What’s Your Superpower?

Velvet Lacasse
June 6, 2021
Anti-Racism, Assessment and Evaluation, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Constant Learning, Equity, Indigenous Perspectives, Professional Learning and Growth, The Arts, Year End Reflection
Comments

  “What’s My Superpower” is a sweet and powerful book written by Aviaq Johnston and illustrated by Tim Mack. This is the story of Nalvana, an Inuit child who lives in a northern community, and her journey to find her own “superpower”. This book was gifted to me by my educator friend, Ellie Clin. She […]

The Show Must Go On…..

Velvet Lacasse
June 5, 2021
Engaging students with online learning, Integration, Play-Based Learning, Social Justice, The Arts
Comments

I was very disappointed to learn that we would not be returning to school in June. I am missing the students and their families. I feel isolated from my co-workers, and I am longing for the times when we would connect in the hallway and out in the yard. I do not love teaching on-line, […]

Break open…and rise up!

Velvet Lacasse
May 23, 2021
Advocacy for change, Anti-Racism, Challenging Topics, Constant Learning, Equity, Indigenous Perspectives, Mindfulness, Professional Learning and Growth, Remote Learning, Social Justice
2 Comments

Spring is a good time to reflect and pay attention to growth, change and transformation. After a long year of isolation and stillness, everyone is hopeful about the promise of movement and possibility. Planting seeds is a wonderful metaphor of the learning that we are doing together in our school communities. Planting Seeds:Jenny Davis is […]

Buiding an Inclusive Playground

Velvet Lacasse
May 19, 2021
Anti-Racism, Assessment and Evaluation, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Curriculum Planning, Differentiated Instruction, Equity, General, Inclusion, Indigenous Perspectives, Integration, Outdoor Learning, Play-Based Learning, Science, Social Justice, Teaching online
Comments

I am having a lot of fun learning how to center issues of disability justice and equity throughout the curriculum. Every week, during MSI (Math-Science Investigations) the Grade 2 students solve problems using a variety of building materials. As part of the Science curriculum, we are learning about Movement and Simple Machines. We started this […]

Point of View

Velvet Lacasse
May 1, 2021
Advocacy for change, Anti-bullying, COVID19, Curriculum Planning, Gender Equity, Inclusion, Indigenous Perspectives, Integration, Learning in a Real Life Context, Literacy, Media Literacy, Music, Play-Based Learning, Remote Learning, Social Justice, The Arts
Comments

This month, we are exploring different points of view through reading and writing a variety of texts. This “big idea” has many possibilities for critical thinking and cross-curricular integration with Media Literacy, Social Studies, Science, Visual Arts, Music and Drama. In my Grade 2 class, we have used point of view to explore issues of […]

“Breathe-in experience, breathe-out poetry.” M. Rukeyser

Velvet Lacasse
April 7, 2021
Anti-Racism, Curriculum Planning, Equity, Inclusion, Indigenous Perspectives, Inspiring Students, Integration, Language Learning, LGBTQ2S, Literacy, Media Literacy, Mindfulness, Social Justice, The Arts
Comments

April is National Poetry Month. During this challenging year, poetry has supported critical and courageous conversations, offered some comfort and hope, while honouring pain and anger. Here are some examples of what this work has looked like and sounded like in our Grade 2 classroom: Igniting the Spark: Amanda GormanThe whole world was inspired by […]

Gender Splendour!

Velvet Lacasse
March 30, 2021
Advocacy for change, Anti-bullying, Anti-Racism, Building Inclusion, Equity, Gender Equity, General, Inquiry, LGBTQ2S, Music, Social Justice
2 Comments

This year, our school community will celebrate Gender Splendour from April 6-9, 2021.  It will be our 11th year implementing arts-based curriculum that explores gender identity and equity, 2SLGBTQ+ communities, inclusive families, and disrupts homophobia and transphobia.  Over the years, the Kindergarten-Grade 6 students have participated in several inclusive and intersectional workshops, including: Love Makes […]

Birds of a Feather….

Velvet Lacasse
March 21, 2021
Differentiated Instruction, First Nations, Indigenous Perspectives, Outdoor Education, The Arts
1 Comment

….FLOCK Together!! In preparation for the Spring Equinox, which is usually held in the Rainbow Garden, I started to think creatively about how we could gather as a whole school community and respect COVID health and safety protocols. I wanted to incorporate dance, and then I remembered about flocking. WTF? Flocking is a type of […]

G.L.O.W.

Velvet Lacasse
February 28, 2021
Advocacy for change, Anti-bullying, Anti-Racism, Building Inclusion, Gender Equity, General, Inclusion, LGBTQ2S, Media Literacy, Social Justice
Comments

GLOW (Gay, Lesbian or Whatever) is an extracurricular club for Grades 6-8 students to explore issues related to the 2SLGBTQ+ community and their allies. We have been meeting on-line every week since April 2020. Before COVID-19, we would meet during lunch at school. GLOW is a proud and positive space for students and educators to […]

Student-Led Conferences

Velvet Lacasse
February 20, 2021
Advocacy for change, Assessment and Evaluation, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Curriculum Planning, Equity, Inclusion, Inquiry, Interviews, Report Cards, Year End Activities
Comments

Writing report cards and IEPs during COVID-19 was frustrating and stressful. COVID-19 has exposed deep inequities that affect families disproportionately, and it has impacted teaching, learning and assessment in significant ways. There are so many challenges to assessing and evaluating students on-line, and there are many strengths/skills that cannot be measured on a report card. […]

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