Parrsboro Schools share a beauti-ful piece of green space at the top of

King Street, overlooking Main St. and the town of Parrsboro. Approximately 290 students from Parrsboro, and local areas including Five Islands, Southhampton, Wards Brook, Port Greville and Diligent River attend our P-6 and 7-12 schools. Approximately 60% of our students are bused.

We are fortunate to have a diverse, talented and very caring staff which consists of 19 teachers, 1 School Coun-sellor, 3 Administrators, 3 Educational Assistants, 2 Administrative Assistants, 3 Custodians, 1 part-time Librarian at PRHS and community volunteers sup-port the Elementary library.

Declining enrollment has caused a reduction in staff and consequently impacted the number and variety of courses offered at the high school. PRHS has managed to include a range

of courses designed to meet the needs, abilities and interest levels of all of our students. The NS Virtual High provides many students with options that further support their academic needs.

Due to the Provincial cap on class size, PRES re-configured Grades P-3 into Primary, Grade 1, Grade 1/2, Grade 2/3 to ensure that all P-3 classes remain at or below 20 students. Class configuration will change yearly throughout the P-6 school.

Students from Grades 7-12 can access the Youth Health Centre at the high school and receive support from the School Nurse and the THC Coordinator.

The PRS website, www.prhs.ccrsb.ca con-tinues to evolve and will be a window into student life at both Parrsboro Schools. Parents are encouraged to check the web-site regularly to stay informed on school events and updates.

S C H O O L A N D C O M M U N I T Y

S C H O O L A D V I S O RY C O U N C I L

PRES and PRHS were well represented and supported in 2014-15 by the School Advisory Council, with 8-10 members meeting monthly throughout the school year. Reports were provided by teacher reps, admin., PRHS Student Council and community and many school related challenges were addressed resulting in recommendations and actions. We attempted to support school-based student projects and initiatives through grant proposals created by several of the SAC members—”The Dream Team” plan to continue efforts into the next school

year. Meeting agenda items this year in-cluded: CSI—goals & action plans, student achievement—assessment, school mainte-nance and upgrades, staffing, PRHS course offerings, school-community events and partnerships, student and school needs and other student-centred topics. Many thanks to all members of the SAC as we begin another year of exciting growth and possibility at both PRES and PRHS. School and community members are wel-come to submit agenda items through the PRS offices..

Inside this issue:

School and Community 1

School Advisory Council 1

Positive Relationships 1

Assessment Results 2

Student Engagement 3

Professional Develop- 3

Additional School Sup- 3

Planning for Improve- 4

C o n t i n u o u s S c h o o l I m p r o v e m e n t A n n u a l R e p o r t ~ 2 0 1 4 - 1 5

PARRSBORO REGIONAL SCHOOLS

SCHOOL CREST/SYMBOL

“STAND UP SPEAK OUT”

For positive relation-

With a daily focus on positive relation-ship building and the importance of strong connections, Parrsboro Regional Schools students and staff continue to work towards building a kinder , safer and more inclusive school community. The power of words and actions are addressed throughout the school, through both formal and informal mes-sages. We truly believe in, model and promote a restorative approach to diffi-cult situations and provide students with support and a safe learning envi-ronment.

CCRSB students participate in provincial and board-wide assess-ments. The information gained helps us determine our next steps in improving student achievement in Mathematics and Literacy.

These results indicate the percentage of students who met expecta-tions on the assessments.

P R OV I N C I A L , B O A R D A N D S C H O O L A S S E S S M E N T R E S U LT S

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PARRSBORO REGIONAL SCHOOLS

CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT

Teachers at Parrsboro Regional Schools assess students on a daily and ongoing basis. We measure student progress as it relates to the course outcomes in a variety of different ways. Teachers continue to use quizzes, tests and projects as a form of final evaluation re-ferred to as “Summative Assessments”. They are more apt to use quizzes, presentations, conversations, or in-class assignments, re-ferred to as “Formative Assessments”, to pro-vide supportive feedback to confirm student progress. As you may be aware from conver-sations with your child, teacher, and/or by visiting the PowerSchool Public Portal (https://sisccrsb.ednet.ns.ca/ public/) these assessments are not included in a student’s Final Grade, they are simply used to provide direction for student learning. Assessments are connected with the out-comes associated with each course. CCRSB is following the lead of the Department of Edu-cation and Early Childhood Development in the use of Achievement Levels(1-4). This form of feedback is a precise method to inform students of their strengths and challenges within the course. For example, if a student receives a mark of 1, the lowest Level, for a particular outcome, they have demonstrated a limited knowledge and understanding and are to review the content and concepts again. If a student receives a mark of 4, the highest Level, they have demonstrated they have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the content and concepts of the outcome. Teach-ers have found these recording process very beneficial for students as they have instant feedback and are aware how to achieve greater success in the course.

