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: 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

Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Intermediate (4-7)

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), Experiential learning, Flexible learning, Inquiry-based learning, Land, Nature or Place-based learning, Social and emotional learning, Transitions

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? To build social, emotional and cultural connections for priority students in Grade 6 to foster a sense of belonging and community within the school.

III. Spirals of Inquiry Details

Scanning: We had discussions/check-ins with students during their first few months at middle school. We noticed a need to increase social and emotional connections for these students. We considered the first people’s principles of learning through experience to build these relationships. We included support staff of certain students to participate in these activities to encourage learning in the process and when the students return to their classes.

Focus: We noticed that many of our past Indigenous students took a few years in some cases to feel a sense of belonging at school. We thought if we were able to offer social, outdoor/cultural and artistic experiences with their peers this could potentially foster a greater sense of belonging. We were hoping to encourage strong friendships and dependable relationships with staff members that are a daily part of their school life.

Hunch: Learning through experiences and doing activities promotes a stronger connection with the world around you. This is an Indigenous principle of learning. We wanted to explore the idea that our students would build better relationships with staff, one another and connections to the school through these activities. We thought if we focused on a smaller number of kids who needed priority attention, this program could offer them these opportunities.

New Professional Learning: We collaborated with outside agencies in the community: inclusive arts, local hiking trails and significant geographical locations, and businesses that support physical literacy. We referenced the Spiral of Inquiry handbook regularly to stay on track and checked in as a team to debrief after each day out.

Taking Action: We provided feedback to classroom teachers about the day, and they followed-up with students to check-in. This encouraged additional connections. We wanted to include support staff in our activities to build the relationships between our students and the people they work with every day. Prior to each activity, students met in the Indigenous room for a snack and we provided them with a space and time to connect with each other. We mixed up the groups when we transported them to introduce them to other school mates and familiarize everyone with one another in a safe space.

Checking: We noticed that once these series of activities were complete, students checked in with us on a very regular basis and voluntarily. They accessed our programs and resources on a more regular basis. They were also easily engaging with one another because they had made new friends and were familiar with one another and this space.

In a group sharing circle, students shared how much they enjoyed hanging out with us and each other, and how much fun they had during our activities. We even had other students seek us out to see if they could participate in the next one.

Reflections/Advice: We learned that small groups often foster stronger connections. We would like to continue offering these focused groups to our more priority Indigenous students. Our advice is to collaborate! There are many local businesses, resources, and staff willing to think outside the box and offer options to students in need. Just start the student list and schedule a few activities and revise along the way:)

School District: SD#83 North Okanagan-Shuswap

Inquiry Team Members: Anne Tenning: atenning@sd83.bc.ca
Jaime Russell: jrussell@sd83.bc.ca
Sandra Major: smajor@sd83.bc.ca
Theresa Johnson: tjohnson@sd83.bc.ca
Kaeli Hawrys: khawrys@sd83.bc.ca

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

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Transitions (focus on Indigenous learner transitions)

Grade Levels: Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Area(s): Applied Design, skills & Technology, Physical & Health Education, Social Studies, Other: First Nations perspective and cultural activities

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, First Peoples Principles of Learning, Flexible learning, Growth mindset, Inclusion and inclusive instructional strategies, Indigenous pedagogy, Inquiry-based learning, Land, Nature or Place-based learning, Social and emotional learning, Transitions

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Can we better prepare Indigenous students in grade 8 at SMS before they make the transition to Jackson for grade 9 (and be successful in secondary, and feel a better sense of resilience and belonging)?

Scanning: We started by surveying our students to see if they see these principles alive and thriving in our school as a start. Building an awareness of what this concept is and how students can connect it to their own identity is critical. If we could incorporate greater principles based on the Aboriginal Ways of Knowing and Being, could we then foster a greater sense of belonging that would increase graduate rates?

Many students said their cultural learning came from activities we hosted at the school. Some students could relate what we do here to what they experience in their Indigenous community events. Others said the things we do here remind them of their Indigenous family members, some of whom they haven’t been able to see lately with Covid. Many students said the activities helped them to feel connected to their culture and we used the Grade 8 Health and Wellness conference to get feedback again. It was important for us to keep checking in to see how the learning was landing and our efforts/projects were being received. We also met as a team on a monthly basis to check-in on a professional level.

Focus: We selected SMS because Indigenous students transition into this school for grade 6, and they transition out at the end of grade 8 to attend a Jr. Secondary for grade 9/10 and then a Sr. Secondary for grade 11/12. All of these transitions create inherent vulnerabilities that become apparent in secondary when some students really start struggling in school, and potentially leave school – as demonstrated in our grade-to-grade transition rates and graduation rates.

