Sense of Belonging Goal: |
Goal: To ensure all students feel safe, welcome, and connected by fostering a strong sense of community and school spirit.
Targets: · Increase the percentage of students who indicate that they feel like they belong at school to at least 70% by June 2026 · Increase the percentage of students who indicate that they feel welcome at school to at least 70% by June 2026 · Increase the percentage of students who indicate that they participate in ongoing indigenous programs or activities
|
Strategies and Actions: |
As a school we plan to focus on the following strategies and actions this year:
Provide staff training in restorative practices to address behaviour when it happens and allow student to learn from their mistakes. Increase Indigenous activities (ie. Traditional Drumming Group, Indigenous Story Telling at Lunch with Knowledge Keepers) to help build a sense of belonging. Expand opportunities for student to participate in clubs (ie. French Club, Origami club, etc.) Expand visual representation of allyship/diverse values (ie. rainbow stickers) Establish a peer mentorship program. Provide a variety of transition activities for new grade 9’s (ie. School Visits, Gym Riot, Parent Info Night, Course Selection Open House etc.) Offer library activities (ie. Starbooks Day, Escape Room, Monthly Contests, etc.) that help build community and school spirit. Advocate for renovation of washrooms and changerooms – students feel welcome and safe. Find more ways to celebrate student successes. (ex. Athlete Spotlights, Languages Spotlight, Electives Showcase, Recognition Assemblies, Student of the week, etc.) Incorporate tri-lingual signage around the school. Provide/create more space and opportunities for students to get to know each other. (ie. clubs, dances, intramurals, etc.) Target supports for new students (ie. new student lunch, student mentors, regular check-ins with counsellors etc.) Increase opportunities for extracurricular activities (ie. Tier II and III volleyball teams) Host Student Voice Meetings to gather more specific student feedback. Include more authentic opportunities in class to write/respond outside curriculum, particularly sharing, reflecting and engaging with personal identity and opinions. Continue to offer classes that contribute to overall school culture (ie. Leadership, Athletic Leadership, Yearbook, etc.) Engage in more school wide activities (Community Building) - March Madness – Basketball Tournament - Spirit Week - Talent Show - Intramurals - Terry Fox Run - School/Community Clean-up - School-wide meal(s) - Whole school photo
|
Data to Inform/Support Sense of Belonging Goal: |
Student Learning Survey Results:
Extra-curricular Participation Rates: We will begin collecting data on the number of students each year that participate in clubs, teams, fine arts, and other school activities.
|
Data Analysis/Narrative: |
Staff/student relationships at Jackson are generally strong, with most students indicating that the adults at school care about them.
However, traditionally students do not feel the same sense of belonging at Jackson.
Many students and staff believe this is because students were only at Jackson for two years which means that there is not sufficient time for strong relationships and a sense of belonging to develop.
We have been working hard over the past couple years to provide more opportunities for student to participate in activities aimed at building a positive school culture.
|
