I. General Information
School Name: Prince Rupert Middle School
School District: SD#52 Prince Rupert
Inquiry Team Members:
kerri.levelton@sd52.bc.ca
Lori.leighton@sd52.bc.ca
Sheryl.Proskiw@sd52.bc.ca
lori.burger@sd52.bc.ca
Inquiry Team Contact Email: kerri.levelton@sd52.bc.ca
II. Inquiry Project Information
Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Transitions Study
Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Intermediate (4-7)
Curricular Areas Addressed: Not applicable
Focus Addressed: Social and emotional learning, Transitions
In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? To have our incoming students from grade 5 and their families gain a greater sense of community.
III. Spirals of Inquiry Details
Scanning: We noticed that the grade 6s didn’t have a sense of community or belonging coming into our school. We also noticed that some parents did not have a connection or only came into complain.
Focus: We were hoping to have better behaviour and pride in our school from the grade 6’s. We also were wanting families to feel valued and comfortable as part of our school community, and we want our current students to be leaders in this process.
Hunch: Since Covid, we have noticed that we needed to rebuild connections and we needed to find new pathways to rebuild these connections. In using our grade 6 and 7 students, we are building positive interactions between grade groups. We have noticed since Covid that parents also have a mistrust in the school system and we are hoping to repair these connections by having them more involved and not just for parent-teacher interviews.
New Professional Learning: We attended Indigenous Implementation Day which focused on connection/belonging.
Taking Action: This spring we had 4 opportunities for the grade 5s to connect to our school before they begin in September as grade 6s.
1) Grade 6 Teachers visited the elementary schools and met with their current grade 5 teachers.
2) School Tours: Students were divided into small groups and toured around the school by the current grade 7. They were on a scavenger hunt to find certain areas of the school.
3) Family Night: Students and families of grade 5 students were invited for a barbecue, and they visited different places in our school to familiarize themselves within the school and with the adults in the school. We also took pictures of them as the “I” in kind and put them up on the bulletin board in September.
4) Activity Day: Grade 5 students visited the grade 6 classrooms and did activities with the classes. They drummed, ate, played games, built and drew. This familiarized them with the grade 6 teachers and the grade 6 students who would be in grade 7 in the fall.
Checking: We have seen positive changes as the grade 6 students were more comfortable with the school at the beginning of the year. We have seen an increase of involvement from school staff as they lead the activities. We have also seen an improvement in student behaviour at the beginning of the year. This year, we have kept track of the students that have attended the events so we have real data and not just anecdotal.
Reflections/Advice: Next year, we will continue with all the opportunities for the grade 5s to feel comfortable.
We will also have more open houses for parents/families.
1) Meet the Teacher (which hasn’t happened at the Middle school for many years)
2) Parent/Teacher Connections (interviews)
3) Family Craft Night
4) Family Game Night
5) Other ideas from teachers to help get parents involved
We will also get parents feedback and input.
We need to do a survey to see if students think it made a difference in their behaviour.
We will also start a behaviour log to keep track of students’ behaviour.