We also wondered the effect of integrating the Indigenous principles of learning at a greater level, through peer mentorship and community involvement and support in the education system; would these factors influence our Indigenous student’s success in academics and sense of belonging to the school community?

Hunch: Yes, we think if we ask grade 9’s how prepared they felt, what they wish they would have known, etc. We feel a survey or feedback sheet could accomplish this. How and when would it be delivered?

We started by surveying our students to see if they see these principles alive and thriving in our school. Building an awareness of what this concept is and how students can connect it to their own identity is critical. Our hunch was that if we could incorporate greater principles based on the Aboriginal Ways of Knowing and Being, then a greater sense of belonging could be fostered that would hopefully increase graduate rates.

We wondered what percentage of students look forward/feel prepared to going to Jackson, compared to feeling worried/nervous/uncertain about this transition.

New Professional Learning: Some members of our team took the Ripple Effect of Resiliency self-paced course with Monique Gray Smith. We also worked through her book with a Grade 7 class that ended the year with a reconciliation-based Secwepemc language project around the school, complete with QR codes for students to hear the language.

Some members of our team participated in the Strong Minds Strong Kids mental health training. We followed this up with a 6-week Resilience group of selected Grade 8 Indigenous learners and joined other grade 8 students from another school site. This focused on resiliency strategies and peer connection to aid in the upcoming transition.

We also interviewed past students that are in high school or now graduated to gain further insight and alter our approach if necessary. (We have an Indigenous grad panel that was recoded as part of the Indigenous in-service day on Nov. 20, 2020)

We have either initiated or participated in several community-based projects in which students have been active participants: Xqwiyelltsem Soup hut (SMS initiative), Secwepemc landmarks (community participants), Fishing program (SMS initiative), painting workshops and school based cultural activities (collaborative) with outside organizations. As professionals on the frontline, we have been revising and collecting feedback through classroom forums on a regular basis to check in on engagement and effectiveness of programs (e.g. soup hut, fishing, and painting workshops). The landmark program involves collaboration and planning across high schools, colleges, and at the community level.

Taking Action & Checking led to further projects such as the Grade 8 Heath and Wellness conference. This involved 200 Indigenous and non-Indigenous Grade 8’s, participating in a conference based on Indigenous principles of wellness. We used the opportunity to collect student reflections on this type of learning. The feedback was awesome! Kids commented on feeling calm, the value in connecting with nature, and the hopefulness they felt when knowledge keepers shared their personal journeys. It was a very validating day for our students and for us as professionals when reading the feedback.

Taking Action:
– Arrange planning and check-in days once a month.
– Do the activities based on the “Hunches” and reflect.
– Do more of what is working and less of what isn’t.
– Check-in again.

As Indigenous Education workers, Kaeli and I had the direct line to cultural activities and the times slotted with students and in classrooms. It was a natural fit time-wise for us to execute the activities and do the planning. More often it was us reporting to the team and our supervising VP (Sandra), TRC ally teacher (Jaime), and District Principal of Indigenous Education (Anne), supporting us and offering insight. The whole process was very professionally validating.

We have a weekly schedule where we are in classrooms at least one block a week. Classes with higher numbers of Indigenous students get more time. This is when we will schedule specific cultural activities with teachers if requested, support our students academically, or offer an Indigenous perspective on the lessons. It’s inclusive learning for all when possible. Our room is also open every lunch except Wednesdays when we run a school community soup hut (and feed 200+students). The big idea is that we take care of the community. It’s been a First People’s teaching since time immemorial.

Re-evaluating has allowed us to focus on additional programming such as the Resiliency group, an 8-week cooking with culture program, and the Indigenous grade 8 conference (for all grade 8s), among other activities.

Schedule/plan, DO IT, report, Schedule/Plan, DO IT, report.
Allowing time for the above is important for everything to run and function well. It also ensures we are on focus and the activities are well supported by everyone.

Checking: This inquiry project has exceeded our expectations. We tended not to quantify with reports and documentation, but rather with reflection and round table discussion because so many of the activities and connections to learning were relational and experiential. The students can tell stories about the learning that has stuck with them. The evidence of their learning is out in the community (Secwepemc Landmarks), on the school walls (Language Project), through relationships (cooking program and resiliency program), and physically feeding them (Community Soup hut and daily Indigenous programming). Our time in classroom offers academic support and the above mentioned activities offer the social/emotional and cultural aspects. The reflection activities at the end of the year were meaningful way to gauge feedback/evidence.

