North Glenmore Elementary School (NGE) is one of the largest elementary schools in the Central Okanagan with approximately 650 students in the 2022/2023 school year. We are located in the popular Glenmore Valley of Kelowna, BC. Like other elementary schools in Glenmore, NGE has been experiencing significant growth as the area expands into a community with more diversity, backgrounds, and cultures. We celebrate our diversity and recognize 13 different languages spoken in the homes of our families. We are supported by many community resources and the Ministry of Education and Early Learning is currently building a daycare on our school grounds which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2023.
North Glenmore is home to the NGE GATORS and often we refer to the school grounds as "THE SWAMP". There are portions of the year when these traditional lands do in fact have a bit of a swampy look in some areas due to the compacted clay beneath the topsoil.
Each day we welcome learners to their day with a traditional Syilx Okanagan word or phrase of the day. As well we remind ourselves about what it means to be GATORS. At NGE the G.A.T.O.R.S. (acronym) stands for Generous- Academic- Trustworthy-Organized- Respectful- Safe
Our NGE Code of Conduct is simple and impactful. We ground our community interactions with a focus on kindness based in the "3Rs": Respect for Self; Respect for Others; Respect for our Environment.
North Glenmore has worked with the parent community, our staff and our learners in developing our studnet learning priorites and action plans. Together we have built a learning continuum that reflects the voice and feedback of our NGE community. This year NGE has been focusing on two co-constructed student learning priorities:
1) For Literacy:
Helping our learners set meaningful learning goals for literacy: "I can set goals to improve my reading and writing"
2) For Social Emotional Learning:
Helping our learners prepare themselves for learning: " I can prepare myself for learning by ..."
North Glenmore has aligned with the Provincial assessment practices and our Learning Summaries (report cards) and ongoing assessment focus on skills and processes, provide descriptive feedback, and engage students in goal setting with their parents and teachers. By helping our students focus on their learning and how to improve rather than on marks, students are aware on an ongoing basis of where they are with their own learning journey. Learners have more control and feel more confident about how they are doing in school.
Our staff continues to build on our previous learning around developing a Growth Mindset within our students. We understand that students with a 'fixed mindset' are more likely to feel powerless with respect to their abilities, see mistakes as failures rather than opportunities, and may avoid taking risks. By developing a Growth Mindset students believe their intelligence and abilities can be improved with effort and the right strategies. When kids learn that putting forth effort and using the right strategies can help them learn and grow, they try harder and achieve more.
The staff continue to incorporate First Peoples Principles of Learning through all areas of our curriculum. We are learning ways to include land based learning practices and ways to better understand Canada's history with Indigenous Peoples and celebrate the richness of Indigenous culture in our school.
Moving
forward, we continue to 'scan' our school community to get a sense of the
impact of our work around setting meaingful learning goals and using the best self regulation strategies. We always strive to determine next
steps and new directions in our efforts towards deeper learning and school
improvement.
To learn more about the new direction that North Glenmore is heading in, please click the link to 'Our Inquiry Process'.
