February Principal's Message

As we move through the school year, I want to take a moment to share some exciting updates related to our School Development Plan, which focuses on holistic well-being and disciplinary literacy. At Samuel W. Shaw School, we remain committed to fostering a sense of belonging and creating a welcoming, caring, and supportive learning environment for all students.

One of the key highlights this year has been our students’ participation in the Middle Years Well-Being Symposium. This event brought together student well-being ambassadors, teachers, and administrators to collaborate on school well-being action teams. Our "Well-being 8" students, who attended the symposium, have taken the lead in organizing informative slides and discussions in preparation for Pink Shirt Day next week (just one example). Their efforts are aimed at strengthening school culture and fostering meaningful connections among students.

We firmly believe that when students experience community, connection, and belonging, their overall well-being and school experience improve significantly. Our "Well-being 8" students are now actively implementing their ideas back at SWS, reinforcing the understanding that well-being is not just a one-day initiative but something to be nurtured every day. Throughout the year, we will be gathering survey data related to statements such as "I feel like I belong in my school" to assess and enhance student well-being at SWS.

In connection with our work on disciplinary literacy, our teachers have been deeply engaged in professional learning to refine their instructional approaches within their specific subject areas. Disciplinary literacy is an instructional focus that explicitly teaches students how to create and engage with texts that are specialized for particular subjects. Our goal is to ensure that students can access and retain content knowledge effectively, extend their understanding independently, and engage with academic communities both within and beyond the school setting. As outlined by Gabriel (2023) in Doing Disciplinary Literacy: Teaching Reading and Writing Across the Content Areas, this approach is designed to promote engagement, empowerment, and full participation in learning.

Over the next four weeks, teachers will collaborate and calibrate their instructional strategies related to disciplinary literacy. We will measure success through data collection, including student responses to the survey question, "The language arts I am learning at school is interesting to me," along with additional student perception data. Ultimately, we believe that when students feel a strong sense of belonging at school, they develop the confidence to take risks in their learning—especially in the area of disciplinary literacy.

Thank you for your ongoing support in fostering a positive and enriching learning environment at SWS. We look forward to continuing this journey together.

Mrs. Kivi