The Acting Principal interviewed students in Grades 2-7 from both English and French classes during the month of April.  The students were asked the following four questions:

1. Are there adults in the school who you can go to for help and/or who you can count on/who believe in you?  Can you name them?

2. Do you think we value equity and inclusion at Bridge and how do you know this?

3. What are you learning at school and how do you know that you are learning?

4. Is there anything else that you’d like to tell me about school/Bridge?  Hopes for the future? Ideas?

For Question #1 the answer was a resounding

• YES!
• Yes, of course!
• Yes - any adult! 

from all of the students when asked if there are adults in the school that they can go to for help and who believe in them. The students were able to easily name teachers and staff and also included the following adults (often by name as well):

• Current Teachers
• Past Teachers
• The Principal
• The Vice Principal                       
• Noon Hour Supervisors   
• Resource Teachers
• Educational Assistants
• Gym teachers (past and present)
• Teacher Candidates
• TTOCs                                
• The Band Teacher
• Office Staff
• Playground Supervisors
• Construction Workers (Seismic Crew)                                

This was heartwarming and not surprising as we often have visitors to the school tell us how welcome everyone made them feel!

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The responses to Question #2 are as follows:

Do you think we value equity and inclusion at Bridge and how do you know this?

• We help new students
• We announce birthdays
• We remind each other to walk in the hallways to be safe for those in wheelchairs
• We play with all children
• We help friends on the monkey bars to teach them how to skip
• We teach each other
• We announce holidays – like Sikh Heritage Month
• There is a lot of cool stuff on the announcements
• It doesn’t matter what you can do, you’ll be included
• TTOCs want to come back to our school
• This is the best school I’ve ever been to and I changed schools a lot in Montreal
• If I ask someone, can I join you?  They always say yes and include me.
• We announce holidays and special times – Sikh Heritage Month
• Our school is perfect!
• We announce holidays that I’ve never heard of before! 
• Oh yeah!
• We are nice to people!
• Someone is always at the office to greet you or help you.
• We take care of our students with diverse needs
• Students say hi and include others
• We announce birthdays
• We acknowledge the territory in the morning
• We teach about Sikh Heritage Month by reading the posters on the announcements
• We put people in the Hot Seat at assemblies to learn more about them
• We do buddy activities
• We learn about Residential Schools
• When we are playing outside and there are uneven numbers – someone will always offer to wait and play next.
• If you are new – you are included
• When walking in the halls – people say hi to you (staff and students), even little ones, people say hi and have conversations – they don’t just walk by
• One of the district workers delivering something played ball with us when our ball went over by him
• There are different recess duty people but you can always get help from anyone
• It feels safe to talk to people
• You don’t have to hide information
• On the announcements we celebrate things like the Noon Hour Supervisor who became an EA and we said congratulations on the morning announcements
• People put garbage in the garbage

These results demonstrate just how important the human connection is at school.  Students who feel safe and cared about at school will be more able and ready to learn.

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The results from Question #3 show us just how important hands-on learning and experiences are for students to reinforce authentic and lifelong learning.

What are you learning at school and how do you know that you are learning?

• Apples – taste testing – lots of details (sour, green, brands)
• Rainbow water
• Nap Time
• Math Games – Even Steven Odds
• Halloween Party
• Valentine’s Party
• Challenges – Jeopardy
• Art projects
• Fun projects – Star Wars Project, Tie Dye, Science (eggs)
• Hands-on activities
• I talk about what I did with my little sister at night when I’m putting her to bed
• I practice what I learn at school when I’m at home
• We do self-reflections
• What would you change? – nothing
• Social Studies – it’s interesting to learn about history
• Learning about others in Social Studies
• I like learning about something at school and then it makes me want to go deeper and learn more
• We do a core competencies booklet at the end of the year
• We do self-reflections
• Math – fractions, colour
• Richmond News welcome letter
• Penpals with Surrey class
• Lacrosse and badminton in gym – really fun!
• English – last year we wrote our own stories
• Reflections
• Week in Review which is sent home to parents
• Peer help
• Early finishers help/teach others
• Social Studies – Natural Resources, making a slideshow, ads, videos
• Using iPads and Laptops
• Learning about Residential Schools
• Science Experiments – paper airplanes, Newton’s Law
• Math – division, fractions, pattern blocks
• Gym – handball
• French – food, colours, time, numbers
• Basketball Game  - we made signs for the staff
• Our teacher guides us
• When he gives us a quiz – he gives us a testing quiz and then the real quiz
• Editing/proofreading
• Good helping level – not telling us everything – makes us work for it
• How believes in us – he knows you can do it
• He won’t help us until we need it.
• Self-reflection, goal setting, core competency

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4. Is there anything else that you’d like to tell me about school/Bridge? 

What are your hopes and ideas for the future?

• I like how we’re trying to start lots of our school activities again (basketball, track, assemblies, etc.)
• Hockey in the Hood
• Family Teams
• PAC events - Halloween Howl, Spring Carnival, Breakfast with Santa
• Breakfast Club
• More field trips
• VSO
• Track and Field
• Interacting with more classes
• Go for walks
• Family Teams
• More buddy time
• Gym with other classes
• Little buddies

Once again, collaborating and being a part of a team are important activities for students' well-being.