How is a School Calendar Determined? #cisva

This year I am planning a series of blogs on “stuff people have probably wondered but never asked” in education.  The first question may seem like a rather mundane subject, but it actually really impacts the lives of students and their families; how is a school calendar determined?

The process of setting a school calendar begins with the provincial government’s Ministry of Education.  Independent schools are required by the Ministry to have 850 hours of instructional time.  This includes time during which students are under the supervision of their teachers, so in addition to regular class time, it includes things like student-led conferences, fun day, talent shows and school Masses.  It does not include after school activities, recess and lunch time (even though I would argue that in some ways they learn more at these times than they often do in class!)

The next stage of the calendar making process is the school board that oversees Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Vancouver (CISVA).  The CISVA has a higher standard for minimum hours than the government, requiring 900 hours of instructional time.  The CISVA also sends out a calendar mapping out mandatory holidays like Christmas Break, Spring Break, as well as three system-wide professional days.  The CISVA also determines the first and last day of school.  Schools are required to use these dates unless there is a very special local circumstance (i.e. construction projects) that necessitates a change.

At the local level, there is very little leeway in terms of holidays, start and end dates, and professional days.  We get to choose a couple of professional days and a day for a staff retreat.  This is done in alignment with the needs of the staff and the school.  Usually, one day is set aside for planning near the end of the year.  Another day is used to work on our school growth plan, which this year is renewing a comprehensive reading strategy.  Our staff retreat this year is in January and will be focused on our school theme “Caring for Everyone in Our Common Home.”  It usually involves bringing in a guest speaker and spending the day in prayers, listening and quiet reflection.  Finally, dates like fun days, talent shows, and fundraisers are usually determined based on when there is time, facility availability, and the needs of the organizers of the events.

I’ve heard it asked (though never by CCS parents), “if professional days are really for “learning”, why are they always on a Monday or Friday?  Sounds like just another long weekend for staff.”  When we choose to put professional days on Mondays or Fridays it is not to make a long weekend for staff, but it is a consideration for families.  Professional days can give families some extra time together.  Having professional days on Mondays and Fridays also allows for at least four days in a row of school, thus disrupting the learning week less than if you had it on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.

Finally, I’d like to address the issue of the two week Spring Break.  As an educator I am not a fan of it, but as a parent whose schedule fits with it, I love the extra time with my kids.  Originally the public schools had a one week Spring Break.  To save money, they began adding a “shut down” week to their one week Spring Break.  This “shut down” saves public school districts a lot of money.  During that week they do not pay hourly staff, or clean or heat the school.  If a district could save $10,000 per school, and had 100 schools, they would be saving $1 million dollars per year.  Public school districts save a lot of money as a result of the extended Spring Break.  As an independent school we don’t save much, if any, money.  I will resist any move to save money by taking pay away from some of our hardest working employees who happen to be on an hourly scale.  Catholic schools went with a two week Spring Break mostly to align ourselves more closely with the public school calendar.  We did so without sacrificing any instructional time as we still are required to exceed government expectations for instructional hours by 50 hours.  The decision to go with a two week Spring Break was ultimately made several years ago by the CISVA Board of Directors after consultation with all stakeholders.

So that is my understanding of how a school calendar is determined.  If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

Farewell Address to 2017 Graduating Class: Know Your Worth #cisva

Today I want to talk to you about something most of you don’t know or at least forget too often: your worth.  You are far more valuable than you give yourself credit for.

How do you know how much something is worth?  Is it the asking price?  Is it a random guess?  No.  When it comes down to it, something is worth what will be paid for it.  A bottle of water? $1  A fidget spinner? About $10.  The Ferrari Marcello will own by the time he is 21? $200000.

Well, if the worth of something is determined by what some one is willing to pay for it, what are you worth?  $1, $10, $200000?  What would someone pay for you?  We could ask your parents.  I’m certain everyone of them would say they would do anything for you.  They would give their lives to save yours.  How does that make you feel to hear that?

What if I told you that you are worth even more than that?  Look upon the cross behind me.  God, the creator of the mountains, oceans, planets and the entire universe, loves you; enough that he himself came down to earth to die the most agonizing death upon the cross to save your life.  You are worth that much.  The life of Jesus Christ was paid for you.  Do you remember when you were little and you would say to your parents, “I love you this much” with your arms stretched out?  When you look upon the outstretched arms of Jesus on the cross remember that he was thinking of you.  He was and continues to say “I love you this much.”

