LVR/REACH/DESK Student Survey 2017 18 Gr 9/10

1. What is working at your school Physically (building, facilities, equipment etc)?

-Love the gymnasium*****

-weight room **
-multi-purpose room
- Cafeteria
-Courtyard
-Arts room
-I Like the water fountain near the gym**
-Clean school**
-Chrome books**
-Daily schedule works

2. What is working at your school Socially (clubs, teams, groups, assemblies etc)?
- Sports teams**
- Inclusive
- Fun School
- Social Opportunities
- International Students
- Variety of activities / Clubs
- Atlas**
- SAGA**
- Music Program
- Informative assemblies
- Library

Anecdotal:
The sign up day at the start of the school really helped to include and inform me about the options and chances at the
school to help out or participate without former knowledge of said activities.

3. What is working at your school Academically (everything about Learning)?

-Good teachers **
-Positive environment
-Good French/Spanish program
-Useful Library**
-Flexibility and understanding of teachers*
- Schedule / Blocks are a good length

2. What isnt working at your school? Physically (building, facilities, equipment etc)

- Temperature control (Heating and cooling) ****

- Lockers are too small
- Assemblies are too long and too busy
- Bathrooms** Locks on stalls
- Taps in bathrooms dont work temperature wise* Tampon dispensers dont always work
- Crowded classrooms and hallways*****
- WIFI**, Chromebooks, computers
- TVs
- CSF French program**

3. What isnt working Socially (clubs, teams, groups, assemblies etc)?

- Smoke Pit***
- Not enough funding for more clubs
- Unavailability of counselors
- Not enough room to hang out

Anecdotals:
Many groups and teams say they are for everyone but really arent. Many of the teams consist of mostly popular kids who
make you feel bad if you join

4. What isnt working Academically (everything about Learning)?

- Old Textbooks**
- More labs and more hands-on science
- Smaller classes
- Computers dont always work**
- WIFI
Anecdotals:
Honestly I find that a lot of the things Ive done in my time at LVR will be very impractical in my future. Most things that
Im currently learning about are things that will only be used by a fraction of the people that leave this school. I believe that
there should be a larger variety of courses and things that the students are able to take, for example being the socials and
history classes. It should be an option instead of a requirement to take courses based around history and instead students
should have courses that are a little more useful like courses that teach us how to keep a good tax score and how to
handle money

The teachers only teach is one kind of way, you write about it and you take a test, kids dont get to explore how they learn
best like say group work or hearing about it and if you dont learn well in a reading the textbook and taking a test on it kind
of way, then you dont do good in school and are told you are not smart when many kids are smart they just cant express
it in a reading the textbook and taking a test on it.

3. If everything at your school changed, what would you keep?

- Gymnasium and equipment

- Sports teams and clubs
- Atlas*
- SAGA*
- Cafeteria
- Gymnasium
- Library
- Wonderful staff
- Band***
- Art classes

4. What does good teaching look like? Sound like?

- Enthusiastic***, Interested, Accepting, Fun
- Approachable
- Understanding of the learning differences that we all have
- Has discipline, but fair
- Nice / Respectful**
- Shows up on time
- Explains difficult concepts and teaches in depth
- Opportunities
- Enough time to take notes
- Helpful when you miss a day
- Gives study tools

Anecdotals:
Good teaching is not testing a kid on how smart they are with doing written tests. A good teacher will find how a kid
learns best whether its by moving around, doing group work, seeing visuals. Not all kids can read a textbook and and
take some notes then write a test on it but that doesnt mean this kid isnt smart. Maybe they can talk about it but have
trouble writing it down, or maybe hey cant get information by reading world out of a textbook but that doesnt mean they
cant learn or deserve bad marks, the teachers just need to find a way for them to be able to learn and express their
learning.

Clear explanations, interesting projects with clear expectations of criteria, approachable, new ideas- not just reading a
textbook

5. What does good learning look like? Sound like?

- Paying attention, focused, listening, participating
- Quiet, listens, interactive
- Engaged in class conversation
- Works hard
- Respectful
- Not procrastinating
- Handing work in on time
- Being able to learn in your own way

Anecdotals:
Actually understanding the information being given and doing it in fun ways

Overwhelmed with the feeling of accomplishment

Good learning is when you understand something and can explain it to others without having to look it up

Giving me enough time to finish work and not expecting that I have the entire evening to do homework, I'm incredibly
busy
6. What are the biggest issues that we have at our school? What can we do to address them?

- Depression, bullying, exhaustion,

- Lack of support
- The smoke pit***
- Drugs at school
- Class sizes are too big/ Not enough room in classes****
- More discipline to bad students
- Better outdoor basketball court
- Garbage on top field
- Need more garbage cans

Anecdotals:
Support. People need to feel more appreciated and included. It's very hard to know who you are as a teenager and
knowing your supported and assisted Can really help people. I can't talk to my teachers about my anxiety.

The computers and the wifi are 100% the biggest issues in the school. Even the teachers complain about how bad it is

That there isn't a very encouraging environment for students to try electives that they might not succeed at. There needs
to be a way that students, especially in 9-10 should feel welcome to try art classes and athletic academies without feeling
like they need to have natural talent in it to do well. There should be an award for effort.

The cafeteria is quite small and the food is really expensive, maybe lowering the food prices would be a good idea. Also
the lunch break is quite long and can get boring sometimes so perhaps cutting down lunch to 30 mins could also help

7. Big Ideas! What new ideas, courses, or events should we do at our school?
- Yoga (school wide)
- Have school later in the day
- Dances
- More lunch time activities / open weight room at lunch
- Ski days**
- Longer lunches (some said shorter lunches)
- More sports opportunities / More variety in sports
- Film Making course
- Indoor plants and gardens
- Start school at 9:00am (20 min later / cut breaks to 10 min / cut lunch to 40 min
- New Courses

Anecdotals:

The First Nations programs are limited to ancestors and while that is understandable, I feel as though we should be trying
to inform the school as a whole about the First Nations peoples and culture. Possibly have a day promoting the idea of
understanding and learning focused towards giving more knowledge to the student body. Knowledge is the key to
respect.