School Name: Shuswap Middle School

School District: SD#83 North Okanagan-Shuswap

Inquiry Team Members: Theresa Johnson: tjohnson@sd83.bc.ca
Kaeli Hawrys: khawrys@sd83.bc.ca
Mishel Quaal: mquaal@sd83.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: tjohnson@sd83.bc.ca

II. Inquiry Project Information

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Transitions Study

Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Intermediate (4-7), Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Areas Addressed: Physical & Health Education

Focus Addressed: Indigenous understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Community-based learning, Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), Differentiated instruction, Experiential learning, Flexible learning, Growth mindset, Indigenous pedagogy, Inquiry-based learning, Land, Nature or Place-based learning, Self-regulation, Social and emotional learning

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? To offer a selected group of Indigenous students a community yoga program that focuses on regulation-based strategies to assist them with processing anxiety, behavioral outbursts, and negative thinking.

III. Spirals of Inquiry Details

Scanning: We talked to each of the students about their connections with adults in the school. Some of the students could name one and a few could name two adults they felt believed in them. As a team, we noticed many of our students wandering, searching for places to go, or belong. Our school counsellors came to us to inquire if there was a social or community program with an Indigenous lens available to support these specific kids.

We had worked with Angela Kyllo, a certified Metis yoga instructor, in youth conferences and various school events. We came up with the idea that to further connect these students with themselves, one another, and other adults in the building, we’d offer this select group of students an 8 week, twice a week, medicine wheel yoga program. Teaching yoga through a cultural perspective, students were consistently provided time and space to focus on themselves and their feelings. We heard positive feedback from these students that learning the skill of checking in on their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing was a process they enjoyed. We found that initially students were a little on the quiet side, but as the weeks went by, relationships were being built, and these sessions were something everyone really looked forward to twice a week. We used learning through experience, intergenerational teachings, and being in the community, as guiding tools in order to address the First Peoples Principles of Learning.

Focus: The Medicine wheel, like yoga, has a person-centered focus initially. From a regulated standpoint, it becomes easier to reflect outward into the world around us as we grow in this understanding. We wanted to foster a greater sense of belonging and an opportunity to practice self-awareness in a school and community setting, as a group with youth and adults learning together side-by-side. We wanted to demonstrate that learning looks different for each of us, but when you feel safe, calm, and a sense of community, you have a strong foundation for it to happen. This can be a positive life-long practice.

Hunch: Some of our students have tumultuous home lives, some wander around aimlessly with anxiety or avoidantly, and some struggle with friendships and social connection. Our learners are expected to instantly “show-up” in their seats and get to work! For some of these kids, it’s just not possible. So, we wanted to teach them a different way.

New Professional Learning: We debriefed at the beginning and end of each session. Consistency was key to the delivery of services and ensured circle-sharing happened each day with staff and students alike. We supported each other by providing a space to check-in.

Taking Action: Adult to student ratio was 1:4. We figured if we were going to be building relationships with these students, there should be as many of us available as possible. Sometimes counsellors would join, a grandma came and read one reflection, and if there was ever an empty space, a student could bring a friend. We focused on building community.

Photo description: At the end of our 9 week session, as a group we participated in a community yoga class at Sweet Freedom yoga. For many of our students, it was their first yoga studio experience.

Checking: Students said on the days they attended our sessions, their mindset was “ready to learn.” They also told us they felt “calmer.” Students started showing up on their own without being reminded, or would even ask the day before if we were still on for yoga. The students became familiar with one another and everyone displayed respectful behavior towards each other in this program.

Reflections/Advice: It is amazing what happens when you create a space for people to show up just as they are. It was a fast way to build a sense of belonging in a group of students who weren’t necessarily connected with one another prior to the program. The students asked to do this program again, and for the ones that are still here, we plan on running it again. We will add additional presenters/sharers/meditation readers from our school community, and more adults to join us.

School Name: Ecole Ballenas Secondary School

School District: SD#69 Qualicum

Inquiry Team Members: Mindy Holman: mholman@sd69.bc.ca
Roman Wyllie: rwyllie@sd69.bc.ca
Paisley Hendricks: phendricks@sd69.bc.ca
Star Richardson: srichardson@sd69.bc.ca
Cheryl Beler: cbeler@sd69.bc.ca
Jessylee Spence: jspence@sd69.bc.ca
Kathryn Lindahl: klindahl@sd69.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: tcathrine@sd69.bc.ca

II. Inquiry Project Information

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Transitions Study

Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Areas Addressed: Not applicable

Focus Addressed: Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), Flexible learning, Inclusion and inclusive instructional strategies, Social and emotional learning, Transitions, Universal design for learning

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Our focus was specifically on the characteristics of spaces/adults that were elicited from our student interviews and responses – key question/theme: How do we build/promote spaces that inspire hope/belonging?

III. Spirals of Inquiry Details

Scanning: We interviewed all of our students with an Indigenous background. A theme that came up repeatedly was connection – connection to spaces and connection to adults/peers/community. We realize that we are still in a time where connection to school, community, and with others is still rebuilding.

Focus: We have also been engaged in an Equity Scan as a district and as a school. Something that emerged from that work was an opportunity to focus on Learning Environments. We saw this being connected to our scanning – specifically learners’ connection to the school and spaces.

Hunch: Our hunch is that there may be specific practices that could be enhanced. Profiles will be a focus for the upcoming school year. The voices of our students need to be shared more intentionally and broadly.

