School Goal Two
Enhance the capacity of staff and students to create and maintain respectful, accessible learning environments by developing an inclusive mindset within students and staff.
How might we continue to address inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility at NSMS?
At North Saanich Middle School, we know that inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility are foundational to learning and leading, and are critical to success, well-being, and personal growth. As a learning community, we are committed to ensuring that all our students, families, and staff feel welcomed, are treated respectfully, and have a sense of belonging. Our students reflect on their middle school experience through the completion of our Hawk Face and the Student Learning Survey. Staff have determined areas of personal and collective growth with the help of our School and District Teams as well as an inclusion and anti-racism consultant. Together we are committed to building our capacity to increase students’ social, emotional, and academic growth.
Our goal aligns with the district strategic priority to promote mental health and well-being through social emotional learning and trauma informed practice.
This goal and focused inquiry question aligns directly to the district strategic priority in Global Citizenship. Additionally, our intended approaches are deeply connected to First Peoples Principles of Learning.
Yearly Hawk Face Check In with students - 2022 data
- 79% of students indicating a strong sense of belonging and connection
- 16% of students indicating a sense of belonging and connection
- 5% of students indicating support needed to improve sense of belonging and connection
Yearly Hawk Face Check In with students - 2023 data
First Peoples Principles of Learning
The Global Citizenship Goal needs to ensure that:
- Learning requires exploration of one’s identity;
- Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors; and
- Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focus on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place).
The goal aligns with the Indigenous Education Enhancement goal: W̱SÁNEĆ, other First Nations, Metis and Inuit students and understanding of mental and emotional wellness.
To reduce barriers and promote wellness, we have reorganized our counselling model this school year and increased accessibility for students and families. Part of promoting wellness is honouring and listening to our student voice. To receive feedback regarding how students feel at school, students express their thoughts and/or concerns through our Hawk Face reflection process every spring. Appropriate measures are in place to support students who require follow-up. Students also participate in providing input on their school experiences through the Student Learning Survey. Staff are engaged in ongoing professional development to enhance their capacity with language and strategies related to the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility. We have created a Welcome Wall that represents all languages spoken in our school community. This shows our continued commitment to honour diversity and create a more inclusive environment.
Our goal aligns with the district strategic plan goal to promote Mental Health and wellness through social emotional learning and trauma informed practice.
Over the 2023-24 year, we will track progress on our initiatives identified in this year’s plan.
At school, do you get to work on things you are interested in as part of your course work?
Do you feel you have a choice about what and how you learn?
Summary learning, based on evidence gathered over the year, will provide us with key learnings to guide next steps for the 2024-25 school year and beyond.
