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Posts Tagged ‘AprilFoolsDay’

Expanding Our Mandate in Schools – West Vancouver Schools’ Animal Kingdom Academy

Posted in SD45, tagged , on April 1, 2023| 6 Comments »

Much has been made about the expanded mandate for the school system. In British Columbia, this mandate now includes early learning and our system is continually reinventing itself. K-12 is no longer a stand alone system – we are a human learning system. As many see it, we are really now a system that spans people’s entire lives.

West Vancouver has already been a leader in expanding our reach.  We know we have a great brand and one of the world’s top systems, so we want to continually look to go to new places.  We were first with full day kindergarten, a leader in international programs, a power player in the academies world (you have heard about our robotics haven’t you?) and today I am pleased to announce our next expansion.

Beginning in the fall of 2023 each of our schools will no longer just service the humans in our community but we are launching  Animal Kingdom Academy  programs attached to every one of our schools in the district.  We have been leaders in human education, and we can do the same for your pets.  We have been leaders in digital literacy and physical literacy and we are always looking at what is next.  We know animalia literacy will be crucial to be productive citizens in our world.

Beginning today, you can enroll your pets for school starting in September.  All pets are welcome.  We are building our expertise to support dogs, cats, birds, fish, and small mammals, and each pet will have an individualized program to support their specific needs.  In future years, we plan to expand our offerings to pets in the broader community. 

International Head Frankowski with 2 students  registering.

Of course with the challenges already in funding in the education system, there will be questions on how this new program will be funded.  The core funding for the program will be through the government’s pet tax on all pets in the community.  There are a variety of other ways that we will get supplemental funding for the Animal Kingdom Academy including bake sales (think regular human bake sales with cupcakes but for your pets), onsite petting zoo – we know people will pay top dollar to snuggle your pets, and door-to-door sales of pet goodies (if you think kids selling cookies at your door works well, you should see cute dogs coming to your door to sell pet treats).

We know we have the expertise to do pet education differently.  

And of course it is not just the pets that will benefit.  This will also completely change how we educate our students in K-12.  All of our students will learn about pet care and responsibility.  We see this initiative as key to supporting the mental health of our students and their needs around learning empathy and compassion.  

The courses our students take will also now be different.  At each grade approximately

Principal Finch is all in at Sentinel.

40% of the curriculum will be dedicated to pet learning.  There will be lessons related to pet care, such as learning about different types of pets and their needs, how to train pets, how to groom pets, and how to recognize and respond to pet behaviors. As part of their annual culminating project, students will become bark-itechts – learning to design and build their pet’s dream house.

Students will also get to take better advantage of our natural surroundings, as students and their pet fish will be part of an integration program where they learn to improve their swimming side-by-side in the ocean.  And of course every morning will begin with the “feline flow” – a chance for our pet cats to lead the entire school in morning stretches.  

Principal Evans with a brand new student.

Some of the courses that pets will take during the day include:  athletic agility training, aquatic fitness, behavioural modification training, relaxation and wellness massage, and dance choreography and performance.  Of course different animals will have different starting places in these courses.  Fish will have a head start in the water-based courses, and dogs and cats may have an early advantage with some of the agility training.  This issue of varied starting places is no different in school when some students have a head start over others in certain areas.   We would anticipate our pet test scores to be top tier, just like our human test scores.  All pets will take the P-SAT (Pet Scholastic Aptitude Test) each spring and rankings will be published by school.

Principal Ratz expects waiting lists at Westcot.

This new learning direction will lead to some changes on each of our campuses.  Half of all school grounds will be dedicated for animal use.  Knowing the high number of dogs that will likely be attending, artificial turf areas will be installed in various hallways to accommodate the needed potty areas.  Desks in most classrooms will be replaced with large cushions and been bag chairs so they can be used by human or pet students.  School cafeterias in the high schools will sell wet and dry pet food and water fountains built for

1st registrant on Bowen Island.

pets to hydrate themselves will be installed in all schools.  

While this program will be great for raising the achievement of pets in our community, we know it will also be a way to further attract students to our school district.  Just as programs for other human members of families in schools can help make schools community gathering places, the Animal Kingdom Academy Programs can also do the same.  

It is going to be Pawsome!  

Director Nelson will be exploring a dog soccer academy program.

You will have noticed that there are some limitations to this program.  In our initial

Principal Campbell is excited for the outdoor learning.

offering for 2023, we are limiting enrolment to typical domestic animals (cats, dogs, fish, birds, guinea pigs etc.).  As I write this we have a team of structural engineers inspecting each of our schools for the maximum weight the 2nd storey of our buildings can hold.  We want to be inclusive and not discriminate, so hope to welcome cows, pigs, horses and other larger animals to our program in 2024.  And what will this mean for our students?  Starting in 2024 we will also have the first student rodeo academy program in North America!

Today’s announcement is the latest in the long line of innovative actions from our school district.  Here is the list of those from recent years:

In 2012 I launched my FLOG.

In 2013 I made the announcement of Quadrennial Round Schooling.

