It sure didn’t seem like June when I visited Davie Jones Elementary last week.  All the classes were still fully engaged and working so hard.  It was inspirational to see how all students were participating in a number of activities including in one class where they were each teaching one another.

a great lesson on life cycles

In another class, the teacher was using a game of Jeopardy to engage the students in their learning and I couldn’t believe how excited they were about getting the right answers.  I also noticed some outstanding team work as they competed to answer correctly against a clock.  Fun +Learning=Remembering

All that was missing was Alex Trebeck

Once again I was introduced to so many things that students and staff were proud of.  I had coffee and unbelievable food at break to celebrate a birthday and just left feeling that there was such a great school spirit and culture in this school that kids were positively going to meet with success there.

As always I got all the inside scoop from not only one tour guide but a second tour guide who clearly got all the attention every time we entered the room.  There was no doubt that these tour guides were definitely part of the larger school “family”.  Thanks for fun times Davie Jones.

thanks so much to both of you!

Annually in SD 42, hundreds of grade 4-7 students take part in a District Track Meet held at MRSS in June.  For as many years as I can remember, the grade 4’s and 5’s get rained on and the grade 6’s and 7’s get sunshine.  I was really impressed though that through rain or shine the kids and all the teachers who sponsored or helped out had fun and made it a memorable day.  Thanks to all the adults who assist in all the various events and the district planning team for all that they do to make this such a success.

a great handoff in slippery conditions

nobody stops due to rain

the only dry guy in the place

head guy prepares for rain. thanks by the way!!!

June is a month of celebration as we look back over the year and honor and recognize people for their efforts.  I have been part of many great events over the last while that really make us proud as a district.  There will be many more to come as the school year comes to a close.

The Aboriginal Awards Ceremony had over 500 people come together to celebrate the successes of our Aboriginal student population.

Dinner was served in the gym at THSS by the Culinary Arts students and then once dinner was over everyone moved to the Rotunda for certificates and awards presentation.

Special attention was paid to the grade 12 students for their role in modeling hard work and achievement of goals.

We have worked hard over the years to build relationships and honor and appreciate the Aboriginal culture and it was great to see all this culminate in a true partner celebration.

grade 12 Aboriginal students at the Awards Ceremony

Mount Crescent Elementary celebrated many years of staff and students as they brought over 300 people together to share and reminisce  prior to the schools official closing in June.  It was great to see adult students reconnect with their teachers from many years ago.  Generations of students were there and class pictures dating back over 40 years ago were pasted on the walls for people to view.  Our very own Mayor of Maple Ridge found himself in a sporting bow tie in a grade one photo from the sixties.

getting reacquainted after many years at Mount Crescent

students reconnecting with teachers from years gone by

Riverside took a different approach to allow folks to celebrate and honor their school prior to the official closing in June.  An ambiance of fun and laughter was created as parents, staff and district folks contributed to a fun fair for all.

community gets involved with celebrating Riverside Elementary

a tug of war just for run

Something that all students were very proud of and is a long lasting “stamp” on their time at Riverside was the “handprints” that every student has left in the cement at the entrance to the school.

Recognizing and honoring our staff in the district is also a very important opportunity that “walks the talk” of our Mission, Vision and Values in our district.  This spring we have honored and recognized people who have worked in the district for 20 years and 35 years.  Next week we will also be recognizing all retirees as they move off to a new phase of life.

We have so many people who have given most or all of their working career to our district.  We thank all of them for their endless commitment and dedication to our system as a whole.

group photo for the 20 years of service celebration

some of our 35 year staff with friends and family

more 35 year honorees

There will be many more things to celebrate and write about between now and the end of June.  Grads begin for all High Schools tomorrow and over the next few weeks all schools will begin to shut down for the summer break.  Stay tuned.

From the minute I arrived at Webster’s Corners I was treated to a level of enthusiasm like none other.  My tour guides began with a real excitement around showing me their school.

We went to the Kindergarten class first where they performed a song about butterflies that was done to the tune of Jingle Bells.  Each of them could read the words to the song and they all belted it out as loud as they could.  They prceeded to show me the real butterflies that they had raised from caterpillers and invited to me to come with them to “let them loose” that afternoon.  I was so amazed at the details that these little five year olds knew about the evolution of the butterfly.

singing their butterfly song!!

