Celebrating Our Learning At Yale
Alternative Learning Spaces
This is Yale Physical Health Education Strength and Conditioning class about to work out at the Abbotsford Recreation Center. This is part of their alternate enviornment exposure unit. Students are able to get out in the Yale community to showcase what they are learning and to enhance their fitness with different equipment and a different setting. Our Department stresses the importance of fitness, health and wellness being a lifelong journey for a good quality of life. Students often struggle with fitness, wellness and health training once they are out of Physical Health and Education class. They are often filled with anxiety, fear and lack the knowledge to continue their wellness journey without teacher guidance or the comfort they develop in Yale facility. Our hope is that students will get accustomed to the intricacies of a community workout facility to continue to grow their program. It is also our hope that they bring other students, friends and family who may be anxious about these kinds of facilities to work and enjoy the journey of good health and wellness. When the Yale community works and trains together, we grow together and positive energy flows through the community like an atmospheric river.
Tiers Of Student Support
As we strive towards a 100% graduation rate at Yale, we are using a comprehensive tiered system of support for student interventions. We recognize the dynamic nature of students as they navigate through different zones of learning and well being. We are committed to addressing the diverse needs of our students by employing a range of strategies. Whether a student requires academic assistance, emotional support, or a combination of both, our tiered intervention approach ensures that we can provide timely and targeted assistance. By fostering a nurturing environment, we aim to empower students to thrive academically and emotionally. Our LSS teachers are continuously engaged with classroom teachers to enhance their ability to recognize and respond to the ever-changing needs of our students ensuring that they receive the personalized support required to succeed in both their academic endeavors and overall well-being.
100% Indigneous Graduation Rate
We are proud of last year’s 100% graduation rate for our Indigenous students in 2023. The success of our Indigenous program is a testament to the outstanding collaboration among our dedicated team of Indigenous Support Workers, Indigenous teacher, counsellors, vice-principals, and student case managers and teachers. Through our close working relationship and commitment to student success, we achieved a remarkable 100% Indigenous graduation rate in 2023. This achievement is attributed to our proactive approach, including bi-monthly meetings where stakeholders convene to comprehensively review student needs and celebrate successes. These regular gatherings allow us to address challenges promptly and tailor our support to meet the unique requirements of each student. The pride we take in our exceptional team is reflected in the positive outcomes for our Indigenous students, showcasing the effectiveness of a collaborative and student-centered approach in fostering educational success and empowering our Indigenous youth for a brighter future.
Diving Into Perspective & Significance
In BC First Peoples 12, students were exposed to the curricular competencies of Perspective and Significance. These art pieces are the result of our study of the culture and art of Northwest Coast First Peoples. Students studied Formline art styles and materials used by Northwest Coast Peoples and how these relate to land and culture. These artworks are inspired by the work of Haida artist Robert Davidson. Students merged this art style with important elements of their own lives. Here is the products of learning after studying this unit.
Chemistry 12 – Inquiry to Create an Acid-Base Strengths Table
Cheri Smith, Chemistry 12, Yale Secondary – Inquiry shared within Yale Secondary Science Dept along with Cheri Smith’s Advanced Placement Chemistry APSI (Advanced Placement Summer Institute) Google Classroom [accessed by nearly 200 teachers world-wide].
Driving Question – How might one study the equilibrium equations created between eleven different weak acid-base conjugate pairs and use these equilibria to organize this series of pairs into a model Bronsted-Lowrey Relative Acid-Base Strengths Table?
Teacher Reflection – This is a wonderful example of the reorganization of a classic step-by-step “cookbook-style” lab into a Guided Inquiry Experiment. A series of Google Slides (Power Point Presentation) is provided to show teachers how they (or their lab assistant) might prepare this inquiry. In addition, a brief video showing how the teacher might use an inquiry approach to prepare a pair of students (lab partners) to perform this activity is provided. Finally, the original “cookbook-style” procedure is provided. This inquiry is appropriate for the Grade 12 curriculum in any Canadian province, the General Chemistry curriculum in any American state and for the International Baccalauriate or Advanced Placement curriculum in any country in the world.
