Blog Posts

March 10, 2022

Transitioning from the Classroom to the Workplace

Choosing a Path
 

The goal of Abbotsford Career Programs is to connect secondary students to training for high-opportunity occupations. As the labour market and employment outlook in our province changes, our programs have evolved to meet new demands.

February 28, 2022

Examining our Library Learning Commons Through the Lens of Equity

The commitment the Abbotsford School District has towards building equitable and inclusive schools has led our teams of LLC teachers and library technicians to develop a shared inquiry around equity in our library learning commons spaces.

Our conversations and research have centered on the following inquiry questions:

February 4, 2022

Opening Minds and Hearts

Empowering language proficiency and fostering global citizenship in the additional language classroom

“To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world.” - Chinese Proverb

January 13, 2022

The Yoda Factor

There are many words to describe our experiences with the fall and early winter of 2021. Does disillusionment resonate with anyone? Disillusionment is a phase that researchers have used to describe the overwhelming feeling and challenges experienced in November and December on the roller coaster ride of first year teaching. More than any other year I think this phase could describe many of our experiences. The good news? The same researchers find that following disillusionment, beginning teachers experience rejuvenation, reflection, and anticipation for the adventures teaching brings.

January 13, 2022

What Matters to a Middle School Student…

Reflecting on the teaching and learning that is happening in our middle schools, there are many bright spots among the challenging territory we have been navigating this year. This confirms the commitment and dedication that our teachers have towards ensuring equitable and inclusive classroom environments. As we continue our progress towards our collective goals of improved reading, numeracy, and social-emotional competence, it is essential to anchor this work in our understanding of how our actions impact students and their success in our schools.

November 25, 2021

Inquiring into our Practice at Secondary

This year, secondary schools are engaging in professional inquiry questions that help educators learn about the inquiry cycle and experience strategies that they can use in their classrooms with students. Teacher inquiries focus on the five key underpinnings of inquiry: questioning and curiosity, engagement, student agency, assessment and evidencing, and competency development. Keeping true to our triple-track agenda, where we model and experience what we want for our students, teachers exercised their agency by selecting which underpinning they wished to focus on.

November 5, 2021

The Power of Student Involvement

Kaitlyn Yates, LSS Teacher at Dr. R. Bondar Elementary school recently experienced the power of student involvement while including her student in his IEP meeting. The student was able to share insight to some of the concerns staff was observing, was open to acknowledging his challenges and eager to collaborate in co-planning a signal to draw upon when feeling overwhelmed, like a break system.

November 5, 2021

Early Literacy

It is an exciting time to be a literacy teacher. Teaching literacy is a complex job, as it encompasses many discreet parts, each being an important piece in developing a skilled reader. If you visit our elementary schools, you will see many examples of how our teachers are meeting the literacy learning needs of our students in engaging and joyful ways. The Scarborough Reading Rope helps to illustrate these essential components of learning how to read and how interdependent they are.

October 26, 2021

Building Bridges as a Means to Connection and Communication

The ELL Department has continued to build our relationships and learn from colleagues locally and worldwide who are leading culturally sustaining pedagogy. We are continually incorporating, modelling and developing practices that embody all aspects of the Abbyschools Equity Framework. Below are just a few examples of some of the great work that is happening in our district.

October 15, 2021

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

This year, as part of our Secondary Operational Plan and in partnership with the Curriculum Department and Trevor Mackenzie (author of Dive into Inquiry), we are working towards implementing structures and strategies that support inquiry based instructional practices … practices that align with our competency-based curriculum. Through our monthly Staff Learning Opportunities (SLOs), we are providing support and space for our learning communities to collaborate and share ideas.