November 22, 2024 

This week we would like to introduce the Be You Club (Rainbow Club and Diversity Club). The Be You Club is a safe elementary school community space that students can join together.  Rainbow Club is a GSA (Gay, Straight Alliance or Gender and Sexuality Awareness), a safe and supportive space for all including: 2SLGBTQIA+ students, allies, those who have questions and are curious. We have actively worked on expanding this club to embrace the diversity of all identities in our community such as those of different races, cultures, religions, and abilities. This is intended to be a space for students and staff within our school to be themselves and learn from others. Activities include reading books, watching informative videos, arts and crafts, conversing with others, and hands-on play.   

This links to our School Story focus in the following way:    

• Steves is a safe learning community where we strive to respond to change. (Steves School Lens). 

 

November 13, 2024 

This week we would like to highlight our school Volleyball team. Our volleyball team has shown growth in working together and encouraging each other when another teammate is feeling discouraged. We have also been working on passing to others rather than dominating the play. Adults coaching the team have been encouraging using different positive phrases to uplift their teammates such as “You’ve got this”, “Next one”, and “We’ve got this”. Now students are using these phrases on the court during practices and games. This team includes a variety of abilities, and everyone has been encouraging each other. We have emphasized good sportspersonship which has resulted in positive feedback from other schools. Other teams report feeling positive after playing with the Steves team. It has been great to see this growth over the past month and a half.  

This links to our School Story focus in the following way:    

• Steves is a safe learning community where we strive to work together. (Steves School Lens). 

 

November 8, 2024 

This week we would like to share work which highlights some ongoing goals from our School Focus. Knowing that names are central to identity and belonging, students and staff were asked to complete a name survey as part of our scanning process. We had a hunch that not all community members were being addressed by their correct names. The results showed us that there are a handful of people that are don’t feel seen by our community yet. About 17% of our population do not feel comfortable correcting others when their name is said incorrectly. Our next steps are to find ways to ensure that everyone in building feels like they belong enough that they can tell each other who they are. This includes using phonetic spelling for guests such as on-call staff to see when they arrive, checking in with families to make sure we are using the preferred name, do classwork around identity and the power of names in any context.  

This links to our School Story focus in the following way:    

• Steves is a safe learning community where we strive to create a sense of belonging where we see ourselves. (Steves School Lens) 

 

November 1, 2024 

This week we would like to highlight the Student Vote BC 2024 run by C.I.V.I.X.  CIVIX is a nonpartisan national charity who work with Elections BC to provide students with a hands-on opportunity to learn about the voting process. Before students vote, teachers share lessons from a teacher's guide that talk about forms of government, levels of government in Canada, and different government responsibilities. Before the vote, students are encouraged to talk with their families and are aware of the street signs as they come to school and often have animated conversations and bring back information to the classroom to share with other students. Then some volunteer students pretend to be the candidates and give speeches to the other classrooms based on the candidate's platform. Other students teach the classes the process of voting and how to mark ballets. Every year, there are always rejected ballots meaning those students didn’t get to have their say in the results of the election. Students learn that their vote counts when the election can be really close, which mirrors the adult election where one riding is only 12 votes apart. Students often come back and talk about their memories of the student vote and the real world applications and connections. It makes world news more understandable. 

This links to our School Story focus in the following way:   

• Steves is a safe learning community where we strive to build connections to our community. (Steves School Lens) 

 

October 24, 2024 

This week we would like to highlight the identity project from Cohort 1. Students have been talking about their names and how this is part of their identities.  After conversations with their families, students shared the origin and country of their names as well as the cultural practices and naming conventions. This project will be moving to explore the historical significance of names in the community, for example Steves Farm, Homma, Spul’u’kwuks. The teachers are also participating by sharing their name story, as a way to share culture, where they came from and who they are.  

 

This links to our School Story focus in the following way:    

• Steves is a safe learning community where we strive to create a sense of belonging where we see ourselves. (Steves School Lens) 

 

October 18, 2024 

This week we would like to highlight our outdoor education program. One part is a trip to Camp Jubilee made by grade 6s and 7s, and staff. Montessori and Neighbourhood students joined together in cabins and activity groups to try new things and engage with the land by being outside. Relationships were built and realized as everyone had chances to work together with new people.   

This links to our School Story focus in the following way:    

• Steves is a safe learning community where we strive to build connections to our land and community. (Steves School Lens) 

 

October 11, 2024 

This week we would like to highlight our Community Walks. Community walks create a sense of belonging and connection, not only to the place but also to the people. Students and staff can see everyone together as a group. It is a chance to see yourself as part of a community bigger than the four walls of a classroom. We are all get the opportunity to interact with people in different programs (Neighbourhood and Montessori), with staff in different roles, and with students of different ages. 

 

This links to our School Story focus in the following way:    

• Steves is a safe learning community where we strive to build connections to our community. (Steves School Lens) 

 

October 2, 2024 

Each week we will try to share part of our School Story and how it applies to our community’s daily learning. Our School Story continues to be based on the Core Competencies found in the BC Curriculum and the First Peoples Principles of Learning. This year, we are going to add our school lens as another tool which we can use to create a supportive environment for all.   

 

An Introduction to our School Lens 

Our Lens or Purpose was created through the ongoing inquiry process. Staff wanted to create unified lens in order to communicate clearly amongst all staff, with family, and community. This affects both student understanding, behaviour and also school decisions and input. With this lens, we hope to be able to explain why we do what we do, what excites us and what makes us feel uncomfortable or what is not working. 

 

This is the lens we are currently using. We continue to develop and respond to changes in our community.  

 

Steves is a safe learning community where we strive to:  

• create a sense of belonging 

• see ourselves 

• work together 

• build connections to the land and our community 

• respond to change 

 

In the coming weeks, we look forward to sharing how the School Lens is used to guide our teaching practices and activities as well as the school-wide activities that allow us to embody and live our School Story.