Continuous School Improvement Annual Report ~ 2013 -4 ... · School Health site-based survey questions related to “healthy self, healthy relationships and healthy environment”,

Parrsboro Schools share a beautiful piece of green space at the top of King Street, overlooking Main St. and the town of Parrsboro. Approximately 300 students from Parrsboro, and local areas including Five Islands, South-hampton, Wards Brook, Port Greville and Diligent River attend our P-6 and 7-12 schools. Approximately 60% of our students are bused.

We are fortunate to have a diverse, talented and very caring staff which consists of 19 teachers, 1 School Coun-sellor, 3 Administrators, 3 Educational Assistants, 2 Administrative Assistants, 3 Custodians, 1 part-time Librarian at PRHS and community volunteers sup-port the Elementary library.

Declining enrollment has caused a re-duction in staff and consequently im-pacted the number and variety of

courses offered at the high school. PRHS has managed to include a range of courses designed to meet the needs, abilities and interest levels of all of our students. Some of the new courses this year include Math 11 at Work, Business Tec 11, Agriculture and Food 11, Leader-ship 12 and Visual Arts 10. With the new provincial classroom cap this year, PRES has re-configured Grades P-3 into Primary, Grade 1, Grade 1/2, Grade 2/3 to ensure that all P-3 classes remain at or below 20 students.

Students at the high school are sup-ported by Student Services, with a 60% School Counsellor, Resource Teacher, Youth Health Centre and School Nurse,

T h e n e w P R S w e b s i t e , www.prhs.ccrsb.ca is in the re-building stages and will be a window into stu-dent life at both Parrsboro Schools.

S C H O O L A N D C O M M U N I T Y

S C H O O L A D V I S O RY C O U N C I L

Both PRES and PRHS were well repre-sented and supported in 2013-4 by the School Advisory Council, with 14 mem-bers meeting monthly throughout the school year. Reports were provided by teacher reps, administration, PRHS Student Council and community. This year we created a sub group, the Dream Team, to explore funding op-portunities through local, regional and provincial grants. We look forward to supporting many school-based student projects and initiatives through suc-cessful proposals. Some of the agenda

items throughout the year included: CSI—goals & action plans, report cards, student achievement—assessment, school maintenance and upgrades, staffing, course offerings at PRHS, school-community events and partnerships, student and school needs and many other interesting and pro-active topics. Many thanks to all members of the SAC as we begin another year of excit-ing growth and possibility at both PRES and PRHS.

Inside this issue:

School and Community - Who we are

1

School Advisory Council 1

Safe and School Environment 1

Assessment Results 2

Student Engagement 3

Professional Development 3

Additional School Supports 3

Planning for Improvement 4

C o n t i n u o u s S c h o o l I m p r o v e m e n t A n n u a l R e p o r t ~ 2 0 1 3 - 4

PARRSBORO REGIONAL SCHOOLS

SCHOOL CREST/SYMBOL

Safe and Inclusive School Community

With a daily focus on positive rela-tionship building and the importance of strong connections, Parrsboro Regional Schools students and staff are working towards a kinder , safer and more inclusive school commu-nity. The power of words and ac-tions are addressed throughout the school, through both formal and informal messages. We truly believe in, model and promote a restorative approach to difficult situations and provide students with support and a safe learning environment.

CCRSB students participate in provincial and board-wide assess-ments. The information gained helps us determine our next steps in improving student achievement in Mathematics and Literacy.

These results indicate the percentage of students who met expecta-tions on the assessments.

P R OV I N C I A L , B O A R D A N D S C H O O L A S S E S S M E N T R E S U LT S

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PARRSBORO REGIONAL SCHOOLS

CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT

Teachers at Parrsboro Regional Schools assess students on a daily and ongoing basis. We measure student progress as it relates to the course outcomes in a variety of different ways. Teachers continue to use quizzes, tests and projects as a form of final evaluation re-ferred to as “Summative Assessments”. They are more apt to use quizzes, presentations, conversations, or in-class assignments, re-ferred to as “Formative Assessments”, to pro-vide supportive feedback to confirm student progress. As you may be aware from conver-sations with your child, teacher, and/or by visiting the PowerSchool Public Portal (https://sisccrsb.ednet.ns.ca/ public/) these assessments are not included in a student’s Final Grade, they are simply used to provide direction for student learning. Assessments are connected with the out-comes associated with each course. CCRSB is following the lead of the Department of Edu-cation and Early Childhood Development in the use of Achievement Levels(1-4). This form of feedback is a precise method to inform students of their strengths and challenges within the course. For example, if a student receives a mark of 1, the lowest Level, for a particular outcome, they have demonstrated a limited knowledge and understanding and are to review the content and concepts again. If a student receives a mark of 4, the highest Level, they have demonstrated they have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the content and concepts of the outcome. Teach-ers have found these recording process very beneficial for students as they have instant feedback and are aware how to achieve greater success in the course.

