March 1, 2023
Action Plan For Learning
Jody Carrington
The district presented a night of prod given by Jody Carrington. The whole staff loves her delivery and content, but most of the staff were running student inclusive conferences and unable to attend. Normally I would wait until we worked through the prod as a staff before speaking to it, but I feel much of what she covered this time is already understood by us and implemented in our systems and
culture.
Jody spoke about acknowledgement and how acknowledging a student is THE most important thing you can do for them; she added, “When you are seen, you rise.” She also explained that you can’t address what you don’t acknowledge. To acknowledge a student means temporarily suspending judgement and giving them time and space to describe what they are going through and how they are feeling. This also provides you an opportunity to better understand the context of the situation, which is essential to being able to engage with empathy and compassion.
We are constantly employing strategies to support students emotionally in a way the allows them to feel seen and heard or acknowledged. We know that when a student is upset the best thing you can do is give them the time and space to calm down and the listening ear when they are ready. This approach means our classrooms have a space students know they can go to calm down until they are ready to talk and an adult ready to make time to listen when they are ready. Because the whole staff have this approach and it has been in place for quite some time, students are less likely to shift into the red zone, rather they know now to go somewhere to calm down first; which has significantly impacted our school culture in a positive way.
Student Inclusive Conferences
Our new format of reporting through conferences led by students has been going swimmingly. Feedback from staff, students and care givers has been focused on their appreciation of being able to use work done in class that speaks to the comments being made by the students and the teacher about the student’s learning. This format gives students a voice and ownership of their education, it gives care givers context and a clearer understanding of what the child is able to do, and everyone has the opportunity to acknowledge the student’s efforts and support them in setting and achieving their goals for term three. This format of reporting truly contributes to a community of communication that is focused on putting students and their learning first.
Truth and Reconciliation
Len Pierre – Transformative Land Acknowledgement
A couple of weeks ago we spent an entire day focused on learning with an Indigenous lens. I described a lot of that learning in my last blog. It was a powerful day that moved the staff. Some of that learning was quite heavy and difficult to unpack. At the end of the day, I suggested to the staff that we dismiss; this would give us time to think about the content and prepare to discuss it at the next staff meeting. I was surprised when they all objected, they felt an urgency to unpack their learning in that moment. The ensuing conversation was transformative, as individuals and as a collective.
Although, there were several things we talked about, the one I am going to share with you was focused on the land acknowledgement. We recognize the great work being done at Wix in this area of our walk towards truth and reconciliation, but more importantly we recognized the work we have done is because we have Ms. Miller who is generous enough to lead us in our learning. We also recognized that we still have a ton of work to do in terms of land acknowledgement.
Len Pierre provides an amazing amount of information about this topic, so I returned to his resources to further my understanding. Len explains that Indigenous people don’t see land as something to be possessed, or bought or sold, but something to live in unity with. It’s not about the land per se, it’s a territory, or relationship to the land. Indigenous peoples used the land to live and returned to the land when they died. They believe when you walk on the land you are walking on their ancestors, and they want to be able to protect their mothers and fathers of the past. Having a territory where your ancestors are, where your celebrations take place, where you find sustenance to live is enough to call it home. So, Len Pierre asks, when you go to visit someone else’s home for dinner, do you not thank them as you are leaving? Isn’t that what good neighbours do?
In addition to recognizing that you are on someone else’s territory, it is also important to do an acknowledgement to ground yourself before engaging in activity. Doing this provides the opportunity to show gratitude and recognize that Indigenous peoples have been on this land a long, long time. Also, it reaffirms our commitment to reconciliation and provides space to exercise humility, curiosity and kindness.
As doing the acknowledgement has become more common, we need to be cognizant of making sure it doesn’t become performative or empty in meaning. Some may wonder why we continue to do it; isn’t once enough? No, actually, it’s not. Len Pierre says that our fair, progressive, kind, multicultural state operates on a foundation of state violence towards Indigenous peoples, residential schools that were operational as recently as 1996, genocide and bio warfare (eugenics), and that is only the beginning of the list which includes land theft. Understanding fully the oppression Indigenous peoples live with gives us the context we need to exercise empathy, see Indigenous people for who they are and engage in acknowledging the territory we are so fortunate to gather on each day in a genuine way that honours and upholds the people of the Matsqui, Kwantlen, Katzie and Semiahmoo nations.
So, knowing the value of acknowledging the territory, the staff decided that it is important to us t
Click to see the video of the reveal.
hat people entering our building know that we value the privilege of being able to work, learn and play on the Matsqui, Kwantlen, Katzie and Semiahmoo territories. We also wanted Ms. Miller to know that we recognize the importance of this because of her, and we wanted to show her how grateful we are to
be able to walk alongside her on our journey towards truth and reconciliation. We made the decision to post the land acknowledgment in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ in the window above the front door and framed it with cedar boughs. To the right is a photo. If you click on the photo you can watch the video of revealing it to Ms. Miller.
Wix Daily
We have a group of students who have decided to share what is going on at Wix, as well fun facts and book recommendations. A big shout out to Mette, Alice, Cristian and Bentley for putting this together. It is so great to see the students wanting to share to and about our community! Wix Daily
Diversity Equity And Inclusion
Anti-Bullying
This week’s learning was led by Ms. Peach and Ms. Skrynnikov. One of the books they used to teach was One by Kathryn Otoshi.
