Advancing the learning community to achieve school goals

Grandview Heights Secondary opened in September 2022 as, our Principal Darren Bedard says, “a place where everyone is someone”. The Learning Commons has become an active, inclusive, collaborative, and creative learning space embraced both by students and staff that supports the school’s learning plan focussing on innovative learning spaces and the core competencies of communication, collaboration, and personal awareness and responsibility.

During the first week a student told me that “this place is like a palace” and the design of the school is beautiful but the deeper intention of the design is to create open, flexible, innovative learning spaces that are shaped by student learning. The circular Learning Commons is situated in the heart of the school on the second floor with a classroom area and the fiction collection on one side and the non-fiction section with a variety of student seating on the other side. A river of student humanity flows through the Learning Commons throughout the day as students move about the school. The learning space as a ‘living room’ provides ‘chill rooms’ and nooks for students to self-isolate and self-regulate, corners to curl up with a book, and spaces to do group work. The Learning Commons provides seating from formal tables and chairs to club chairs and modular pieces and students move everything to meet their learning and socio-emotional needs.

The empowerment of students to shape their learning environment creates a sense of ownership and validates student identity and contribution to a collective space. The flexibility of the Learning Commons accommodates whole classes doing research, small group presentations and teachers also send students to work independently. Students have access to technology such as computers, iPads and a future podcast station to communicate their learning in a myriad of ways and breakout rooms to work in small groups. The Learning Commons is a space where students learn about how to be personally aware and responsible for their well-being and how to self-regulate as they learn how to work independently and collaborate with others. Students curate and set up art shows, run school wide Student Vote and participate in mock interviews for Career classes. Often, students use the Learning Commons as a refuge for their well-being and as part of their daily stress management. Also, students use the Learning Commons as a social space at lunch and after school building community in our new school.

At Grandview Heights Secondary, we often talk about The Grizzly Way where students are encouraged to be humble, collaborative, creative, and kind. The Learning Commons as a flexible learning space helps to support student learning and most importantly the development of responsible and caring people.

Lisa Domeier de Suarez - Teacher Librarian at Grandview Heights Secondary

The library at Frank Hurt Secondary plays an integral role in advancing the school goals of building connections and a sense of belonging; supporting the core competencies of communication, thinking, and personal and social identity; and improving attendance.

To facilitate connections from the start of the school year, the library hosts a scavenger hunt type activity that encourages students to meet school staff, explore different areas of the school, and learn about upcoming library events and the newest resources. The library is open to all before school, during a supervised lunch, throughout in-session hours, and after school. There’s access to a trained teacher-librarian who frequently collaborates with their teachers on inquiry units so can help them find and select the print and digital resources they require at a level suited to their diverse needs. The library is equipped with computers, a printer, school supplies and a variety of work areas that allow for independent study, group collaboration, and/or comfy, casual chats. Some students say they prefer the library environment to their classroom and will request to work here. This can help improve attendance and productivity.

The library promotes awareness about, and participation in, world and local events, diverse holidays and commemorative days such as Orange Shirt Day, Earth Day, Pride, and Indigenous History Month with resource displays, social media posts and contests such as quizzes, trivia, colouring and jokes. The school’s Beyond Black History Month committee created their fundraising buttons in the library this spring with library-provided materials. The Anti-Oppression Collective held the inaugural “AOC Talks: Racist Language Roundtable” in the safe space of the library after school earlier this month. The past five Student Vote elections (federal, provincial, and municipal) have been organized by and held in the library. Students can lead these events and can work in the library at lunch time to gain personal, social, and work-related experience, plus volunteer hours. Students see themselves represented, learn about others, and participate in society at various levels when they come to the library.

Jeanette Mclean - Teacher Librarian at Frank Hurt Secondary