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My Practicum Experience

School Community During my practicum experience, I was placed at St. Jean Marie Vianney Catholic Elementary School for DPCDSB. St. Jean Marie Vianney is a diverse and welcoming community of teachers, staff and students. This enriching and inclusive school community engages with many initiatives throughout the year that allows students and teachers from varying backgrounds to come together and showcase their talents and strengths, ecourage and uplift one another and learn together to respect and welcome all, inside and outside the classroom. Although it is a fairly new school for DPCDSB, it has made its mark by being an Eco School, specfically with their Monarch Conservation site and their EcoTeam:
Vianney has an amazing Music room that is used for the Music classes and Choir. It is a great resource for students who are artistically inclined to showcase their talent in creative spaces!
The school community was also lifted through music with African Drumming Presentation and hosting the Brampton West Film Festival:
Additionally, the school community engaged with Anti-Bullying Awareness sessions with Coach Miguel as a way to increase a safe and inclusive school community . Sessions first included grade-division specific assemblies and then expanded into in-class sessions.
Spirits were also raised for the community when it was the FIFA world cup. Some students in my class were able to present "World Cup minutes" during annoucements and tallys were taken infront of the French Classroom of who's culture is represented in the World Cup:
Spirit Week and important information was always showcased in the office and through their twitter. We had engaged in many school wide initiatives to raise awareness for inclusion and diversity such as Sock day :
Another Community building/ Differentiate/ Equitable/Inclusive and CRRP strategy is through the morning annnoucements on Google meet. It incorporates themes of the month, birthday announcements and messages of positive affirmation:
A great initiative that I was able to contribute too was the 12 Days of Christmas Donations that was school wide. This was a great way to support local families that are in need during the holidays and build our local community:
A fun way to end before the Christmas Break was the Christmas concert for the school and parents/guardians, led by the Primary Divisions. Additionally in May the Junior/Intermediate Divisions led the Spring concert which I helped coordinate with:
Messages of Positivity and Inclusion are all over the school to uplift and build a sense of community :
My Engagement with the School Community During my placement at St.Jean Marie Vianney I was able to : Facilitate After-School Tutoring Sessions conducted by the Board, Emergency Supply and Lunch Monitor and running their Snack Shack. Project to be displayed with co-TC's: collaborated with co-TC's to Faciliate the Virtue of Conscience School wide. Each grade was given a scenario in which students had to write in the thought bubble what they would do.I collected the responses from the whole school and we put it in display in the bulletin-boards for the school to always refer too for the month of Conscience. Facillitated a school wide Black History Month activity that showcases Canadian Black Influencers and each student as apart of a school community of who they are to envoke Black Excellence and motivation. Be an assistant coach for the Junior Girls and Boys Basketball and Volleyball teams. I assisted in Lunch practices and the tournament with score keeping. I also ran the Faith Club with one of my Students in my Grade 6 Placement class! This allowed Grade 6 students to help encourage younger grades to be more accepting and participating in their faith. Sessions were held once a week in the Zen-Zone and Music room of the school in which activities were faith-fun based to develop a sense of faith community building. I had made a Faith booklet for students to refer to prayers and hymns. We used this in our club and I had given it to the other teachers as well. My EDPR 2000/3000 mentor teacher also went over progree-report writing, OSSR's and what an ALP is. I attended a staff meeting in which I was apart of the discussions of CRRP , equity and inclusion and school-division goals.
Teacher Collaboration There was on going teacher collaboration in this placement with the amazing student teachers that were also placed at Vianney with me in my program. They had taught me resillience, patience and ongoing communal effort to ensure a safe, enriching, diverse and respectful classroom and staffroom environment. We had shared eacother's struggles and lifted eachother up. It was amazing to witness great student teachers and work alongside them in our many projects we had worked on together.