In 2014 we formalized our System of Student Power Rankings.

In 2015 we created our Rock, Paper, Scissors Academy.

In 2016 we introduced the Drone Homework Delivery System.

In 2017 we introduced the Donald J. Trump Elementary School of Winning.

In 2018 we announced the construction of Soak City Elementary.

In 2019 we went back to the 80’s with the launch of the Belvedere Learning Academy.

In 2020 we embraced the latest in learning styles with our PBL (Pajama-Based Learning) Program.  

In 2021 we announced we were going out of this world with our Galaxy High Program.

And just last year in 2022, we announced New Nicknames for All of Our Schools. 

Ripley will be part of  the IB Program at West Bay.

Principal Hayes registers Gryff for the fall term.

We know you have come to count on West Vancouver Schools to

continue to innovate.  And today’s announcement raises the bar again. Hopefully your April 1st is as good as ours!

 

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New Nicknames Will Make Schools Cool Again

Posted in Change, tagged on April 1, 2022| 2 Comments »

There has been a lot of attention around school nicknames in recent years.  You will have seen the controversy in some communities as schools have looked to update their nicknames.  If you want a complete look at all the high school nicknames in British Columbia, my friend Howard Tsumura did an exhaustive list HERE. 

As per usual when others Zig, we Zag in West Vancouver Schools.  We are not going to look to update one or two nicknames, we are today announcing new nicknames for all of our schools.  We know that nicknames are important for branding, so we want all our schools to have modern up-to-date nicknames that are relatable for our students.  We are also committed to updating them every 10 years.  We are absolutely committed to staying hip in West Vancouver.

As a side benefit, we think we are going to sell a lot of school merchandise as everyone will want to represent their schools and our modern new nicknames and logos will appeal to the masses beyond our schools.  We are also launching our district-wide online store today so you can buy your favourite swag from any of our schools.  So without further ado we are pleased to announce brand new nicknames for all our schools today.

Bowen Island Community Pokemons

Caulfeild Mini Millennials 

Ecole Cedardale Cobra Kai

Chartwell Crypto Cheetahs

Cypress Park Virtual Vultures

Eagle Harbour Emojis

Ecole Pauline Johnson Peloton Pirates

Gleneagles G.O.A.T.S.

Hollyburn Zoom Bombers

Inglewood Jumpin JOMOs

Irwin Park Snapchatting Sharks

Lions A. I. Bay

Ridgeview Podcasting Penguins

Rockridge Tik Tokers

Sentinel Selfie Squad

West Bay Bitcoin Ballers

West Vancouver Wandavisioners

Westcot Wild Memes

Today’s announcement is the latest in the long line of innovative actions from our school district.  Here is the list of those from recent years:

In 2012 I launched my FLOG.

In 2013 I made the announcement of Quadrennial Round Schooling.

In 2014 we formalized our System of Student Power Rankings.

In 2015 we created our Rock, Paper, Scissors Academy.

In 2016 we introduced the Drone Homework Delivery System.

In 2017 we introduced the Donald J. Trump Elementary School of Winning.

In 2018 we announced the construction of Soak City Elementary.

In 2019 we went back to the 80’s with the launch of the Belvedere Learning Academy.

In 2020 we embraced the latest in learning styles with our PBL (Pajama-Based Learning) Program.  

In 2021 we announced we were going out of this world with our Galaxy High Program.

We know COVID can easily make us not look for ways to innovate, but sometimes we need to keep looking for new ideas.  You can look for all our new school clothing to be available just until noon today and also, happy April 1st.

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Galaxy High Program

Posted in SD45, tagged , on April 1, 2021| 7 Comments »

You may have heard of students spending a semester in Europe or Asia.  Or maybe even about the school where you can learn on a boat for a year with the Class Afloat Program.  Well, West Vancouver Schools always wants to stay out front, and that is why today we are announcing the Galaxy High Program – where you spend a full-term learning in outer space.

Background

Space-Based Learning is an emerging field for study.  We have seen the real growth in place based learning, and outdoor learning in recent years, so it seemed natural that if we are looking to the earth for learning, we should also be looking into space.  And what might have seemed far fetched in recent years has become a reality recently.  The SpaceX Project from Elon Musk which includes his recently announced all-civilian mission, has opened the doors for students.   

The name and much of the curricular inspiration for our program comes from the 1986 television show Galaxy High – which emphasized many of the lessons that we are hoping for our students. Students will be stationed at the Galaxy High Space Station and from there travel as necessary to the moon for recreation and other programs.     

Supporting Courses 

While students in this program spend one term (3 months) in space it is a year-long program as they prepare for their trip.  In the first term, students will study space in popular media taking courses like Star Wars vs. Star Trek – Which Side Are You On? In the second term, students will focus on the specific preparations for their time in space.  Courses will include meal prep (learning how to use liquid salt and pepper for starters!), going to the bathroom in space and living in zero gravity.    

