Building Collective Efficacy: What process did your school take in developing your School Growth Plan?
Charles Bloom Secondary is a Grade 7-12 school located in the heart of the community of Lumby. Our school serves both the village of Lumby as well as the greater Lumby area, including Cherryville and Lavington. With approximately 365 students, our school is "small in numbers, but large in heart!" Our trades and tech programs are very popular with a number of our students enrolled in dual-credit programs through Okanagan College and beyond. We also have a renowned Forestry Program that provides "hands-on" learning at our Woodlot, which is over 600 hectares in size. Students at Charles Bloom and the other high schools in our district can apply into this prestigious program. Our athletics program also boasts a number of competitive programs and consistently competes at the Provincial levels each year. On average, nearly 60% of our students are involved in at least one of our athletic teams or team sports. We also have redeveloped our fine arts program, which will now start offering students drama courses and the opportunities to take part in clubs such as dance and rock band. Over 20% of our student population identifies as Indigenous. We continually work collaboratively with elders, community stakeholders, and both our school-based Indigenous support team and our district Indigenous department to enhance services and experiences for our Indigenous students. At Charles Bloom, we strive to meet each students needs in terms of academics and their character growth. Both are very important for a child's future development.
Evidence-Informed: What data is driving your goal(s)?
Student data is gathered within the year through the following: Student Learning Surveys, Literacy and Numeracy Provincial Assessments, Youth Development Instrument (YDI), and the Foundational Skills Assessments (FSA).
Student Success
keyboard_arrow_downStudent Success To provide many pathways for all students to pursue and achieve desired outcomes.
Strategic Plan Goal(s):
District Strategic Plan
Actions: What will we do to support all learners?
In order to support the strengthening of literacy and numeracy skills, we have transitioned our Grade 9 students into fully linear classes beginning in the 2024/2025 school year. By having another full year of skill building and critical thinking opportunities with their teachers and peers, we feel students will be more established in their learning and development in all subject areas, particularly in Math and English. Our current Grade 7 and 8 classes have an already established and seasoned Middle Years program. By adding Grade 9s to our Middle Years model, this will only enhance their literacy and numeracy skills. For numeracy specifically, we have our Senior Math teacher taking on an additional role as a Numeracy Support Teacher for our Gr. 7-9 math classes. Not only will this provide further numeracy collaboration amongst teachers, this will also further aid in the transition process for students entering senior math courses starting in Grade 10.
Reflections & Results:
Our Middle Years team continues to lead the way in collaboration and planning for student success, specifically in literacy and numeracy. They consistently consult with our district Learning Team and have had successful residencies with various Learning Coordinators. Our Senior Math department also completed a successful residency program that further enhanced the critical thinking skills of our students and provided opportunities for them to learn differentiated approaches to teaching numeracy.
Next Steps:
Leadership Excellence
keyboard_arrow_downTo empower all staff to contribute to organizational excellence in the service of student success.
Strategic Plan Goal(s):
District Strategic Plan
Actions: What will we do to support all learners?
Staff have committed to efficiently and effectively instilling and modelling for students, families, and community the Bloom R.U.L.E.S.: Respect Understanding Learning Excellence Safety Staff have worked collaboratively at school-based professional development days on enhancing school culture and student well-being, including setting standards for student recognition and acknowledgement of healthy behaviour. Weekly prize draws for students who are witnessed demonstrating any of the Bloom R.U.L.E.S. Publicly acknowledging students who have shown tremendous character growth, personal growth, resiliency, and acts of kindness. This has been done at assemblies, grade group meetings, graduation ceremonies, and during morning announcements. Staff continue to learn, understand, and practice restitution with students and work with those who need further support in establishing healthier behavioural and academic habits.
Reflections & Results:
Beginning in the fall of 2022, all staff at our school began a journey through a Transformative Leadership Plan. The goal of the plan was the following: "Every student at Charles Bloom will have a positive and meaningful connection with at least two adults in our school building." As a staff, we focused on the following as examples (not exhaustive) of positive and meaningful connections with students: 1. Saying "hello", asking students how they are doing, and spending roughly two minutes in conversation with them. 2. Use humor with students and make them laugh or smile. 3. Actively listen to students concerns, requests, or "voice". 4. Get involved in extra-curricular activities at school (coaching, clubs, intramurals, etc.) 5. Spending time assisting students outside of class to help improve their academics What began as a two year commitment (Fall 2022 - Spring 2024) on the part of the staff has blossomed into a beautiful and meaningful reminder about the power of connection and influence we have as educators. A student survey conducted in May 2024 indicated that 70% of students at Charles Bloom feel they have a positive and meaningful connection with at least two adults in the school. Moving forward into the 2024/2025 school year, our goal as a staff remains the same: Ensuring all students at Charles Bloom feel seen, heard, and appreciated...daily!
Next Steps:
Community Connections
keyboard_arrow_downTo build strong relationships amongst all community members in the service of student success.
Strategic Plan Goal(s):
District Strategic Plan
Actions: What will we do to support all learners?
In collaboration with administration and consultation from our District Indigenous Department, our Indigenous Support Worker (ISW) has created an Indigenous Student Leadership program where Charles Bloom Indigenous students have opportunities to serve and lead at both the local and provincial levels. Our Indigenous Welcome Room is a place in our school where Indigenous students can come for academic, social-emotional, or behavioural support. We have a full-time Indigenous Support Worker as well as a part-time Indigenous Outreach Worker who make incredible connections with both our Indigenous and Non-Indigenous students on a daily basis. First Peoples Principles of Learning are firmly rooted in numerous courses offered at our school. Our staff have committed to working on Land Acknowledgements and the importance of "Learning on the land." Each gathering we have in our school (with students, staff, or both) always begins with acknowledging the Okanagan Syilx Territory. Being in the Lumby area provides our school community endless opportunities to get outside and literally learn on the beautiful land we call home. From walking trails and forests to lakes and rivers, our staff take many opportunities to do so with their various classes. Over the past two years in particular, our staff have spent time together up at our School District Woodlot. This area is located up Trinity Valley Road, only 15 minutes from our campus. 600 hectares of vast forest, creeks, and a number of plant and animal species that make this area their home. We have done plant and animal identification lessons, spent time doing nature walks, and also strategizing how we can bring this type of Indigenous learning back into our classrooms.
Reflections & Results:
29% of our 2024 graduating students were Indigenous. All received their Dogwood Diploma and fulfilled all graduation requirements. A number of them are going on to post-secondary studies in the fall of 2024. Charles Bloom Secondary will be hosting the 2025 Indigenous Graduation Ceremony. We are thrilled to be chosen as the host school and are looking forward to collaborating at both the school and community level to celebrate all Indigenous graduates throughout our school district.
Next Steps: