Inspiring Achievement

Mental Health

Our Catholic Faith continues to be at the centre of our efforts to support the social, emotional and spiritual lives of our students. We continue to implement resources and training from School Mental Health Ontario, including the Faith and Wellness Everyday Classroom Resource, for elementary teachers (K-8). Faith and Wellness was developed with the support of OECTA and informed by Catholic educators. We also support the use of SMHO’s Leading Mentally Healthy Schools by our administrators, which helps guide the response to mental health needs in our schools, design whole-school wellness strategies, and implement health promotion programming at the classroom and school levels.

Supporting LGBTQ Student Inclusion

Our Catholic school communities strive to be places of compassion, inclusion and social justice for LGBTQ+ students, staff and families. Both high schools continue to have and support active and growing Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) clubs. This past year, our senior elementary school students started organizing GSA clubs. This reflects a growing awareness and openness about diversity among our students at younger grade levels and growing acceptance, understanding and responsiveness at the staff level. In our K-6 schools, the board is supporting requests from staff for more awareness level training on behalf of gender diverse students, staff and families. The goal is to champion enquiry, social justice and human dignity for all through safe, accepting and life affirming learning environments.

PROVIDING LEARNING AND WORKING SPACES THAT ENHANCE PRODUCTIVITY

In our continued work with New Pedagogies for Deep Learning, we are striving to inspire and develop competencies which will engage and enrich student thinking and learning. We continued to work in Families of Schools to examine Pedagogical Practices, Learning Partnerships, Learning Environments, and meaningful ways to Leverage Digital while being in remote learning environments. We maintained an emphasis on working on the 6 Global Competencies, (Collaboration, Citizenship, Character, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication) which align with Learning Skills, Catholic Graduate Expectations, and the Anishnawbe Seven Grandfather Teachings. Unfortunately, while we were unable to maximize Learning Design Cycles last year in a systematic way during the COVID-19 pandemic and moderate Learning Designs we are continuing to grow capacity around collaborative learning cycles and using the Learning Design Template, backward design model as a method of best practice to meet the needs of all learners. Long Term Plans were developed for Literacy, Mathematics, Religious Education, Indigenous Education, FSL, Special Education, Deep Learning as a means to be intentional in moving forward to support educators to best meet the needs of our students.

Teachers

During the 2020-2021 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the complement of Resource teachers was reduced significantly supporting our schools. However, with the Resource teachers, Consultants and Coordinators available, they were integral in supporting our Learn @ Home school with co-planning and modeling ways to best leverage digital resources and student thinking in an online setting. The Math Resource Teacher was able to coteach and create virtual learning opportunities to support student thinking. After school opportunities were provided to support how to use digital tools to support student thinking as well as opportunities to explore curriculum content. Our French Resource teacher-supported new hires to French Immersion with co-teaching experiences online. As well as, create a DELF Google Classroom (suite of tools) to support our Gr. 12 students in challenging the DELF exam. Unfortunately, this opportunity did not come to fruition at the end of the school year due to school closures.

Learners

Supporting student achievement is fundamental and assistance from school teams along with our Resource teachers is key. Resource Teachers supported our learners in an online learning environment with small group instruction and assessments in order to support student learning. There were opportunities to build community within virtual classrooms with virtual learning partnerships such as with the Thunder Bay Symphony, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Skills Compétences Ontario to name a few.

Administrators

Board Administration is fully involved in student achievement goals and ideals. Mathematics and Deep Learning, in particular, have been our main achievement goals at the Board and at the school level. Superintendents, Principals, and Vice-Principals have been fully involved in various aspects in methods of attaining success. During our monthly Principal Meetings, Michael Fullam’s book Nuance was read, discussed, and reflected upon investigating effective school leadership practices, along with webinars and papers from New Pedagogies for Deep Learning.

Student Support Persons (SSP) & Early Childhood Educators (ECE)

SSPs and ECEs play a critical role in assisting our learners to flourish and grow within our Board. Professional Development sessions are offered to assist in their roles, with topics including building resiliency, technology, math interventions for struggling students, FASD, and Zones of Regulation. Our Board BMST Trainers were able to pivot quickly during the school closure and offered BMST training virtually when necessary.