Program Description

On April 1, 2022 students will blast off from Loof Lipra Air Force Base just north of Vancouver.   Once landing at Galaxy High Space Station students will participate in many of the same courses they would normally take here at their local high school, and will earn credits for traditional courses.  Not even in space can you escape the high school lecture.  Given that they are in space they will take advantage of their surroundings.  Just like with how students connect with the earth here, over time, more time will be spent outside the space station and students will travel in the area around the station.    

Guest astronauts

We are excited to announce that just like on Earth our students will have access to wonderful experiences which includes several amazing guest speakers that will join us at Galaxy High.  Nancy Cartwright (an original cast member of the GH tv show and the long time voice of Bart Simpson), Lance Bass (formerly from the boy band N Sync who will also double as our music and dance teacher) and West Vancouver Schools own Principal Steve Rauh – many often say that Mr. Rauh is “out of this world”.  This is an all start lineup!

Admissions

We know the twelve spots in this program will go quickly, so we want to create a fair and equitable way to allow entrance. We are partnering with Rockets Candy for a Willy Wonka style promotion where 12 program admission certificates will be available in cases of Rockets Candy.   These will be distributed across Canada over the next 3 months and each has tracking devices so we can immediately celebrate those who find the certificates and become official students.  And like with the famous Willy Wonka story, even those who are not selected get a delicious consolation prize – Rockets Candy – a longtime birthday party loot bag / Halloween staple in Canada.  

Of course now seems like the absolute right time to launch (see what I did there) the program, given that there have been zero reported cases of COVID-19 in space – and anyways you wear a full mask in space so you are well protected.    

Today’s announcement is the latest in the long line of innovative actions from our school district.  Here is the list of those from recent years:

In 2012 I launched my FLOG.

In 2013 I made the announcement of Quadrennial Round Schooling.

In 2014 we formalized our System of Student Power Rankings.

In 2015 we created our Rock, Paper, Scissors Academy.

In 2016 we introduced the Drone Homework Delivery System.

In 2017 we introduced the Donald J. Trump Elementary School of Winning.

In 2018 we announced the construction of Soak City Elementary.

In 2019 we went back to the 80’s with the launch of the Belvedere Learning Academy.

In 2020 we embraced the latest in learning styles with our PBL (Pajama-Based Learning) Program.  

We know these are challenging times, but innovations just can’t stop. Happy April 1st.

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New Wardrobe Rules Announced for All Staff

Posted in Health, tagged , , on April 1, 2020| 6 Comments »

During these challenging times there has been some interesting research coming out as students and teachers learn and work remotely.  It is being said that some things that are happening now will change how we do business forever, and that in the post-pandemic era we will never go back to some of pre-pandemic practices.  West Vancouver continues to take pride in being one of our world’s most innovative jurisdictions.

While remote learning is still fairly new, there is some exciting research around student learning that is leading to some permanent change in policy.  Based on the global research conducted around remote learning that teachers are able to have students perform at least 5% better when they teach in their pajamas we are making a change to our district dress code rules.  I am pleased to announce today that going forward, all teachers will be required to teach in pajamas – even when we return to in-person learning.  It is Sweden, and the work of Loof Lipra, that has shown us first some of this exciting research.  Pajama-Based Learning (more commonly referred to in the research as PBL) is being positively received around the world.  A quick search of “PBL” on Google will find you quotes like this:

Of course, there has been some long standing suspicions that teachers teaching in pajamas improved student achievement.  Many schools that had “Pajama Days”  saw those teachers who were active participants have their students score higher marks than the students of non-participants.  This quiet study which compared achievement results of teachers who participated versus those who did not participate has been a real sleeper that has finally come out from under the covers.

Now, on remote learning, with all our teachers at home teaching in their pajamas, the results are exceptionally powerful.  While the research is not clear as to the reasons for this surge in achievement, some of the speculation includes:

  • teachers can spend more time planning lessons as they don’t have to think about what they are going to wear
  • dressing for comfort puts teachers at ease and more able to convey information to students
  • students feel “more at home” with teachers as a result of their casual dress
  • when you wear pajamas you care less about what you eat, meaning you eat more and have more energy
  • pajamas have some magical powers 

For those teachers who still want to maintain the formality of school, I hear you.  For most of my work I have adopted the “Zoom Meeting Casual” look – business on the top, time for bed on the bottom.  As the kids say, I am livin’ la vida jam-jam.

Of course there is still more research to do.  Questions like “Does switching from daytime to nighttime pajamas affect achievement gains?”  and “Do staff wearing matching pajamas lead to increased sense of community?”  There is also work to understand why wearing pajamas leads to improved achievement, but dressing in the close cousin of pajamas the yoga pant seems to have little effect.

While we look forward to the return to in-person learning, and we continue to do our work to “flatten the curve” it is exciting to see that we are already learning lessons that will forever change our education system.  We are not afraid to engage in acts of PDP (Public Displays of Pajamas).  So the innovation continues – Welcome to West Vancouver Schools – Where We Wear Our Pajamas So you Can Learn.  

