Instructional Capacity

<p class="editor-paragraph"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Our Literacy Bins grew out of the hands-on work happening at Chilcotin Road during the 2024–25 school year and were developed by Marianne and Erin, with support from our SLP, Charlotte Lundeen. They’re grounded in the same adapted core assessment we’re now using across the district. The bins follow a phonics-based sequence (aligned with UFLI), with each skill building on the next, and include ready-to-use decoding, encoding, and reading activities. The skills themselves are curated—not created by us—which means teachers can trust they’re aligned with strong literacy practice. What makes these bins so useful is their flexibility: teachers can target a specific skill for intervention, easily track progress, and then adapt or personalize activities to match their teaching style. They’re especially helpful for K–6 classrooms, new teachers, and LSTs looking to build strong, functional literacy foundations through a consistent connection between assessment and instruction. Marianne, our Helping Teacher, is available to model and co-teach using the bins, with sample kits ready to go (both in print and digital formats on the Teams literacy portal). Erin, in her IEC role, will help connect teams, and Marianne will follow up to support ongoing use in classrooms.</span></p>

<p class="editor-paragraph"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">HR, PVP and some CCTA staff have been actively engaged in numerous recruitment efforts to date. In person events include Lakehead - Thunderbay, Lakehead - Orillia, University of Alberta, Windsor University, UBC and VIU. In person events allow interested teachers to shop the districts they may be interested in working in - which means there is a lot of talking to a lot of people in a 4-5 hour time span. Making quick connections is necessary as is follow up to keep potential applicants interested. In contrast, the online events that we have hosted this year (including a showcase with Make a Future and a 3 day French Teacher Fair with Destinations Canada) require a presentation that grabs the interest of potential applicants as well as answers any potential questions, in roughly 30 minutes or less. People sign up because they are curious - they join us from around the world. These are difficult platforms because we don't see the audience. Follow up is critical.</span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">On April 30th we are participating in the BC K-12 Education Job Fair with Apply to Education. In this joint effort, HR, PVP and CCTA will engage with interested applicants from across the country. This is an economical way to engage with applicants we may not otherwise reach. This is a competitive online fair with numerous BC School Districts engaging with the same applicants.</span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">With anticipated vacancies for 2026/27 school year, we will be hosting an online District Showcase in early July (to showcase external positions) with registration moderated by Apply to Education. This type of dedicated event has proven to have a good rate of return (investment to hire ratio) when reviewing previous events we have hosted.</span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Stay tuned for future updates!</span></p><table class="editor-table" style="width: 100%; table-layout: fixed;"><colgroup><col style="width: 50%;"><col style="width: 50%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><th class="editor-tableCell editor-tableCellHeader" style="border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top; text-align: start; background-color: rgb(242, 243, 245);"><p class="editor-paragraph"><img src="/images/18e7692e-63ea-467a-acd2-75a4db53c3ff" alt="Recruitment Update2 Jennifer Loewen" width="100%" height="inherit" style="width:100%;height:inherit;display:inline-block"></p><p class="editor-paragraph"><br></p></th><th class="editor-tableCell editor-tableCellHeader" style="border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top; text-align: start; background-color: rgb(242, 243, 245);"><p class="editor-paragraph"><img src="/images/725010ce-5079-4b3d-a8aa-210381f812d6" alt="Recruitment Update1 Jennifer Loewen" width="100%" height="inherit" style="width:100%;height:inherit;display:inline-block"></p><p class="editor-paragraph"><br></p></th></tr></tbody></table><p class="editor-paragraph"><br></p>

<p class="editor-paragraph"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In Student Support Services, we’ve been spending time really looking at how we work together as a team.</span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s been a focus on understanding our impact—not just in the work we do, but in how we show up with each other and with schools. That’s meant having some honest conversations, supporting one another, and being open to adjusting our practice when needed.</span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">We’re also seeing more and more collaboration across our team, with a growing understanding that it’s not about what any one of us brings, but what we bring together. People are reaching out, sharing ideas, and leaning on each other’s strengths in a way that is making our work stronger and more consistent.</span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">This connects directly to the idea of compassionate systems—where we recognize that how we support each other as adults matters. When our teams feel supported, connected, and valued, that carries through to the schools and students we serve.</span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">This work is helping build a culture where people feel comfortable asking for help, sharing thinking, and working through challenges together—and that’s making a difference.</span></p>

