I. General Information
School Name: Mapes Elementary School
School District: SD#91 Nechako Lakes
Inquiry Team Members: Jennifer MacDonald: jtmacdonald@sd91.bc.ca, Sam Dargis: sdargis@sd91.bc.ca, Kira Watson: kwatson@sd91.bc.ca, Candace Lawrence: clawrence@sd91.bc.ca
Inquiry Team Contact Email: jtmacdonald@sd91.bc.ca
II. Inquiry Project Information
Type of Inquiry: SRL Case Study
Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Primary (K-3), Intermediate (4-7)
Curricular Areas Addressed: Language Arts – Oral Language
Focus Addressed: Self-regulation
In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? We’re helping students become stronger communicators and team members by supporting their critical and creative thinking. By focusing on building positive relationships, we’re creating a foundation for meaningful learning and collaboration.
III. Spirals of Inquiry Details
Scanning:
In fall 2024:
Of 49 students who were asked, 47 students could identify 3 or more adults who care about them and 2 students chose not to respond.
In spring 2025:
Update not available at this time. Data is collected once per year in the fall.
While students were able to form meaningful connections with adults at Mapes Elementary, many found it more difficult to communicate and build relationships with their peers. At our school, we believe that learning is about more than just academics — it includes personal growth, hands-on experiences, and building strong, respectful relationships with others and with the world around us.
Focus: This year, we continued our collaborative forest project with our three classes, bringing students together in multi-age groupings. Last year, we focused on helping students grow their communication and collaboration skills. This year, we built on that foundation by introducing creative and critical thinking. By including the thinking competency, we aimed to deepen students’ communication skills and support them in forming stronger, more meaningful relationships through teamwork and shared experiences in the forest.
Hunch: At Mapes Elementary, we believe that when students and staff are able to manage their emotions and energy levels—what we call self-regulation—they are better able to communicate, work together, and think clearly. That’s why we focus on teaching and practicing self-regulation skills every day. By helping everyone feel calm, focused, and ready to learn, we support stronger relationships across our school community. We also recognize that learning is about more than academics. It supports the well-being of each person, their families, the community, the land, and those who came before us.
New Professional Learning:
• Monthly teacher collaboration planning sessions
• NOIIE monthly collaboration check-ins/conference networking
• SRL group online (idea sharing/networking)
• 4 Seasons Indigenous Learning Course
• Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature – Book by Jon Young
• John Muir Laws Virtual Workshops – Learning in Nature
• NVSS Collaboration Trail Building – SD#91 teacher collaboration/student networking
Taking Action: In the forest, students have chosen and created their own special “sit spots” — places where they can return to reflect, observe nature, and feel calm. We’ve explored what makes a good sit spot, practiced sound mapping, and observed the seasonal changes around us. This approach honours Indigenous ways of knowing and helps students build a deeper connection with the land.
Students have also participated in geocaching, locating and creating hidden spots around the forest. Through these experiences, we’ve seen growth in communication, collaboration, and creative and critical thinking. These skills are helping students build stronger, healthier relationships with each other.
We’ve also noticed new friendships forming across age groups, and our open-door policy continues to support this. Students can move between classrooms to find learning spaces that best suit their needs—including self-regulation. This kind of learning is hands-on, reflective, and grounded in relationships—with each other, the land, and our community.
Checking:
• nature journals, sit spots, reflections with students
• monthly observations of student interactions in colour groups
• anecdotal community feedback
• staff feedback on student interactions during unstructured times
As a staff, we were very satisfied and motivated to continue this journey for a third year to see the learning come full circle to encompass personal and social growth through intentional learning at a deeper level.
Reflections/Advice: We’ve learned that meaningful learning takes time, patience, and self-discovery. Shifting from a classroom setting to the forest opened up new opportunities for students to grow. Some students felt right at home in the outdoor environment, while others stretched outside their comfort zones—and both experiences were valuable. Having a consistent part of the experience, like the people, the place, or a shared task (like themed scavenger hunts), helped students build confidence and feel supported. We found that working in steady groups helped form strong, respectful relationships between students of different ages. We’re so proud of the journey we’ve been on this year and are excited to continue building on this work. Next, we’ll focus on helping students grow their personal and social skills—supporting them in better understanding themselves and how to relate to others in positive ways.