Let’s bring that back into the context of your everyday lives.  If you are worth this much, why do we so often struggle with self-esteem and confidence?  We forget our worth.  We look at celebrities and think they are worth more than us because they are more beautiful, more talented, smarter, more loved.  We look at our classmates and think they are more popular, more cool, more athletic.  Every time I see one of you in tears I think to myself “If only you knew your worth.  If only you knew how much you are truly loved.”

You are so loved.  God loves you.  Your parents love you.  I and the staff of CCS loves you.  Your friends… they are nice but don’t rely on them for determining your worth; they are often as confused and messed up as you are.  How do we continue to remember how much we are worth?  By spending time with those who love us.  Go to Mass, pray, and read Scripture to remind yourself of God’s love.  Have dinner with your family, help around the house, and snuggle on the couch while watching a movie to be reminded of your family love.  Finally, when High School has got you down, come back to CCS.  You will always be welcomed and loved here.

May God bless you all as you make the next step in your journey.

FSA Results Don’t Tell the Whole Story #cisva

At the Catholic Educator’s Conference earlier this month Father Tony Ricard from the Archdiocese of New Orleans spoke in the keynote address.  His message was loud and clear for teachers in Catholic Schools: If you don’t see yourself first and foremost as a Religion teacher, get out!  He went on to say there are lots of jobs for people who just want to teach Math, Science or English.  There are public and private schools that do that stuff.  The reason we have Catholic Schools is so that we can form students in Christ.  No matter what grade or subject you are teaching you must help form the students in their Catholic worldview.

Recently the Fraser Institute released it’s annual rankings of schools based on the annual Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) test.  This test is deployed by the government each year to look for trends in education and academic achievement.  I am actually in favor of standardized tests when used for the right reasons.  I believe the government has every right, and the duty, to find ways to make sure the billions of dollars spent on education each year are well used.  The problem with the FSA test is that it is only a very small sample of one aspect of schooling.  It is certainly not meant to “rank” school from best to worst.  For one thing, the results as published by the Fraser Institute do not compensate fairly for ESL or special needs students.  They don’t take into account the socio-economic status of a population.  Yes, that information is in there if you dig, but the message the average reader gets looking at the results is that #1 is the best school and #900 is the worst.  This is simply not true.

There is so much more to school than just a single test score.  Being here everyday and seeing all the creative thinking, artistic development, athletic competition, and personal formation reminds me of just how much we do above and beyond academics.  Most importantly, as a Catholic School, our most important mission is formation of the whole student in Christ.  I am proud of the work our staff do with students each day in every aspect of school life.  Don’t get me wrong, we do just fine on the FSA test, but I never have and I never will use it as the number one reason for families to choose our school.

Thanks for reading!

Why I Send My Children to Catholic School #cisva

I have been working in Catholic schools for 18 years.  For the past eight years I have had the privilege of serving as Principal at Cloverdale Catholic School.  While I have done my best to improve the school over the years, I believe the school has done even more to improve me.  CCS is not your average, run-of-the-mill elementary school.  The faith life of the school, the personal commitment of the staff, the inclusion of students of all abilities and differences, the growing and vibrant community, and the child-centered appreciation of fun make CCS not just a great place for me to work, but a place where I have chosen to send my own children to school.

Faith comes first at CCS.  Our teachers are committed to developing the children in their appreciation of the love of God.  From this love bursts a desire to live an ordered and moral life.  Our students receive religious instruction and opportunities to pray daily.  We also celebrate weekly Mass, Adoration, and Confession.  Celebrations of traditional and communal Catholic prayer are balanced with personal prayer and praying with scripture.  Our students are given every opportunity to open their hearts to Jesus and grow in faith.

The staff of CCS are chosen not solely on their resumes and curricular expertise, but also on their love for God, teaching, and for developing the whole child.  Our teachers give of themselves both in the classroom and outside of it through extra time spent with students in a variety of extra-curricular activities.  Most importantly, staff see their time at CCS as part of their vocation and ministry; not just their job.  As a result, students feel welcome and wanted in the classroom.

CCS is proud to welcome students of all different religions, ethnicities, languages, and abilities.  There is a culture of caring not only among the staff, but also among the student body.  Students with disabilities are nurtured and provided resources they need to reach their personal full potential.  It is an integral part of our mission to serve all with great love just as Jesus would.