<p class="editor-paragraph"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation has initiated an Education Mentorship Pilot Program for teachers in School District #27, and three Horse Lake teachers are spearheading the program. During the February Pro D Day, John Foote, Emma Raine, and Kyra Hopson took part in the initial curriculum-based objective setting, with a focus on the local bird population. The four step program is designed to be covered over a 6-8 week period beginning in April. The mentors will regroup with the facilitators and resource people in May at the school to look at the highlights and determine what improvements might be added to improve the program for all district district teachers.</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph"><img src="/images/186f9127-0375-4af0-a18a-b1865ea8e00a" alt="Pilot Murray Helmer" width="472" height="376" style="width:472px;height:376px;display:inline-block"></p><p class="editor-paragraph"><br></p>

<p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Many SD27 educators recently participated in a four-week Outdoor Learning course designed to strengthen Social Emotional Learning (SEL) practices. Each 60-minute session offered practical strategies to support student wellbeing through nature-based experiences.</span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Over the four weeks, educators explored:</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">-Mindfulness and self-awareness through sit spots, nature observation, and journaling.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">-Social awareness and communication through cooperative outdoor play and group activities.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">-Emotional regulation and perseverance through outdoor challenges that require patience and problem-solving.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">-Ethics, stewardship, and community-building using Indigenous pedagogies and land-based learning.</span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">This learning series expanded instructional capacity by equipping teachers with simple, powerful routines that connect SEL and the outdoors—strengthening both classroom practice and student engagement.</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph"><br></p><table class="editor-table"><colgroup><col><col></colgroup><tbody><tr><th class="editor-tableCell editor-tableCellHeader" style="width: 350px; background-color: rgb(242, 243, 245); border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph"><img src="/images/8bc725e3-8479-48f0-ba37-56d1d04107f5" alt="Outdoor SEL kimberley ikebuchi" width="100%" height="inherit" style="width:100%;height:inherit;display:inline-block"></p><p class="editor-paragraph"><br></p></th><th class="editor-tableCell editor-tableCellHeader" style="width: 350px; background-color: rgb(242, 243, 245); border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph"><img src="/images/e2c06472-82a6-4430-bb57-6126fd91a38d" alt="Outdoor SEL 2 kimberley ikebuchi" width="100%" height="inherit" style="width:100%;height:inherit;display:inline-block"></p><p class="editor-paragraph"><br></p></th></tr></tbody></table><p class="editor-paragraph"><br></p>

<p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Both students and teachers were treated to a morning of Literacy Learning thanks to literacy specialist Bryan Gidinski's visit to Horse Lake Elementary. Bryan led three of our primary teachers through a primary lesson with a class of grade 2 students, and then proceeded to design an intermediate lesson for grade 5 and 6 students with the help of two intermediate teachers. Bryan modelled his teaching strategies while keeping the students motivated toward writing their own stories. Our teachers are looking forward to incorporating these strategies into their lessons.</span></p><table class="editor-table"><colgroup><col><col></colgroup><tbody><tr><th class="editor-tableCell editor-tableCellHeader" style="width: 350px; background-color: rgb(242, 243, 245); border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph"><img src="/images/3d3b5107-6154-409b-8044-4fab80a67abe" alt="Bryan 2 Murray Helmer" width="100%" height="inherit" style="width:100%;height:inherit;display:inline-block"></p><p class="editor-paragraph"><br></p></th><th class="editor-tableCell editor-tableCellHeader" style="width: 350px; background-color: rgb(242, 243, 245); border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph"><img src="/images/683f00d3-4ff5-4331-aa15-0914a9a29528" alt="Bryan 1 Murray Helmer" width="100%" height="inherit" style="width:100%;height:inherit;display:inline-block"></p><p class="editor-paragraph"><br></p></th></tr></tbody></table><p class="editor-paragraph"><br></p>

<p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Horse Lake Elementary played host to ten new and early career district teachers, six of whom teach at our school, who gathered for an Assessment Workshop presented by local educator Marlene Funk. This professional development opportunity focused on formative and summative assessment, and differentiated between Assessment Of, For, and As Learning. Participants took away valuable information to start their year in a productive way. We are fortunate to have Ms. Funk continue her involvement with our school's early career teachers in a mentorship role this year.</span></p><table class="editor-table"><colgroup><col><col></colgroup><tbody><tr><th class="editor-tableCell editor-tableCellHeader" style="width: 350px; background-color: rgb(242, 243, 245); border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph"><img src="/images/52941c75-681c-4981-9d0a-72f18109b2c0" alt="Assessment 1 Murray Helmer" width="100%" height="inherit" style="width:100%;height:inherit;display:inline-block"></p><p class="editor-paragraph"><br></p></th><th class="editor-tableCell editor-tableCellHeader" style="width: 350px; background-color: rgb(242, 243, 245); border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph"><img src="/images/0cec5faa-3b67-482d-898d-f36ba7f7a1e5" alt="Assessment 2 Murray Helmer" width="100%" height="inherit" style="width:100%;height:inherit;display:inline-block"></p><p class="editor-paragraph"><br></p></th></tr></tbody></table><p class="editor-paragraph"><br></p>