Parrsboro High School and Parrsboro Elementary offer students a vast array of extra-curricular activities in addi-tion to a very successful high school athletics program. At PRES, Grade 6 students par-ticipate in the D.A.R.E. Pro-gram, the Green Team and

the Annual Yard Sale. Upper Elementary student opportunities also in-clude Hoops For Heart, Doors For Change and Y Girls-On The Move while P-3 students take part in Jump Rope For Heart. Full school events include the Milk Energy Fair, Ship’s Company productions, Terry Fox Run/Walk and many more special school-wide events. At the high school levels, student leadership development is a priority. Students enhance their

skills and interests through Leadership Groups such as the NSSSA, Student Council, Healthy Relationships for Youth, Youth Action Team, iCAN after-school program(adventure activities for Grade 7-9 girls), Yearbook Club, Green Team and many more . Teachers and community vol-unteer leaders support, encourage and chal-lenge our youth to grow through both academic and extra-curricular experiences.

This year PRHS raised awareness around posi-tive relationships through “The 7 Keys of Excel-lence”. The ultimate goal is to promote and celebrate healthy, life-long learners.

8. School Advisory Council

9. Home & School Association

10. Librarian - PRHS

11. Library Volunteers - PRES

12. RCMP Community Officer

13. Breakfast Programs

14. 2 Administrative Assistants

15. Community Partnerships-Lions Club,

ArtLab, Ship’s Company, YMCA,

Community Health, & the Museum.

At Parrsboro Regional Schools we have a

number of additional supports provided

to improve student achievement:

1. P-3 Early Literacy Support (ELS)

2. P-12 Program Support Teachers

3. 3 Educational Assistants

4. Learning Centre Teachers

5. 7-12 School Counsellor

6. School Psychologist

7. Speech-Language Pathologist

S T U D E N T E N G A G E M E N T - H I G H L I G H T S O F T H E Y E A R

A D D I T I O N A L S C H O O L S U P P O R T S

sessment, Evaluation, and Reporting guidelines making our grading system more consistent throughout both schools. Some of the PD that individual and full staff par-ticipated in this year include:

Power Teacher Gradebook /Report Cards

New Curriculum Support PD & Mentoring (Math, Health…)

Canadian Boy Learners

Student Services –TIENET, ELS, PST...

Technology—”Insight”

School Emergency Codes

Staffing/Scheduling

Assessment

Ongoing teacher PD elevates and supports effective in-struction and assessment, providing our students with challenging and relevant learning experiences. Cur-rent, research-based and timely PD has a direct im-pact on student success.

P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E LO P M E N T The 2013-4 school year marked year 1 of the Parrs-boro Schools Continuous School Improvement (CSI) process. Staff spent many hours, through professional development sessions, staff meetings and ongoing pro-fessional networking/conversation, creating the Goals, and collaborating on the 3-year Action Plan.

Teachers have worked to-gether to apply CCRSB’s As-

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to

awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." - Albert Einstein

I

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“The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire not

things we fear. - Anonymous

PROGRESS REPORT—2013-14

This academic school year marked the beginning of the Department of Education’s Continuous School Improvement (CSI) program. Parrsboro successfully completed a similar process, Accreditation, in 2012-13. Throughout the first few months of the year the teachers connected during professional develop-ment sessions and during staff meetings to explore student achievement data and to discuss the needs of Parrsboro students. After much discussion and deliberation two goals were devised, one based on Academics and one based on Climate.

CSI Goals: 2013-2016

Academic Goal: Parrsboro Regional Schools students will demonstrate a 5% increase in oral language proficiency (skill and confidence) as measured by school-based assessments/rubrics by June 2016. Performance (Climate) Goal: To increase, by 5%, the frequency of positive responses to Comprehensive School Health site-based survey questions related to “healthy self, healthy relationships and healthy environment”, by June 2016. Both goals are closely aligned to our schools’ concern for healthy pro-active relationship building within the total school community. Whole self health has a positive correlation with increased student/teacher performance and the effective and the successful functioning of schools is strongly connected to the depth of the relationships of the stakeholders. Strong oral language skills contribute to personal confi-dence, independence and academic success, impacting greatly on the foundation of any relationship, enhancing open communication.

2013-14 Action Plan: Common Strategies to Achieve These Goals. Once the CSI goals were created, teachers collaborated on designing a series of implementation strate-gies. Baseline data for increased oral language proficiency was measured through grade level appropri-ate rubrics and school-based assessments. In the classroom, teachers focus on formal oral language experiences such as class presentations, debates, answer articulation and assimilation with an emphasis on building confidence and skill. A survey was developed and used to provide base-line data on the “comprehensive school health” of students and staff in three main areas—self, relationships and envi-ronment. The CSI action plan is fluid and will constantly evolve. We will continue to reflect upon what has been done, what’s currently working well and collaborate on how to effectively achieve our goals.

C O N T I N U O U S S C H O O L I M P R OV E M E N T

“There is no system in the world or any school in the country that is better than it’s teachers. Teachers are the lifeblood of the success of schools.” Ken Robinson