We are Woodward Wildcats.  Our learning throughout the 2023-24 school year brought us closer together, particularly as we continued to focus on our moto, 'Woodward Connects'.  We also committed ourselves more fully to Truth and Reconciliation at Woodward Elementary.  Our Action Posts in November and July share the efforts made by our inquiry team as they led the whole school in meaningful learning and reflection.  As we move forward and look to a new school year, we aim to keep 'Woodward Connects' alive and well as we continue to support all of our students in building a feeling of connection and belonging.  Each individual has great value.  Each individual is cared for at Woodward.  We believe in all of our students and their achievements and know they can find success and fulfillment in their lives.

In early Spring, the staff decided to scan our students.  We asked them for their 'voice'.  We wanted to know how they were feeling, do they feel supported and do they know that adults in the building care about them?  We wanted to know what makes them feel happy in their learning and what might cause them to feel unhappy in the learning (see May 31st Action Post: 'What Are Our Students Telling Us?', and May 22nd Evidence Post: 'School Story Student Survey Result'). 

Our mission statement states, “Daniel Woodward Elementary School is a safe, enjoyable environment for learning through work and play with others.  Teachers and parents support all students as they become lifelong learners who take risks and show pride in all endeavors. As a community of learners, we care for ourselves, others, and our surroundings.”

In order to honour this, and taking from what was shared by the collective student voice in our survey, our staff elected to shift our focus to teaching the notion of adopting a Growth Mindset, with a specific focus on improving Literacy Skills schoolwide.  We are excited to continue our explorations together as a school story staff team, always with the ultimate goal of enhancing the experiences and progress of each our learners.  We look forward to sharing more with you in the coming school year in 'Action' and 'Evidence' posts as we continue to explore and work together!