For the past several years, DeBeck staff and students have been focussing on finding ways to create a sense of belonging for all members of the community.  In June 2023, student surveys revealed:

• 92 % of students shared they have one or more friends at school​. 
• 87% of students have at least one trusted adult at school who they can turn to.  This is a 12% improvement from the previous year.​ 
• 96% feel that they are treated with kindness at school. 

At our first staff meeting of the year, we shared this data with the staff. We asked them to work in small groups to look at this data to help us determine a focus for the year. Overall, staff observed that students feel more connected to each other at school.  We wanted to take that feeling of connectedness one step further and we posed the question, what does it look like and sound like when we are connected to our learning (staff and students)? 

We used a Making Thinking Visible Strategy called, "What, So What, Now What."     Some highlights from our small group and whole staff conversations around connection and student learning included:

• A desire for more hands on learning with flexible materials accessible for all students
• A need for manipulatives and resources in every classroom 
• A wish for collaboration time to plan ways to meet the diverse needs of our students

Our work with connection, kindness and belonging is never done. It will be an important part of the fibre of DeBeck.  But for the 2023-2024 school year, we are going to begin to zoom in on how we can support students in feeling connected to their learning.  What might happen if we focussed on a curricular area and ensured there were entry points for all students to share their understanding?  How would this focus on connection to curriculum impact students' social emotional well being?

Our next steps to support our school wide focus:

• Student interviews and surveys about their learning
• Inventory and purchase manipulatives for every classroom including loose parts, math manipulatives and books 
• Collaboration time for staff