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Queensbury Elementary

Vision to Goal Setting

What is our Vision for Learning?

Education at Queensbury provides all children an equal opportunity to acquire the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to maximize their potential in intellectual, social and physical development.

At Queensbury we believe:

  • In making everyone feel welcome
  • Everyone matters
  • Every child should have the opportunity to succeed
  • In self-awareness and self-management
  • In collaborating with parents and community partners for the success of all learners
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We are fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the world and we thank the Coast Salish people, specifically the Skwxwú7mesh Nation and Tsleil-Waututh Nation, upon whose unceded traditional territory the North Vancouver School District resides.
 We value the opportunity to learn, share and grow on this traditional territory.

Queensbury Elementary is tucked into a forested area of the North Shore, at the top of Grand Boulevard. We have the luxury of a 360 degree playground and 2 city parks close by and on-site privately owned daycare. Our 300 students and staff are supported by a wonderful, well established community of parents and neighbours. Our family of schools consists of Brooksbank Elementary, Eastview Elementary, Ridgeway Elementary, and Sutherland High School.

When you enter Queensbury, we want you to immediately feel welcomed and valued.

Team
Queensbury’s Core Leadership Team represents representatives from all areas of the school. makes recommendations to guide our actions. It is a voluntary team who also provides leadership in the school planning process.

The team currently includes:

  • Kelly La Roue- Principal
  • Carly Roy- Vice Principal
  • Tessa Harrington – primary teacher
  • Laurie Kennedy – primary teacher
  • Christina Olson- CUPE
  • Peiman Javdan – parent
  • Mina Najipour – parent
  • Vicky Sra – parent
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Planning & Implementation

What is our Action Plan?

GOAL 1 (Revised for 2022-2023)
To enhance a sense of belonging for students, staff, parents and guests within our school community.

Objectives:

  • foster engagement in learning and school activities
  • strengthen relationships and continue to build a culture of caring that includes teamwork and collaboration
  • practice inclusivity and attend to classroom and school climate

Strategies for Goal 1

  • Foster Engagement: emphasize the importance of timely and clear communication (newsletters, meetings, assemblies) between school and families, family groups, buddy class activities, student performances and whole group assemblies, Hallowe’en parade, Terry Fox Run, Truth and Reconciliation assembly and activities, team sports, National Indigenous Day assembly and activities, Black History Month, Pride Month,Literacy Week, daily announcements that encourage student messages, virtual assemblies, band concerts / fine arts performances, Earth Week activities, Grade 7 Farewell 
  • Strengthen Relationships: PAC events (Welcome Back BBQ, Movie night, Book Fair, Spring Fair) family groupings, buddy classes, Thanksgiving family group activities, Peer Leaders, reading buddies, peer leaders, lunch monitors for primary classes, student of the week, monthly staff connection events, Saleema Noon parent and student presentations that support Sex Edudcation and family diversity 
  • Practice Inclusivity: Implement First People’s Principles of Learning (Invite members of District AbEd Team to support student learning), Truth and Reconciliation Assembly and activities, Kindness Month and Black History themes in February, BIPOC activities and daily announcements to enhance knowledge of international celebrations, recognition of cultural groups and holidays, National Indigenous Day and Pride activities in June, fun day, intermediate STEM activities, “push in support” for learning support

New Strategies to implement (2022/2023): 

  • school wide “gotcha’s” – recognizing greatness
  • book exchange for parents
  • welcome committee for new families
  • community quilt
  • collaborative mural to celebrate diverse learners
  • ask for parent volunteers to help translate community messages if needed

GOAL 2 (New for 2022-2023)
Increase student engagement

Objectives:

  • Foster opportunities for students to increase self-awareness to: learn self regulation strategies, monitor their own learning, explore their strengths, learning styles, interests and passions, advocate for themselves
  • Increase Physical Literacy and Outdoor Learning opportunities for students
  • Use differentiated teaching /learning strategies to recognize each person’s strengths and find opportunities to celebrate  learning

Strategies for Goal 2

  • continue to build a diverse library collection with a focus on BIPOC and LGBTQ+ texts
  • continue with school wide Second Step lessons
  • increase opportunities to participate in extra-curricular activities: clubs, sports, leadership roles
  • highlight students bi-monthly based on SEL attributes 
  • continue with morning music / messages / Friday jokes that urge SEK and BIPOC initiatives and monthly themes around diversity and inclusion
  • monthly standing item on staff meeting agenda and within EA meetings (building relationships)
  • Include non-enrolling and CUPE staff in classroom Second Step lessons
  • Teacher participation in FOS activities
  • Participate in, and implement district physical literacy initiative
  • Student / Teacher/ Family goal setting
  • Commit to using SEL activities in family grouping activities throughout the year 
  • continue with morning announcements that merge SEL with BIPOC initiatives and monthly themes of inclusion
  • Monthly standing item on staff meeting and discussion with weekly EA meeting
  • Include non-enrolling and CUPE staff in classroom Second Step lessons

