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How will embedding schoolwideÌýSELÌýpracticesÌýimpact studentÌýlearning?ÌýHow can we promoteÌýcommunity andÌýcollaborationÌýto suit the needs ofÌývariousÌýlearning contexts? How canÌýweÌýfacilitate a sense ofÌýbelonging,Ìýcommunity andÌýresiliencyÌýnow that mostÌýof theÌýpandemic restrictionsÌýare over and weÌýcan be backÌýtogether?

We used the school anchor book "Circles Around Us" and designed a few lessonsÌýwe could do as a school in the first weeks of theÌýschool year. EachÌýcolourÌýrepresented a student from a particular grade. Students and staffÌýadded theirÌýown uniqueness and individuality to each circle and were posted on wallsÌýoutside our gym. We wanted to create a common experience where we can seeÌýhowÌýindividually we areÌýareÌýall unique whileÌýcollectively we create a connectedÌýCook CARES community.Ìý

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How can we design and facilitate schoolwideÌýactivities that are high buy in and low risk to staff and students? Our intentionÌýwas to (re-)start schoolwide activities such as Mindful Mondays, WalkingÌýWednesdays and Fun Fridays to again (re-) start doing things TOGETHER. WeÌýposted sample activities and photos of students taking part in these activitiesÌýon the board and provided black outline masters and suggestions in theÌýphotocopy roomÌýas a way toÌýfacilitate and encourage schoolwide experiences toÌýtake place.​

How has your inquiry made a differenceÌýfor students?​

ÌýWe've seen how small changes can have a subtle impact on students' overallÌýsense of community and belonging in our school.Ìý In our classrooms, we noticed:​

• students connecting with Cook cares language in daily announcements​

• students using Cook cares language when problem solving with each other​

• students looking forward to participating in shared school-wide activities (i.e.ÌýWalking Wednesdays, Fun Fridays)

How can we nurture belonging in smaller "chunks, pods or cohorts" toÌýmake smallerÌýlearning communities within the school?Ìý​

Can we use those learning groups to support the larger school learning community?Ìý​

How can we use that foundation of connection to increase the feelingÌýof belonging inÌýa large school?​

• Whole school activities with mixed aged groups (i.e.ÌýFamily teams, half-schoolÌýassemblies)​

• Multi-age learning groups (i.e.ÌýBig/Little/Middle Buddies)​

• Grade cohort learning communities (i.e.Ìýsimilar grade groupings)

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