SCHOOL PLAN and GOALS

LYNDHURST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PLAN AND GOALS 2026/2027

WHO WE ARE

Lyndhurst is a vibrant and inclusive Kindergarten-Grade 7 community with 80 students.  We are located on the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh people.  Our student population is comprised of students from various cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, including English Language Learners, Indigenous students, and students with complex needs.  Each one of our students brings unique perspectives and experiences that enrich our school learning environment.

WHAT WE ARE DOING WELL

At Lyndhurst, our priority is to have a school environment where students feel supported, valued, and cared for.  Our daily announcement, Be Kind, Be Safe, and Be Respectful, reminds students of our focus each day.  To further develop this focus, Lyndhurst students participate in a variety of curricular and extra-curricular activities.  We are committed to supporting the needs of our students, from academic to athletic to social-emotional, so they may further enrich themselves and their learning experiences.

Literacy: We create a love of literacy through push-in and pull-out support from our non-enrolling staff as well as our literacy programs and initiatives (e.g. RAZ KIDS, LEXIA, Battle of the Books, home reading) and home/school literacy connections.

Numeracy: Our students are engaged in many numeracy activities both in and out of the classroom using hands-on material and manipulatives, real life applications, and problem solving.  We also have student leaders from Burnaby Mountain Secondary School join us for math games and activities throughout the school year.

Parent Advisory Council (PAC): Our PAC is very supportive and plays a crucial role in fundraising and supporting both staff and students.  From creating our outdoor learning to space to organizing hot lunches 3 times a week, to movie nights, to silent auctions and hot chocolate sales, their efforts help provide resources and opportunities that enhance the educational experience for everyone.

Enrolling and Non-Enrolling Staff: The staff at Lyndhurst are committed to supporting all children, both inside and outside of the classroom.  Our staff does their best each day to provide all students with the tools, support, and encouragement they need to succeed academically, physically, emotionally, and socially.

Extracurricular Programs: Lyndhurst offers a wide range of extracurricular activities, including:

  • Sports: Basketball, Volleyball, Cross Country, and Track and Field teams to promote cooperation, teamwork, and physical fitness.
  • Clubs: Dance Club, Art and Crochet Club, Weaving Club, and Dungeons & Dragons Club to meet the diverse interests and talents of our students.

Student Leadership: We encourage leadership development through opportunities and responsibilities such as primary lunch monitoring, assembly set up and MCing, and announcing our morning messages.

Community and Spirit: Our school hosts Spirit Days and other school wide events (e.g. assemblies, school wide performances, special guests) that bring the community together, creating a fun and engaging atmosphere for students, staff, and families.

Overall, Lyndhurst is a student-centered environment where many opportunities exist for students to explore their interests, develop leadership skills, and celebrate their unique identities.  Staff, PAC, community, and student collaborations help to make Lyndhurst a thriving school.

HOW DO WE KNOW?

Our school team, consisting of enrolling and non-enrolling teachers, Educational Assistants, and Burnaby School District staff, works collaboratively to collect both informal and formal data on an ongoing basis.  As a team, we use this data to monitor student progress, guide classroom instruction and supports, and create targeted interventions where and when they are needed.  We collect the following data:

  • Student self-assessments in numeracy and social-emotional learning
  • Staff evaluations of students using the Heart and Mind social-emotional learning survey
  • EasyCBM math assessments from kindergarten to Grade 7
  • Teacher observations and informal assessments
  • Vulnerability Index
  • FSA results
  • District Literacy Screeners
  • English Language Learners (ELL) assessments
  • Report Card and Attendance data
  • Learning Support Services assessments and data collection (PM Benchmarks, LEXIA)
  • Parent-Teacher communications

In the 2025/2026 school year, some of the data we collected for our kindergarten to grade 7 students was through a staff-created student self-assessments in Numeracy and Social-Emotional Learning and a staff survey of students using the Heart and Mind survey.  We wanted to learn more about how students feel at school, their perspectives on learning, and engage them in the data collection process.  The data given by our students indicated that they have confidence in their ability to:

  • solve problems when they play with their friends (85.1%)
  • calm themselves down with learned strategies (83.7%)
  • stay focused in class (88.1%)
  • ask for help (86.7%)
  • try their best even when the work is hard (89.7%)

Students also reported feeling happy at school 87.7% of the time.  When school staff responded to their survey questions on the Heart and Mind survey, their assessment of their students indicated that they felt their students:

  • are alert and engaged (86.8%)
  • get along with others (92.3%)
  • are compassionate and kind (93.4%)
  • solve problems peacefully (87.9%)
  • are secure and calm (90.1%)

When our students completed their Numeracy self-assessment, the results indicated that they were confident in their Numeracy abilities and they “like doing math”.

