We had a great turnout at our first ever schoolyard project committee meeting yesterday afternoon! Thanks to all who were able to make it. We've posted an overview of the conversation below.
Meeting Attendees:
Meeting Attendees:
Jessica Kelly (Grade 4) Heather Melville (Grade 4) Cynthia Nilssen (Grade 5) Trish Haugrud (Grade 5) Gail Stevenson (Grade 6) John Cadman (Grade 6) Ivy Waite (Grade 8) Shashi Shergill (Grade 9) Deirdre Bailey (PE/OE) | Phil Butterfield (assistant principal) Scott Petronech (assistant principal) Darrell Lonsberry (principal) Susan Chomistek (school superintendent) Michelle Drissler (Grounds for Change) Sent regrets: Val Barnes (Grade 5) Jocelyn Monteith (Grade 6) Greg Neil (Grade 7) Jason Avramenko (Grade 9) |
Our meeting began with a review of the results of last year's survey of 474 students, 36 teachers, 13 parents and 2 administrators attached here.
Conversations and questions about the survey results helped highlight some possible goals for the school and generate further questions...
Reflecting on "time" spent outdoors
Reflecting on "time" spent outdoors
- Lunch hour is highest use by far. Areas need to be designed with health and safety at the forefront.
- DPA is second highest usage. Need to maintain active spaces but this might also limit classroom use. Consider sectioning or containing more designated spaces. Create opportunity for diversity of movement in the outdoor space.
- In class use is really low. Rationale seems to be that the biggest reason is lack of spaces that are away from distractions of activity. No magic spots. No space for quiet reflection.
- Biggest outdoor space use is the playground. If our goal is to allow space use to become more widespread we may need to consider developing similarly organized, contained, structured but diverse spaces for students to use.
- Soccer fields are heavily used - should not be disrupted.
- Paved areas are least heavily used. Why? Access? Might we consider adapting those spaces? Should this be with plants etc. or with pavement/paint upgrades?
- More outdoor classroom spaces identified as a need. What do classes do outside? Most looking for quiet spaces for thinking, reflecting, writing, not traditional classroom set-ups.
- Less open space identified as a need. Suggestion that we need a better representation of indigenous plant growth closer to the school. A Weaselhead "sampler". Teachers identified the desire of having more contained spaces for work with their students.
- Sports facilities, outdoor sports/fitness equipment - location?
- Pavement upgrades - what do students use pavement areas for? Four square, wall ball, cooking, spray painting, building, long boarding. (Community is looking at permanently paving the hockey rinks at the bottom of the field!)
- Community garden - use appears low but accessibility is limited throughout the winter. Need "classroom" space out there? Benches... (talk to CBC!)
Increase outdoor teaching space
| Enhance sporting options
| Improve student health and safety outdoors
|
Improve current spaces
| Reduce/contain open spaces
| Enhance emotional and spiritual wellness
|
Next steps
- Create and update blog (Oct 29) - Deirdre
- Survey and recruit 2014-2015 Grade 4 students (week of Nov 3) - Heather M
- Locate detailed digital map of school (week of Nov 3) - Darrell
- First meeting with student committee to review survey results, establish goals and further questions (Wednesday, Nov 5) - Deirdre, Shashi & others
- Build bulletin board by counselling office (before SL interviews)
- Book a half day PD with "Grounds for Change" to plan class-based research phase (December 5th) - Michelle
- Ongoing research (to be undertaken by student committee members and individual classes after Dec 5th)