For EDPR 2000-3000, I was placed in Mrs. Barbour's Grade 6 Classroom
The class size was twenty-seven students in which one student was ESL, four students were placed in a SERC for Math and Language and three students with an IEP. Of the three students one was given accomodations, and the two had modifications based to specific needs. This was a great learning expereince to teach students with various learning needs in small and large-group discussions. I learned many valuable lessons from being in this classroom and paired with my Mentor Teacher (MT). I had also learned that she was apart of many initiatives within the school, such as social commitee, OECTA rep and also assisting with pizza distribution. The Classroom was organized in many layered systems to foster UDL, independent and group learning. First, my Mentor Teacher(MT) had a money-system in which students gained monopoly money for tasks which also fostered Financial Literacy. Students kept track of their balance in their balance sheet, every week you can use your money for treats on Friday , money is taken away if you haven’t signed your agenda or disruptive behaviour (which I assisted in monitoring with) :
My MT also went over the learning skills in an engaging way. Students went over a learning skills assessment tool individually and put a reference of the learning skills up to be viewed in the classroom of what the learning skills sound and look like (which I assisted with) :
This was a great tool for students to set goals for the year on responsibility, collaboration, self-regulation, initiative, independent work, and organization as a way for them to have the report card be taken into action through goal setting. Learning Expectations were also showcased even when we had to move to online delivery during the CUPE Strike :
Catholic Education was always embodied into the classroom, my MT always displays the virtue each month in the religion corner , which I assissted in updating each month:
Additionally, mindfullness was linked into journal writing to foster and enhance communication skills. I assistd with marking and delivering these prompts:
My MT had a great way to teach math, by always showcasing learning goals and allowing students to work through problems using a whiteboard marker on their desk. It was also a technique to check for learning and participation.For Marking purposes, she always included a rubric at the end. When I assisted with Marking and during my teaching block I had impemented this as well.A great project she had implemented for graphing was for sturdents to create an infographic. She had given students many class times to research and collect data. Check-in points were also initiated to ensure progress is met with my MT and mself. I had also marked these assignments myself.
She also taught me how to use the RACE strategy for paragraph writing needing proof of text : Restate the question Answer all the questions in your wordsCite from the text -proof Explain the citation - why proof helps answer your question The students found this usefull in their writing for all subjects as well!
When engaging with novel study, the MT always had included new characters name for students to follow along with.
My Teaching Block for EDPR 2000/3000 During my time in this Grade 6 class, I specifically taught Health, Drama and Science.I had always related my teachings to mental-health in which students had the space to ground themselve and use the apporpriate methods that worked for them. i also learned how to modify and accomodate lessons for the varied needs of the classroom. I was able to structure the lessons I delivered for the class and when I was assisting with my MT, to formulate large and small group discussions to cater to each students needs. Health During my time with the class, I had instructed Healthy living and eating, and Safety and inclusion. For Healthy Living students had to make a Poster , in which students had to imagine themselves as a DPCDSB board member and advertise Healthy Living to the Target audience of Grade 6:
Drama I had implemented many role-playing activities such as pantomimes, and improvisation acting. The one I found the most effective was when I related it to mindfullness role-playing:
Science- Electricity Unit I specifically taught the electricity unit for my teaching block. I went over various in-class experiments that targeted a hands-on approach to scientific investigation, and inquiry based learning. This was specifically effective for students who had varying learning needs. From the curriculum I had covered all curriculum expectations that was shared to the class all the time : Electrical Phenomena, Energy, and DevicesC1.1 assess the short- and long-term impacts of electrical energy generation technologies in Canada on society and the environment, including impacts on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities, and on climate changeC1.2 assess choices that reduce personal use of electrical energy from both renewable and non-renewable sources, and advocate for the responsible use of electrical energy by the school community Electrical Phenomena, Energy, and DevicesC2.1 explain commonly observed electrostatic phenomena, using the principles of static electricityC2.2 describe current electricity, and compare and contrast current electricity with static electricityC2.3 identify materials that are good conductors of electric current and materials that are good insulatorsC2.4 describe how technologies transform various forms of energy into electrical energyC2.5 describe ways in which electrical energy is transformed into other forms of energyC2.6 explain the functions of the components of a simple electrical circuitC2.7 distinguish between series and parallel circuits, and identify common uses of each type of circuit I had made most of the lessons digital to satisfy the needs of the SERC students to use the audio accomodation they had as well. I had also had the important terms displayed for reference through the unit. We also worked on energy-saving inquiry journal writing and mind-maps to consolidate all the learning. The end of the unit consolidation was the students had to make a Christmas Card Circuit that lit up one element of their card for their family. I had supplied them with the necessary materials. I also had a station set up for them to experiment with circuit making as a fun way to end the unit.
