Community Analysis- Miracle Beach Elementary
The Community of Black Creek
Black Creek is a community on the eastern side of Vancouver Island. It is about 16 km north of Courtenay. It is primarily a farming community and is located half way between Campbell River and Courtenay.
According to Wikipedia, “Black Creek was the host to several logging camps in the early years of the 20th century such as the Comox Logging & Railway Camp #3. The area was made available to German speaking Mennonite settlers primarily from the USSR via Mexico or the Canadian Prairie Provinces in the 1930s. They left a legacy of hard work, wresting dairy and fruit growing farms from stony ground that had once boasted some of the largest Douglas firs in the world. It is still evident today in the many small but beautiful gardens and farms that line the Old Island Highway. The Mennonite tradition still lingers in the peaceful valley producing a population with enduring values”.
Comox Valley C (Puntledge – Black Creek) by the Numbers
Age Distribution
The community analysis has provided me with some relevant information about the area of Black Creek and the community of Miracle Beach. The demographics have remained relatively stable, although there has been some growth. A large percent of the population are over the age of 45 putting it on the verge of being a retirement community. The school is near capacity and further growth would require the addition of portables. The students spend a great deal of time outdoors and enjoy quading, dirt biking and beach combing. Saratoga Speedway is very close as well as a Mini-Golf Center. Mount Washington Ski Resort is only minutes away. During the winter, there is alpine and nordic skiing. During the summer, there’s mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding, fly fishing, and camping.
In order to get a better picture of how to support Miracle Beach staff and students through collection development I need to conduct a survey in the near future to determine where their interests lie. According to Mardis, “these surveys should include questions relating to the needs of the users and to the collection.”
Sample Questions for teachers:
What units of study are you planning for this school year?
Does the library currently have adequate materials to support your curriculum?
How can I help your students with their research?
What areas of professional development are of particular interest to you? ( Mardis p.31)
Miracle Beach Elementary is a diverse K-7 rural community school with 245 students. There are no English Language Learners (ELL) at the moment. There are 36 students identified as Indigenous, mainly Metis. As a rural school, the majority of the student population is bused. The school is part of the Comox Valley School District and is nestled in the forested community of Black Creek. The Miracle Beach Provincial Park is within walking distance of the school.
For the 2018/2019 school year there are 11 divisions which has remained the same as last year. Historically, Miracle Beach has had a high turnover in staff, however this year many of the core staff members have returned. This will allow for the continuation of long range planning that was initiated last year.
The students come from a variety of home situations. There are several local farms in the area including a dairy farm, a buffalo farm, a cranberry farm and several hobby farms. There has been an increase in young families moving to the area as the housing costs are less than they would be in Courtenay or Campbell River. There are 3 families living in a nearby RV park as their financial situation has limited their housing options.
Miracle Beach has an ambitious Parent Advisory Committee. They raise funds by running a weekly hot lunch program, an annual fun fair, and a variety of other mini-fund raisers. They donate $450.00 to each class for purchases as well as $7000.00 a year for field trip busing.
Staff, students and parents have worked hard to ensure Miracle Beach is a place of learning.
“Our purpose is to equip students with knowledge, skills and views that will help them along their journeys while developing self-confident, happy and productive individuals capable of maintaining healthy lifestyles, choice, and relationships. We want to create the motivation for lifelong learning.”
Jason Cobey- Principal
Miracle Beach has an established sense of “family”. You feel it the minute you walk in the door. Staff and parents work to provide students with a caring supportive environment where students feel safe to solve problems in respectful ways. Miracle Beach continues to work towards a school program that fits the needs of individual students. Staff members are comfortable with the principles and strategies of assessment for learning approach and make every effort to ensure students are all progressing as quickly as possible, using their unique strengths and interests in the process.
Miracle Beach has decided to continue with the School Growth Plan that was created for the 2017-2018 school year.
Goal #1- Literacy
Inquiry Question– As a school community how do we improve and expand student’s knowledge, skills and attitudes in the area of literacy?
Rationale– Overall academic performance is a concern for teachers so it is hopeful that setting a goal around literacy will see an increase in other academic areas. Literacy encompasses many areas such as reading, writing, and comprehension.
Last year the school initiated a school-wide Guided Reading Program for the primary classes. The goal is to continue that program for this school year.
Goal #2- School Culture
Inquiry Question-How can we create a culture at Miracle Beach that allows all students to be included and celebrated?
Rationale– A positive school culture and climate is one where students, staff and parents feel valued, cared for and respected. Such an atmosphere contributes to effective teaching, learning and to genuine communication both within and outside the school.
Although there has been much controversy around standardized tests, the data provided by the Fraser Institute can provide helpful information when doing a community analysis.
Miracle Beach Report Card 2016/2017
The data indicates that Miracle Beach ranks at a 4.9/10 which is just below half of the overall rating score. The data shows that the scores in reading and writing have dropped compared to 4 years ago. Numeracy has remained relatively stable. This is a strong indicator that literacy should continue to be part of the School Growth Plan.
Based on the information obtained about Miracle Beach, I feel that one priority should be adding to the collection in a way that will motivate and inspire “reading for pleasure”. Research indicates that reading for pleasure is not only important for educational reasons but for personal development. (Clark, C., and Rumbold, K.) The collection has been neglected for over 15 years and is in need of being weeded and updated. I have recently placed an order for early chapter books that bridge the gap between picture books and chapter books. There is also a need for resources that support the social studies curriculum, particularly indigenous content.