The community of Cloverdale Catholic School and Precious Blood Parish is relatively small.  Whether you are at a basketball game, Sunday Mass, or the annual Parish Bazaar, families have many opportunities to pray, learn, and play together.  There is no shortage of ways to get involved and connect with other parents and children.

Since our school is full of children, it makes sense that we have a lot of fun.  Our beautiful and spacious playground makes for great opportunities for both creative and structured play.  Our teachers get in on the fun too, planning popcorn sales, themed activity days, teacher vs. student sports, and spirit days.  Although we take our jobs seriously, we try not to take ourselves too seriously.  This sense of fun makes CCS someplace both adults and kids can look forward to going to each day.

Catholic schools are great places to live, work, pray, and play.  CCS is a special school and I am proud to be both the Principal and a parent.  If you are a parent at a Catholic school and you have reasons for sending your kids that I have missed, please post them in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

After a Month of the Redesigned Curriculum #cisva

BC’s newly redesigned curriculum came into full effect this September and our teachers and students have been hard at work implementing the changes.  I am proud of and excited about the things that I see going on every day at school.  Teachers are being creative and connecting with their students’ interests and skills in new and exciting ways.  Walking the halls and looking in I am delighted to see students growing in meaningful ways in the areas of Thinking, Communicating, and Personal and Social Responsibility.  Whether it is seeing Grade Twos building boats, Grade Sixes getting together as a group for team building challenges, or the Grade Fours making choices about how and where they best learn, school feels new and different, which is something I haven’t been able to say before.

While there are definitely changes, we have been careful not to forget the fundamentals.  Students are still heavily engaged in reading, writing, and mathematics, but they are doing so with newfound curiosity and energy.  Instead of just drilling 30 students with the same math questions at the same time, teachers are focussing on students’ individual levels of learning and knowledge gaps.  Students are still writing, but now in the context of their interests and choices.  Students are reading, but now with increasing purpose and critical thinking.  By adding choice and meeting the needs of individual students we hope to make school more meaningful while still building skills and knowledge.

It’s an exciting time to be in education.  While there are always challenges and adjustments when making a shift in thinking, I believe that overall this change is a very good and overdue one.  I’m excited about what the future holds.

Caring for Our Common Home #cisva

On Thursday, May 26th,  I attended a workshop on Pope Francis’ latest encyclical “Laudato Si: Caring for Our Common Home.”  This letter to world details the Church’s position on the environment and our role in stewardship over the Earth.  It was an enlightening experience to hear and have explained what the Pope is saying and how his vision of environmental protection fits with my (lack of) understanding.

I’ve never been much of an environmentalist.  In fact, I have found it rather amusing in the past to have fun with people who go crazy over the environment.  That’s not to say I’m against taking care of the environment, I just never took it super seriously.    In fact, I still am not sure whether “global warming” is caused by human activity or not.  What on learned on Thursday changed my attitude almost completely.

It’s not that the Pope has convinced me one way or the other of what the causes of global warming may be.  What I realized from understanding Laudato Si is that it’s not about what could happen to the environment if I pollute or waste, it’s about what is happening to my fellow man here and now.  It’s about learning to reduce my own consumption and my own waste.  It’s about sharing what I have with those in in need.  It’s about doing my part, however small, to reduce the amount of pollution I create.  Instead of focussing on the possibilities, it’s about focussing on the reality of my own life.  I need to live with humility and in solidarity with the poor more than I do now.

The point from the Pope’s encyclical that made the biggest impression on me was the impact that environmental degradation has on the poor.  The lifestyle of the wealthy does have a direct impact on the lives of the poor.  Seeing it through this lens helps me appreciate that every little thing I do, however small, can lead to a real change in my heart and a real change in the world.  If everyone does a little, it actually can make a difference.

So what difference will this make at Cloverdale Catholic School?  We are going to commit to wasting less.  We can start with paper.  We go through more than 500,000 pieces of paper each year.  I don’t even know how that is possible!  That’s over 1600 pieces of paper per student and that is unacceptable.  Secondly, we are going to get in line with the rest of the world and begin composting our food waste.  Finally (for now), we are going to build a garden/farm here at the school.  Getting kids’ hands dirty and helping them appreciate where our food comes from should make them into more well-rounded, healthier people.  These three relatively small areas are a beginning and as they say, every epic journey begins with just a single step.

Thanks for reading!