Today’s announcement is the latest in the long line of innovative actions from our school district.  Here is the list of those from recent years:

In 2012 I launched my FLOG.

In 2013 I made the announcement of Quadrennial Round Schooling.

In 2014 we formalized our System of Student Power Rankings.

In 2015 we created our Rock, Paper, Scissors Academy.

In 2016 we introduced the Drone Homework Delivery System.

In 2017 we introduced the Donald J. Trump Elementary School of Winning.

In 2018 we announced the construction of Soak City Elementary.

In 2019 we went back to the 80’s with the launch of the Belvedere Learning Academy.

We know these are challenging times, but innovations just can’t stop. Happy April 1st.

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Belvedere Learning Academy – It’s Going to be Gnarly!

Posted in SD45, tagged , , on April 1, 2019| 12 Comments »

West Vancouver continues to take pride in offering the most innovative programming in the country to meet today’s learning and preparing them for the future. We are pleased to announce the launch of the Belvedere Learning Academy. This unique program for grades 4-9 students is a complete re-think on the modern school experience.  While much has been made about the competing ideologies in recent years of Back to Basics vs. 21st Century Learning, we are changing the debate with our new program.   We are bringing back the era of Garbage Pail Kids Stickers, boys playing shirts and skins in PE and leveled readers for all.

If you look around at leaders across North America one thing that is true is that an increasingly high percentage of them went to school during the 1980s.  This period of time, is in many ways the intellectual and cultural high point of the last 100 years.  We think today’s learners don’t need seats in rows and pencil and paper based learning of the Back to Basics 1950s nor the modern learning with all the fandangled technology of the 21st century – they need, what many of us had – an immersive 1980’s experience.  And everything at the Belvedere Learning Academy will be 1980s.  As the kids say, it is going to be gnarly!

Why Belvedere?

We start with the name.  The Belvedere Learning Academy (BLA for short) is named for Mr. Belvedere, one of the many 1980s situation comedies that reflected life in North America.  Mr. Belvedere was a posh British butler who moved in with the Owens family in Pittsburgh to assist the family on a weekly basis in solving their problems.   Students today don’t understand that this is how problems in the 1980s were often solved – by your British butler.  The photo of Mr. Belvedere at the front of the school will be a constant reminder of our purpose.  We could have named the program for one of the more popular 1980s shows – the Family Ties Learning Centre or the Facts of Life Institute, but we think the BLA is more appropriate – Mr. Belvedere was never that popular, but it hung around and was OK, the kind of show you would watch if your only other choices were Cagney & Lacey or a repeat of Riptide – that is the kind of program we want to create.

School Uniforms

Unlike the Back to Basics schools which have strict uniform requirements, the BLA will have a philosophy.  We think all students need to dress for the time.  It is the expectation of big hair for the students, both boys and girls.  Key clothing students should buy before enrolling include:  Reebok pump high tops, spandex, leg warmers, high wasted acid wash jeans, cut-off sweatshirts and lots of neon.  The dress code will extend to the staff.  You will be able to identify all male staff at the BLA as they will be wearing Miami Vice suits each day and the females will be wearing Dynasty-like shoulder pads, even their tshirts will have them, just like in the 80’s.

Technology

Yes, we will use technology.  We will use 1980s technology.  The Academy will be equipped with 8 Apple 2e machines in the library.  This will allow students to regularly play Lemonade Stand and Oregon Trail.  Not wanting to lose sight of the current trend of computer coding we will also expose all students to Apple Logo programming – the triangular turtle is back!  And yes, we will be a one-to-one device school – all students will be expected to have a Little Professor and bring it with them daily to school. For our secondary students we encourage the very stylish Casio watch calculator which we hope doesn’t slip off while we practice our Rubik Cube drills.

Curriculum

Most lessons will involve students copying information off of the overhead projector, and then sharing it back with the teacher through some zany-joke filled worksheet and end of unit scantron tests.  Since the school will have 2 video players and 25″ televisions on rolling carts that play both VHS and BETA we will also include a number of key programs in the curriculum.  For example, for science we will use episodes of That’s Incredible (but please as Cathy Lee Crosby reminds us – Don’t try this at home) and in our unit on communities in Social Studies we will use Real People episodes.  Having Sarah Purcell and Byron Allen coming through the screen – they will be like extra teachers in the room.

In PE there will be a lot of parachutes and cosom hockey.  As a treat, the gymnastics equipment will come for 5 weeks during which time students can climb ropes to the ceiling, vault like Mary-Lou Retton and perfect their Bart Conner rings routine (acing their iron cross will only help the students with their flexed arm hang test).  And yes, the fitness badges are back – so practice your shuttle run.  Not to lose sight of current efforts around cross cultural understanding, in PE during the professional wrestling unit and when for example, we are instructing on the Camel Clutch, this will be an opportunity to delve into the background for the Iron Sheik and his feud with Hulk Hogan and the good vs. evil struggles that exist around the world.  We are particularly excited about this unit as it will be an opportunity to take our uniforms to the next level – totally tubular!