Reflections/Advice: Be flexible and ambitious! Covid changed some of our transitional activities so we had to roll with the punches. It was a good exercise in modelling resilience to our students. Planning, doing the activity, and having reflection time afterward, are all equally valuable parts in collaborative projects.
The experience is worthwhile! Your school community will be more inclusive because of it.
Thank you for all the hard work Inquiry partners!

School District: SD#83 North Okanagan-Shuswap

Inquiry Team Members:Noah Ralston nralston@sd83.bc.ca
Katherine Ralston kraslston@sd83.bc.ca
Sam West Swest@sd83.bc.ca
Alexa Klassen akllassen@sd83.bc.ca

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

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE

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

Curricular Area(s): Arts Education, Language Arts – Oral Language, Social Studies

Focus Addressed: Aboriginal understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), Indigenous pedagogy, Social and emotional learning

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? How can we transform physical learning space (indoor and outdoor) to enhance indigenous cultural perspective?

Scanning: Our Indigenous Support Worker led the students through lessons on the medicine wheel and teachers extended these lessons in their Social Studies Classes.

Focus: We wanted to create a structure that brings Indigenous Perspectives into our school. The Indigenous Learning Circle will do that. It will be something that kids will play on and use in their classrooms each day. We want our students and staff to understand what the medicine wheel represents and how it connects to a balanced healthy life.

Hunch: Students will be more reflective and intuitive when it comes to understanding their choices in life. The balance of emotional and spiritual and physical well being should be taught and understood when things are out of balance. As a team we have always tried to teach self regulation skills to our students but this needs to be continued.

New Professional Learning: Our TRC was great in helping us gather ideas for this inquiry project as well as our Indigenous support worker, Nicole. It was great as a staff to develop a rich plan involving so many aspects of learning for our Indigenous Learning circle.

Taking Action: 1. Teach the principles of Indigenous people
2. Teach the medicine wheel
3. Create an artistic representation of one aspect of the medicine wheel (plants, seasons, directions)
4. Community build a circle of 28 concrete logs outside in the playground.
5. Attach wood for benches across the top
6. In September each class will be given a direction/section of the wheel
7. Each class, using printmaking principles, will make a symbol or art form representing their section. We will make pictographs of the image on the concrete tubes.
8. Using rocks we will create a mosaic of the animal of each section.
9. We will erect a plaque that states the philosophy and educational connection of our learning circle.

Checking: The students love the circle but have had very little time to use it. the construction will be done soon. we are very satisfied with our circle, I think it is the nicest in the district.

Reflections/Advice: Our learning was deep and ongoing, it connected to students in every grade level. Next we will make pictographs to decorate the concrete posts. Then we will make a rock mosaic of our animal. Then we can use it as a learning circle. Next time put the sauna tubes deeper in the soil.

School District: SD#83 North Okanagan-Shuswap

Inquiry Team Members: Shannon Murrells-Allaway, Teacher-librarian & project head: smurrell@sd83.bc.ca; Candy Martel, also project head & grade 4 / 5 French Immersion teacher: cmartel@sd83.bc.ca ; Jared King, vice-principal: jking@sd83.bc.ca ; Geneviève Duclos, grade 4 / 5 French Immersion teacher: gduclos@sd83.bc.ca ; Valerie Morin, grade 4 / 5 French Immersion teacher: vmorinl@sd83.bc.ca ; Sandra Eustache, SD83 Indigenous Inquiry Teacher: seustache@sd83.bc.ca ; Isabelle Larouche, Quebec author: ilarouche@gmail.com

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

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE

Grade Levels: Intermediate (4-7)

Curricular Area(s): Arts Education, Language Arts – Literacy, Language Arts – Oral Language, Language Arts – Reading, Language Arts – Writing, Social Studies

Focus Addressed: Indigenous understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Community-based learning, Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), First Peoples Principles of Learning, Indigenous pedagogy, Inquiry-based learning, Self-regulation, Social and emotional learning

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Creating a tri-lingual community collaborated Indigenous-like story-telling book (French, English, Secwepemc)

Scanning: In reading the “Four Key Questions …” and scanning and checking, this was not a project designed to touch base with students individually, but rather as a group. The teachers, however, did often discuss “Where are you going with your learning” and “How are you doing” as part of their introduction to the unit, and then formative reflection. The “where to next” question was part of the end-of-project group reflections of how the unit went but very brief due to June year-end. We made connections with community members and specifically local indigenous members and asked ourselves at the end of the project: “How can we continue to learn about our local, BC, national, and world indigenous cultures?”

