In order to increase my comfort with some of the new learning tools that are growing in popularity around the globe, I started a blog, then “Tweeted” the link out into cyberspace. These have also become, I have to admit, a bit of an outlet to share some ideas, especially when staff members are not officially meeting or reading communications.

There are now twelve different posts, on topics ranging from why the exam program works in BC, personalized learning, why I'm out on the front steps so much, Feedback Month, and most recently, a section from a BCPSEA discussion paper on the teacher Job Action. This particular topic is a little more political than the others, and even though I believe the ideas to be important and not offensive in any way, after some reflection I have decided it would be appropriate to remove the link from the school website for the time being.

If you are curious about this or other blogs, try Google! Cheers, PJ

These are front pages from previous newsletters:

December 2011

Dear Parent(s) and Guardian(s)

The last few weeks have really zoomed by, and we are into our final week before the holiday break. It is a few days earlier this year but it seemed to come up even faster this time. LCSS students have done some great work helping the less fortunate this year, and our annual Hamper Drive and Angel Tree projects wrapped up today. Also, students have filled 48 backpacks full of supplies, collected countless shoes for needy kids, and raised extra money for our sponsor child in Africa. This year we are also holding a turkey luncheon for every student and staff member. This ambitious project was initiated by our very brave EA team, who felt that this would not only be a positive for our school culture, but also give all of our students the opportunity to enjoy a traditional holiday meal, whether their families were able to provide one or not. I am proud of the students and of our community and how they value the needs of others so highly in what can be a very challenging time of the year for many people.

Monday through Thursday this week will be regular instruction at LCSS and on Friday we will start to transition into holiday mode with our usual activities. The HS students will have their scheduled classes in the am, and then be participating in a broomball tournamentin the pm. All HS students are expected to attend their period 3 class (on time!) for attendance before travelling as a group over to the arena. Mr. Achurch will be posting a schedule as soon as it is ready. The MS students will go to their regular am classes on Friday, then choose between some fun and somewhat festive activities with their classmates in the afternoon.

As well, there will a volleyball tournament after school on Thursday between staff, our school volleyball teams, alumni, and teams from the community. Come out and support your favorite team as they vie for this coveted title.

Please encourage your MS and HS students to stay engaged in their learning this week, and do their best to get caught up on any missing work prior to Friday. If I think about all the students who promised to do work over a holiday (hundreds) and how many actually were successful at that (a handful) it seems especially important to make sure as much learning as possible happens when teachers are around to support it. Frankly, I’ve never been that keen on homework. You can read about this and several other educational topics on my blog, which is accessible through the Principal’s Page on the school website.

Take care and have a safe and happy holiday,

Peter Jory

Principal

November, 2011

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Report cards are going to be issued this Friday for HS students. Except for those students who have Ms. Garner for a teacher, the report card will contain only the student’s courses and attendance information (note letter on back page).As we roll through month three of job action, I am sure teachers are doing a great job supporting students directly and that they are making good on their commitment to get back to parents who want to know if their kids are being successful. However, without some of the structures in place that we would normally have to identify who is not engaging in learning, I am still concerned that some of our students may fall through the cracks. I would like to remind parents to please get in touch with teachers directly for achievement information, and to please let us know at the school if you have any concerns about how your son or daughter is doing.

Recently, along with other SD79 principals, I was able to attend a pro-d session with RodAllen from the Ministry of Education regarding the province’s new Personalized Learningprogram. I am impressed by the overall direction the Ministry is taking, as well as the level ofpatience and commitment they are showing in order to make it successful over the long haul.Personalized learning is part of a global movement whose time has finally arrived. It isa chance to move away from the industrial model of learning, and allow studentsmore opportunities to pursue ideas in ways that truly engage them. In fact, all this looksand sounds a little like the vision my own father had for education when he was a schoolprincipal nearly four decades ago.

We are a school that has been working on Assessment for Learning, and we have beentinkering with different ways of providing students with more flexible learning options. I havebeen really impressed with how well students at all levels have responded, and I am lookingforward to working in a system that supports these ideas more formally.