<p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Carole Fullerton and Helping Teacher Alison Bos returned to Horse Lake Elementary and focused their efforts on strategies that could be used in multi-grade classroom situations. We combined students from our grade 1 / 2 class and grade 3 / 4 class and Carole and the teachers worked with manipulatives to progress from simple addition, to subtraction, and then to multiplication for the assembled group. The progression allowed students to participate with their peers and blurred the lines between grade expectations within the group.</span></p><div data-lexical-layout-container="true" style="grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr; display: grid;"><div class="editor-layoutItem"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><img src="/images/4911ed2c-c359-5fb0-a3d6-5021cb820735" alt="315eji79.jpg" width="100%" height="inherit" style="width:100%;height:inherit"></p></div><div class="editor-layoutItem"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><img src="/images/8f6cdbef-c6a6-552b-b859-0a70482f0893" alt="f5tqbdr5.jpg" width="100%" height="inherit" style="width:100%;height:inherit"></p></div></div>

<p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">District Helping Teacher Allison Bos visited Horse Lake Elementary armed with iPads and robotic devices, and helped the grade 1 &amp; 2 students in Ms. Armitage's class, and the grade 3 &amp; 4 students in Mrs. Lum's class learn some key ADST components of coding. The teachers learned about the logistics of teaching ADST coding concepts, while students quickly learned how to control the movements of the robotic devices in and around the classroom.</span></p><div data-lexical-layout-container="true" style="grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr; display: grid;"><div class="editor-layoutItem"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><img src="/images/cf32ef3a-8a06-5ceb-bb29-556538552447" alt="skfu5ojn.jpg" width="100%" height="inherit" style="width:100%;height:inherit"></p></div><div class="editor-layoutItem"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><img src="/images/0a346538-285c-550a-af86-38d8d9b24a24" alt="dai2xqqg.jpg" width="100%" height="inherit" style="width:100%;height:inherit"></p></div></div>

<p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Horse Lake Elementary was fortunate to host Numeracy Consultant Carole Fullerton for the third time in recent years, with a focus this time on improving primary numeracy. Working progressively through classes of grade 1s through to grade 4s, our teachers were able to experience the sequencing and continuity of Carole's hands-on approach using manipulatives to teach primary numeracy concepts. District Helping Teachers, Marianne Okrainetz and Alison Bos, also participated in the lesson delivery to give them more strategies to use in their district role.</span></p><div data-lexical-layout-container="true" style="grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr; display: grid;"><div class="editor-layoutItem"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><img src="/images/1a09e30d-89b5-5e93-8235-6e8474312609" alt="ol926c7s.jpg" width="100%" height="inherit" style="width:100%;height:inherit"></p></div><div class="editor-layoutItem"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><img src="/images/5b093ee2-91d4-599f-bbae-f3b63bba672f" alt="h71qhru9.jpg" width="100%" height="inherit" style="width:100%;height:inherit"></p></div></div>

<p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Horse Lake Elementary was fortunate to play host to Literacy Consultant Bryan Gidinski this week, as he worked alongside teachers and with students in several intermediate classrooms throughout the day. &nbsp;Bryan focused on three different learning strategies with our students, including 'Surfacing Stories', 'Show! Don't Tell', and 'Say What?' which form the basis of a learning continuum for student writing. &nbsp;Staff also joined Bryan for an informal conversation over lunch about ways to successfully implement our school's literacy goals for the year. &nbsp;</span></p><div data-lexical-layout-container="true" style="grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr; display: grid;"><div class="editor-layoutItem"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><img src="/images/9713f0ca-af27-5078-a991-7587480b8958" alt="c1m27bwg.jpg" width="100%" height="inherit" style="width:100%;height:inherit"></p></div><div class="editor-layoutItem"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><img src="/images/2defdb79-e504-5cd0-9a2a-faa576bcf6a4" alt="q6515gqo.jpg" width="100%" height="inherit" style="width:100%;height:inherit"></p></div></div>