First People’s Principles of Learning:
– The story-telling and story-creation unit included the following areas:
learning supported the well-being of our community and the land – our project aimed to bring local Indigenous people to our students to share Indigenous culture and stories, specifically about local animals and the context they live in.
– learning was reflexive, reflective, and relational – students were invited to blend Indigenous stories and culture they learned from our three guest speakers as well as from reading various Indigenous stories and then blending that with their own scaffolding of story-telling skills
– learning involved recognizing the consequences of one’s actions – by choosing various animal characters that represented basic human characteristics such as leadership, fear, greed, inquisitiveness, diplomacy, etc. the students reflected on common human interactions and how they fit into or did not fit into those common interactions
– learning involves generational roles and responsibilities – because some of the animal characters also represented older, wiser personalities, the students thus explored the wisdom an experienced or “elder” personality can bring to a context or situation
– learning recognizes the role of indigenous knowledge – the goal of the project was to learn about indigenous knowledge through our three guest speakers and reading indigenous stories
– learning is embedded in memory, history, and story – our guest speakers and the teachers discussed these principals with the students
-learning involves patience and time – this collaborative story writing project took most of the school year, and many brainstorming sessions, as well as draft after draft after draft of actual writing and then of creating the images: patience and time was discussed and experienced often!
– learning requires exploration of one’s identity – I’m assuming the students reflected on the animal characteristics and contemplated how they were similar or different to those personalities.
– learning involves recognizing that some knowledge is sacred and only shared with permission and/or in certain situations – we had some great discussions with students about our learning through the shared knowledge of our guest speakers, and how that knowledge and those stories were gifts, and that we had permission to use that knowledge to create our own stories. As adults in the project, we discussed cultural appropriation and how to navigate the goals of our story writing project in an ethical manner. I believe we accomplished that goal.

Focus: The students and teachers chose to pay particular attention to personalities associated with specific indigenous animals from the Secwepemc and Sioux cultures (our guest speakers’ backgrounds) and the style of indigneous stories. Our project goal was to have our students create a story style similar to an indigenous one whereby there are often personalities that need to experience change and growth, and that there is often a moral (learning opportunity) to a story.

Hunch: I would say that for three French Immersion classes with few Indigenous students in the class that the hunch process was about reflecting on the personality traits of the animals and looking at the similarities and differences of how humans in general relate to those characteristics, as well as how individual students connected or did not connect with those personality traits..

New Professional Learning: The team used the First Peoples’ Principles of Learning, parts of the 4 Key Questions for Scanning and Checking, and the Spirals of Inquiry. This was a strong framework to work from: it encouraged us to personalize the goals and content, and continue to make us and our students more reflexive and reflective learners.

Taking Action: The First Peoples’ Principles of Learning, the 4 Key Questions for Scanning and Checking, and the Spirals of Inquiry involved pedagogy we have always used to some extent as teaching professionals, but these guidelines made us explore more fully (or perhaps even new areas of teaching) pedagogy areas such as asking students what and why they are learning during the learning process, also the reflexive and reflective piece for students and making sure we took time to navigate this part of their learning and certainly continuing our learning through the lens of indigenous knowledge and principles.

Checking: The project goals were to experiment with and create an indigenous type story incorporating local animals as well as include local Secwepemc and Sioux indigenous type characteristics in the story. We aimed to have a tri-lingual story: French, English, and Secwepemc. We further wanted to connect our French Immersion students with some local community indigenous members to learn of their stories and culture. There were also language arts (the writing process) and art learning outcomes, as well as collaborative work goals. We didn’t work from a baseline and that initial versus post knowledge and skills would have been interesting to compare. We were very excited about our end product of the book with three class stories in it in three languages! We believe students did enrich their indigenous cultural knowledge as well as developed writing and collaboration skills.

I do believe we could have done a more formal reflective practice with the students during as well as at the project closure: “the 4 questions” could have been our guiding reflections. We verbally reflected with students on their connections at times, but I’m unsure if there was a formal process. While we did end on “Where to next” as the adult team members, I don’t know if we did that question with our students and that would have been a great question for all of us to explore. The project pushed into June which becomes a very demanding month for wrapping up projects, field trips, year-end ceremonies, etc., so other priorities began to push at staff and students. It would have been nice to formalize the reflective process. Overall, however, the project and experience appeared to be an amazing journey and we’re very proud of our end-product book.

Reflections/Advice:If other schools were wanting to do this project, it is a large undertaking and needs a full year to a year and a half to coordinate. You need a dedicated team of adults taking on various roles – coordinator(s), accountant, grant application writers, project designers, guest recruiters, etc.. You need time and flexibility for meetings and dedication to communication at all stages. Overall, I believe our team needed to formalize the reflexive /reflective process more and to have considered working from the “Four Key Questions that Matter.”