New Strategies to implement in  2022-2023:

  • build community connections with the focus on experiential learning (bring in workshops)
  • school challenges: kindness challenge, healthy living challenge
  • survey students to determine what they find most engaging at school
  • build community connections through service learning
  • start the day with meaningful quotes
  • provide leadership opportunities at all grade levels
  • investigate the use of Zones of Regulation
  • Use Universal Design strategies to ensure all learners are included
  • Explore and share differentiated learning strategies
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Monitor Evaluate & Adapt

What are our Indicators of Progress?

What are our Indicators of Progress?

  • How will we know when we’ve reacher our goal: 
  • collect anecdotal comments from TTOC’s and guests or parents 
  • feedback from staff and students (develop a survey)
  • create a two or three question “exit” interview that allows us to collect feedback from staff/families that leave
  • staff, students and parents will begin to see and use evidence of shared language (goal setting, inclusion, and problem solving language)
  • we will gather data including evidence from report cards, FSA data for grade 4 and 7’s
  • Middle Years Data (available every other year)

Areas for Further Development at Queensbury:

We continuously examine how our School Plan informs and reflects our values and our practices. By identifying our goals and aligning them with District goals, we are working toward being more inclusive with our actions and intentions. We continue to draw on our school plan when:

  • planning school based professional development activities
  • implementing school wide initiatives (Kindness month, Black History month, and National Indigenous Day activities
  • learning resources and budget decisions
  • curriculum and instruction
  • communication and engagement of our school community
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Communicating Progress

How do we Communicate our Progress?

For Staff

The Queensbury Staff will be kept up to date through:

  • email, TEAMS site and Queensbury website
  • daily announcements to include world music, SEL, cultural events, and local Indigenous information
  • week at a glance provided to staff for school wide activities/ announcements/ “to do” items
  • Regularly scheduled meetings: Staff Meetings, SBRT, ESBRT, OHS, Primary / Intermediate team meetings, school planning team, and BIPOC team meetings
  • continue to encourage weekly communication home to parents from classroom teacher or case manager

For the School Community

The Queensbury community will be kept up to date through:

  • School messenger email reminders to families
  • school based quarterly newsletters
  • sharing of announcements and artwork on front entrance way tv monitor
  • students record classroom updates in their student agenda
  • “window into the week” through teacher TEAMS accounts
  • communication: phone calls, emails, parent-teacher conferences, IEP meetings, report cards
  • our school website, and through the Vibrant learning website
  • PAC meetings
  • PAC bulletin board
  • PAC weekly newsletter
Read More

Latest Progress & Updates

As we continue to adhere to constraints and safety protocols put in place this year to address Covid-19, our school community continued to address our goal of making everyone feel welcomed and included. We began to welcome our families back into our school during term two report card interviews and found ways to “meet and greet” parents outside. We are  looking forward to enhancing our feeling of belonging as we begin to role out more group activities next year!

A summary of 2021-2022:

  • continued with implementation of Second Step curriculum (3rd year)
  • continued with implementation of Family of Schools Ministry Reporting and Assessment Initiative (3rd year)
  • continued with District Food Access program and BC Fruit and Vegetable program
  • continued mindfulness of “calming our classrooms and hallways” (decrease clutter; care and pride with student displays)
  • created videos, virtual and in-person assemblies (Truth and Reconciliation Day, Remembrance Day, Kindness/Black History month, National Indigenous Peoples Day, Year End Assembly, Grade 7 Farewell)  
  • continued the use of TEAMS platform as a communication tool for staff, students, families
  • participated in FOS co-ed basketball and triple ball for grade 6/7 students
  • invited our district Indigenous Team to Queensbury on several occasions to learn about: historical perspectives, storytelling, local art (visual and weaving), games including slahal and lacrosse
  • created school based and parent committee to support BIPOC teachings and inititatives
  • BIPOC committee met monthly to look at intentional ways of implementing diversity and inclusion
  • intentionally focussed on Black History month in February, including daily announcements of notable Black Canadians
  • staff initiated learning sessions about “outdoor learning”
  • 6 staff members participated in district “Physical Literacy” initiative
  • participation in Cheakamus Centre outdoor learning opportunities for grade 3-6 students
  • recipient of Telus Ambassador grant of $1500.00 for new library books
  • School wide participation in “Science Alive” activities created and presented by Simon Fraser University (PAC funded)
  • In person “Parent Appreciation” activity
  • In person Year End Assembly and Year End Slideshow
  • In person Grade 7 Farewell ceremony