To access materials, use the following folder via link: Lab 13B
Student Reflection – I believe that the inquiry-guided experiment is a crucial tool for honing students' critical thinking abilities. Instead of simply following a prescribed procedure without fully understanding the scientific principles behind it, this approach allows me to think like a professional chemist. Experiment 13B challenges me to employ critical thinking and comprehend the logic behind conducting the experiment in a specific way, as well as effectively analyze and interpret the resultant data. Through this inquiry-guided experiment, I am able to actively set up, conduct, analyze, and interpret the experiment just like a professional chemist would, rather than approaching the experiment from a high school student's perspective. (Harry Kim)
Homework Club
Homework club is an important after school support resource available to all students at Yale. Currently we have two teachers, and 5 Peer tutors available to give assistance each day.
We typically have 15 - 25 students on any average, day but often reach 30 students during mid terms and semester end. Most students are grade 9 and grade 10 students as they look to becoming comfortable with establishing their homework routines.This program is helping to ensure success for many of our students at Yale to ensure they successfully complete their courses.
Indigenous Role Models
Indigenous Role Models are grade 12 students who are acknowledged for connecting to their culture, leadership, and service in their schools and communities, and for their aspirations toward future goals. There are students from the whole district who apply through an application process. There is a panel that goes through the applicants and chose the top applications. Yale was fortunate enough to have 4 selected for 2022-23 year. This includes Santana Defazio, Fraser Smith, Julia Hegberg, and Clayton Ritchie.
Promoting Student Engagement
Math students engage daily working on non-permanent vertical surfaces. This allows students to collaborate together and take risks by being able to easily erase their work. It has been shown that standing also helps activate the brain. This daily activity allows all students to be engaged working on mastery of concepts which makes the understanding of new concepts introduced easier.
Manie Musicale - Music Madness
The Languages Department at Yale has been working on increasing cultural awareness and engagement related to the language students are studying. One way that we have been working on this is by exposing students to more music. Each semester, French students have been taking part in “Manie Musicale” which is inspired from the “March Madness” basketball tournament. Students begin by previewing 16 songs to make predictions on their first impressions. Throughout the next few weeks, students study the songs in more depth, respond personally with their opinions in the language, and vote on their favourites for each match-up until there is a winning song. Student predictions are then tallied, and students receive prizes for the closest predictions. This has been a favourite part of the course for most students – they are very enthusiastic about the competition, and many even add the songs to their music playlists. One student reported that their “Spotify Wrapped” year-end music summary included one of the French songs from “Manie Musicale” – a real life application and use of the language outside of the classroom!
Reading Between and Beyond the Lines
Students in many English Language Arts classes, 9-12, have been exploring diverse perspectives and conflicts in our world through literature. To demonstrate their ability to form connections between the texts, self, and society, students compare or contrast important ideas in the book with their own life experiences or current or historical events. Responses have been positive. One teacher reflects, “I have always valued independent reading activities but struggled with assessing student learning. Using independent reading to assess student connections to literature takes the emphasis away from comprehension (did you read the whole book and understand it) and redirects the activity to reading for pleasure, but also finding meaning in texts. Students appear more engaged based on their reading habits in class, book talks (discussions), reflections and presentations.” Students have also shared their responses to the independent reading projects. • “[The book I read] ...deals with lots of heavy topics that aren't regularly talked about in the world. It gave me a better understanding of [complex] relationships and the difficult decisions that need to be made in any relationship.” • "I have had to deal with the issues that [the character] faced and I felt that it really opened a path for other...people who are going through the same things that [the character] and I are going through.”
Yale Visual Arts Celebration of Learning
At the end of each semester, Yale art classes present and celebrate their work in the form of an art exhibition. This is an opportunity for students to show off their best work and to discuss their work with people who come to see it. Students learn about the many aspects of putting on an exhibition; planning, curating, displaying, advertising, pricing, selling, catering and clean-up. All staff and students, as well as Fraser Middle School staff and students are invited to come and see the show. At the start of the semester, all art students have an understanding that participation in this show is a requirement. This creates healthy motivation for students to do their best work throughout the semester. The art show also serves as an opportunity for middle school students to see what they will get to be a part of should they decide to study art during their time at Yale.