The next class I visited also involved singing but in this case it was a group of three students who chose to represent their learning by writing a song.  It  was obvious that they had learned a great deal about our history through the words of the song.  What courage it took to sing the song in front of me but for these students it seemed easy.  Proudly they performed their song and demonstrated how much they knew while their teacher assessed for learning.

3 budding song writers

As I toured the school I came upon a couple of our Maintenance folks painting the school and felt it was worthy to include them in this Webster’s Corners story.  We so often forget to take the time to recognize and honor our empoyees who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make things great for kids.

thanks guys!!!

From Fine Arts to Phys Ed, it was obvious that both of these very important areas of instruction are embraced at Webster’s Corners.  While visiting the class in the gym, I was witness to all students prepping for their lesson in gymnastics.  The lesson was being taught by a guest gymnast from the community.  The kids seem to love it.

the beginning of gymnastics

Finally, the classic of the entire day and the piece that represented the “feel” of this school and the incredibly personable people inside the school came with the picture of my tour guides.  They insisted on having their picture taken with the thing that they felt best tells their story of the uniqueness of their  school.

thanks to my tour guides,,, not to mention the goats

Last week I had an invite to Laityview Elementary School.  A grade 3 class decided they wanted to show me all they knew about using computers.  This was really exciting as usually I am the one who schedules the visits so having kids contact me because they were so excited to show me their work was especially gratifying.

I arrived at Laityview  to  see the entire class engaged on computers.  They had planned exactly what they wanted to show me and the first part was the music that they had composed.  Using a program on the computer, the students each wrote a song.  A few students demonstrated their songs while the others gathered around and danced to the music.  The thing I kept coming back to as they were walking me through all that they knew, was the fact that these students are only in grade 3.  They knew way more than I did about programs and applications and how to access information.  It confirmed my thoughts that the students of today are different than those in the past and that as educators we will need to adapt to these new skill sets that students are bringing to school.

I wanted to really thank these students for spending time with me and inviting me into their classroom.  These “hands on” experiences for me keep me grounded and in tune with the skills and attributes that our students have.

thanks for the visit and the education

One other program the students were working with was a photo tool that allowed them to see how animation and video production of movies like “Avatar” are made.  Some of these students were beginning to put their work together into their own little shows.  As I was leaving they asked me if I would post the “stretched picture” they took of me and their teacher on my blog.  Of course I said yes as I think that we should always be able to laugh at ourselves.  However……………

cute heh! I can only imagine where this is going to end up

Each week as I visit schools, I am always amazed at the variety of new ideas and focus areas each school seems to embrace.  My visit through Hammond reminded me of the number of choices and opportunities that are available throughout this district even at the elementary level.

As always I was met at the door by the two students who have “volunteered” to tour me around the school.  The minute they begin it is so obvious that they thoroughly enjoy every minute of their (in most cases) final year in elementary school.  Whenever that is the case we often spend time on the tour talking about what it is going to be like for them in High School.

One of the “choice” programs from our district is the Montessori program which is currently running at Hammond Elementary.  These students in the Montessori program are completely integrated with the other students in Hammond and the only difference can be found in the Montessori teaching and learning pedagogy in each of the classrooms.

A visit to a Montessori classroom

One of the other ways I am always able to get a sense of the school is by looking at the work that is posted around the hallways.  Hammond was no exception to this rule as there was some outstanding artwork on display throughout the hallways.  The theme of much of this work aligned with the school’s code of conduct and focused on peaceful, respectful communities.

a sample of some of the outstanding artwork

Moving along in the school we dropped by the gym where yet another Hammond tradition was going on.  A student led aerobics session was being taught to many of the rest of the students in the school as they went about their Daily Physical Activity regime.  I was so impressed by the enthusiasm of both the student instructors and the students in the class

The Aerobics instructors in action

the wooden structure that symbolizes the school's history

Every time I visit a school I am amazed at how each one has a unique set of experiences for students in sd42.  On my visit to Alouette this week my tour guides were quick to point out their garden, the laptop program, cyberschool, and the mini middle school that operates for grades 6’s and 7’s.