An Eye Opening Professional Day With Our Brothers and Sisters in Christ #CISVA

Friday, October 23^rd was a province-wide professional day.   Rather than go to a workshop, I arranged to spend my day doing something I should have done years ago.  In the spirit of learning and ecumenism, I visited our neighbouring Christian schools: William of Orange and Cloverdale Christian School.  The experience opened my eyes to some differences but mostly to the similarities we share with our brothers and sisters in other Christian Churches and Schools.

My first visit was to William of Orange School on 60^th Avenue.  To a Catholic who reads the news of the annual “Orangemen” marches in Northern Ireland, the idea of going there was a little intimidating!  I’m happy to report that I could not have been more warmly greeted and accepted.  The principal, Kent, took me on a tour and spent over an hour talking about everything including the new curriculum, enrollment, tithing, and tuition.  We shared our mutual concerns and hopes for how to change with the times and adapt to the new curriculum while retaining the traditional elements of our schools.  The biggest difference between our two schools is enrollment.  While Cloverdale Catholic has over 300 students, William of Orange School has only 90.  The schools are the same size physically, but with only 90 students the hallways and classrooms were tidy, quiet, and spacious.  What was truly remarkable was that the principal didn’t seem to worry about low enrollment in the least.  He was confident in the mission of the school regardless of finances and numbers.  What a a great lesson for me!  I spend so much time and effort hustling to increase enrollment and fretting over finances.  It gave me reason to pause and reflect on my attitudes towards the value of peace and quiet and a sense of security and confidence even when finances may be struggling.

My second visit was to Cloverdale Christian School.  Similar in size to our own school, Cloverdale Christian has a new building.  What a difference that can make!  The principal Dave was also gracious and welcoming.  We both remarked at how sad it was that we, as brothers in Christ, had never gotten together before.  He shared stories of his time running Lutheran schools in Montana.  I really got the sense from him that he was on a spiritual mission to bring Jesus to his students and families.  Like me, he really wants to bring the students into fuller practice of their faith.  Dave kindly invited me to join him at a workshop for Christian schools on how to implement the new curriculum.   It was a great meeting and I am so grateful for the experience.

I am reminded of a line from Lord of the Rings when Elrond says to Gandalf, “Our list of allies grows thin.”  Christianity seems under constant attack from our secular culture.  Religion is often seen as an enemy of freedom.  As Catholics we can no longer afford to sit back and presume we can stand alone against world.  We have friends in the Body of Christ outside of our Catholic church.  We can work with them, pray with them, and bring Jesus to our communities together.

Curriculum Change and How We Could Report Student Progress #cisva

The teachers at Cloverdale Catholic School have been digging a little deeper into the new curriculum draft proposed by the provincial government. To view the draft click here.

When we first started looking at the new curriculum, we read it and tried to talk about it. The feedback I received was that the curriculum seemed vague, ambiguous, and too new. A comment I heard several times was “What are we supposed to do with this?” In general, people liked the changes, but didn’t know where to start.

To help give us some direction and force our conversations to take on a definite shape, we have taken on the task of developing a report card based on the new curriculum. If we had to report on all the things the new curriculum describes what would have to change and what would stay the same? This process has helped to clarify things and so far we have four distinct characteristics of a report card based on the new curriculum:

1. More reflective and student driven

The new curriculum points to a shift in learning from teacher-centered to student-centered. Many good teachers emphasize student-centered learning already, but the new curriculum wants to make it the norm. Along with this shift comes a change in the way we report student progress. Right now, student progress is reported to the student and parent by the teacher. Under the new curriculum, there should be more of an element of self-reflection and goal setting by the student as a part of the assessment and reporting process.

2. Reporting on Core Competencies

Also new to the curriculum is an emphasis on something called “Core Competencies.” These are overarching higher level thinking pieces that are covered throughout the curriculum. They are Thinking, Communicating, and Personal and Social Identity. A new reporting process would reflect the importance of these elements as equal to or even greater than the individual subject areas. For more information on the Core Competencies, click here.

3. Reporting on processes of learning

The processes of learning would also be a new element of a new report card. These are skills and attributes that include things like approach to learning, organizing, collaborating, synthesizing information, conceptualizing etc…  These are skills that make for a life long learner and are given a new importance within the new curriculum.

