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School Learning Story

Our school's learning story demonstrates how our school community is working to improve learning and well-being for students. This ongoing commitment is driven by a continuous focus on enhancing student achievement and enriching students’ experiences at school. Our efforts are guided by district’s strategic plan and the Ministry of Education and Child Care’s Framework for Enhancing Student Learning policy. This is our collective learning journey, and reflects our shared commitment to growth, collaboration and continuous improvement in support of student success.

 

 

 

Our Focus

This section outlines our school’s key areas of focus. It reflects our commitment to continuous improvement and responds to the evolving needs of our students. Whether centered on student engagement, social-emotional well-being, or academic growth, our focus guides our learning journey and informs the strategies we implement throughout the year.

WINTER 2025

School Learning Focus for the 2025/2026 school year
To support students who are currently developing or emerging in Literacy by teaching skills to improve reading comprehension to improve success in reading.
Evidence-Informed Rationale (WHY)
An analysis of reading assessments, learning updates and FSA results from the previous two school years identified reading comprehension skills as an area of improvement. This focus has also been confirmed by staff as they’ve worked alongside students to support their learning.
Priority Learners
We will be focusing on raising comprehension scores of students who are assessed as developing or emerging in reading skills in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 assessments.
Baseline Data
FSA 2023-2024: Gr. 4 – 10% Emerging; Gr. 7 – 19% Emerging in Literacy
FSA 2024-2025: Gr. 4 – 9% Emerging; Gr. 7 – 13% Emerging in Literacy
2023 – 2024 report card data showed that approximately 30% of our students were emerging or developing in English Language Arts.
2024 – 2025 report card data showed that approximately 38% of our students were emerging or developing in English Language Arts.
Fall 2025 school wide reading assessment identified which areas of reading skills could use the most improvement in each classroom.
Action Statement (HOW)
District Consultant will work with classroom and resource teachers in professional development and collaboration to create targeted lessons to strengthen reading comprehension skills. This team will review each classroom’s data from the Fall reading assessment, identify the specific skills (ex. making connections, inferencing) and use the Learn38 Pillars of Literacy to guide lessons that will help support students in developing those identified skills. Teachers will focus on explicitly teaching these skills before assessing students again in the Spring to identify growth.
Intended Impact (SO WHAT)
Students will be able to utilize the reaching comprehension strategies that were taught and become stronger, more confident readers.
Evidence of Impact (HOW WE WILL KNOW)
We will see an increase in the number of students who are proficient or extending in Literacy on the student learning reports and increased reading comprehension scores on the Spring reading assessments.
Alignment Statement
The district supports every learner to achieve their highest potential. Identifying students’ areas for growth in reading skills, developing targeted lessons for those specific areas and explicitly teaching students how to use strategies to help them understand promotes the growth and potential of every child. Creating stronger readers allows students to reach greater potential in all areas of learning.  

 

 

Our Focus Archive

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Our Evidence

Here, we present the data and observations that shape our understanding of student learning and well-being. Through assessments, classroom observations, and staff reflections, we gather meaningful insights that help us track progress, and ensure that our approaches are making a difference for students.

WINTER 2025

What data did we use to determine our focus?

After reviewing various sources of data, it is evident that we have areas to grow to support literacy skills in our students:

FSA 2023-2024: Gr. 4 – 10% Emerging; Gr. 7 – 19% Emerging in Literacy

FSA 2024-2025: Gr. 4 – 9% Emerging; Gr. 7 – 13% Emerging in Literacy

2023 – 2024 report card data showed that approximately 30% of our students were emerging or developing in English Language Arts.

2024 – 2025 report card data showed that approximately 38% of our students were emerging or developing in English Language Arts.

Although the majority of students are on track or extending, all students will benefit from an increased focus on developing literacy skills.

Additionally, Staff met in teams to discuss their students and identified that some students have room to grow to persevere through tasks, to challenge themselves, to accept mistakes as part of a learning process, and to build their problem-solving toolkit.  This evidence led us to identify a focus on strengthening resiliency in our students.

What are our next steps?Through professional learning opportunities and professional development days, staff will identify strategies to build literacy and resiliency skills with students. Teachers will also participate in collaboration meetings to plan how to best implement these strategies to improve outcomes for students.
What is the intended impact of this focus?Students reading assessments results, learning update progress and staff observation will demonstrate an improvement in literacy outcomes.  Student reflections and staff observations will demonstrate an increase in student resiliency.

Digital Storytelling

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students creating floor plans for learning lab

Imagine the possibilities

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Interests of the Students

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What interests our kids?

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Making Learning Visible: The Big Ideas at Garden City

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Demonstrating care for our local environment.

Demonstrating care for our local environment.

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Our Actions

This section highlights the concrete steps we take to support our school’s learning goals. From instructional strategies to school-wide initiatives, we document the ways we put our focus into practice. By fostering a collaborative approach, we ensure that our actions lead to meaningful improvements in student success and well-being.

SPRING 2026

An action that we have taken to support our school’s learning focus is:Classroom and Resource Teachers collaborated with the District Literacy Consultant to review student evidence of learning and assessment results. Using this data, they created a plan for instruction and meeting the needs of all students. 
This action supports our school’s learning focus in the following ways:Teachers are learning to use student data to drive their practice and targeting specific learning needs for every child. 

WINTER 2025

An action that we have taken to support our school’s learning focus is:Student groups have been created to provide targeted support in literacy and resilience skills. Students meet with staff individually, in pairs, or in small groups to receive instruction. Teachers are also hosting clubs to increase student confidence and sense of connection to help support resiliency.
This action supports our school’s learning focus in the following ways:To provide additional instruction to meet the needs of students and to focus attention on developing skills that will narrow the learning gap in literacy.  

 

students using manipulatives to learn math skills

Math Manipulatives Help Students Access Learning in Different Ways

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Garden City STEAM HUB

Our amazing STEAM HUB

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Developing Characters in Different Ways

How Can We Develop Interesting Characters For Our Stories?

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Applied Skills - Baking/Cooking for Mom

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ACTION 2021-2022

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WHAT DOES LEARNING LOOK LIKE?

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