At Burnett we are transforming our approach to education.  We are focus on introducing Indigenous perspectives in all that we do, as well as focusing on student success through increasing student engagement and agency in their education. Below are brief plans for each department as summarized by the Educational Facilitator for each department.  

ELL Department

Department Goals 2022/23  will focus on helping our students to do the following: 

• Keep Current 
• Keep Connected 
• Keep Caring 

We have, in past years, focused on new ways to encourage students to speak, read, and write.  This year, we would like to share with our students the reasons why we learn together.   

     Keep Current  

Many international students have never left Richmond, and know little about the geography, politics, climate, and culture of the lower mainland, the province, and country.  Many have no idea that Richmond is an island, so exploring the world outside the classroom through various media and field trips should help them to discover their own context. 

Beginner’s ELL has Science and Socials content along with a language component.  For this reason, we have always discussed and shared opinions about global and local events in ELL 1 and 2.  Our students, post-pandemic, come from more diverse backgrounds than in previous years.  More than ever, it is our job as educators to illuminate the different perspectives our students have, as the ELL classroom is a microcosm of world cultural complexity.  We’ve discovered that having limited skills in a language doesn’t restrict students from finding creative and varied ways to share and respond.  We will support their ability to express themselves with activities such as Pictionary, tableaus, and craft projects. 

ELL 3 and 4 students have the vocabulary to express opinions and debate topics with increasing fluency.  We review newsworthy events daily and respond to what is happening globally, in our country, province, city, and school.  We have a subscription to The Province to give us a starting point for discussion.  ELL use our What in the World subscription and Ellii. 

     Keep Connected 

Much of the news we hear and watch is depressing.  Students need to and should know about climate change, the war in Ukraine, and the plight of the homeless in Vancouver, but these topics can be difficult, especially for our international students who often feel alone and isolated as they miss their families.  We want to continue to create community by showing how connected we all are, despite our different backgrounds.  Co-operation and sharing common goals are the key to change, and when students come together to solve smaller problems, they have hope that larger problems can be solved.  We will present group challenges in class, brainstorm ways to start enacting change, and have fun participating in school events together.  Our rooms will be open at lunch, and they are safe spaces for both ELL and non-ELL students to gather.  We will continue to decorate A110A with comfy cushions and other floor seating to create space where students can connect with each other or get emotional support from Jet.   ACCESS students and students with intellectual and physical challenges find a place in A110A as well.  A110B is our designated quiet space for students at lunch time. 

With the help of the Burnett Library, we have already started to plan visits from Blair students at Hallowe’en and Christmas, so our students can read stories and explore Canadian culture and traditions with younger children. 

     Keep Caring 

When students connect and become empowered to learn, discover, and grow, they realize that the next step is to use their new confidence to support each other.   We will continue to work closely with Tombert and Toto, our youth workers, and with ARC, our affiliated animal rescue society, to provide opportunities for ELLs and other students to volunteer in the community helping people and animals in need.  We’ve already invited our advanced level ELL 2 students to partner with new level 1s to help them learn effective study skills, and they have taken on the role enthusiastically.  We will give our level 3s arts and crafts materials to create cards for seniors in the community.  We would like to, through the PAC, invite a few parents to volunteer in our level 1/2 classrooms.  We tried this before the pandemic, and it was very successful in providing support for our level 1s who have very limited English.   

Ultimately, we are hoping to model to students this year that connecting with and caring for each other can be fun.  We are fortunate to be in a department that can be flexible in the topics and content we explore, and we are going to make the most of that by doing things that make us laugh and smile in the hopes that it is contagious as we really need something positive to spread for a change.  

 

Home Economics Departmental

Departmental Goals 2022-2023 

1. To continue to incorporate First Peoples’ Principles of Learning in our classrooms and more indigenous content in all courses. 
2. To develop meaningful communication between home and school by incorporating anecdotal comments for summative assessment and reporting. 
3. To refine our proficiency scales and core competencies in the junior courses. 
4. To work collaboratively using technology to give the Home Economics program a more digital presence. 

 

Learning Services Department

Department Goals 2022- 2023 

1. Supporting our new staff in LS  

2. Building connections with our students and their families to help support them and be part of their journey to finding success 

 

Math Department

Department Goals 2022-2023 

1. Develop learning maps and proficiency scales for Math 8 and 9. 
2. Continue to build our report card comment bank to reflect proficiency scales. 
3. Develop consistency among classes within a course and continuity between grades. 

 

Science Department

Department Goals for 2022 - 2023 

Goal #1:  To provide a safe and positive learning experience to encourage students to develop good independent work habits and time management skills both at school and at home.  This will allow students to support goals from the following core competencies: 

Positive personal & cultural identity 

• Personal values and choice 
• Personal strengths and abilities 

Personal Awareness & Responsibility 

• Self-determination 
• Self-regulation 
• Well-being 

Ex.  Recognizing their strengths and weakness. 

Ex.  Teaching student good study skills. 