Take Care, Peter Jory

September, 2011

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This start-up has been a little different, but I am pleased with the tone in the building and what looks to be a continued focus on learning, and the overall professionalism and reasonableness of our staff. There does still seem to be some misconceptions about what the teachers’ strike action looks like, however. To clarify, though there will be no formal reporting or parent-teacher nights until further notice, teachers will still inform students and parents directly as to their classroom progress. If you have questions, please be encouraged to make an appointment, call, or email teachers for a quick update.

One of the data pieces we track for our School Plan is Cohort Pass Rate, which is the percentage of Ministry exams that students pass out of the number of students that start the year in those grades and should be writing exams, as opposed to the standard Pass Rate, which only tallies the students that last in the courses long enough to write. As our purpose as a school is to be inclusive and teach ALL of our students, I am super-pleased that our Cohort Pass Rate for last year was 86%, by far the best in the district. It’s a clear sign to me that the extra support we are giving our students at LCSS is working, and we are doing well helping them navigate through the challenges of the Graduation Program.

I mentioned in an earlier letter that our participation in the Lights Outs program led to a 19% reduction in daily power usage compared to three and four years ago. We received a small incentive cheque from BC Hydro, which I am using to purchase reusable cloth LCSS shopping bags for every adult and student at LCSS. Using bags like this for your groceries (and other items) can really reduce our environmental footprint, and getting a free bag is at least a start towards making it a habit. I also happen to think (humbly) that our bag is much better looking than the other bags that are out there. Additional bags will be available through the office for only $1, which is our cost. For those of you that like to hydrate regularly, double-walled LCSS steel water bottles are also available for $12. The long-term plan is to phase out the use of plastic water bottles completely in the school and encourage the use of steel bottles.

STARC, our environmental class, is up and running and has exceeded even the biggest expectations. The daily recycling and composting program has reduced our school garbage output from fifteen bags a day to just one, and the compost will be useable for the greenhouse and community garden projects in the spring.Congrats to Ms. Taylor, her EXP class, and all of her student helpers for their awesome work.

Take Care, Peter Jory

May, 2011

Nothing “Dumb” about Improved Student Learning

When the Fraser Institute published their first Secondary School Report, I was a young teacher fresh out of university, teaching and coaching in a small rural school not unlike this one. I remember looking at it and being quite shocked that it did not factor in any of the extra-curricular activities we were running at the time. It was only about academics. “Well, that’s dumb”, I remember thinking.

According to Peter Cowley who works at the FI, it’s not that they dislike those other things; it’s really that they don’t have any way to measure them. They do, however, get access to all of our Ministry of Education data, and so that remains the sole focus of their annual report. Everyone who works in schools knows that there is a more to working and attending than the achievement numbers that come out at the end of the school year, but those other factors remain very hard to quantify. There is no reasonable way to measure how much we love our kids (a lot), or how fresh our paint is (quite) or how fantastic our lockers murals are (very) or that our girls’ soccer team is going to provincials (nice!) or what our leadership class is like (awesome).

Years later, though the methodology for their secondary rating system has changed somewhat, the Secondary School Report still remains entirely about academics. Graduation Program exams, pass rates, and grad rates are what they use, and that is all. As Todd Bertuzzi once said, “It is what it is.” Of course, there are and always have been legitimate concerns about the fairness of the School Reports, because their methodology clearly favours wealthy urban schools and even seems to promote a move towards privatization, a most uncomfortable thought for many of us. Small, rural, and public, LCSS has typically struggled in the FI rankings over the years, “earning” scores between 2.0 and 4.1. With our increased focus on learning, I must confess our move to 4.8 two years ago and then to 5.9 for the past year is gratifying as school principal, and I would think comforting for our parent community. (I also recognize those numbers mean pretty much zip to the average student, and that is just fine.)

At the end of the day, it is our job to be the best small, rural public school we can possibly be, and that does mean working hard on all kinds of important things, including academics. According to our Ministry data, more of our students have been successful in their learning in the last couple of years. As a result, they will have more opportunities available for them after they leave school, and there is nothing dumb about that.

Peter Jory, LCSS Principal