Evaluation

Two words will define our model – speed and awards.  How fast can you complete an assignment?  There is a math sample just below for you to practice.  And awards – there will be stickers, lots of stickers!  We will also post all the grades so the weaker students better understand they are weaker, thus wanting to improve.  Now before you enroll, time yourself on this worksheet:

 

Hot Lunch Program

The modern hot lunch program, we all can agree, is out of control.  Students at BLA will be asked to bring their lunch box daily, along with their Super Socco drink.  As a reminder these lunch boxes will help define their class status, so please stick to Superman, My Little Pony, Evil Knievel, Knight Rider or other socially acceptable ones.  On the last Friday of each month will be Hot Dog Day.  This will be a huge production at the school.  Parents will be expected to come in to boil wieners in the kitchen attached to the gym.  The menu will be simple:  hot dogs for everyone, then you select plain or chocolate milk and glazed or jelly donuts.  That’s it.  To borrow a quote from our current politics, we are going to make hot dog day great again!

 

Recess

We do expect students to get outside at recess, maybe shoot some hockey cards or play with their He-Man and She-Ra figures.  They will not be allowed to have their Sony Walkmans on the field, and are asked to keep them in the cloakroom.  Also a reminder that students are not to have their sticker collections out – save trading your scratch-and-sniff stickers for after school.

Final Sales Pitch

We all know that everything was better in the 1980s.  So, stop just telling your kids about it and send them to the BLA so they can live it and become as successful as you!

Today’s announcement is the latest in the long line of innovative actions from our school district.  Here is the list of those from recent years:

In 2012 I launched my FLOG.

In 2013 I made the announcement of Quadrennial Round Schooling.

In 2014 we formalized our System of Student Power Rankings.

In 2015 we created our Rock, Paper, Scissors Academy.

In 2016 we introduced the Drone Homework Delivery System.

In 2017 we introduced the Donald J. Trump Elementary School of Winning.

In 2018 we announced the construction of Soak City Elementary.

We look forward to bringing you all back to the 80s and I hope you are enjoying today as much as me!

 

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Soak City Elementary Announced

Posted in SD45, tagged , on April 1, 2018| 23 Comments »

It is with great excitement we announce our newest school in West Vancouver –  Soak City Elementary School. We are regularly challenged to build schools that are relevant and future focused, and we are doing just that with Soak City.

At its core, it is a simple notion, we will combine an elementary school and waterpark into a single facility.  One would never have thought a hotel and a waterpark would be one complex but that is just what the Great Wolf Lodge has done with its series of resorts.  We are taking the lessons from this with our first integrated school and waterpark facility.  Soak City Elementary is the first of its kind in the world and the latest in choice schools.

The Research

We have seen a number of movements in education in recent years, from learning with computers, to personalized learning, to most recently strong efforts to get students learning beyond their classrooms and learning outside.  The next logical step from learning outside is learning in water.  Water composes more than half of the Earth, and given what we see with Global Warming, it will be even more dominant for our children.  We think students should have experiences learning in water.  The philosophy is built on the Swedish research of Lipra Loof who believes all students should have the chance to learn in H2O and that the water helps to activate unused “dark” parts of the brain.

The Facility

Soak City Elementary School will be a mix of traditional classrooms and water-based classrooms.  There will be traditional hallways connecting many of the school areas and they will be side-by-side with waterslides allowing students choice in how they travel around the school.  Ensuring that all students are challenged there will be a range of difficulty in the slides at the park, from beginner slides for our primary students to a series of more difficult and challenging slides for the intermediate learners.  Working with our partner groups we have determined the names of a number of our slides, so far we have “Brain Wash”, “Pacific Plunge” and the “West Vancouver Wedgie”.

The Curriculum

Soak City embraces the new curriculum in British Columbia.  Students will have choice in what they learn and how they learn it.  Each year students will complete 4 “dry” units and 4 “wet” units”.  All 8 units will employ an inquiry-based learning approach.    In wet units students might be taking measurements of the speed of riders on slides and then graphing these results.

Specialty Programs

West Vancouver has a long history of academy programs.  And once again we will be launching a new program to fit our new facility.  The West Vancouver High Performance Water Slide Academy will attract some of the top watersliders from around the region and beyond.  The Soak City Nerdy Dolphins will compete in the IWL (International Waterslide League) with the top competitive waterslide teams from Western Canada and the Western United States.  We hope to have our sliders competing with the top watersliders in California within 3 years.  With watersliding a potential Olympic event in 2028, we think our new school can produce future medalists.

The Staff

We are partnering with local universities to help train staff to be comfortable with teaching in water.  Just as local universities train teachers for Montessori, French Immersion or a range of other specialty programs, we will begin to graduate teachers with a specialty in teaching and learning in water.  We anticipate many of our staff will also have a Masters Degree in Waterslide Leadership or a related field.

Additional Costs

There will be a fee attached to program to laminate all the students work (things will get very wet) and to purchase waterproof markers for the students.  It will be expected that students attend in clothes that can dry quickly.

