Documenting Learning Experiences Through Pictures and Art

• Teachers and students are engaging in inquiry based learning experiences and documenting their learning through photographs, art, and story

In the spring of 2018, Brighouse was excited to promote and host our first Open House of Learning. Throughout the school, classrooms were open for parents, families, and teachers to engage and interact with the language of the core competencies. This new tradition was continued in the spring of 2019 as well. Some classes had small signs up around their room highlighting what core competencies had been taught on each unit or assignment. Bulletin boards and displays throughout the school were labeled to show parents what connections students were making to their learning in the areas of curriculum and core competencies. There were many great conversations between parents and teachers about how the core competencies are woven into learning throughout the year.

Reflecting on Our Learning to Inform the Coming Year

• Staff are continuing to use Professional Development days to engage in the Spirals of Inquiry process

In June of 2018, our staff came together to discuss and reflect upon what characteristics best describe the Brighouse learning community. We brainstormed ideas on three topics: who we thought we were, who we wanted to become, and how we could use this information to plan more meaningful experiences for our learners. Since one of our inquiry questions is "to help students be able to articulate their learning through story and art” we decided to answer these questions by exploring our school with the lens of a camera. In groups, we searched for evidence of who we were and how we learned and came together to make a photo collage of our community and how our journey has impacted student learning.

In September, 2019, at our first Professional Development Day, our staff created a vision to help guide our learning journey for the school year. We focused on the past, present and future of Brighouse Elementary with the following provocations:

    Who are we as a community?
    What is our focus?
    Where do we want to go with our practice that bests support our learners?

Staff worked in teams, and identified some of our core values:

    A culture that includes open communication, collaboration, and respect.
    A stimulating and safe environment dedicated to helping all learners reach their full potential.
    The dedication of staff and parents to provide optimum learning experiences for our children

Sharing Our Story with Our Community

• We continue to post our stories on the school website and twitter feed throughout the year to inform parents about our learning journey
• We will also print photos and create a school log book of learning that will be a physical documentation of our time together