4. Maintain an emphasis on fundamental knowledge and skills

Finally a report card based on the new curriculum would still have to reflect the fundamental skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic (and science, socials, French, PE, Music, Art, etc…). Under the new curriculum these fundamentals are still very important and need to be reported on.

Approaching the new curriculum by looking at how we would report on it has started a real conversation on how we can implement it. Our next step is to develop a unit planning template that incorporates opportunities for teaching and assessing based on the new curriculum. As always, I am looking for input from our parents and the wider community to help guide our process.

Thanks for reading!

Healthy Perspective and Lost School Sweaters #CISVA

It occurred to me recently that there can be a striking similarity between school sweaters and a healthy perspective.

School sweaters seem to be the most easily lost item in the school. On a sunny day, you can walk around the playground and pick up ten of them off the ground. The kids are so busy; they just take them off and leave them behind without thinking.

Perspective is so easily lost as well. People are so busy working, talking, driving, making dinners, doing laundry etc… that they lose perspective without even noticing. Suddenly they find themselves panicking over the smallest things like their son got a C+ on his report card, the car is broken, or my spouse left his socks on the floor again.

Fortunately when a student loses their sweater, it is not too difficult to give it back to them, especially if they have their name in it. Usually an adult in the school, but sometimes a peer, will pick it up and bring it back to the owner.

Perspective can also be given from someone else. We are blessed if we have a parent, mentor, or friend who can see that we have lost our perspective. They can remind us of what is important. Though our immediate problems may seem overwhelming, these wise people help us to see the big picture and all we should be grateful for.

School sweaters always come back when they are really necessary. Though a student may have misplaced their sweater for a whole week, somehow when they really need it for class pictures or a special school event, they manage to find one just in time.

Real crisis tends to bring about perspective. While driving home a month ago I was having a typical commute, thinking about the daily stresses of work and family when I was in a head on collision driving 80km/h. Miraculously I walked out of the car and stood by the roadside staring at the wreckage. As I stood there half laughing and half crying, I had real perspective. None of the things that worried me before mattered. I was grateful to be alive and that I could go home to my family. That was a moment of complete clarity and perspective.

My prayer for myself and for all of us is that we find ways to achieve and maintain healthy perspective. Rather than relying on crisis for perspective, may our lives be filled with a heart of gratitude, a focus on Jesus, and a healthy balance of God, family, work, and recreation. And finally, may our students please put their names in their sweaters.

Thanks for reading!

Time For Letting Go of Letter Grades #cisva

Exactly one year ago today I wrote a blog on letter grades.  In it, I expressed mild dissatisfaction with the current report card we employ in our school system, which is a hybrid of reporting student progress based on individual learning outcomes on a performance scale and the old fashioned letter grade.   Over the course of the year my thinking has continued to evolve and I believe I am on the verge of doing something about it.

To my parents and to me, letter grades were an important stamp of approval (or disapproval) that I was doing well (or not) in school.  It was as though I worked and worked and waited to find out whether or not I was good enough at the end of the term.  That’s not how education is viewed anymore.  These days we expect (rightly) that student should be getting continuous feedback and constantly improving.  Whether students are doing well or not in the view of the teacher is less important than whether or not students are setting goals, striving for their goals, learning from their mistakes, and improving themselves on a daily basis.  I am not saying letter grades are necessarily incompatible with this new view, but they carry with them the weight  of meaning of times gone by when approval and self-worth were determined exteriorly.

Another major problem with letter grades is that they can mask the truth of student progress and limit real improvement.  Consider a student who got a “B” in Math.  During that term, they had three units; fractions, long division, and word problems.  There final grade in each section was 96%, 99%, and 50%.  Their average comes to 82%, so their grade for the term was a “B”.  How is that letter grade helpful?  By stamping an entire grade with a letter, you are glossing over the students strengths and weaknesses, thus limiting the opportunity for feedback to inspire reflection and growth. Finally there is the problem of grade inflation.  As a teacher I always found it challenging to simultaneously maintain positive learning environment and give accurate, standardized letter grades.  Though a student may “deserve” a C- for the performance they have demonstrated, there are times when it is not in their best interests to see a C- on their report card.  As a result, letter grades are “massaged” to meet the needs of the student to get the most out of them.  This creates grade inflation and diminishes the real value of the report card.

Where do we go from here?  The staff at CCS has been talking about reporting for the past several Wednesday meetings and have some good ideas moving forward.  If you have any suggestions please leave a comment. Thanks for reading!