Two years ago, our staff and students made the move from our old building into our new one. We left fifty years of memories in the crumbling walls of a past that recognized our school for athletics, leadership, and innovative programs. As we settled into our new home, we began a re-visioning process for our school. With changing demographics, many new staff, and a contemporary building designed with collaborative spaces in mind, the time had come for us to rethink our priorities and school direction.
We began this journey with a staff pro d day that had us reflect on our previous experiences where we had positively embraced teamwork, taken risks, had a strong sense of belonging, and felt inspired. We shared stories of those times that brought us fulfilment, excitement, joy, and pride.
Our staff then gathered in groups to generate seven vision statements that became the focus over the year with staff and students given opportunities to refine, critique, and further develop. These focus areas were then revamped by staff and over 300 students into six central themes.
As we continued to engage students throughout the year, we reworked the vision into a current draft which focuses on Connection, Inspiration, and Engagement.
Currently, we are working with Department Heads and staff to begin implementation of this vision. Our implementation model requires that we include students in this process, as this vision requires a strong sense of ownership from all who have a stake in this school. It’s clear that this will be a work in progress for approximately the next five years, but it’s exciting to see staff and students begin to work on some of these already. Our Student Leadership and Government groups have begun to explore ways of creating more pride and spirit. Counsellors and Student Services staff have also started developing a breakfast program, as well as all day “Grab and Go” food stations for students to ensure that they never have to experience a day at school hungry. We have also developed teacher and student technology team to increase the capacity of our staff and grade nine students, so that they can effectively integrate technology into their learning through our Bring Your Own Device initiative (BYOD) and Digital Fluencies (Creativity, Collaboration, Media, Information, Critical Thinking).
While there is still much to be done, we look forward to building upon our past, honouring the accomplishments of our rich history, and embracing changes that reflect our current students, staff, and community.
The Pulse 