New Professional Learning:

• Time together through NOIIE Group Book Study: Wayi Wah!
• Next year: books groups through collaboration (titles TBD)

Taking Action: This will be the work for next year – now that we have our question and data from responses. We need to share with staff and decide what action we will take, collectively.

Checking: There is more to come here – now that we have our focus area and we’ve elicited a lot of qualitative data re:characteristics of spaces/adults – after we begin to implement some of the suggestions (or as decided by staff) we will be able to be more thorough in our checking.

What are we checking for? How will we know? How is this supporting transitions?

Reflections/Advice: We will share this list with our staff as we begin a bigger inquiry on engagement. It took us a while, through scanning, to find this focus area.

School Name: Smithers Secondary School

School District: SD#54 Bulkley Valley

Inquiry Team Members: Julie Krall – jkrall@sd54.bc.ca
Shirley White – swhite@sd54.bc.ca
Helen Erickson – helen.erickson@sd54.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: jkrall@sd54.bc.ca

II. Inquiry Project Information

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Transitions Study

Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Areas Addressed: Not applicable

Focus Addressed: Indigenous understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Social and emotional learning, Transitions

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? We celebrated and shared our school learning about Truth and Reconciliation, by creating artifacts to be placed in a Bentwood Box Time Capsule.

III. Spirals of Inquiry Details

Scanning: We continued our project by conducting a school-wide survey, as well as personal student interviews, in June 2022. In September, our staff worked together to review and analyze the data collected in the previous school year. This analysis informed our focus and next steps for this school year.

Focus: We decided on our focus based on our understanding of the importance of a positive meso narrative. We hope that our current students, as well as students new to SSS, will arrive with a sense of belonging and a belief in their success. We hope they will see their personal and cultural identity reflected in their school in a positive way.

Hunch: We wondered if the work that we had been doing personally, professionally, as a staff and as a school, was not being heard/noticed by our communities. As a result, the historical narrative and perception about our school continued to be shared in our community. The hard work being done within the school to learn about Truth and Reconciliation, and to respond to the TRC Calls of Action, was not yet transmitted out to our surrounding communities.

New Professional Learning: We worked collaboratively with our pro d committee to organize staff-wide collaboration days. During these days, we reviewed the student data that we collected and identified priorities and developed action plans. One example was, we organized a book club and several staff members read Wayi Wah! By Jo Chrona. We organized 3 school-wide presentations and 4 presentations for families, from the White Hatter. These presentations helped build a better understanding of how to leverage social media in a positive manner, as well as an understanding of the implications and responsibility attached to posts on social media.

Taking Action: We began our work this year by attending to student voice. We used the information shared by students to guide our planning and actions for this year. We worked in collaboration with our school pro d committee and connected our project to our school goals.
Based on students’ feedback, we organized SafeTeen workshops for students in grade 8/9, as well as implemented the Preventure program. We hosted events at our school for Truth and Reconciliation Week, Red Dress Day, and Moose Hide Campaign.

In June 2022, we opened our school time capsule from 20 years ago, which provided a unique opportunity to see glimpses of life and school in our community. As a part of the celebration of the time capsule opening, a teacher in our district spoke and apologized for her colonial actions and approach 20 years ago. In addition, an Indigenous Support worker spoke about the changes that she has seen in our school district in the last 20 years. This review helped us to gain a better understanding and perspective about how far our school has come and how our narrative has/is transforming.

Throughout the year, students worked independently and with their classes to generate a body of work that will be encased in the time capsule, and that will reflect our current school culture. In addition, teachers and students are sharing their work publicly to help share our story with our community. Some examples of items that will be in the time capsule include a red dress quilt, truth and reconciliation podcasts, a student composed book of messages with advice to future gryphons, collections of poetry, and students wrote letters to their future selves.

Photo description: The 3 photos above are of artifacts that were created to be put in the time capsule that will be opened in 20 years.

Some additional actions in our school included all students in grades 10-12 taking an English First Peoples course, our science classes regularly engage in TEK, and we have a 9-12 Interdisciplinary Studies class that focuses on learning through an Indigenous Worldview.

Checking: At this point, our project is still in progress. We are closing the time capsule on June 21st 2023 with amazing results, and we are conducting personal interviews with students. During these interviews we are asking the 4 NOIIE questions, as well as 4 additional questions to inquire about students’ sense of belonging at SSS.

Our initial impressions are that students are noticing the actions we are taking and the changes occurring within our school and community. We are optimistic because we are seeing and hearing formal and informal evidence that our school narrative is positively changing. We are seeing students and families embracing an identity as a gryphon and speaking about positivity, kindness and social responsibility. We are excited that students are speaking up and taking action to be change-makers.

Reflections/Advice: From this inquiry we have learned that it takes everyone, and that to create positive change we need our whole staff. The time capsule served as our focus and was a unifying and common goal. We realized the importance of beginning with student voice and keeping students involved. Connecting our work to our school goals allowed this project to be a part of the fabric of our school and included everyone: SEAs, secretaries, custodians, etc. We also made an active effort to reach out to our parents and families through newsletters and social media, to share and include community members in our journey towards Truth and Reconciliation. This project was not an extra, but a part of the work that we do. This project helped us to appreciate the importance of an organized and repeated structure, so that staff members (returning and new) can keep up with the project and the project stays alive.

