I’ve been sharing thoughts about the many inspirational visitors we have had visit Surrey School and share their stories. Each evening, I leave with much to ponder and question. We recently had the pleasure of having Chris Lehmann (@chrislehmann) in our District. He spoke about many things, but one thing that resonated with me was his call for schools to be places where students feel cared for. At about that time in his presentation, I zipped over to my Twitter feed to check trending topics. After all, our very own #sd36learn hashtag was trending during our last gathering. What I saw shocked me. The following topics were trending: #PeopleAtMySchool #WhatIHateAboutSchool and I was saddened by what I read.
And here’s the bad news…these tweets were the nice ones! I scoured the feed looking for something positive and I kept thinking to myself,
If members of my school community could all tweet using the hashtag above, what would they say?
Are we doing the necessary work to not only address student learning, but create an environment where children, staff, and parents genuinely feel safe and cared for? I think I know the answer to this question, but I can’t help but wonder.
How do you know how students feel about being at your school?
What structures do you have in place that help you create a sense of belonging for children?
Vendramin's Views 
I spoke with my son this morning after reading this and asked him how he felt at GV, I asked him if he felt supported and that people care at the school and he said he did. I talk to my son everyday about his day at school and have visited the classroom many times as well as attend school events, this school is amazing and it is because of the staff and the leadership of Mr. Vendramin and Ms Chohan. To Mr. V – don’t be discouraged about the comments about school, you are on the right track. I know you will find a way to reach out to the kids that feel this way. Being a pre-teen can be a difficult time, where they develop relationships that sometimes turn out not to be the way they think it should be. Karl’s Mom.
Hi Birgitte,
I always appreciate that you take the time to read the Vanier News and make comments. Thankfully, none of those posted comments were from our students, but I think it is always important to keep how children are feeling about school in mind. I know the staff and I are making conscious efforts to connect with kids who might benefit from a little extra attention. Take care!