Background Information
SCHOOL NAME: Margaret JenkinsGRADE CONFIGURATION: K-5
ENROLMENT NUMBERS: 400
School Context:
École Margaret Jenkins School (EMJS) is a dual-track (French Immersion) school situated in the Fairfield neighbourhood in Victoria. Many students at this school come from middle to upper-middle socioeconomic backgrounds, however the demographics are shifting to a more diverse group of students . Approximately 30% of our students are from Out-of-Catchment. Margaret Jenkins has an enrolment of 400 students in 2011-2012, offering instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 5 in English, and French Immersion.
We have a long and rich history, with Margaret Jenkins School first opening in 1916. We are proud of our vibrant sports and Visual Arts programs and the wide variety of extra-curricular opportunities offered in areas such as cross country, chess, soccer, basketball, dance, swimming, and mountain biking. Our school purpose is to create a safe, caring climate where learning will flourish. Our Code of Conduct focuses on developing a respectful, responsible, and safe learning community for all at Margaret Jenkins.
Summary of Progress 2010/11 Goals:
In an effort to explore 21st Century Learning in a deeper and more meaningful way, last year our staff and SPC decided to pursue a goal to improve student creativity. Our target was to have our staff test one or more of the creativity instructional tools with their classes, taught to them at two Professional Development sessions in the fall of 2010. This target was met and half of those teachers reported out on the creativity tools they used and the response by their students. The first term was spent defining creativity collectively as a staff and exploring various instructional approaches to increasing creativity in students. In January we developed and administered, a Creativity Student Self-Assessment based on the research of creativity expert Paul Torrance. One self-assessment was created for primary students and another for intermediate students. This gave us a baseline of data that we were able to compare with a second assessment done in May.
The primary January to May results were as follows:
I have lots of ideas to share – increased 1.5%
I share my ideas with others – increased 2.5%
I notice things that are different – increased 6%
I enjoy trying new things – increased .5%
I keep trying at things, even when not easy- increased 3%
The intermediate results were as follows:
I generate many ideas when brainstorming – increased 5.25%
I share my ideas with others – decreased 2%
I think of things in different ways to get new ideas – increased 5.25%
I notice things that are different, or unusual – increased 1%
I enjoy trying new things – decreased 1 %
I don’t give up easily – increased 3.25%
While the results show some growth in many areas, there is clearly work needed in key areas. We would also like to broaden the assessment to include a teacher evaluation on student creativity.
RATIONALE:
At the May 2011 Professional Development Day staff and SPC members agreed that the energy and enthusiasm developed in the creativity goal last year warrant further action in this area. A great deal of time was invested in the first year defining and exploring our collective philosophy and beliefs associated with creativity. It is believed that this work will serve as a good foundation for continued work in 2011-12. Teachers noted that reading and writing were further areas in need of improvement and this could be addressed within the creativity goal. Staff suggested that one strategy to improve writing would be to have a continuous and consistent school wide writing program. Using a “wordle” program, the most frequently used words in the teachers’ comments about the success of the creativity goal were represented. Words such as students, think, 21 st century, future, school-wide, reflect, together and involvement indicate that having an emphasis on creativity is a student centered, forward thinking and engaging task for the school community.
