I. General Information
School Name: McGirr Elementary
School District: SD#68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith
Inquiry Team Members:
Kim Dawson, E-J Boyd, Michele Kraft, Laurel Lovstad, Tanya Peace, Leah Paziuk, Jeff Schultz, Kris McDonald, Bob Brooks, Andrea Doak, Tamara Mark, Carla Nickel
Inquiry Team Contact Email: kdawson@sd68.bc.ca
II. Inquiry Project Information
Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Case Study
Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Primary (K-3), Intermediate (4-7)
Curricular Areas Addressed: Other: SEL
Focus Addressed: Social and emotional learning
In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? How can we ensure we all have a sense of belonging.
III. Spirals of Inquiry Details
Scanning: We had a hunch that all our students did not have a sense of belonging at our school. This was confirmed when approximately 30% of our students could not identify 2 adults that believe they will be successful in life. We also found that approximately 5% of our students did not feel that they are given the opportunity to express their thinking. Most of our students had difficulties connecting what they were learning with the core competencies. We understand how learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational. Our findings showed we needed to seek knowledge, explore options and take action to ensure all our students feel supported and have a sense of belonging.
Focus: Our school has grown steadily over the past years, welcoming learners from all over the world. We have over 20 languages spoken at our school. Engaging in a group inquiry, we hoped that our students would experience more joy, which would hopefully lead to feeling accepted, valued, and a sense of belonging.
Hunch: The steady growth of population and the high number of languages spoken made us think that not all our students could feel a sense of belonging and connectedness.
New Professional Learning:
– “Ensouling our Schools” by Jennifer Katz: Together we read and discussed the text. An in-depth discussion of Universal Design for Learning, mental health and well-being, and reconciliation and Indigenous perspectives were explored.
– School based professional development days were designed; SEL a school-wide approach and SEL through the arts.
Taking Action:
Activities to ignite joy:
*Creating assignments that allow for different forms of student expression
*SEL learning programs supported throughout the school
*Nature Mandala – school-wide nature project inspired by the Coast Salish spindle whorl
*Personal “Joy” artifact project and Joy parade
*Joyful learning stations
Checking: A survey was conducted in the fall and spring. The data has shown moderate growth towards feeling a sense of belonging and more of our students expressed having two adults in the school who believe they will be successful. Staff have offered many joyful opportunities which have positively influenced our students and staff. We are definitely on a positive path and we look forward to continuing with this inquiry next year – 2024/25.
Reflections/Advice: We quickly realized that this inquiry will continue next year. We hope to take our Nature Mandala project into the community; an art installation at a local beach access, is our dream. This would help connect our school community to our neighborhood community, and to our local Indigenous community. By continuing to build community through joyful experiences, we hope to enrich the lives of our students, staff and families.