We started the tour with a complete story behind how this school has such a nice garden at the entrance.  When I asked the question, of course the answer revolved around the passion of a teacher.  The students knew the plant names as well as how to care for the garden which is developed and maintained by a different class every year.

one of several gardens as a school beautification project

The next stop on the tour was a visit to the laptop classrooms.  At Alouette, as with many schools around our district there is a one to one laptop program where every student in the class has a laptop to assist with not only writing, but researching and other 21st century skill development.  We are starting to really see some learning gains in these laptop programs so will continue to try to expand over the years.

students independently working on their laptops

Impromtu visit to the kindergarten class allowed me to see one way that DPA (Daily Physical Activity) is being implemented.  All students were doing their “exercises” while being led through a series of moves on a DVD.  They were so excited and it was clear to see how doing physical activity not only engages the students but sets them up with a clear brain for the next learning activity.

Daily Physical Activity (DPA) in Action

Two other unique features of Alouette Elementary were:

• the cyberschool where students attend some days and work at home via connection on the internet on some days and
• the mini-school project where students in grades 6 and 7 rotate through a series of specialty courses much like you would in the grade 8 Home Arts or Fine Arts rotation

Both of these programs demonstrate once again the variety of opportunities that are offered to students around the district.

As always I want to end this section of my blog with a huge thank-you to the students who took time from their day to tour me around their school.  They did so with such pride.

The Mission Statement of Alouette Elementary

This week, my school to visit was Highland Park Elementary in Pitt Meadows.  In usual fashion I was toured through the school and introduced to all students and teachers.  My tour guides as always were outstanding and showed tremendous pride in everything about their school.  Of particular excitement was the upcoming Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  If you have never attended one of these musicals put on by Highland Park, I would highly recommend that you get out to the ACT this week and see this in action.  It is unbelievable that students of this age can put on a production of this magnitude.  Every student in the school will in some way play a role in this show and you must see it to believe it.  Call the school for tickets and you are in for a treat.

my tour guides standing in front of part of the set

Following the in-debth tour of all things related to the upcoming musical, the second area of focus brought to my attention by my tour guides was the commitment the school had made to being socially responsible.  The motto of “Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe” was everywhere to be seen.  Reminders of what this type of behavior looks like were posted all around the school as you can see in the following picture.

one of many reminders of what being socially responsible should look like

As I continued my tour around the school I visited many classrooms where students were totally engaged.  We even took part in a kindergarten “get fit while learning” activity where singing jumping and laughing were part of the fitness regime.  In one class we were able to participate in a math activity where students were figuring out how to do fractions using their actual attendance data.  Once I arrived it changed the numbers so students began to show me how they could recalculate using new information.  Lots of engagement and enthusiasm to demonstrate their math skills.

not only did Math Make Sense but Math Was Fun

As always I would like to thank all of the folks at Highland Park for making my visit the best part of my day.  I will see you all at the Friday matinee of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  Break a Leg!!!!

nothing but fun at the primary cross country!

Elementary Cross Country Meet ran this week both at Alouette Lake for Intermediate and at Albion Sports Complex for the primary students.  Primary were luckier with the weather and the parking.  We will be working to try to solve the parking issues at Alouette Lake for next time so that parents and students can begin on time. 

Removal of District Portable happened this week as the parking lot at District Office was put back to its original state of many years ago.  Some people had difficulty parting with this big ugly sight as it had been “home” for them for many years.  The rest of us are happy to see it go and wished it well as it made its way to a new home.

one last hug as it left the property

“ Love is All “was performed by the Garibaldi Integrated Arts program and I must say once again, it was outstanding!!!  It was Beatles music to the max performed by students, staff and other various adults.  For the Wednesday show, over 80 Garibaldi alumni came together for appies and a show.  Well done as always.  I hope the people in the community know the level of professional performances that are right at their doorstep.  No need to go to the Arts Club Theatre as the level of performance is the same at Garibaldi Secondary.  Way to go!!!!

Once again, the highlight of my week was my visit to a school, this time on the far east side of our district.  I had a great tour of Whonnock and was amazed and impressed with the culture at this school.  It is different from the other schools I have been to in that they were very much engaged in the environment pervasively across all classrooms.  I saw, worms, tadpoles, chicks that had been hatched from eggs, and many other “creatures” being studied.  The students were all very polite and extremely respectful.  Lots of smiles, lots of introductions and just very friendly overall.  I really appreciated how everyone really welcomed me into their classroom and all had a story to tell.  It really spoke to the pride that they have in their school.  Thanks also, as always, to my tour guides who gave me all the details of their school both inside and out.

they are sooooooooo cute!!!

performing 3 Billy Goats Gruff just for me

my tour guides - proud of their school