School Name: Esquimalt High School

School District: SD#61 Greater Victoria

Inquiry Team Members: Sarah Garr
sgarr@sd61.bc.ca
Chantal Peppin
cpeppin@sd61.bc.ca
Cheryl Nigh
cnigh@sd61.bc.ca
David Fuerst Ackles
dfuerstackles@sd61.bc.ca
Geoff Orme
GOrme@sd61.bc.ca
Jared Adams
jadams@sd61.bc.ca
Jennifer Treble
jtreble@sd61.bc.ca
Kaehlen Allison
kallison@sd61.bc.ca
Ken Henderson
khenderson@sd61.bc.ca
Maya Hamel
Maya@esquimaltnation.ca
Paola Madrigal
Paola.Madrigal@songheesnation.com
Shannon Dunn
sdunn@sd61.bc.ca
Tarra Clarke
tclarke@sd61.bc.ca
Tim Zemanek
tzemanek@sd61.bc.ca
Tina O’Keeffe
tokeeffe@sd61.bc.ca
Wren Chester
wchester@sd61.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: sgarr@sd61.bc.ca

II. Inquiry Project Information

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Transitions Study

Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Areas Addressed: Not applicable

Focus Addressed: Indigenous understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), First Peoples Principles of Learning, Flexible learning, Growth mindset, Inclusion and inclusive instructional strategies, Indigenous pedagogy, Self-regulation, Social and emotional learning

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Creating connection/belonging/safe spaces as students transition into Grade 9 to support ongoing success.

III. Spirals of Inquiry Details

Scanning: The majority of our scanning occurred in the first year of our inquiry. From our scanning, we know that there is some level of connection/belonging and safe spaces available to students, but we know that we need to expand this. We want to build capacity in teachers/staff and allow them to hear directly from our Indigenous students what is needed for them to feel connected and safe in our building and classrooms.

Focus: Coming out of several years of COVID, we have noticed that many of our students are (feeling) disengaged and disconnected. As well, with a large cohort of Grade 9 students with diverse needs, we knew that it would be important to provide as many supports as possible, specifically for our priority Indigenous students. Our hope is that if we can build a strong connection in Grade 9, that this will lead to continued connection/success in Grades 10 through 12.

Hunch: While the majority of our staff feel as if they are offering inclusive and safe spaces for our Indigenous students, the perception of our students is often quite different. There is a disconnect between staff intentions and students’ perception/experience. From this, we recognized that we need to be more intentional in our approach and practices.

New Professional Learning: Our two guiding resources are Leading Through Spirals of Inquiry for Equity and Quality (Halbert and Kaser) and Street Data – A Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy and School Transformation (Safir and Dugan). As team lead, I am part of a provincial “Community of Practice” with Shane Safir and Dr. Jamila Dugan that looks at making use of “street data” to pursue equity in education. As well, we connected to other groups within our school (School-Based Team) for additional resources and supports.

Taking Action:
Background:
We have noticed through data collected by SBT, NOIIE and Grade 9 Team, that after several years of disruptions through the pandemic, many of our Grade 9 students appear disconnected and disengaged from their learning, from their peers and from the school community in general. This manifests in a number of ways such as inconsistent attendance, lower instances of class completion, and additional behaviour concerns. Research shows us that strong relationships and a sense of belonging lead to increased academic success and supports the social-emotional development of students.

Objective:
To increase student success through building relationships, community, connections and belonging by introducing a Grade 9 Advisory model for the 2023-2024 school year.

Key Highlights:
– Grade 9 Advisory would take place during Focus block time.
– Teachers would be asked to express an interest in being connected to a Grade 9 Advisory.
– Class size of 20 max., constructed with input from Transition notes.
– Advisory blocks would include some prepared materials/lessons/activities and some teacher/student co-constructed activities.
– A schedule/calendar of “themed” monthly activities would be shared with teachers, students, families.
– Activities might include: circles, crafts, team-building, board games, Advisory challenges, videos, food, letter to self, guest speakers (e.g. Alumni), mindfulness, study skills, field trips, team teaching
– Potential of “partnering” with another Grade 9 Advisory and/or a Focus block for activities, mentoring, challenges – transfer of relationships.

Measuring Success:
– Baseline data in September, follow up mid-year, end of year, end of Gr. 12
– Questionnaires/surveys, self-assessment, increased attendance, decreased vandalism, increased class completion

Checking: As this initiative will be implemented during the 2023-2024 school year, we will gather and collate data from our students, staff and families throughout next year.

Reflections/Advice: Our learning will continue into next year. Our goal will be to incorporate more student voice/feedback, as well as expand this opportunity for feedback to our families and community.

School Name: Kwalikum Secondary School

School District: SD#69 Qualicum

Inquiry Team Members: Dallas Phillips: dphillips@sd69.bc.ca, Lori Marshall: lmarshall@sd69.bc.ca, Jennifer Lunny: jlunny@sd69.bc.ca, Tanya Gardner: tgardner@sd69.bc.ca, Jolin Meier: jmeier@sd69.bc.ca, Mallory Chester: mchester@sd69.bc.ca, Tannis Trevor-Smith: ttrevorsmith@sd69.bc.ca, Haley Finch: hfinch@sd69.bc.ca, Angela Davidson: adavidson@sd69.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: lorimarshall@sd69.bc.ca

II. Inquiry Project Information

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Transitions Study

Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Areas Addressed: Language Arts – Literacy, Language Arts – Oral Language, Language Arts – Reading, Language Arts – Writing, Mathematics / Numeracy, Science, Social Studies

Focus Addressed: Indigenous understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), First Peoples Principles of Learning, Indigenous pedagogy, Inquiry-based learning, Land, Nature or Place-based learning, Social and emotional learning, Transitions, Universal design for learning

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? How does KSS, as a learning community, create opportunities for equity that foster a sense of belonging for all? Focus: Grade 8 and 9 Belonging and Community; Grade 10-12 Grade and Grad Transitions.