Enhancing our Mental Health Support

Our Board continues to prioritize mental health support, resources and services for students through the work of our board Mental Health Leader in collaboration with community partners (CCTB, LHINS, Health Unit) and provincially, School Mental Health Ontario (SMHO). We offer brief mental health counselling and support services for all K-12 schools, crisis response services to schools during the school day, coordinated mental health fan-out support to schools following tragic events, student mental health promotion and prevention programming, and staff professional development. To improve access to mental health care in our system and particularly our Senior Elementary and High Schools, we contracted service with an additional LHIN Mental Health & Addictions nurse for the 2020-21 school year. We continued to maintain a full staffing complement of 6 CCTB School Mental Health Counsellors. Our Urgent Response Guidelines were fully implemented this year. The Guidelines support staff response to urgent student mental health situations such as emergencies and crises.

Attendance Matters

In hopes to alleviate school absenteeism, the Attendance Matters committee gatherers to collaborate and determine system- wide planning. Through the use of evidence based tools our Attendance team is able to determine factors contributing to Persistent Absenteeism including: school climate, school safety, community safety and parental access to basic living needs. The unprecedented impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and families has been profound. To this extent the implementation of strategies to support families includes ongoing community collaboration ensuring access to technology, food security, housing, and mental health supports. By increasing the likelihood of student engagement the overall Persistent Absenteeism during the 2020-2021 academic year referrals increased by 56% due to COVID-19.

Violence Prevention & Threat Assessment

The Board continues to support school and community initiatives and partnerships that prioritize staff and student safety and aim to prevent violence, respond to threats of violence in a timely and effective manner. The VTRA (Violence Threat Risk Assessment) model was pursued without success by our Board and other Boards in the region due to different levels of readiness among staff and community partners. Moving forward, our Board continues to follow protocols in place with police to maximize student safety and respond to threats of violence. The Board has also been an active partner in supporting classroom-based approaches to violence prevention in partnership with local organizations. This past year we supported teacher implementation (Heath & Phys Ed, Religious Education, Guidance) of the Fourth R Healthy Relationships/ Violence Prevention Program for grades 7-9. The Program has been shown to be effective in building healthy relationship skills and lowering risks of gender-based violence.

Three-Year Math Plan

During the development of our current Three Year Math Plan, we developed an overarching question to frame our thinking and learning: “How do we ensure that Mathematics is an open door for all of our students?” This was done in order to guide us while implementing the new Mathematics curriculum ensuring that equity and inclusivity would be at the forefront of our thinking while building a community of math learners in respect to Assessment, Special Education, and building Family Connections. The 2020-2021 school year was considered our bridge year to our Math Plan accomplishing some of the following: communications with Board of Trustees, CPIC, SEAC in order to highlight the new math curriculum.

New Pedagogies for Deeper Learning (NPDL)

As stated, we have continued to grow capacity with our school teams around through the use of the collaborative inquiry cycle, educators are able to customize instruction with their students, assisting with their methods of study and comprehension. Elements of pedagogical practice, learning partnerships, and customized learning environments were introduced to learning teams representing all of our schools K-12 during the 2019-2020 school year. A team was designed to collaborate and create long-term planning around deep learning. Strategic planning was formed through stakeholder feedback aligning with the Board Improvement Plan valuing our three drivers of education: Academic Excellence, Well-Being, and Equity. During the course of the year, groupings of educators participated in on-line NPDL sessions growing capacity in how to leverage Pedagogical Practices, Learning Partnerships, Learning Environments and Leveraging Digital.

Summer Learning Program

In an effort to reduce the summer learning gap, a Ministry summer learning initiative was delivered. The threeweek program, offered from July 5th to 23rd, consisted of synchronous online learning each day from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. using Google Meet. It was open to all student levels and various needs with a specific focus on literacy and numeracy. A class for English Language Learners (EEL) and Social/Emotional Learners (SEL) was also offered. With 99 students from Grades K-8 attending the program, it was considered a huge success.

Summer School

This year, Summer school was offered virtually to students. In addition, a reach-ahead program was offered.

Early Years

School educator teams continued their work on Self-regulation and Mindfulness and examined multiple pieces that contribute to calm and balanced classrooms. Professional development in the area of Catholic Virtues in Primary Classrooms, Google Forms/Documentation related to the Four Frames in the Communication of Learning, Physical Literacy and Addendums to Kindergarten Program were all delivered throughout the year.