EDPR Conferencing Report:
EDPR 3000 Summary Report:
For EDPR 4000 I was placed in Mrs.Duke's Grade 2 Classroom
Mrs.Duke is a very experienced teacher that has developed a great rapport with her students and staff. She is apart of the school community as the choir director and Eco Team Teacher. I had the pleasure of accompanying Mrs. Duke as a supervisor for the school choir performing at the Dufferin-Peel Disctrict School Board office for a liturgy on March 1st. It was a great experience to be a part of to witness and observe the planning and detail that goes into preparation for events with students in extra-curricular activities. I learned what a Trip Manifest form is and how to fill one in, I learned that this form has to be photocopied and given to the office administration as well to keep for a few years. I learned that students who require eip-pens, the main teacher has to check these out from the office as well. Additionally, on the bus there are it's own safety protocoals that must be followed through to arrive and be dropped off safely. It was a great expereince to be apart to help with :
I learned how to embody and incorporate Catholic teachings through UDL and CRRP with her Vowel Team/ Phonic and Heggerty schedule, Share and Show, use of PM Benchmarking, success criteria, learning goals, inquiry learning, exit tickets and resources displayed each day for a hands-on approach to learning. I had the oppurtunity to assist with creating exit tickets, positive messages, anchor charts and learning goals for hands-on learning. She also develops a sense of community and independence in her classroom with celebrating each student's birthday with a sign and birthday dance, nature walks, positive affirmation messages for each student and classroom jobs that change each week.
She is an empathetic and equitable teacher. I learned from her, that in the Upper Primary grades they still might need a change of clothes from time to time. To avoid calling home or knowing that some students might not be able to call home she has a box for extra clothes for the kids that was brought by the students at the beginning of the year. She also had two inclusive and cross-curricular activities planned for Valentine's Day. The first activity during Valentines Day for each student to send and write eachother nice messages and a STEM rotary challenge with the other Grade 2 classes to partake in:
Mrs.Duke taught me the importance of collaboration through Moderated Marking and group management. From this approach I was able to understand and learn her rationale of her marking and assessment for each students work in a collaboritive approach with colleagues and talking out our own professional observations. I had also learned how to pair students based on needs and abilities to modify up and modify down.
I had the oppurtunity to sit in and observe Parent/Teacher Interviews for Term 1 with Mrs.Duke and in Term 2 I was able to observe a team meating to put a student on accomodations and modifications. Both were great learning oppurtunities to witness and observe the planning, communication and conduction that is required for the interview process and to bring a student to team. In my courses we learned the importance of Parent involvment, and being able to see the conferencing aspect of the Parent/Teacher interviews alongside the conferencing of colleagues, helped me understand more how important it is to develop a community and connection with each parent. It helps the teacher understand their home life to be able to differentiate, include and reperesent for each student in the classroom.
I also was able to partake in Catholic Education Week with Faith club and Mrs.Duke's class. The theme was , "We are Many, We are One". Everyday we had said one decade from the rosary, played the theme song at the beginning of the day and had engaged in a classroom puzzle activity. This activity incorporated students to create a puzzle piece that represents themselves and their culture in which it is a piece to our classroom "We are many, we are one" puzzle. We had also completed an activity of students reflecting on why they love catholic education. With Faith club we had made a growing in faith tree with each student from the schools' handprints and butterflies to resemble, "We are Many, We are One" and used the hands from our previous Black History Month Display:
Mrs. Duke represents cross-curricular subjects, cultures and voices through picturebooks even if the culture was not directly related or represented in the classroom through Blue Spruce books that were read weekly to the class during Library for the Forest of Reading contest. It was extended with activities in the class. The first example was cross-curricular with Social Studies for Indigenous teachings of how to be stewards of our land and environment with meaningful activities. The other examples incorporates cross-curricular knowledge of science represented in the picturebook to also demonstrate friendship, South Asian culture and Black History :
Mrs. Duke taught me that you can also partake in multiple strategies for math problems in the primary division to invoke problem-solving skills:
I taught Phys-Ed, Journal Writing, Family Life, Math : Coding, Money/ Financial Literacy. However I did assist with other subjects day to day. One special activity was a mother's day art activity I had assisted with instruction. Mrs. Duke taught me that students at grade 2 can also watch instructional videos and create amazing pieces of art work for Mother's Day :