III. Spirals of Inquiry Details

Scanning: This year, we met as a team and determined that we needed to focus on interviewing the Indigenous learners through a focused interview process. We also realized that our staff belonging and culture collaboration group was surveying the general student population, so we asked them to include questions specific to our inquiry as well. During this time, we also had staff work through the process of identifying exactly what they were doing in their classes to work towards answering the TRC’s Calls to Action. Specifically, how were they embedding Indigenous ways of knowing and being, and the FPPL, into their pedagogy and classrooms?

Focus: Analyzing the data from our scanning process reinforced the decision to continue with the Indigenous learner’s interviews, school-wide interviews, increased cultural representations, and grade-focused inquiries. Our intention was to increase our students’ sense of belonging and to continue working towards a culture that honours and recognizes historical truth and Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

Hunch: Throughout the scanning phase, we had the following hunches: Indigenous learners are missing out on some opportunities and connections, learners are not feeling as connected after COVID years, SEL is an area that needs to be addressed – particularly identity and mental health, attendance can relate to engagement, increasing Indigenous awareness needs to happen through physical and curricular representation.

New Professional Learning: Members of our transition group attended a variety of symposiums and conferences: Alt Ed, NOIIE, BCPVPA, BC CAISE, BCSSA, and FNESC. In particular, our school community has been focused on equity and Cale Birk’s Observable Impact work.

Taking Action: The Indigenous liaisons interviewed Indigenous learners. The questions that were asked were the following: Where are you from (Indigenous ancestry); What are your passions and interests; How is the school year going (Are you connected? Who are the people that make up your support network? How do you find schoolwork?); What goals and dreams do you have for your future (Tell me the biggest ones, even if they feel out of reach); Is there anything that you’d like to learn more about related to your Indigenous heritage; What are the barriers in your life that make it hard to do the things that you want; and, How can the school help you?

We continued with our curricular grade focus: grade 8’s completing an identity Heritage Project focused on identity, grade 9’s focusing on land and place-based consciousness in the curricular areas of math and science, grade 10’s all taking EFP10 and focusing on intentionally embedding language into their lesson design, and grades 11 and 12 focusing on increasing cultural awareness. All of these actions are intended to increase grade transitions.

Our students were encouraged to understand the impacts of residential schools and the effects of colonialism through courses such as BCFP12.

Full school assemblies to help bring awareness of past traumas and pathways to reconciliation. 3 Crow Productions storytelling journey Qwalena sharing Dallas Yellowfly’s journey, and the May Moose Hide Campaign. Three local Qualicum First Nations men shared their stories and encouraged students to stand up against violence and honour their identities.

A physical representation of TRC’s Calls to Action through banners and Project of Heart display.

Our staff collaboration group completed a student survey focused on belonging: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdEXlKuaBC0nf5loNkawDVz64QZEijpbfCB_Mre1th0uav5mw/viewform

We participated in specialized ‘days’; however, we shared the message that these ideas need to be embedded into our whole year.

We added a Hul’qumi’num word of the day and land acknowledgement into the morning announcements.

Photo description: (Top) Project of Heart display. (Bottom) Red dress display.

Checking:

• Grade 8 – students enjoyed sharing the heritage project and indicated they learned a lot about their own families. They did say they would like to do something other than a heritage project as many had done something similar in an earlier grade.
• Grade 9 – we have limited data as to how successful, and how much, teachers focused on local land in their classes. We have more directed work to do here.
• Grade 10 – We had good success with our EFP 10 class this year, where every grade 10 student took this class. The feedback from students and teachers was positive. We hope to strengthen the resources and opportunities for students next year.
• Grade 11/12 – our teachers continue to use the FPP of learning in many curricular areas. Our students are encouraged to understand the impacts of residential schools and the effects of colonialism through courses such as First Nations 12. We also had full school assemblies to help bring awareness of past traumas and pathways to reconciliation.
• We had 4 out of 12 students show up for the Indigenous graduation ceremony. One of the local families had a member of their family graduate – the first in 10 years. Stronger family connections have been noticed by the Indigenous liaisons.

Reflections/Advice: For next year, we would like to come up with a few small initiatives that staff can be more directly involved with. We think it is important to notice, name and nurture these smaller things done in a school community – small actions can make a big difference. We also want to increase the data that we collect from our students and teachers so that we can monitor the progress/impact that this inquiry is having on our school. For the Indigenous learner interviews, we are going to add a Google form to collect the information to make the data more visible.

School Name: χpey̓ Elementary

School District: SD#39 Vancouver

Inquiry Team Members: Bernadette Milton. bmilton@vsb.bc.ca
Jennifer Sebastian jsebastian@vsb.bc.ca
Mary Leman-Viggers. mlemanviggers@vsb.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: ddelorme@vsb.bc.ca

II. Inquiry Project Information

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Transitions Study

Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Primary (K-3), Intermediate (4-7)

Curricular Areas Addressed: Arts Education, Language Arts – Literacy, Language Arts – Oral Language, Language Arts – Reading, Language Arts – Writing

Focus Addressed: Indigenous understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), First Peoples Principles of Learning, Inclusion and inclusive instructional strategies, Indigenous pedagogy

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? How can we use Indigenous story as a tool to cultivate a sense of identity, place and belonging?

III. Spirals of Inquiry Details

Scanning:

Wonders and questions…

• How to teach language, as we are an urban Indigenous school – do we teach only the local language or can we teach the language of other territories?
• Important to think about what we are doing on the territories that we work on – check in with Trudi Harris at the Indigenous Education department.

Wholistic Indigenous Learning Framework:

• The framework was reviewed both the survey and the rubric.
• Agreed to continue to use it and submit the survey to the staff again at the end of June and throughout the year.

Include the 5 R’s – up to 9 R’s (article shared by David):

• Respect
• Relationship
• Relevance
• Reciprocity
• Responsible

Focus: This area was selected because we wanted students to know their story and to leave school with a connection to their history and family, in hopes of making it an easier transition.

Hunch: We have such a diverse population from all across Canada. We wanted our students to have connection to their heritage and be more familiar with their own stories.

New Professional Learning: We looked at using Indigenous literacy to engage our learners. Using the teachings from the medicine wheel, First Peoples Principles of Learning, and Indigenous ways of Knowing and Being.

Taking Action:

1) Survey staff seeking input on the rubric
2) Compile the results and share with staff last day of school June 30th, 2023
3) Meet with staff on first day of school in September to discuss new direction for Inquiry team
4) NOIIE committee meet early September to plan next two staff meetings to further discuss the article and the Wholistic Learning framework, which was created 11 years ago

Description of pictures: Top – Inquiry planning; Middle & Bottom – Activity shared by the grade 1/2 classroom, looking at Indigenous stories from their nation which were created by the students and shared with the rest of the school.

Checking:

• We will continue to broaden our scope and work next year on creating a plan starting in Kindergarten.
• We will plan out the years and expectations of each year.

Reflections/Advice: I learned that we do have a strong team with many ideas to share. I also learned that many of our students are eager to learn their stories and eager to share them with others. I look forward to next year.

School Name: Moscrop Secondary

School District: SD#41 Burnaby

Inquiry Team Members: Cristina Georgilas – Cristina.Georgilas@burnabyschools.ca
Chris Sandor Chris.Sandor@burnabyschools.ca
Adele Cooshek Adele.Cooshek@burnabyschools.ca
Scott Spracklin Scott.Spracklin@burnabyschools.ca
Shelley Brown Shelley.Brown@burnabyschools.ca
Colleen Gaskell Colleen.Gaskell@burnabyschools.ca
Georgia Campbell Georgia.Campbell@burnabyschools.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: marta.pippomichielli@burnabyschools.ca

II. Inquiry Project Information

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Transitions Study

Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Areas Addressed: Not applicable

Focus Addressed: Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), Flexible learning, Social and emotional learning, Transitions

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Welcoming students to the Moscrop community, and making them feel safe and comfortable to get support from teachers and support workers.

III. Spirals of Inquiry Details

Scanning: We interviewed students a few times throughout the year. We noticed our learners were willing to engage in conversations with the adults that support them, and would in fact turn to them when they needed adult guidance.
We used the FPPL in our scanning process by practicing these areas:
***Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors.
***Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place).
***Learning involves patience and time.
Learning requires exploration of one‘s identity.

Focus: We wanted to support our learners in their transitions from Gr. 7 to 8, and from Gr.12 to post-secondary.

IIE Interview Questions

All Grades (8, 11, 12):

• Can you name 2 adults in this school you feel supported by?
• How do they show you? OR what makes you feel supported?
• How could they show you? (if they don’t have 2)
• Could you feel more supported? How?
• What are you learning and why is it important?
• Where are you going with your learning – how and what is your next step?

Grade 8s

• What were 1-2 positives and/or negatives about transitioning from elementary school to Moscrop?
• What would have helped make the transition more positive?

Grade 11s

• What do you feel would help you to be successful in your grade 12 year?

Grade 12s

• What are your plans for after graduation?
• What are you excited / nervous about?

Hunch: We wanted students to feel protected and safe, and when uncertain or not feeling balanced, we wanted to ensure that they had adults in the building they could turn to for help or support.

New Professional Learning: Our school community was doing a good job. Students were connecting with adults and they felt as though they could turn to them for help or support. Learning resources we used were: District or community Elders and our Indigenous District Principal – Rob Smyth. We shared food and had multiple gatherings with our youth.

Taking Action:

• Bringing kids together for lunches and gatherings.
• We had a welcome dinner for our incoming grade 7’s and their families on June 27th. It was a very positive and well received event. Parents/caregivers and families felt welcomed and comfortable that their children will be taken care of by the Moscrop community.

Checking:

• Students felt as though they had a community they could turn to for advice or help.
• Students had guidance with academic support if needed.
• Options for guidance or support with transitions were openly addressed and considered.

Reflections/Advice:

• I learned that I have a very collaborative and supportive team. Everyone is taking our learners’ needs into consideration while making any decision.
• We have older students mentoring younger students – giving advice or leading them through difficult situations.
• Our plan next is to see how we can continue to support students through their transitions (gr.7 to 8 and gr.12 to post-secondary, workforce, or both). Also, to focus on Indigenous understandings ( Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation) and Community-based learning Core Competencies (critical thinking, communication, problem solving).

School Name: Charles Hays Secondary School

School District: SD#52 Prince Rupert

Inquiry Team Members: Anna Ashley: sportyrupertgirl@hotmail.com
Donna McNeil-Clark: donna.mcneil-clark@sd52.bc.ca
Amber Mossini: amber.mossini@sd52.bc.ca
Coretta O’Brien: coretta.o’brien@sd52.bc.ca
Raegan Sawka: raegan.sawka@sd52.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: carla.rourke@sd52.bc.ca

II. Inquiry Project Information

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Transitions Study

Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Areas Addressed: Language Arts – Literacy, Language Arts – Oral Language, Language Arts – Reading, Language Arts – Writing, Science, Social Studies, Other: Contemporary Indigenous Studies 12

Focus Addressed: Indigenous understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Community-based learning, Experiential learning, First Peoples Principles of Learning, Inclusion and inclusive instructional strategies, Indigenous pedagogy, Land, Nature or Place-based learning, Universal design for learning

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? For the second year of our cohort model, our focus was relationships and connections, on multiple levels and in many directions. We continued to build connections between educational team members, with our learners, and with the land and community. We wove links between all of our curriculum through a land-based, holistic approach to learning supported by Ts’msyen knowledge holders.

III. Spirals of Inquiry Details

Scanning: During our scanning process and review of the four key questions, it became very apparent that there was a universal need amongst our learners to feel a greater sense of belonging, safety, and stability. Many students voiced a need for adults in the building to meet them where they were at (socially, emotionally, academically, and culturally).

Focus: In designing a three-year cohort model that combined core academic curriculum, we hoped to create a supportive environment that allowed the flexibility to honour our students’ unique skills, strengths, talents, and interests. We felt this would better ensure their academic success towards graduation.

Hunch: We believed that by creating a multi-year, team-based model (two teachers, Indigenous Mentor, educational assistant providing four core academic courses per year) we would provide the ability to give each student an absolute connection to the group to help meet their needs. With the team-based approach we hoped to have the capacity, expertise, and time to identify how to support the diversity of learners in reaching their full potential.

New Professional Learning: Our learning was consistent, dynamic, and evolving throughout the year; we engaged in continuous team teaching, collaboration, and reciprocal learning. One of our key principles was to work alongside several Ts’msyen knowledge holders to provide an authentic voice for our students and ourselves. Every team member took to heart the lessons that emerged from these educational experiences. We arranged for an Elder’s apprentice to work with us for the final four weeks of the year, on continuous land-based learning out on the territory.

Our team coordinated professional development sessions for our school/district on equity, assessment, Ts’msyen drum making, as well as an author visit with Jo Chrona to support the school-wide book study on Wayi Wah. We brought presenters to the community as well as hosted sessions ourselves to share our learning.

Taking Action:

Team approach, relationship centered, rooted in culture and place: Building trust, relationships, and belonging, with a sense of trust and established relationships we could set expectations of ‘no opting out’, learning from the land, facilitating friendships between students, sense of belonging…

Creating a full-day schedule for half the school year: Flexible schedule, over longer period of time, having time to get to know students, felt better able to determine what scaffolds and supports are needed, giving learners time to build up their confidence to do curriculum well, creatively finding/making time within our teaching structures, with a cohort model could allow us to take multiple curricular strands out of one project or assignment (i.e. Raegan marked for content, Anna marked for writing/communication skills).

Universal supports, projects, portfolios to collect evidence of learning for assessment:

• additional time
• one-to-one support from educational assistants, learning assistance teachers and the classroom teacher
• access to electronic devices for speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and written output (i.e. audio books, dictated assignments and transcription help)
• graphic organizers, framed paragraphs, sentence stems, etc.
• pairing verbal instructions with visual or written supports
• shortened, simplified, and/or chunked assignments
• writing templates
• use of separate settings when needed and opportunities to display competence and learning outcomes in a variety of ways
• flexible timelines to demonstrate skill acquisition and conceptual understanding.
• intentionally exploring areas of student interest to enhance engagement
• utilizing game format and cooperative social learning strategies for peer-to-peer support

Creating a culturally safe and responsive environment: Students are also provided many opportunities to explore personal and cultural identities, written and oral histories, stories and connections to land/place. Indigenous worldviews and perspectives are integral to this learning. Students access authentic resources such as books, literature, texts, and film. As often as possible we invite the community to visit our classrooms or meet with Role Models, Elders, and other knowledge keepers on the land or at their place of work.

Checking: The results exceeded our expectations in so many ways. We were overwhelmed and experienced much success. We can still see room for improvement in the ways we connect to every learner.

This list captures highlights of our evidence:

• More confidence, out of my comfort zone
• New friendships (cited by more than half of the responses)
• Feeling successful/sense of achievement
• Finding my own voice
• Realizing passion and curiosity
• Validation
• A reason to come to school
• Allowed to be me
• Never giving up on me, even if it was difficult
• Connecting with land, language, and culture
• Realizing the importance of Indigenous culture, history, and perspectives
• Drawing real connections and understanding between truth and reconciliation
• A drive for taking meaningful action towards reconciliation and injustices
• Sharing my learning and engaging the school-community in issues that matter to them
• Pride in my accomplishments
• Stewardship of the land, self, others, and environment
• Self-advocacy and knowing my worth
• Better at articulating my thoughts, ideas, questions
• Finding deep meaning and higher-level connections
• Sharing my learning with others, pursuing my own inquiry outside of school

Reflections/Advice: Secondary schools might consider planning for a multi-year cohort for grades 10, 11 and 12, where students could thrive on consistent support and relationships. We’d like to see cohorts launching each year so concurrent groups are running.

This model has created growth in our educational team. We know our learners far better than in a traditional one course, one semester setting. We learn from our team and compliment each other, however, keep in mind we opted into this model based on shared interests and philosophy. This model will not work if forced on either staff or students. Thoughtful planning, preparation, and consultation can set this cohort program up for success.

School Name: Nanaimo District Secondary School

School District: SD#68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith

Inquiry Team Members: Rosie Thind: rosie.thind@sd68.bc.ca
Kelly Barnum: kelly.barnum@sd68.bc.ca
Jane Reynolds: jane.reynolds@sd68.bc.ca
Shayla Billy: shayla.billy@sd68.bc.ca
Michelle Smith: michelle.smith@sd68.bc.ca
Natasha Bridger: natasha.bridger@sd68.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: katie.marren@sd68.bc.ca

II. Inquiry Project Information

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Transitions Study

Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Areas Addressed: Applied Design, skills & Technology, Arts Education, Career Education, Language Arts – Literacy, Language Arts – Oral Language, Language Arts – Reading, Language Arts – Writing, Mathematics / Numeracy, Physical & Health Education, Science, Social Studies

Focus Addressed: Indigenous understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Experiential learning, Formative assessment, Indigenous pedagogy, Land, Nature or Place-based learning, Social and emotional learning

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Two parts:
1) A continuation of building belonging with Indigenous families
2) How do we use pedagogy and curriculum to build belonging for Indigenous students across grades to feel belonging in classrooms

III. Spirals of Inquiry Details

Scanning: I came in new to this school. The process had already been started and the whole original team had left the school. We decided to keep moving forward with the original plan, but also add on to what we saw as needed in the school.

In the Indigenous Education room, we had a new teacher. She spent time with students asking the key questions. It was also beneficial as a “get to know you” activity also. The learners indicated that they felt that they were learning curriculum, but not learning about any Indigenous culture or history in their classrooms. They mentioned that they were unsure as to how they might feel with new learning in the classroom, as they didn’t want to be singled out and targeted. All students indicated that the place they felt they did their best learning, and felt valued, was in the Indigenous Education room. We wanted to explore how to amplify the feelings of belonging from that room to classrooms across the school, and to continue to include Indigenous families on the journey.

Focus: NDSS is a big school. Making connections is difficult. We know that feeling a sense of belonging and safety is essential to school success. We also know that families play an integral role in this.

Typically, when we talk about connection and feeling valued, we don’t attach it to pedagogy. We think it is more connected with counsellors; we treat it as though it is something OUTSIDE of learning, separate, and outside the classroom. We wanted to spend some time merging these concepts: Indigenous students feeling like they belonged at NDSS, within learning spaces and THROUGH curriculum (not only the Indigenous Education room) and connecting family to this work.

Hunch: We saw increasing amounts of Indigenous learners leaving their classrooms to work in the Indigenous Education room. We saw teachers asking for lesson plans from Indigenous Education workers, rather than spend time doing their own learning and planning. In our Staff Profile work, over 50% of staff indicated that they wanted to learn more about Indigenous Education and Truth and Reconciliation. We know that learners feeling “seen” in classrooms contributes to their sense of belonging. We heard from Indigenous students that we were not learning anything about them, their culture and their identity, and did not see themselves in their learning

New Professional Learning: We chose to access an already-existing learning structure at NDSS to do new learning. We incorporated this work into the PLC structure. Our team did a deeper formative assessment with the staff to find out what staff were ALREADY teaching in terms of Indigenous culture, language, history and the First Peoples Principles of Learning. We wanted to find out which courses and which grades were teaching what, just so we could begin to design a school-wide norming structure for a scope and sequence of Indigenous history, culture and language at NDSS. Each grade, each subject. We know the accountability of standard 9 and want to ENSURE that all students have access to this learning, also realizing that this learning is also designed for Indigenous students to feel visible and valuable.

Taking Action:

1) We brought Denise Augustine, Superintendent of Indigenous Education for the Ministry, in to our first whole staff PLC to frame the conversation/work around Standard 9
2) We then did some formative assessment – what are you already doing? We created a staff profile with the Indigenous Education lens
3) We identified where the “holes” were – what’s missing in terms of teaching Indigenous pedagogy
4) We asked both staff and students – What do you need to learn more about? What supports do you need in order to learn this?
5) We had 4 family/community dinners for Indigenous students/families to connect with parents and also ask them what needs to be taught in school
6) We spent time connecting with the local Nation (Snuneymuxw) to bring an Elder in Residence on board (with success! beginning June, 2023!!)
7) We started gathering resources for teachers who needed support in Indigenous pedagogy
8) We designed whole staff/students/school learning during Pro-D, May 5, May 11, June 21 to increase knowledge, visibility and practice of the importance of Indigenous history, culture (hyper local) and language
8) We worked with Elder Sandra Good to talk to students to find out what is missing for them in the school – Sandra has expressed that this will dictate her work for next school year

Photo descriptions: (Top) Denise Augustine came to NDSS to talk about Standard (and our professional responsibility to it). She presented to all staff (including CUPE) and then stayed behind to dive deeper with our Learning Leaders (teachers who lead learning in the building), (Middle) We finally secured an Elder in Residence through Snuneymuxw Nation. Elder Sandra Good will be with NDSS one day/week moving forward. She will be NDSS’ guide for taking action and moving forward with Standard 9 and Reconciliation, (Bottom) NDSS put on multiple family dinners throughout the year as a way of building connection, and supporting students’ sense of belonging and safety at our school. Check out our Indigenous Dinner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv8jZU5ceS8. Learning happens all around; it never happens in isolation. It included Indigenous students, specifically, all students, all staff and also Indigenous families. This is not isolated and siloed work; it is also a continuous journey.

