2023-2024 School Growth Plan

Purpose and Vision:

School Growth Plans are school specific strategic plans. They are:

• collaboratively developed;
• focused on student learning goals;
• aligned with the District Strategic Plan
• evidence-informed using a cycle of improvement;
• specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

Our Story

Henderson Elementary is the Little School with a Big Heart. With 116 students enrolled for the 2023 school year we feel it is important to get to know each student and their unique strengths and stretches. By focusing on a growth mindset, and the belief that every child is unique, we create an atmosphere of care, and foster a positive learning environment. 

Henderson Elementary is honoured to be located near the traditional village tiskʷət over-looking the Salish Sea. The tiskʷət village was used as hunting and fishing grounds for thousands of years and as such, we believe we are continuing a tradition of learning in this beautiful place. We draw primarily from neighbourhood families which gives us a distinctive feel of connection and belonging. 

Henderson Elementary may be a small school, however, with our focus on developing social-emotional skills we know that our students make an impact on their school, family, and community. 

Our Learners

In addition to developing social-emotional skills and deepening our appreciation for the land and land keepers in our area, staff at Henderson Elementary place a strong focus on improving the literary skills of our learners. We have resourced programs throughout our primary grades to ensure that students receive a strong foundation; and we are beginning to see some very positive results. The DIBELS results from the 2022-23 year saw a full grade increase for nearly all our students. We expect to continue to see this growth as we plan to again focus on literacy as our core academic goal for the upcoming year.  

 District Priority 1: Cultivating an Ethic of Learning 

Ensure early learners and students have the best possible learning experience (student success).

Goal 1

Henderson Elementary will work on improving all students’ reading achievement level by the end of the year as measured by DIBEL’s reading assessment. 

Action 1

All students will have a reading assessment done at the beginning, middle, and end of the year using the DIBLES reading assessment. Teachers will utilize additional assessments such as Benchmarks, Jerry Johns etc. as required for individual students. Following each assessment period, the school learning team will review the results with the District Director of Instruction. Following that meeting the school learning team will meet with the classroom teacher to determine the next step for each student. 

Evidence 1

Individual student growth will be monitored throughout the year with a goal set at the beginning of the year during the class meetings and reevaluated throughout the year.

Action 2

Staff will engage in classroom-based developmental, accelerated, and interventive reading programs. Teachers and intervention staff will assess students regularly to determine progress towards their individual goals. 

Evidence 2

The school administration will meet with teachers once a term to discuss their classroom-based programs and in conjunction with their reading assessment data, determine if there are any adjustments that are needed. A portion of each staff meeting will be reserved for reviewing classroom-based literacy. 

Action 3

Henderson will foster student writing by giving opportunities for students to “publish” their writing to a larger audience.

Evidence 3

Henderson will develop a School Newsletter that will be published monthly. In the Newsletter student work will be showcased as well as events that the students participated in each year. The school will look for ways to engage students in the creation of this Newsletter. 

District Priority 3: Cultivating Connection 

Prioritize mental health, community connections, and social-emotional learning.

Goal 2

The staff at Henderson will promote connectedness with the school and local community

Action 1

Henderson Staff will work with the Student Council to sponsor three events throughout the year. These events will be planned and delivered by the student council. 

Evidence 1

The student council will be responsible for ensuring that the activities build on mutual values and create a connection between students and families.

Action 2

Henderson will work to improve our culture of acceptance, mindfulness, and respect through engagement in EDAS (Everyone Deserves a Smile).

Evidence 2

Staff involved with the EDAS project will provide activities for students to provide feedback on their participation, as well as seek feedback from community stakeholders. We will review the feedback at the end of the year. We will also be providing students with an opportunity to complete a Henderson focused student survey. 

Action 3

Henderson will promote connectedness with our community through School/PAC activities where the Community will be invited in for an event at the school. These activities will look like: a BBQ in September (Meet the teachers) and June (end of school), a family dinner in February, family movie nights.

Evidence 3

At the end of the year families will be given an opportunity to reflect in a survey regarding the activities that took place during the year. This will help us plan for future activities.  

District Priority 5: Cultivating Integrity/Responsibility 

(truth and reconciliation, climate change, organizational health and sustainability)

Goal 3

Improve Indigenous student success and/or a sense of belonging and presence for Indigenous learners

Action 1

Henderson staff will continue to foster a deeper relationship with the Indigenous education department and work with our Indigenous success teachers, and the čɛpθ to create learning opportunities for students. Staff will be working to increase their use of ayajuthem in their classroom as part of their professional learning throughout the year. Additional opportunities that will be explored are: 

• An Indigenous themed mural to be completed by all homerooms – in conjunction with the čɛpθ. This year we will be highlighting a meχaɬ (bear). We will connect with a local indigenous artist to outline the meχaɬ for the class to paint. 
• Introduce opportunities for students to carve - possibly connected with a knowledge keeper who could share stories with students as they carve. 
• Purchase resources and materials to create Indigenous Ed kits for classrooms 
• Create a bench for students on the grounds with indigenous carvings/stories 

Evidence 1

We will measure success through anecdotal and observational reviews of student engagement.

Our Story is Beyond

In addition to our Academic and Social-Emotional goals for this upcoming year we at Henderson Elementary will also be engaging frequently with the High School to find as many opportunities as possible to bring Brooks students into our classrooms. This may be through buddy ready, passion project presentations, sports days, and exploring growth within the performing arts. We will also be implementing a new Student Leadership program that provides students from K-7 with an opportunity to be an active member of the school community and continue to work with staff to exemplify what it means to be the Little School with a Big Heart.