race.  Unfortunately, the grass was slippery and he fell.  The boy who won the race (from another school) gave Mickey his First Place ribbon.  Can you believe it?

It is an awful lot of work organizing for a track meet and getting ready for a multi-day camping trip.  Sometimes we wonder it is all worth it, but I know it is.  Who knows what small experience might change the life of a child, give them the courage and the confidence to take on even larger challenges?  Thank you to the teachers, the parents, and the students themselves for creating these opportunities to shine.

Keeping Kids Safe in Cyberspace

Last week we had a guest speaker come to talk to our students about social media and internet safety.  Jesse Miller (mediatedreality.com) spoke to the grade 4/5's and then the 6/7's, each for an hour.  In the evening, he spoke to about 60 parents.  His main message was that we can use social media to make the world a better place, but often is it just a distraction and a waste of time, not to mention potentially  dangerous.  When Mr. Miller arrived at our school he took a photo of his shoe to get our longitude and latitude.  From there, he was able to cross-reference several apps on his phone and "found" 10 of our students' profiles, some very open, some with very disturbing text and images.  He could tell where some of them lived, and even found pictures taken at our school, in our classrooms, posted and with students tagged. 

Here are some other things we learned:

• Thirteen is the age a person is supposed to be to join Facebook.
• There are 90,000,000 children under the age of 13 who have a Facebook account.
• Most of our intermediate students said they have a Facebook account and their "fake" ages ranged widely.
• Privacy settings don't really work as words and pictures can be passed around like the game of "Telephone."  Don't put anything online that you would not want your mother or your boss to see.
• Four young girls in Ontario were recently fooled into meeting a middle-aged man, who online, was claiming to be Justin Beiber.  He sexually assaulted them.
• How do you value friendships?  Write down the names of your friends on a piece of paper.  Only those people should be your friends on Facebook.  Get rid of the rest.  Do you really want friends who only remember your birthday because Facebook reminded them?
• You are the most important thing in the world to your parents - Share your passwords and accounts with them.
• Would you spend a dollar a day to use Twitter, Facebook or Instagram?
• Photos on Snapchat DO NOT disappear forever.
• Followers:  Would you think it would be creepy for a 40 year old man to be following an 11 year old girl on the street?  Why is it not creepy on Instagram or Twitter?  Get rid of followers you don't know.  They can find out your name, where you go to school, where you live, etc.
• Be a friend to your friends in real life.
• Do you sleep with your phone?  Might it be interfering with your sleep?  Get an alarm clock!
• Think of your favourite sport, and playing hard when it really matters.  Would you do that with a phone in your hand?  Pay attention to what really matters.
• A student in the US lost an opportunity to have a $75,000 scholarship because he tweeted racist remarks. Others have lost their lives and bankrupted their families, texting while driving.  Again - pay attention to what matters.

We thank the District Parent Advisory Committee for funding Jesse Miller's parent presentation.

January 2013 - Focus on Reading

Did you know that BC students out-perform most students in the world in reading? According to the recent PIRLS study of grade 4's, students in BC have better comprehension tahn their peers in many other English and non-English speaking countries.  See for yourself at

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/assessment/pirls_2011_bc_sum.pdf

This month at Ecole Squamish, we are spending a lot of time thinking about the art and science of teaching reading.  Our school goal is in reading and the SPC is presenting to the Trustees and District Education Staff this week as part of the yearly review of our Learning Plan.

One of the strategies we use at our school is screening and assessing primary students' readiness and reading skills with a tool called the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills.  Despite it's long name (we call it DIBELS for short)  it involves a short session with a child, having them identify letters and sounds, combinations of letters and nonsense words.  This helps us figure out what skills they are missing and what to teach and help them practice.

Alivia (grade3) reads the morning messages.

Teachers use a variety of approaches to further support and encourage reading in the classroom.  A number of our teachers are implementing an approach called The Daily Five, which promotes independence, self-regulation, improved stamina for reading and writing, and positive peer interaction.  The teacher is able to conference with individuals and small groups while students read to themselves, read to a classmate, listen to reading, write about something that matters to them, and work on words.  These are teachers of primary and intermediate students - it is not just for beginning readers.

In intermediate classrooms, teachers tend to focus on the skills that we know good readers have:  the ability to make mental images and connections when we read, to use a variety of strategies to figure out new words, to draw inferences and determine the main idea of a piece of wrting, to reflect upon and respond to what we have read.  Some teachers follow the approaches laid out in Reading 44, Reading Power,  or other frameworks.  But they all know that six things are true about reading:  students need to, on a daily basis, read something he/she has chosen, that it at the "just right" level so they can read with accuracy, write something personally meaningful, talk with their peers about reading and writing with their peers, and listen to a fluent adult read aloud (Allington & Gabriel, 2012).

Here are some photos of "reading in action" at our school.



Ms. Gibson working with one of her grade 1's



Writing about reading in grade 6/7



Silent Reading Time in Ms. Miller & Ms. Robichaud's class.



Thomas and Rafi enjoying their reading.

Mark's reading a mountain bike magazine.



Hannah practices yoga while she's reading.

As it is National Family Literacy Week, we want to let you know how proud we are of all of our students, and thankful for the support they get at home.

If you have questions about your child's reading progress, please contact your child's teacher, myself of Mrs. Reed.