Kindergarten Skills Camp

A school readiness project program was offered to learners entering Kindergarten. This program was developed to assist pre-school children successfully transition into a classroom environment. In collaboration with a community partner agency, a team consisting of a Speech-Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, Early Childhood Educator and Communicative Disorders Assistant was secured to implement the program prior to school start up in September 2021. The program included activities to encourage the development of speech and language skills, listening skills, social skills, self-regulation and understanding of routines. This year the program was expanded and offered to 60 incoming Kindergarten students.

Summer Primary Skills Camp

The Primary Transition Class was designed to help TBCDSB students who are entering Grade 1 and 2 to successfully transition into the classroom environment for September 2021. Run by elementary teachers and a Speech Language Pathologist, this transition class focussed on the critical predictors for reading success: oral language development (vocabulary, narrative), phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, and print concepts. The program also included activities to support fine and gross motor skills and social/emotional skills and self-regulation.

Summer Junior Skills Camp

The Primary Transition Class was designed to help TBCDSB students in Grades 3-6 to successfully transition into the classroom environment in September 2021. The Junior Skills Program supported students who require interventions in the areas of Math, Language and Technology. Activities also supported healthy social/ emotional development and mental and physical well-being.

Summer 7-8 Skills Camp

This program was extended to students who were entering grade 7 or 8 who would benefi t from interventions in math and language. Activities also supported healthy social/emotional development and mental and physical well-being.

Summer Land Based Camp

This land based program, located at Fort William First Nation, focused on an Indigenized and environmentallyfocused approach to learning by fi rst recognizing the deep, physical, mental, and spiritual connection to the land that is a part of Indigenous cultures. In partnership with two Speech-Language Pathologists, the program included activities to encourage the development of speech and language skills, listening skills, social skills, self-regulation and understanding of routines.

Summer Skills Development Program for K-8 Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This skills camp provided activities that included a focus on communication skill-building, encouraging appropriate social skills, and the importance of health and wellness and physical activity.

Summer Transition to High School Camp

With the use of technology, this independent online learning module helped to increase confi dence and independence with strategies to manage workload, stay on top of tasks, and become a more confi dent reader and effective writer.

Indigenous Transitions Wellness Camp

Delivered by a hybrid model of virtual and in-person engagement our FNMI Graduation Coaches and the incoming Grade 8 cohorts for our High Schools, came together for a transitions wellness camp. The focus of this three-week camp was supporting the mental health and wellness of the students and their families. Youth explored themes of self-care, cultural wellness, and the places in the community where they can access support.

French Immersion Summer Camp

We were able to offer a one-week Summer Camp as a means to re-engage Elementary French Immersion students with oral language strategies along with the exploration of French Culture during the month of August. We had 64 students participate from Grades 1-6.

Empower Reading

The evidence-based Empower Reading program is an early intervention program developed to assist children and adolescents with diffi culties in reading and spelling, into independent, and flexible learners. Our Board has offered this program for over 15 years but was unable to deliver the program due to the extended school closures. It is our intention to continue to deliver and expand the program for the 2021-22 school year.

3 Year French Plan

We presented our fi ndings around our 2017-2020 Three Year Plan to the Ministry of Education FSL Division in the fall of 2020. We used this as an opportunity to meet with our FI Principals in order to communicate the fi ndings and in order to strategize around the provincial FSL Goals moving forward with our next three-year plan, (2020-2023) The three main goals are:

Goal 1: Increasing student confi dence, profi ciency, and achievement in FSL Goal 2: Increasing the percentage of students studying FSL until Graduation Goal 3: Increase student, educator, parent, and community engagement in FSL

We were able to recertify Board DELF “Correcteurs” in the Fall of 2020. We continued to see growth in the number of Core French and French Immersion students wanting to challenge the DELF while we were unable to offer this opportunity due to school closures.

Board Improvement Plan (BIPSA)

Provincial wide Board Improvement Plans are benefi cial in refi ning and assisting with student achievement and well-being for students and staff. With input and assistance from Principals and Student Achievement team members, our BIPSA provides a roadmap of ways to progress and grow in improvement and future planning.

EQAO Targets

As a result of COVID -19, EQAO assessments were suspended during the 2020-21 school year.