“That Question”

We know parents will be concerned around hygiene and we have taken the science used in the movie Grown Ups and any pee in the pool will automatically turn the water a bright blue (see photo) , singling out the student (or teacher) responsible and shaming them into never doing it again.

Conclusions

We are often told to be bold in education and that is just what we are doing with our latest elementary school.  Soak City Elementary School is not for everyone, but for kids who like to get wet, stay wet and combine academics and tube rides.  And this does carry-on our annual tradition of using this day to make bold decisions!

In 2012 I launched my FLOG.

In 2013 I made the announcement of Quadrennial Round Schooling.

In 2014 we formalized our System of Student Power Rankings.

In 2015 we created our Rock, Paper, Scissors Academy.

In 2016 we introduced the Drone Homework Delivery System.

In 2017 we introduced the Donald J. Trump Elementary School of Winning.

And today we announce our plans to welcome the Soak City Nerdy Dolphins to our community of great schools in West Vancouver.

Hopefully you are enjoying today as much as me!

 

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The People Have Spoken – New School Name Announced!

Posted in Change, tagged on April 1, 2017| 15 Comments »

I know many of you have been following the process over the last several months as we name our new school opening this fall. We are always told to engage the community, so we did when it came to naming the school at the corner of Lipra Avenue and Loof Lane.  And today we are excited to see that we have come to the conclusion of this process.

Background

We began this process last fall.  While many school districts name schools after local individuals of historical significance or a name that reflects the local geography we wanted to give our new school a current and relevant name – the kind that truly spoke to the community. With all the talk about school relevance we thought we should start with the name.  We were excited to see how San Diego was choosing its name for its new MLS franchise by asking the internet (click on the link – it is a good read) – and we decided to do the same thing.  As we have embraced technology we have learned when you ask the internet a question, it always give you the best answer.  Initially we had over 100 submissions and then moved to the final 4 for the decision.  The Internet is always right.

Finalists

Based on the votes, the final 4 were:

Pamela Anderson Ethical Treatment of Animals Elementary – We assume that the community’s commitment to social initiatives led to this choice. There was also a lot of interest in a young lifeguarding specialty academy which seemed a good fit for this school.  It appeared to be an early favourite with Ms. Anderson’s roots in British Columbia, but concerns were raised around potential risque nicknames and logos attached to this school which did seem to cost it some support.

Mr. Dressup Traditional Values Elementary – This had a lot of sentimental support from parents that grew up with the show.  The vision of the school was that each day the entire school would watch the antics of Casey and Finnegan to start their day and that would set the tone for the rest of the day.  Like how some schools watch a news broadcast, the 4,000 iconic Dressup episodes featuring Ernie Coombes would be shown in sequence, so a ten year cycle of shows.

Justin Bieber Elementary School of Music– A school with a music focus made a lot of sense, so it was not surprising to see this as one of the finalists.  The supporters had already labeled the school’s teams the Bieber Beliebers.  Again the strong Canadian roots to this name were seen as a real positive.

Donald J. Trump Elementary School of Winning – This was the most surprising of the finalists.  The school’s vision was to be focused on winning, so much winning that those attending the school would be tired of winning so much.  While many had thought that a school named for a politician would more logically choose a Canadian like Justin Trudeau or Stephen Harper Elementary, Trump Elementary seemed to be riding the wave of public attention.  Some clearly felt the Trump name would be like having an IB designation – everyone would know what it meant.

Vote Results

Our New School

We are excited to be opening up Donald J. Trump Elementary School of Winning this fall.  In the end Trump Elementary received 46.1% of the vote – which is truly a massive majority of the votes.  If you get 46.1% of the vote, it is hard to say you didn’t get anything but an incredible majority in an election.  Through this process, we also learned a lot about our community.  In reviewing the list of those who voted, we learned that the majority of the Trump Elementary votes came from our Russian community.  We actually didn’t know we had a Russian community before this.

So now the iconic Trump brand, will now be on our elementary school.  With the excellent reputation of Trump University, clearly Trump has already made its name in education.   Beyond its focus on winning, it makes sense to also focus on literacy.  We can envision Mr. Trump’s recent quote about what he was reading to be the kind of quote that would inspire our students:

Well, you know, I love to read. Actually, I’m looking at a book, I’m reading a book, I’m trying to get started. Every time I do about a half a page, I get a phone call that there’s some emergency, this or that. But we’re going to see the home of Andrew Jackson today in Tennessee and I’m reading a book on Andrew Jackson. I love to read. I don’t get to read very much, Tucker, because I’m working very hard on lots of different things, including getting costs down. The costs of our country are out of control. But we have a lot of great things happening, we have a lot of tremendous things happening.—Donald Trump to Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, March 15, 2017

And we know it will be a bigly popular school, the kind of school that needs a selection process – we anticipate some extreme vetting in how we choose our students.

Going Forward

We are not naive.  We know that a decision like this today, of all days, may surprise some in the community.  We know, the people are always right.  And this does carry-on our annual tradition of using this day to make bold decisions!

In 2012 I launched my FLOG.

