Support the shift from “balanced literacy" to “structured literacy” to provide foundational reading skills to all students. K-3 teachers will be focusing on implementing Heggerty and UFLI in the classroom. The goal for the 2024-25 school year is to ensure classrooms have the proper resources necessary to focus on structured literacy with fidelity and thoroughness.  We will also be developing a K-3 plan to ensure consistency and fidelity with the programming.

PJ Gillen will develop a school level phonics intervention plan for grades 1-3.

PJ Gillen administrators will share GSSD's “Treaty Outcomes” presentation with teaching staff to review treaty education and sharing resources available to teachers. Teachers will be provided an opportunity to dive into the Treaty Education outcomes in their grade alike groups.

PJ Gillen Library will continue to gather resources that support structured literacy in our classrooms. Administrators and the Library Technician will work to ensure all teachers are aware of what resources have been gathered and available in our Resource Room.

Individual classrooms will be equipped with the necessary resources to run structured literacy independently. 

Develop PBIS Look-Fors for classroom teachers.  

PJG provides breakfast, snack, and lunch programming for students with support of a community grant from the North Valley Credit Union ($3,000 per year). Students are supported in a confidential manner that ensures dignity and privacy.

PJ Gillen will host a variety of opportunities to welcome our families and the community into our beautiful school. Opportunities will include performances, engagement days, evening activities such as Family Fun Night, Christmas concert, sporting events, and drama/art productions.

PJ Gillen will provide Social Emotional Learning (SEL) resources, along with a school plan, incorporating The Little Spot of Feelings and Emotions resource. The plan will focus on Kindergarten to Grade 3 students, as well as any individual program planning.

Zones of Regulation will be the primary resource to support student regulation in Grades 4-5. 

Cover all entrance windows with one way window coverings that share welcoming messages and represent our school community.

The library will continue to build a diverse collection of books representing our school community.

Fencing in our school property is a priority for the 2024-25 school year. This will help to improve student safety. Our School Community Council has taken on this goal and will fundraise to help make this happen.

The PJG School Community Council (SCC) will complete the remaining 3 modules of the GSSD's SCC Professional Development Plan over the course of the 2024-25 school year. One of the 3 remaining modules will be shared at 3 of the meetings throughout the year. These modules will help support our SCC members to further understand their contributions to our school community.

Continue to add to and organize a Resource Room to house all of the school's subject level resources to be shared throughout classrooms. Items will continue to be tagged and organized via the library system to allow access for all teachers and staff members within the building.

Data dive into Grades 1-3 Phonics assessment results to identify Tier 1 strengths and Tier 1 areas of possible improvements. Use this data to develop improvements plans for Tier 1 instruction.

Support the use of Blended Learning strategies in the Grades 4-5 classrooms. Investigate and provide professional development opportunities for grades 4-5 teachers to implement blended learning strategies.

PJ Gillen will host a Meet the Family event to provide staff an opportunity to meet their students/families, as well as provide a more comfortable transition to a student's new classroom.

PJ Gillen will create discussion groups (student group, staff group, SCC group) to review and make suggestions from the OURSCHOOL data collected from our Grades 4 and 5 students.

PJ Gillen classroom teachers will be utilizing Edsby to create classroom groups, gradebook, and encouraging families to communicate through this common platform. 

Classroom teachers will each create an Edsby group for their homeroom classes. Classroom teachers will also provide a monthly newsletters to their families to share the outcomes planned for the month ahead.

The office will also be utilizing Edsby as a common platform for communication via the news river, the calendar, and attendance reporting. Student conferences will also be booked via Edsby this year.

PJ Gillen will continue to strengthen the relationships of outside agencies, such as North Valley Credit Union, Twin Valley Veterinary Services, Mosaic, Big Brother and Big Sisters, Big Way, and Tim Horton's.