Ex.  Reminding students, the importance of life balance (family, school, friends, sports, arts, etc.) 

Goal #2:  To develop new and improve current inquiry lab activities so that students will continue to develop and support goals from the following core competencies: 

Communication 

• Connect and engage with others 
• Acquire, interpret, and present information 

Creative thinking 

• Generating ideas 
• Developing ideas 

Critical Thinking 

• Analyze and critique 
• Question and investigate 
• Develop and design 

Ex.  Allow students to come up with their own inquiry (within the perimeters given), design their own procedure and sharing their finding with others in the class.  To replace the follow the instructions and do the lab activities that have commonly been used in the Science classroom. 

Ex.  Instead of giving formula, collect data and learn how to create formula (gas laws, absorbance, gravity, etc.).  To replace lectures of the formula and how to use the formula. 

Ex.  Work together to create models to represent physical phenomenon (ex. density based on observations, cells, protein synthesis, solar system, etc.). 

Goal #3:  To continue to develop more meaningful communication between home and school to provide a positive impact on student learning and engagement.  This will allow students to support goals from the following core competencies: 

Communication: 

• Explain/recount and reflect on experiences and accomplishments 

Critical thinking 

• Analyze and critique 
• Develop and design 

Positive personal & cultural identity 

• Personal values and choice 
• Personal strengths and abilities 

Ex.  Developing better anecdotal comments for report cards. 

Ex.  To continue to develop the use of the proficiency scale in different assessment and evaluation.   

Ex.  To develop better supports for students to self-reflect on their learning. 

Goal #4:  To continue to incorporate the first people’s learning principles into the curriculum.  This will allow students to support goals from the following core competencies: 

Positive personal & cultural identity 

• Relationship and cultural contexts 

Social responsibility 

• Valuing diversity 

Ex.  Finding new resources to incorporate into the curriculum where appropriate. 

Ex.  To remind student the similarities between all peoples learning principles. 

 

Social Studies & English Department

Department Goals 2022-23 

1. Championing students by creating more of a sense of ownership and voice in the learning and better understanding of their growth 
2. Becoming more intentional and transparent in: 

• Communicating student success and areas of growth (Proficiency Language) 
• Embedding and illuminating Core Competencies 

3. Addressing the TRC Calls to Action (62-65) by including Indigenous Content and Ways of Knowing 

 

Art Department 

Department Goals 2022-23 

• WORK COLLABORATIVELY AS A DEPARTMENT.   
• PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE THEIR TALENTS WITHIN OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY AND WITHIN THE RICHMOND COMMUNITY.  
• EXPLORE DIFFERENT POSSIBILITIES FOR SHOWCASING STUDENT WORK.  
• BECOME MORE VISIBLE IN THE SCHOOL THROUGH VISUAL ARTS DISPLAYS.  
• CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE ART EDUCATION AND PROMOTE VISUAL LITERACY THROUGH COMMUNICATING WITH PARENTS AND STUDENTS. 
• CONTINUE TO PROVIDE PARENTS AND STUDENTS WITH INFORMATION REGARDING EDUCATION AND CAREERS IN THE VISUAL ARTS.  
• LEARN AND TEACH DIFFERENT CONCEPTS, MATERIALS, PROCESSES, AND TECHNOLOGIES IN OUR SUBJECT AREA.   
• TAKE THE TIME TO RESEARCH AND IMPLEMENT BIPOC CONTENT.  
• COME TOGETHER TO DEVELOP ANECDOTAL COMMENTS FOR ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING.  
• CONTINUE TO REFINE PROFICIENCY SCALES AND CORE COMPETENCY REFLECTIONS.  
• CONTINUE TO EXPLORE WAYS OF PROMOTING EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION.  
• CONTINUE TO EXPLORE FIRST PEOPLE’S LEARNING PRINCIPLES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO A TEAM, BE PATIENT, KIND AND RESPECTFUL OF A BROAD APPRECIATION OF CULTURES IN ALL ELEMENTS OF ART.  
• DEVELOP THE PHYSICAL, TECHNICAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS NEEDED TO BE BOTH A TEAM PLAYER AND AN INDIVIDUAL ARTIST, MUSICIAN OR ACTOR.  
• CONTINUE TO CREATE A POSITIVE ENERGY IN THE CLASSES THROUGH VARIOUS STYLES AND GENERS OF THE SPECIFIC ART DISCIPLINE. 

 

Counselling Department

Department goals for the Counsellors for the 2022-2023 year: 

1. Resume offering “Lunch n Learns” for the staff. 

2. Offer "Chew n Chats" for the students on various topics such as mindfulness, anxiety busters etc... 

3. Continue to collaborate and communicate with each other in our Dept by having a weekly meeting during collab time. We will be discussing cases and focusing on peer consulting and mentoring when needed. 

4. Continue our work towards a more trauma informed school by: 

•  Educating students, staff and parents about mental health issues and raising more awareness.  
• Practicing counselling using trauma informed approach. 

5. Continue to review and develop Dept procedures.