In 2013 I made the announcement of Quadrennial Round Schooling.

In 2014 we formalized our System of Student Power Rankings.

In 2015 we created our Rock, Paper, Scissors Academy.

In 2016 we introduced the Drone Homework Delivery System.

And today we announce our plans to open up Donald J. Trump Elementary School of Winning.

Hopefully you are enjoying today as much as me!

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Homework Just Got Easier with DHDS

Posted in SD45, tagged on April 1, 2016| 15 Comments »

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We have a reputation for being on the cutting education of technology and education in West Vancouver and we are again today with the launch of our new program to support homework completion.  We know that it can be hard to remember to bring homework home, and heavy textbooks can also hurt the back health of our students – today we are eliminating these problems.

I am pleased to announce that we are first school district in North America to be using the DHDS (Drone Homework Delivery System) in our schools.  We have purchased four drones for each classroom that will be used to deliver homework directly from classroom to homes.  This is a major investment, but one we think will lead to a huge increase in student achievement.

I know this bold decision will raise eyebrows, but since Amazon made the announcement to look toward drone delivery of its parcels, we have been working with many of the same people to see how we could take this technology and apply it to schools.  We are excited to have been selected as the location that will pilot this new technology that will dramatically change the home – school relationship.  Working with partners in Sweden – the Lirpa Sloof Yad Foundation we will be tracking this work and sharing our story with others.

 

So, just how does it work?

We do not yet have one-to-one drones available.  We currently have four drones for every classroom.  At the end of the day students line-up their textbooks and workbooks. The drones will then make multiple deliveries.  In most cases the books will be delivered to the front door of the house, but we also have the technology that if a window can be left open in the house, the homework can be dropped off directly on the student’s desk at home.   The process happens in reverse each morning, as drones return to the homes and pick-up the homework and deliver it to school. With four drones per classroom we will have approximately 2000 drones in the air at any given time.  They are part of an interconnected network and will fly at high speeds in a low air space to not interfere with commercial flights.

Why are we doing this?

There are many reasons why we are doing this.  In recent years, there have been multiple studies questioning the validity of homework.  We think homework needs to become cool again.  And we know whenever you add technology to something that makes it feel modern and hip.  So delivering homework by drone will make homework the new thing to do.

A major health concern is neck and back pain caused by heavy backpacks.  DHDS solves this problem.  No longer will students have to lug heavy backpacks of textbooks to and from school – they will now be there waiting for them when they arrive.

We also know that being a student is hard – there is a lot to remember.  No longer will students have to make excuses for forgotten homework.  And if a student says, “My drone didn’t deliver my homework” we can send the drone to make an immediate pick-up and have the materials brought to class.

Future Applications

We know homework is just the start.  There are many other ways our drones can help make school-life more convenient for students.  Next fall in at least one of our schools, we will pilot the drone lunch delivery program.  Once all homework is delivered, the drones can be used to deliver student lunches.  So, instead of parents having to come to the school and drop off the forgotten sandwich or deliver local takeout for their child, drones can be programmed to do this.

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Conclusions

We take pride on being the learning leaders not just locally but nationally and internationally.  And with our announcement of the DHDS today we maintain our position at the top.

This is the latest in what has become an annual tradition at this time of year to launch innovative initiatives.

In 2012 I launched my FLOG.

In 2013 I made the announcement of Quadrennial Round Schooling.

In 2014 we formalized our System of Student Power Rankings.

In 2015 we created our Rock, Paper, Scissors Academy.

And today we launch the DHDS – destined to revolutionize the student homework experience.

Hopefully you are enjoying today as much as me!

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New Sports Academy Launched!

Posted in Personalized Learning, SD45, tagged , , , , on April 1, 2015| 13 Comments »

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The West Vancouver School District has become synonymous  with excellence and innovative programming.  In recent years this reputation has been bolstered by our commitment to a range of sports academy programs.

I am thrilled today to announce the latest in the long list of innovative programs – our Rock, Paper, Scissors Premier Sports Academy.  It is tremendously exciting that we are going to engage our students with this sport that has worldwide popularity.  There is great pride in being an international community and our Rock, Paper, Scissors Academy will support this.

The world is changing and we need to embrace traditional sports like fencing, soccer, hockey, baseball and basketball and also look at new emerging sports.  That is where Rock, Paper, Scissors fits in.  We know that there will be tremendous excitement over this announcement, and student-athletes will come from many surrounding communities to be part of our Academy Program.

Rock, Paper, Scissors is a sport that anyone can participate in from 5 to 85.  It will help foster lifelong fitness.  While many have raised concerns about the lack of physical activity with our youth – Rock, Paper, Scissors, gets our children away from the video games and engaged in physical competition.

Our curriculum will be based on resources available through the World RPS Society.  Students will learn about the history of the sport that is traced back to the Chinese Han Dynasty.   And the training will both be in the classroom and in the gym.  Competitors at the top-level need to be both physically and mentally sharp.  As any of our instructors will tell you, Rock, Paper, Scissors is far from random, and over time through deep study, athletes in the academy will become familiar with the various algorithms of their opponents selections.

