Our school’s learning focus last year was:
How might we support learners in developing an understanding of their identity?  How might a stronger sense of identity help to foster a sense of belonging at Blair, and thus strengthen our Community and support students with their learning?

The Blair staff recognize that supporting our learners understand their identity and celebrate strengths and personal gifts needs to continue this school year.  Understanding one’s identity is foundational to individual success, and this continues to be a focus for us at Blair.

We surveyed our students last year, and they reported that:

17% sometimes did not feel included by peers during non-instructional time;

29% sometimes did not feel that they belong in their classroom;

71% of students enjoyed participating in clubs and extra-curricular activities at Blair.

We identified that there was a need at Blair to support building a sense of belonging through understanding one’s identity and connecting with others.

When viewing one measure of academic achievement (report card data), we recognized that our students improved in their English Language Arts proficiency throughout the year by June 2025, but Literacy and English Language Arts continues to be our highest priority for continued improvement compared to Mathematics.

We also are aware that through anecdotal and qualitative data (through talking with students) that many of our students report low mental well-being and might have low Social Emotional Skills.  We know that “WHEN YOU ARE CALM, YOU CAN THINK!” and students need to be aware of their body, understand their identity, and develop self-regulation skills and self-awareness tools in order to be successful.

Through staff brainstorming, discussion, and planning, we have decided to continue our work supporting our students understand their identity. 

Our next steps are to find ways to share personal stories.