2014-15 Reading Grade 3

Province 87 CCRSB 86 #Students 14

Reading Overall 100% meeting

# Students 14

Writing Ideas Organiza-tion

Language Use Conventions

Province 76 60 64 53

CCRSB 77 62 67 54

School 100 73 73 55

2014 Mathematics in Grade 4 Province 74 CCRSB 75 #Students 21

Mathematics 71% Meeting

2014 Mathematics in Grade 6

Province 69 CCRSB 69 #Students 22

Mathematics 91% Meeting

2014 Reading & Writing in Grade 6

Province 74 CCRSB 77 #Students 18

Reading 96% Meeting

Writing Ideas Organization Language Conventions Province 76 61 66 58

CCRSB 77 62 67 58

2014 Mathematics in Grade 8 Province 57 CCRSB 54 #Students 20

40% Meeting (35% almost meeting)

2014 Reading and Writing in Grade 8

Reading

Province 74 CCRSB 65 #Students 23

Writing Ideas Organization Language Use Conventions

Province 86 87 82 76

CCRSB 86 77 81 69

School 83 70 70 57

#Students 23

Operating with less staff, in an isolat-ed community doesn’t seem to reduce the passion and energy put forth to support student-based activities. Parrsboro High School and Parrsboro Elementary students experience a vast array of extra-curricular activities in addition to a very successful high school athletics program. At PRES, Grade 6 students continue their work as the Green Team and they raise

funds annually with a Giant Yard Sale. Upper Elementary student opportu-nities also include Hoops For Heart, Y Girls-On The Move and Recreational Basketball, while P-3 students take part in Jump Rope For Heart. Full school activities include the Milk Energy Fair, Ship’s Company productions, Terry

Fox Run/Walk and African Drumming. At the high school level, student leadership develop-ment is a priority. Students enhance their skills and interests through Leadership Groups such as the NSSSA, Student Council, Healthy Rela-tionships for Youth, iCAN after-school programs for Grade 7-9 girls, Yearbook Club, Gardening/Green Team and many more . Teachers and community volunteer leaders support, encour-age and challenge our youth to grow through both academic and extra-curricular experiences.

The ultimate goal is to promote and celebrate healthy, life-long learners.

7. Speech-Language Pathologist

8. School Advisory Council

9. Librarian - PRHS

10. Library Volunteers - PRES

11. RCMP Community Officer

12. Breakfast Programs

13. 2 Administrative Assistants

14. Community Partnerships-

Lions Club, ArtLab, Ship’s Company, YMCA, Community Health, & the

Fundy Geological Museum.

At Parrsboro Regional Schools we

have a number of additional supports

provided to improve student achieve-

ment:

1. P-3 Early Literacy Support (ELS)

2. P-12 Program Support Teams

3. 3 Educational Assistants

4. Learning Centre Teachers

5. Grade 4-12 School Counsellor

6. School Psychologist

S T U D E N T E N G A G E M E N T - H I G H L I G H T S O F T H E Y E A R

A D D I T I O N A L S C H O O L S U P P O R T S

“Mind Up Curriculum”

New Curriculum Support PD & Mentoring (Math, Health, Art..)

Restorative Approach

Student Services –TIENET, ELS, PST...

Technology—Google Apps, Mimeo, Netbooks, Moodle

“Safe Start To School”

Oral Language Proficiency—Classroom Activities

Theatre Games—OLP

“Food & Mood”

Ongoing teacher PD elevates and supports effective instruction and assessment, providing our stu-dents with challenging and rele-vant learning experiences. Cur-rent, research-based and timely PD has a direct impact on student success.

P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E LO P M E N T

The 2014-15 school year marked year 2 of the Parrsboro Schools Continuous School Improvement (CSI) process. Staff members continue to participate in diverse professional development opportunities to support their focus on the CSI goals.

Teachers have worked together to ap-ply CCRSB’s Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting guidelines making our grading system more consistent throughout both schools. Some of the PD that individual and full staff partici-pated in this year include:

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“Those who think they have no time for exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” - Edward Stanley

PROGRESS REPORT—2014-15

This academic school year marked year 2 of the Continuous School Improvement (CSI) Plan for Parrsboro Regional Schools. The two goals were devised by staff collaboratively in 2013, one based on Academics and one based on Climate. Throughout each school year the teachers connected during professional development sessions and during staff meetings to explore student achievement data and to discuss the needs of Parrsboro students.

CSI Goals: 2013-2016

Academic Goal: Parrsboro Regional Schools students will demonstrate a 5% increase in oral language proficiency (skill and confidence) as measured by school-based assessments/rubrics by June 2016. Performance (Climate) Goal: To increase, by 5%, the frequency of positive responses to the Comprehensive School Health site-based survey questions related to “healthy self, healthy relationships and healthy environment”, by June 2016.

Both goals are closely aligned to our schools’ concern for healthy and positive relationship building within the total school community. Whole self health has a positive correlation with increased student/teacher performance and the effective and the successful function-ing of schools is strongly connected to the depth of the relationships of the stakeholders. Strong oral language skills contribute to personal confidence, independence and academic success, impacting greatly on the foundation of any relationship, enhancing open commu-nication.

2014-15 Action Plan: Common Strategies to Achieve These Goals In 2013 baseline data for oral language proficiency was measured through grade level final marks, provincial assessments and school-based assessments. In the classroom, teachers continue to incorporate increased oral language experiences such as class presentations, debates, answer articulation and assimilation with an emphasis on building confidence and skill. A survey was developed and used to provide base-line data on the “comprehensive school health” of students and staff in three main areas—self, relationships and environment.

2014-15 CSI Growth As we journey into our last year of our current school improvement cycle, I am happy to report that we have noted many im-provements in our data as we focused on the area of oral language. Though our provincial grade 8 results have dipped slightly, we have fewer students at level one and more students at the highest level of 4. In grade six over the past two years, we have increased the number of students meeting in Reading by 13%. In grade six mathematics, there has been an increase of 19 percent and in grade three provincial reading, all of our students met expectations in the assessment. Our grade 10 student data has been improving every year and we hope to improve our grade 11/12 results over this school improve-ment cycle.

C O N T I N U O U S S C H O O L I M P R OV E M E N T

“There is no system in the world or any school in the country that is better than it’s teachers.

Teachers are the lifeblood of the success of schools.”

Ken Robinson