Building on our learning from last year, student voice has been at the center of our learning and school story. It was important for us to create a space where student voice could help us to better understand what was needed to support connection at our school and inform our next steps. 

This year, the Connection Crew was formed. The Connection Crew consists of many Grade 6 and 7 students and we meet weekly with the Librarian, Principal and Vice Principal. The Connection Crew consists of sub-categories, allowing students to engage in leadership in a way that is exciting for them. For example, some students participate in morning announcements, others are part of the Art crew, and other students are responsible for planning our monthly assemblies.  

We use this time to hear from students about what issues are important to them and shed light on blind spots that we may have as educators. For example, before the break, students shared that they felt students of many ages were having challenges solving problems in respectful ways. Together, we then used this as the driving force and focus for our January assembly. In order to establish common language in our school, we focused on determining the size of the problem and the problem-solving wheel to help foster strategies to support students moving forward.  

Creating this safe space where students can share their thoughts and take ownership over the needs of our school, has been extremely powerful.