  • I am good at math (90.4%)
  • I like math (88.2%)

Given the results of these self-assessment and staff surveys, the results of summative assessments and ongoing formative assessments, easyCBM math assessment, report card data, and staff observations, Lyndhurst staff has decided to change our academic school goal from a Numeracy goal to a Literacy goal for the 2026/2027 school year.  We will maintain our Social-Emotional Learning goal and continue to assess students’ growth in this area through student self-assessments, team and staff meetings, and staff discussions and observations.

OUR FOCUS AND OUR STRATEGIES

GOAL #1 – Improving our literacy from kindergarten to Grade 7

OBJECTIVE 1 – reading in kindergarten to Grade 3

By June 2027, students in kindergarten – Grade 3 will improve their phonemic awareness, decoding skills, and reading comprehension.  Teachers will use Acadience Literacy Screeners data to assess phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and comprehension.  The data collected will be used, with targeted interventions and supports, to inform “next steps” to help students who are emerging/developing readers become developing/proficient readers.  Some of our strategies include:

  • school staff collaboration opportunities to discuss and share student screener results
  • use of professional resources and/or non-enrolling support to establish next steps in learning
  • work with district and school staff and primary colleagues at other schools to develop understanding of effective reading instruction, possibly through co-teaching opportunities and/or pro-d days
  • exploring research-informed approaches (UFLI) to strengthen instructional practices including goal-setting, feedback, and support for students
  • implement “parents as partners” through home reading programs, literacy nights or family literacy days, and primary focused or school wide literacy events
  • support through push-in and pull-outs from LSS, ELL, and EA’s that focuses on targeted instruction delivered one-on-one or in small groups as needed
  • regular check-ins with staff (e.g. staff meetings, EA meetings, pro-d days) to monitor the overall progress of the goal and needs of our students

OBJECTIVE 2 – writing in Grades 4-7

By June 2027, we will increase our students’ ability to express themselves in writing.  We will use formative and summative classroom assessments, writing samples, screener data, and an “intermediate write” in the fall and spring, to identify students who are emerging/developing writers and help them become developing/proficient writers and improve their communication skills.  Some of our strategies include:

  • school staff collaboration opportunities to discuss and share student writing, possibly create a school-developed rubric to support consistent assessment and proficiency across grade levels
  • work with district and school staff and intermediate colleagues at other schools to develop understanding of effective writing instruction and common expectations, possibly through co-teaching opportunities and/or pro-d days
  • explore research-informed approaches to strengthen instructional practices and support for students
  • support through push-in and pull-outs from LSS, ELL, and EA’s that focuses on targeted instruction delivered one-on-one or in small groups as needed
  • regular check-ins with staff (e.g. staff meetings, EA meetings, pro-d days) to monitor the overall progress of the goal and needs of our students

GOAL #2 – social emotional learning in kindergarten to Grade 7

We will continue to develop a positive, supportive, and inclusive school community that focuses on being kind, being safe, and being respectful (be kind, be safe, & be respectful).  We will continue to work with students to help them recognize their emotions and apply strategies to solve problems peacefully and return their bodies to a calm and focused state.  Some of our strategies include:

  • student self-assessment survey in the fall and spring to guide teaching, resource allocation, service allocation and interventions; compare this data with the data collected in 2025/2026
  • staff survey of student behaviour in the fall and spring (heart and mind well-being survey) to guide our teaching and interactions; compare this data with the data collected in 2025/2026
  • explicit teaching through daily interactions of empathy, conflict resolution, growth mind set, self-regulation, and teamwork
  • support through push-in and pull-outs from LSS, ELL, and EA’s
  • regularly scheduled school-based team meetings
  • regular check-ins with staff (e.g. staff meetings, EA meetings, pro-d days) to monitor the overall progress of students
  • counselling support as needed for small groups or one-on-one
  • morning announcements that focus on being kind, being safe, and being respectful and showing gratitude towards others (Lyndhurst Lions Roar)