As student progress through the grades, the academy will allow them to explore higher levels alternatives including rock-paper-scissors-Spock-lizard and other East Asian Hand Games.

This academy is completely aligned with the new curriculum – focusing on a series of competencies and embracing cross-curricular connections.  Students in the program will receive credit for English, Math and Physical Education.

Our Academy Programs have always been about supporting students through being academic athletes and taking their talents to the next level.  It is exciting to think the next World Champion might be sitting in our classrooms now and all they need is this type of program to catapult them to the world stage.  Here is a video of the 2014 United Kingdom finals:

We know that our Rock, Paper, Scissors Academy we are launching today has the potential to be as succesful as our many other academy programs.  Anticipating its success we are already considering adding other emerging sports including cheese rolling and toe wrestling.  It is all about getting our young people active and excited about activity!

Finally, to quote our Academies Principal Diane Nelson, “Today marks a special day in the West Vancouver School District as we announce the very first Rock, Paper, Scissors Premier Sports Academy in the world.  We are honoured to welcome some of the region’s most talented athletes.  I am equally proud of this truly special sport as it continues to delight people of all ages with it’s quantum indeterminacy.”

This is the latest in what has become an annual tradition at this time of year to launch innovative initiatives.

In 2012 I launched my FLOG.

In 2013 I made the announcement of Quadrennial Round Schooling.

In 2014 we formalized our System of Student Power Rankings.

Today we add our Rock, Paper, Scissors Premier Sports Academy to this list.

Hopefully your first day of April is as fun and exciting as mine!

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Student Power Rankings

Posted in Change, tagged on April 1, 2014| 32 Comments »

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It is with great excitement I announce the launch of our Student Power Rankings. This is an exciting time that will push education into the 22nd century.  You have already heard a lot about 21st century education.  Some have said, “Well yes, but the 21st century is already more than 10 per cent over.” There is strong evidence that we need to focus on preparing students for the next century.  And, the next century will not be about lowering the stakes, but raising them — that is why we are launching our Student Power Ranking System today.  We know there is nothing more important than knowing if your child is doing better than the child sitting next to them in class. Now, on a weekly basis, you will have that answer.

So, just what are Student Power Rankings?

Student Power Rankings will allow you to see exactly how your child is doing in comparison to every other child in the class, school, province, country and beyond. Key factors include:  IQ, recent test results, attendance reports and Body Mass Index; these numbers are then crunched into a numerical result accurate to 3 decimal places. Rankings will be updated each Monday morning (or next school day in the event of a holiday).

The rankings will be posted at each school and on each school website.  It is all about transparency so, once per term, results will be also posted in the newspaper including our “Top 20” Team with the highest scores in each grade across the district. Rankings will also be employed to determine and assign students to classes and to assist them in making appropriate career choices. Also, based on the power rankings, the bottom 10 per cent of students at any grade level will be placed on probation and, of these, 50 per cent will be held back. It is important that the rankings have rigour.

The top 10 per cent will receive a T-shirt marked “I am better than 90 per cent of you”.

Why do we need Student Power Rankings?

We need to prepare students for a world that is more competitive.  We also know there has been no better way to improve schools than school rankings based on test scores. Since we know school rankings improve schools (no citation necessary), it is quite obvious ranking students will improve their results. If a child sees himself near the bottom of the rankings, they will work harder to raise their score. It is also not appropriate to think that all students can actually be “good students” — there are always some who must “be better than the others” reaffirming this important principle.

There is also a powerful focus on early learning right now, and we will be launching our Pre-K Power Rankings — allowing the community to celebrate their highest-ranked, three-year-olds.  If we can let three-year-old students (and their parents)  know they are behind (and losing) they can improve.

How are the Rankings Unique?

One might think anyone can do this, so how are our Student Power Rankings unique? While we have listed several factors that will go into the rankings, the actual algorithm is proprietary and we are not revealing all of the criteria that will be utilized. It is a bit like the Colonel’s secret chicken recipe, or the secret of the Caramilk Bar — one of the key elements in the ranking is an unknown.  If we revealed all of the criteria, students could then work toward meeting this criteria and have equal levels of success. Since this is not real life, not 22nd century education, this is not part of our program.

Are the Rankings accurate?

Simply put, it is all done by applying a mathematical formula accurate to 3 decimal places. Therefore, a student with an 86.435 will be better than a student with an 85.232 ranking.  Math doesn’t lie.

Many of you have heard me speak in the past, and I have often complained “With all due respect, If we can rate professional football quarterbacks for passing accuracy, surely we can rank Grade 2 students for the world to see.”  Starting today, we will do just that!

It is an incredibly exciting time for our district.  It almost seems like an annual event that we have this day to make big announcements.

24 months ago we announced The Flog.

12 months ago we announced Quadrennial Round Schooling.

And today, we announce our Student Power Rankings!

Hopefully, your first day of April is as much fun and exciting as mine!

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