The Library
Miracle Beach Elementary was built 30 years ago. It was built to accommodate some growth, but it is now bursting at the seams. There is limited storage space and several support staff work out of tiny closet like spaces. The library itself is quite lovely as it has many windows and backs on to a forested area at the back of the school. Our computer lab is attached to the library. After 15 years of neglect, we are now in the process of organizing and weeding the collection. Both my library clerk and myself are new to the school. We have rearranged the furniture to create a more open concept feeling and we hope to relocate many of the unused text books that are now being housed in our space. At the moment we are using a mixed schedule. I am there on Monday and Tuesday where we offer flexible scheduling. The rest of the week has fixed book exchanges. I am reluctant to refer to the library as a “learning commons” at this point as we are not there yet. It is my first year at Miracle Beach and there are many steps that need to be taken before we evolve into a learning commons. We will be using the “Leading Learning” document as our guide. It is a work in progress but we are already feeling great about the small changes we have made.
Grade and Curriculum Focus: Develop the collection to support Grade 3 Social Studies
For most of my 25+ years of teaching I have been a grade 2-3 teacher. Since the new curriculum’s arrival, I have enjoyed broadening my horizons by incorporating more indigenous content. My favourite lessons revolve around the use of picture books and the lessons that I am inspired to create. I am a strong believer in integrating language arts with every other content area. This year I will be collaborating with a team that has been selected for a Set-BC Synergy Project. The team includes a Grade 3 teacher, a Grade 7 teacher, our learning support teacher, our administrator and district support people. For the purposes of this assignment, I will focus on the Grade 3 curriculum.
Project Title: Salmon in the Classroom: Life Science and First Nations’ Cultural Significance
Aboriginal Education – Art, Music, and Storytelling
As part of this project, aboriginal education teams will be exploring innovative ways to support students’ artistic expression, original music composition and digital storytelling.
“If we start from the point of where we stand, we are able to immediately and comfortably bring Aboriginal worldviews and perspectives to the classroom. We all share the history of the place on which we stand, but education needs to recognize the language and people that came originally from this place.”
Grade 3 Curriculum Connections: Art, Music and Storytelling
- Why are stories important to indigenous people?
- Why do elders play an important part in the lives of First Peoples?
- What values were significant for local First Peoples?
- How has the way of life changed for Indigenous people?
- What was the relationship between First Peoples and their environment (respect for the land, organization and techniques of hunting and fishing.)
- Describe cultural characteristics and ways of life of local indigenous people (protocols,celebrations, ceremonies,dance, music, spiritual beliefs, art, values, kinship, traditional teachings)
Taken from: Grade 3 Social Studies Curriculum
Resources to Support Curriculum Goals
District Support from the Indigenous Department of SD71 Comox Valley (resources, class visits, field trips)
School support from the ISW (Indigenous Support Worker) team teaching and planning, arranging visits from elders, participation in classroom based art projects.
Regular meetings of the school based team of the Synergy Project- Set BC ( setting goals for the project and providing lessons that connect the importance of salmon to the culture of our local First Peoples.
Local Resources
Northwest Coast First Nations Art -I-Hos Gallery
Ancient Fish Traps- Project Watershed
The Oyster River Enhancement Society
Books and Resources
First Nations Education Steering Committee
Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspectives in the Classroom: Moving Forward
The development of the collection will have a focus on the Grade 3 Social Studies Curriculum, however the addition of these resources will benefit most grade levels in the school. The grade 3 class consists of 22 students. The teacher, Corinne provided this description of herself.
“I graduated from Vanier (Courtenay BC) and headed to Vancouver where I worked for a year before heading to UBC to get my 2 degrees in Sociology and Education.
I have been teaching at the Beach for 4 years now and have taught about salmon and raised Coho. I have a blessed relationship with the Oyster River Hatchery and thought adding more to our salmon journey than the raising and releasing them would be to delve deeper. We are focusing on the ecosystem and learning how the Indigenous people would have used the river ecosystem to help sustain themselves and the salmon habitat. We will be learning about the importance of salmon being a food staple and how it was used at ceremonies such as a potlatch. We are currently beginning our Indigenous learning journey through art and form line style. I am learning alongside my students about Indigenous people and have joined the Indigenuous education committee.”
For the time being, my collection development will focus on supporting the School Growth Plan as well as the Synergy BC Project.
References
En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Black Creek, British Columbia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Creek,_British_Columbia [Accessed 23 Sep. 2018].
Clark, C., and Rumbold, K. (2006). Reading for Pleasure a research overview.
The National Literacy Trust.
Your blog is a pleasure to read. I am so impressed with your use of presentation tools which showcase your knowledge of technology. Your project is very timely. Soon we will visit the Quatse River hatchery to see eggs taken, to view the displays, and to take part in the active learning opportunities. It seems odd to begin discussion of the life cycle with spawning but when the eggs come in January the children remember. Maybe with the contacts you have you could visit a smokehouse and talk about traditional ways of preserving the harvest. On your return it could be documented in a number of ways. Enjoy your journey.
Thank you Marilyn! Great idea about the smoke house! I’m thinking using iPads would be a great way to document their learning
Well done analysis Debra-Lynne. You have inspired me to overhaul mine and make it into a user friendly blog like yours. A. Taylor