Blog Posts

Two months into our new school year, we are well underway in intentionally making Yale a more equitable, culturally inclusive, and responsive school through the lens of equity, anti-bias, and anti-racism. As we listen to our students, one thing that they keep telling us is that they value positive relationships with Yale staff. Our students want to belong to a school community where staff know their students, and where every person’s individuality is acknowledged and respected.

When asked to reflect on a classroom, most of us will envision rows of desks facing a blackboard where a teacher stands. For decades, this image represents the learning space for millions of students and yet excludes how we learn naturally and daily in non-school environments. True knowing and understanding mean being able to transfer knowledge from one setting to another.

In May this year, six Grade 11 WJ Mouat students participated in a Mental Health Forum hosted by the Abbotsford School District. They were tasked with reviewing the YDI (Youth Development Index) survey results for WJ Mouat and to come up with an actionable plan to help improve student well-being and mental health at their school.

What if you could lower student anxiety while increasing their confidence? At the start of my teaching career, high school math classrooms were typically quiet rooms unless the teacher was talking where they stood and delivered content. This has changed over the years, and the practice has changed to better support student engagement, deeper thinking, and collaboration.

The Studio Art 12 class at Yale Secondary engaged in an inquiry project based on propaganda that was used to convey a political message or specific point of view.  The project intent was to engage students by digging deeper into an issue with what they know and wonder while applying curricular competencies including critical thinking, analysis, reflecting, and reasoning.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) has become increasingly important in educating youth and even adults around positive mental health. As we navigate through CoVid, the need for intentional SEL in the classroom has become imperative. Yale Secondary School is trying, through a grassroots initiative, to help embed SEL into the classroom with the aid of videos to help teachers direct activities that support positive mental health.