One tells the story of Blue, who was being picked on by Red who became bigger and more powerful the more he picked on Blue, and the other colours as well. None of the other colours liked Red and the way he treated Blue, but they were afraid to stand up for them.
Until One (the number 1) came and stood up to Red, and other colours realized that they had the power to be upstanders and defend their friend Blue. All the colours, including Blue learned to be courageous and strong and stand up to Red, making him feel small and less powerful.
Click to hear the story.
However, Red is not villanized; Blue teaches him that “Red can be hot, and Blue can be cool too” and is encouraged to join the other colours (now numbers). The story ends with all the colours being friends despite Red being mean and the other colours being afraid.
This book reminds readers that everybody counts and is a great tool for facilitating conversations with kids about inclusion, acceptance & courage.
The story highlights the message that when one person is brave and confident enough to stand up to a bully, their actions can give others the courage to stand up alongside them. It also illustrates how much the actions of one person matter – both the positive that comes from a person doing something kind or brave, as well as the negative from a person treating someone else poorly (such as being a bully).
Cultural Diversity and Anti-Racism
Click on image to hear the story.
Ms. Little and Ms. Skwarok led the learning for our anti-racism week. They talked about what each word in cultural diversity means on its own and together. Using the book, All Are Welcome, they explained to students that
there are things you can see and not see about culture, and then had the students do a reflection (drawing- primary or writing – intermediate) about their own cultural identity.
The specific lessons provided by teachers like those listed above were only enhancing the learning that was already going on in the classrooms. Wix teachers did an amazing job of weaving the content related to our diversity, equity and inclusion focus to regular classroom instruction and discussion. It takes courage to lead this learning at the school level and at the classroom level, but our staff engaged in this important content without hesitation, and doing so lends itself to our work in being a space where everyone feels seen, heard (or acknowledged) and inspired to engage in high levels of learning with joy.
Freedom To Read
Below is a message from Ms. Peach, our school’s Learning Commons Teacher.
Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which has guaranteed them under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Students of Wix Brown are very fortunate to have a diverse, age-appropriate collection of reading material that represents everyone in our school community. It is extremely important to us as a staff that all our students be represented in our library collection and that all students have access to those books. This is an ongoing process and will continue to be a priority for the learning commons as the school community changes every year. Having a diverse age-appropriate collection offers excellent opportunities for our students to learn about each other and to share those learnings with family at home.
Students have also been learning about books that have been challenged or banned in Canada. Here are some examples that might surprise you!
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
This reversal of the princess/prince/dragon story was challenged for violence and for being anti-family, as the princess rejects the prince in the end. The publisher asked Robert Munsch to change the ending before publication, but he refused. The challenge was rejected, and the book remains on library shelves still today.
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
This classic picture book has been challenged for being “too dark”, having witchcraft, supernatural elements, and a child who yells at their mother. It was also challenged because Max, the main character, was sent to bed with no supper which was considered by some as cruel punishment. The book remains on the shelves of libraries today.
The Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling
In 2000, a parent complained about the presence of these popular fantasy novels in an elementary school. The parent objected to the depiction of wizardry and magic and the school principal ordered the books’ removal from shelves for a very short period. The series was eventually returned to shelves as the series grew in popularity.
Please check out www.freedomtoread.ca for lots of information and resources on Canadian’s rights to intellectual freedom.
District News
Online Safety & Digital Wellness Session (For Parents & Educators)
UBC is hosting this session on March 27th around Connecting Online Safely and helping parents and educators help youth cope with and develop healthier approaches to social media, the internet, cyberbullying and more. The session is open to anyone to attend either in-person or virtually through Zoom. Pre-registration is required. Please go to the link below for more details and to register:
https://alumni.ubc.ca/event/connecting-online-safely/
Budget Consultation 2023-2024
Want to have your say on the District’s budget for 2023-2024? The Langley School District is inviting students, staff, parents/guardians, and all members of the public to take part in its Budget Consultation 2023-2024 by completing this 5-minute survey here or providing feedback by email to budgetconsultation@sd35.bc.ca. All survey and email submissions will be accepted until March 31, 2023.
The data gathered will help provide our District Leadership staff and Board of Education with information needed to make decisions impacting education. The District is sharing videos and an infographic located on our webpage which may be helpful to you. For more information as well as translated versions of the survey, please visit our District webpage here.
Up Coming Dates:
March 8 – Early Dismissal (1:08) Student Inclusive Conferences
March 9 – Early Dismissal (1:08) Student Inclusive Conferences
March 10 – Talent Show 10:45 – 11:45 and 12:45 – 1:45
March 10 – Last Day Before Spring Break
March 13 – 24 – Spring Break
March 27 – School Re-opens
March 29 – Grade Seven Bake Sale
April 7 – Good Friday – Not In Session
April 10 – Easter Monday – Not In Session
April 14 – Anything But A Backpack Day
April 21 – Hot Lunch
April 26 – Grade Seven Bake Sale
May 3 – Grade Six Immunization
May 12 – Hot Lunch
May 17 – Grade Seven Bake Sale
May 18 – Backwards Day
May 19 – Pro D Day – Students Do Not Attend
May 22 – Victoria Day – Not In Session
May 26 – Zone Track And Field Meet – McLeod Park
June 8 – Wix Wind Up Party 4 – 6:30
June 16 – Poppy Grad Walk
June 21 – National Indigenous Peoples Day
June 23 – Grade Seven Poppy Tour
June 29 – Last Day – Early Dismissal
June 29 – Final Report Card Published