I. General Information
School Name: χpey̓ Elementary
School District: SD#39 Vancouver
Inquiry Team Members: Jennifer Sebastian, jsebastian@vsb.bc.ca; Mary Leman-Viggers, mlemanviggers@vsb.bc.ca; Bernadette Milton, bmilton@vsb.bc.ca; Laura Treloar, ltreloar@vsb.bc.ca
Inquiry Team Contact Email: ddelorme@vsb.bc.ca
II. Inquiry Project Information
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, Social Studies
Focus Addressed: Indigenous understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), First Peoples Principles of Learning, Transitions
In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Identity.
III. Spirals of Inquiry Details
Scanning:
- How to teach language as we are an urban Indigenous school – teach only in 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, the Indigenous Ed. department.
Focus: We selected Identity because we felt that this was an important focus for our students. We want the students to be able to know who they are and where they come from, as students. It is important for all students to know their story and to be able to share their story with others.
Hunch: Many students require knowledge and support surrounding their identity. There needs to be a focus on learning their stories and being able to share them with others. Student experiences vary, but I believe it will help them with transitions into high school.
New Professional Learning: I started late with this group. The focus was around Identity and how to support our students with this focus; this was done through various discussions with each other.
Taking Action: Wholistic Indigenous Learning Framework
– The framework was reviewed (both the survey and the rubric)
– We 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
Checking: This is just the start of this transition plan for our students; it was however a good start. Families need to be included in this overall plan. The goal is for all students to feel included, represented and find their place in school.
Reflections/Advice: I learned that this is a plan that changes over time and may look different. It should be one that is inclusive and represents all students.