FERRIS HEART : NUMERACY AND LITERACY CONNECTIONS

2023-2025 School Focus: HEART- Math Sense of Self / Literacy Connections

Ferris will continue developing a cohesive school-wide approach to Social Emotional Learning using our HEART MATRIX  during structured 'playdates'; in conjunction with delving into how our HEART focus can positively impact the social and emotional engagement of students by collaborating, creating,  and supporting  math  and literacy rich learning environments that value connection, confidence, and critical thinking. We have applied for two key Inquiry Grants to support our learning journey:

Literacy

At Ferris Elementary, a strong emphasis is placed on developing students' literacy skills through a variety of targeted strategies and practices.  Teachers are utilizing formative assessments to gauge individual progress and guide their lesson planning. These assessments allow educators to identify specific areas where students need additional support, such as phonemic awareness, vocabulary development, or comprehension skills. By using this data, teachers can adjust their strategies in real-time, ensuring that each student receives personalized attention that aligns with their learning pace and style.

Additionally, Ferris Elementary employs a balanced literacy framework that integrates reading, writing, speaking, and listening in a cohesive manner. This approach encourages students to engage with texts in multiple ways, allowing them to deepen their understanding and broaden their communication skills. Strategies like shared reading, interactive read-alouds, and guided reading sessions are regularly incorporated to promote fluency and comprehension. In writing, the school utilizes a process-oriented approach, where students are guided through brainstorming, drafting, revising, and editing. Teachers provide structured feedback throughout these stages, helping students refine their writing while fostering a growth mindset. This cycle of continuous improvement ensures that literacy skills are not only developed in isolation but are embedded within authentic, meaningful contexts.

Finally, Ferris Elementary places a strong emphasis on creating a literacy-rich environment both inside and outside of the classroom. Teachers  incorporate a wide range of texts, including both fiction and nonfiction, that reflect diverse cultures and perspectives. This helps foster an appreciation for literature while promoting critical thinking and discussion. The school also utilizes technology to support literacy development, incorporating educational tools and resources that enhance engagement and learning outcomes. For example, digital storytelling and online collaborative writing platforms allow students to express their ideas creatively while building digital literacy skills. These collective efforts at Ferris Elementary ensure that students are not only proficient readers and writers but also lifelong learners with a deep understanding of language and its many applications.

Numeracy/Math:

This inquiry Social engagement encourages collaboration-- by focusing on shared math language and communication, we hope to foster a collaborative environment where students learn to discuss strategies, explain their thinking, and respect others' ideas. This strengthens social bonds, encourages teamwork, and helps students feel part of a math-learning community. In such a community, they start to see their peers as resources, which can create a sense of shared responsibility and mutual support. This reduces feelings of isolation and makes learning a group effort, reinforcing positive social interactions.

Emotional engagement boosts confidence and positive Identity by emphasizing growth mindsets and focusing on building foundational skills (such as multiplication).  We hope this helps students feel successful in math and as they develop their math skills and overcome challenges, they gain confidence in their abilities, which reduces math anxiety and fosters a more positive identity as math learners. We want to reduce fear and increase enjoyment by creating a supportive environment where mistakes are viewed as learning opportunities rather than failures encourages students to take risks without fear of judgment. This leads to a more enjoyable experience in math class, which can increase students' willingness to participate and engage emotionally.

We plan on incorporating inclusive practices (UDL and DI) by allowing multiple means of representation that will provide different ways for students to engage with math concepts (using visuals, manipulatives, math games) and also provide multiple ways to present information to make the learning more accessible. Students will be encouraged to demonstrate their understanding in different ways (drawing, number talks, models, digital representations, etc).  Various methods towards problem solving is nurtured and encouraged. We also aim our instruction to build on student strengths—and we believe that building strong foundational math skills allows them to better develop their math competencies. We want to carefully plan out student grouping to facilitate peer support and scaffolding or to provide more direct small group instruction based on needs. We plan to incorporate thinking classrooms to promote group work, sharing of ideas, risk taking, and active engagement. Shaheen Musani, our teacher consultant will be supporting us through this.

Playdates (with HEART in mind):

The inquiry grant we applied for focuses on addressing the question: How can we use the Ferris HEART framework, combined with school-wide guided playdates, to foster students' social and emotional well-being? This grant will allow us to offer inclusive, choice-based activities that promote emotional safety, social connection, and community building. By integrating ideas from Hannah Beach, Spirals of Inquiry, and the First Peoples Principles of Learning, we aim to create a supportive environment where every student feels valued and engaged. The grant will enhance social-emotional learning and also strengthen relationships across our school community.

2020-2023 School Focus

In 2022/23, Ferris will continue developing a cohesive school-wide approach to Social Emotional Learning. We have applied for and received an Innovation Grant to continue to investigate our two key inquiry questions:

1. If we develop a cohesive SEL framework, will it positively impact the social, emotional, and intellectual engagement of students?

2. How can we support the growth of our students in the area of Personal Awareness and Responsibility?

Since the 2019/20 school year, the staff at Ferris has identified SEL as a key focus for our students and a main area for professional learning. This compliments and supports our School Story and Focus which centres on the Core Competency of Personal Awareness and Responsibility (self-advocacy, self-regulation and well-being).

The following SEL indicators have been identified by Ferris staff as being areas of focus for growth:

1. Explicit SEL Instruction

2. Authentic Parent/School Partnerships

3. Staff and Student Well-Being

Over the past three years, we have worked with Connie Easton (Curriculum Coordinator for SEL) and have built our capacity to implement strategies that support SEL in our classrooms. In the Spring of 2022, Connie Easton conducted focus groups with students from four classes with teachers participating in our inquiry project. We found that students in these classes could articulate a strong understanding of the importance of SEL and their own efforts to identify and regulate their emotions. The data we have collected has encouraged us to continue our inquiry for a fourth year, with a greater emphasis on implementing more SEL strategies school-wide.

2018-2020 School Focus

How can we support the growth of our students in the area of Personal Awareness and Responsiblity?

Personal awareness and responsibility includes the skills, strategies, and dispositions that help students to stay healthy and active, set goals, monitor progress, regulate emotions, respect their own rights and the rights of others, manage stress and persevere in difficult situations. Students who demonstrate personal awareness and responsiblity demonstrate self-respect and express a sense of personal well-being.

1. Self-Advocacy          2. Self-Regulation         3. Well-Being

2017-2018 School Focus

The Core Competency of Social Responsibility

Helping our students to build more personal connections with both students and adults in the school, and to develop a stronger internal motivation and understanding of our HEART Matrix.