Checking:

• It is evident at NDSS that this work is important and they are beginning to move from accountability to responsibility.
• We spent a lot of time trying to figure out “what is missing… why are Indigenous learners leaving classrooms and describing the lack of connection with NDSS”. This was mostly because it was a new group of people doing the NOIIE work, so we had to spend this time.
• We have data to show what is already being taught, and where there is learning/teaching missing in terms of Indigenous pedagogy at NDSS. This will inform the guidance for staff learning next year.
• The family dinners were well attended; the attendance went up 25% by the end of the school year.
• Indigenous learners expressed both a lack of connection and lack of learning at NDSS. We have not gathered evidence from the students as of yet in terms of impact. We have evidence of teachers’ learning and feelings of efficacy in teaching Indigenous pedagogy. The next step will be tracking students’ evidence.

Reflections/Advice: This inquiry was difficult in the beginning. We were a scattered group. We all had different ideas as to the direction we were on. We needed to spend some more time finding out more from learners as to the direction to take to make the most impact in terms of Indigenous learners feeling like they belonged in our building. We found that the work could NOT just be done with STUDENTS as learners. We also know that TEACHERS are learners in this case. We realized that the best guidance is to take best practice for classrooms and also apply it to adults/staff (instead of class profile, it became a staff profile).

Next steps include continuing with the learning journey and the full implementation of Standard 9 within all NDSS classrooms. Securing Elder Sandra Good as Elder in Residence for NDSS was imperative in ensuring the work is done authentically and respectfully. We also need to include parents and families in on this learning we are all doing. We know that families and community are integral for student success, also, so they need to be included in learning.

School Name: Ladysmith Secondary

School District: SD#68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith

Inquiry Team Members: Brenda Kohlruss: brenda.kohlruss@sd68.bc.ca
William Taylor: wtaylor@sd68.bc.ca
Jesse Winter: jesse.winter@sd68.bc.ca
the Late David Hope
David Travers: dtravers@sd68.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: brenda.kohlruss@sd68.bc.ca

II. Inquiry Project Information

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Transitions Study

Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Post-secondary

Curricular Areas Addressed: Other: Mental Health and Attendance

Focus Addressed: Indigenous understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Social and emotional learning

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Having Elders in the school to encourage Indigenous learning, Indigenous learners, a sense of place and belonging, and attendance.

III. Spirals of Inquiry Details

Scanning: We noticed that the Stz’uminus students in particular are separate from the rest of the students. We noticed that the less visibly Indigenous students often chose not to identify as Indigenous. Coming from the place that our students are the centre of our focus, and the Indigenous principle that learning involves developing relationships, we decided we needed MORE connection. Stz’uminus students were on the outskirts, and Indigenous students were not proud.

Focus: We decided that we needed the greatest wisdom to help us bring our students closer. We have a place in the school, so we asked Elders to come more often. We hoped their wisdom would enlighten both the school and the young people. The greatest wisdom lies within the Elders and the teachings they carry.

Hunch: I feel that the culture of what is important learning is what we have been working against. We need great strength to change the momentum. What learning, curriculum and assessment look like can be very different when viewed through not only an Indigenous lens, but an Indigenous Elders’ lens.

New Professional Learning: The new professional learning we explored consisted of the teachings brought to us by the elders. We asked in Elders who spin, Elders who weave, Elders who do sacred work, and even young people who do traditional work in our longhouse. The separate Elders who came had some similar and some very unique teachings.

Taking Action: We listened to our own Elder to guide us in who we needed to ask in next. Each Elder and knowledge keeper was asked in for a specific purpose and remunerated (given a handshake). We gave a loose question or purpose, then let the Elder lead us. We made sure that we had water and tea or coffee and a snack available for when the Elder came in. Then we would buy the Elder lunch and eat together. Often the best teachings were at lunch. We followed our own teachings of making sure our guests had the best we had to offer. Students also walked with the Elder; this meant watching for them as they came, lending an arm without being asked, having a comfortable chair with arms ready, having the snack and beverage brought to the Elder,  walking the Elder out when all the visiting was over, and making sure not to rush. We didn’t abide by bells or schedules – the Elders’ visits were more important than anything else.Photo description: This photo shows William Taylor (LSS Teacher), qap’u’luq (John Marston – Stz’uminus Artist), yutustana:t (Many Jones – LSS Elder in Residence), Mary Peter (coworker of Dolly’s and not quite an elder), and Dolly Sylvester. John Marston sometimes worked at the school as a result of an Art Starts grant. He came to hear what Dolly Sylvester wanted to share with yutustana:t and the students. Dolly and John led a conversation about cedar baskets. The students introduced themselves in hul’qum’i’num and greeted each other – this is all done in a circle. In the circle of students are Stz’uminus students, other Indigenous students, and non-Indigenous students. They were proud of themselves and their accomplishment in front of a true, fluent speaker of hul’qum’i’num. And they were impressed with how she spoke and were eager to learn from her. So were all the adults. Fluent hul’qum’i’num speakers are rare now. It was a beautiful morning.

Checking: There have been differences. I see Stz’uminus and non-Indigenous students mixing more often. I see non-Indigenous students and teachers giving great respect to the rich teachings brought in by the Elders so frequently. The teachings are spreading further through the school. Students and teachers are more aware of these teachings personally – interacting with Elders rather than learning about these teachings as a side-note. There is much work that has been done to promote Coast Salish teachings, and much more yet to do.

Reflections/Advice: We noticed that some of the young people that carry the traditional knowledge, and are still learning that knowledge, were also very effective. They were “cool” or as they say now “slay”. They were just as strong for Stz’uminus students seeing the strong base they really have to call upon. The young knowledge keepers are also important, but the strength of the Elders remains the strongest part of our work. We would like to continue to ask in Elders and knowledge keepers. They urge all of us to remain strong.