In Phys- Ed, I had always followed suit with safety protocols of classroom management and safety within and transitioning into a gym setting. I was made aware of these protocols from my Mentor Teacher and from my Teaching Health and Physical Education class, of who were the first-aiders in the school and who in the class had specific health concerns that could impede their participation. I had always did a head count before and after entering and leaving the gym, ensuring the gym setting is safe and where the safety kits are. I had always ensured students had their tied if needed, shoes were secure, jewellery was off and ensured they drink water before and after physical activity. I had promoted differentiaed, overall well-being and mindfulness with warm-up and cool-down activities that focussed on individual goals, deeep breathing and being present with their bodies and mind. We had did many group collaboration activities such as relay obstacle courses and circuit rotation that focussed on following instructions with games that centered on listening to what to do next for specifc physical literacy movements. For example, practicing using a hula-hoop, jumping jacks, shooting a basketball, running in a circle or straight line, balancing, throwing and catching, passing and dribbiling a basketball and soccer ball with a partner/ groups and with a scooter. This was also cross -curricular with math as they had to learn how to group themselves based on the number of people present that day, such as, 5 groups of 4 and vice versa. As well there many movement braks throughout the week when the gym was closed with dance:
Through the Journal Writing prompts that I would give to the class each week, it would focus on self-growth and mindfulness through writing practicies that were taught in the class. :
In Family Life, I covered Theme 2: Living in Relationships, we had discussed about what makes our families unique, signs of love, changes to family, and sibling and friend relationships. We had done various activities that illustrated co-operation of relationships like being a class centipede, of linking arms and trying to navigate the room together. We were able to work on role play skits of how to resolve and mediate between sibling conflict. They were so eager and excited to act out their skits! Time was managed by using a timer and telling the students how much time they had remaining. The learning goal was clearly communicated and success criteria for an effective skit and audience were shared. Ideas were conceptually linked and conflict resolution of families was discussed and lead to a healthy discussion with the students. The student who was absent was given her own activity to do which was reflective of the learning activity. We had also discussed what are qualities of friendhsip through various large group discussions. For the last assessment for learning students had to make a poster of a special person and friend following the criteria given to them. I had also given them a work period with relaxing music to work on their rough copy :
I also worked a lot one-on-one with a student in her class that was on an IEP. For assessments I worked with her and provided notes of what she could and could not do. It was amazing to see this students progression throughout the time with her, as she was finally able to read independently, to form sentences and spell phonetically and count, through the strategies she as learned:
In Coding, students in Grade 2 have to : C3.1 solve problems and create computational representations of mathematical situations by writing and executing code, including code that involves sequential and concurrent eventsC3.2 read and alter existing code, including code that involves sequential and concurrent events, and describe how changes to the code affect the outcomes I used various methods to introduce coding to the classroom for assessment of and for learning. We first had many classroom dicussions of coding all around us and inferencing what coding is before actually learning it deeply. Which then extended into an anchor chart with learning goals displayed when a new topic was added. We had also undergone many hands-on activities to apply and extend their learning of coding especially using communication strategies of math journaling. As well as through the many activities from Scratch and Mathology. At the end of the unit, I had created and given out an assessment and had worked in small groups each day to use the ozobot :
In Money/ Financial Literacy students in Grade 2 have to:F1. Money and Financesdemonstrate an understanding of the value of Canadian currencyF1.1 identify different ways of representing the same amount of money up to Canadian 200¢ using various combinations of coins, and up to $200 using various combinations of $1 and $2 coins and $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills
I used various methods to introduce Financial literacy and Money concepts to the classroom for assessment of and for learning and had also communicated to parents what was being done through a google classroom anouncement. We first had many classroom dicussions of financial literacy all around us for ways we spend and budget money. I had also encouraged the students to discuss at home as a fun activity to learn about their own cultural money and compare it to Canadian money, in which sparked a lot of discussion of comparisons and dinstinctions of the varying money. It also encouraged students to feel excited and appreciate their classmates and their own culture in everyday settings. Which then extended into an anchor chart with learning goals displayed when a new topic was added. We had also undergone many hands-on activities and exit tickets to apply and extend their learning of Money especially using communication strategies using UMCL (understand, make a plan, carry out the plan, look back) from Mathology, money manipulatives, knowledge hook, TVO learn and group work. Through these activities students were able to communicate and collaboratitvely solve problems of saving/ budgeting money and how to identify different ways to represent values using combinations of coins and bills using pictures, numbers and words. At the end of the unit, I had created and given out a quiz and an assessment, in which I also learned how to modify down for our IEP student. For the Assessment I had used the in-class word problems and changed the numbers for application, but had similar questions for the knowledge:
EDPR 4000 Conferencing Report and Summary Report in March and May 2023: