Month: September 2024

In an effort to honor the memory of children lost to the residential school system, students at Aubrey will be participating in an Origami Reconciliation Project. This initiative will draw inspiration from the Japanese tradition of folding paper cranes to symbolize our collective hopes for healing and reconciliation.

The artwork will feature black hearts in the background, representing the profound truths and emotions we will carry regarding this painful history. Central to the piece will be orange ravens, shaped into a heart, symbolizing hope and our collective commitment to fostering a better future. Each raven will hold messages of hope for healing and reconciliation contributed by students from various divisions.

Once completed, this mural will be unveiled and displayed as a powerful reminder of our shared commitment to truth, understanding, and justice. It will serve as a call to action for our community to engage in ongoing dialogue and initiatives that support reconciliation and healing.

(The image above is our prototype. Photos are still to come of the completed project)

The Burnaby School District provides students with access to a variety of digital tools, which include technologies and information systems. These tools enhance learning and include: websites, programs to “chat” and message one another, discussion boards, video conferencing, email, secure virtual classrooms, and storage for your files.

Students – or in the case of younger children their parents or guardians – are asked to review and are expected to adhere to these guidelines.

Guidance about what to do and not to do

What to Do

• Do treat others fairly and with respect.
• Do use the devices owned by the Burnaby School District and the digital tools provided by the District for educational purposes.
• Do understand that you are responsible for your actions when using technology.
• Do keep your personal information private.
• Do respect the privacy of other students and adults.
• Do know there is never a 100% guarantee of privacy with any digital tool or platform, including: secure virtual classrooms, chats and messaging tools, discussion boards, video conferencing tools, email, file storage and public websites.
• Do report uncomfortable, unsafe, or inappropriate behaviour or messages to your teacher or principal.
• Do follow copyright laws.
• Do respect and acknowledge the ownership of others for their creative works.

What Not to Do

• Do not share your passwords.
• Do not use chat and messaging services provided by the District to connect with students and teachers outside of the online classroom environment.
• Do not falsify your identity or use someone else’s identity.
• Do not take pictures or videos of others and share them without their permission.
• Do not hurt or mistreat others by what you create or share.
• Do not harass, stalk, bully, threaten, insult, abuse, or attack others.
• Do not damage computer systems, networks, digital tools or content.
• Do not access secure information owned by others without their permission.
• Do not use information provided by others without their permission or use the work of others as your own.
• Do not use District or personally owned devices for commercial, illegal, or malicious purposes.
• Do not access and/or distribute pictures, video, audio or text containing inappropriate language or nudity.
• Do not meet with someone you met online without the consent of your parents or guardians.

GUIDELINES FOR VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS AND VIDEO CONFERENCING

Online classroom sessions include virtual classrooms, blogs, messaging, chats and video conferencing tools.

Etiquette

• Come prepared and be on time.
• Work in a room with no distractions. Turn off the TV, other computers, music or anything else that might distract you or your classmates.
• When you first enter the virtual meeting/classroom, please mute your mic and turn off your camera.
• If your teacher asks you to turn on your camera to participate in the discussion you may do so.
• Consider your background and any personal information you may be displaying like photographs or personal items.
• This is a school activity and you should be dressed appropriately.

Behaviour

• The same expectations present in the physical classroom are expected while video conferencing or participating in online classroom sessions.
• Questions and comments should be related to the class.
• Be a respectful listener while your teacher or another student is speaking.
• Do not be a distraction to others.
• Your teacher is the moderator and will guide participation in the activity.

Permission

• Do not use District online classroom sessions to initiate individual or group video conferences, chats or messages without yourteacher or permission from your parents or guardians.
• Do not record or capture any part of an online session. Your teacher may record a session or a lesson for future reference. Any recording will be done with student cameras off.

Finally … Be patient. Technology can be temperamental, so when glitches happen, take a breath and be understanding.

Today Aubrey students had a special performance from Metaphor. These hip hop artists taught students about the history of Hip Hop and how they use their music to build community empowerment and social justice. Using the hip hop arts–DJing, Breakdancing, Beatboxing & Emceeing–the Metaphor crew had us free styling, beatboxing, and dancing during their energy filled performance. What an amazing way to end our first week back.

The garden of values metaphor was used as a powerful way to visually represent the interconnected aspects of shared values, their importance, and the associated rights and responsibilities of individuals within our community.

In the garden, each plant has its own unique role and contribution to the overall beauty and health of the garden. Similarly, our shared values within our community serve as the foundation for a harmonious and thriving school environment. Each shared value, represented by a different flower in the garden, plays a crucial role in creating a positive and supportive community culture.

Just as each flower requires nurturing, care, and attention to bloom and flourish, shared values also need to be cultivated and nurtured by individuals within our community.

Furthermore, in a garden, each plant has specific needs and requirements to thrive. Similarly, individuals within our community have rights and responsibilities associated with each shared value, such as the right to be treated with respect, the responsibility to treat others with respect, the right to express themselves freely, the responsibility to consider others perspectives, the right to feel safe and included, and the responsibility to create a safe and inclusive environment for all.

By embracing these shared values all students will contributing positively to the collective well-being of our community.

Burnaby School District’s Code of Conduct has been established to maintain a safe, caring and healthy learning environment.

It is the shared responsibility of students, staff, parents/guardians and the broader community, to demonstrate positive conduct while attending any school or District related activity, at any location.

All members of the school community have an obligation to:

• Support learning
• Promote safety
• Respect property, environment, personal space and privacy
• Model courtesy, compassion and respect

All students are expected to comply with appropriate use of personal digital devices and restrictions – which may vary by the student’s age and developmental stage – including:

• At elementary schools, personal digital devices (cellphones and smartwatches with cellular connectivity) will be safely stored, on silent mode, and out of sight during the school day, including non-instructional time such as recess and lunch.
• At secondary schools, personal digital devices will be safely stored, on silent mode, and out of sight during instructional time.
• At all grade levels, exceptions to restrictions apply when the classroom teacher gives permission to use personal digital devices for educational activities, and/or when students require personal digital devices for learning accessibility and/or medical purposes under school staff supervision.
• At all grade levels, expectations for conduct and use of technology as outlined in the District Technologies & Information Systems Student Acceptable Use Agreement also apply.

All members of the school community must refrain from engaging in any in-person or digital communication or behaviour that is considered to be:

• Interfering with the learning and working of others
• Bullying, harassing, intimidating, retaliating, discriminating or violent
• Unsafe or illegal including the possession, use or distribution of illegal or restricted substances, or the possession of weapons or replicas

All members of the school community are expected to comply with the purpose and spirit of the BC Human Rights Code, including not engaging in discriminatory conduct on the basis of race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or age.

Every effort will be made to support individuals and to determine the root causes of behaviour. If the safety or educational program of others is compromised, or if there is an ongoing failure to meet the expectations of the Code of Conduct, a range of consequences will follow. Whenever possible, incidents will be resolved by discussion, mediation and restitution.

All members of the Burnaby School District community have the right to be treated fairly and consistently, and should know and understand this Code of Conduct.

Welcome back to another school year and welcome to our class blog! We are excited to have you share in our learning. On our website, you will find samples of our learning and  important reminders about events and other activities happening in our class this year.