Intellectual Development

Our students will learn key academic skills - like reading, writing and math - to encompass the knowledge and processes associated with intellectual development. As learners and meaning-makers, students take subject-specific concepts and content and transform them into a new understanding. 

Goals

• Improve student success in literacy. ​
• Improve student success in numeracy. ​

Strategy/Goals

Finding joyful literacy and numeracy experiences for our students to help them be engaged in their learning and build a solid foundation for their reading, writing and math skills as well as fluency.

Early intervention focus and plans for our K/1/2 including further learning around the UFLI resource and Science of Reading ideas.

Activities

Literacy

Ongoing instruction in classrooms and celebrations of reading and student learning, building a love of literacy one book at a time.

Students in our school participated in our Reading Link Challenge. We had a number of teams that competed and our winning team went to the District wide challenge to represent our school. Each student had to read and know details about 6 books to compete.

Reading Olympics is another fun event at our school! Every February, students track their home reading minutes to earn a medal - gold, silver or bronze. We celebrate with an Olympics day where we dress in Team Canada gear and also have a number of DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) moments throughout the day. Students who tracked minutes have the chance to win fun books as prizes.

One Book One School - each year our PAC purchases a copy of a novel for every family and we read the book together and share exciting trivia, dress up days, decorations and more! We even have guest readers and post recordings of each chapter being read on our website for everyone to follow along!

Each year we purchase books for each classroom that promote diversity and allow students to see themselves in resources that we use. Typically these are tied to special holidays or events throughout the year and are used as a jumping off point for discussions around cultural diversity and inclusion.

St. Johns Ambulance Therapy Dog - we are so fortunate to have our very own Therapy Dog Tess who comes weekly to read with students as part of the PAWS for Reading program. Students get a bit of extra reading support from Tess and her owner (a former teacher and administrator) and have a fun chance to read to a very loyal listener.

Reading groups – levelled groups supported in classrooms and through LSS scheduling to boost reading skills

Kiwanis Read Around the World – we’ve just signed up with this program that tracks literacy events and activities and supports our school with funding for more books

UFLI – implemented in all K classes and some grade 1 and 2 classes, as well as LSS groups. Grade 2’s created levelled groups based on the reading assessment used in UFLI.

Levelled spelling groups using Words Their Way assessments are used throughout our intermediate classes. Heggerty is used in our primary classes.

Science of Reading is being explored at higher levels.

Buddy Reading – classes are buddied up with younger students to support shared reading experiences. Parent volunteers also come in to read with us on a regular basis.

Acadience and PM Benchmark training for staff planned for this year with implementation and data collection for both.

Increased focus this year on our data and using it to effectively plan for instruction.

Data

FSA - 81% of our grade 4 students are on track or exceeding in their literacy skills (measured Jun ‘25)

PM's - percentage of students reaching proficient or extending levels in their reading is as follows: (as of June '25)

Gr 1 - 74%

Gr 2 - 78%

Gr 3 - 78%

Numeracy

Strategy/Goals

Finding joyful literacy and numeracy experiences for our students to help them be engaged in their learning and build a solid foundation for their reading, writing and math skills and fluency.

Activities

Math Mania – whole school activity to build excitement around problem solving and critical thinking skills in terms of numeracy. Students answer a weekly question for their name to be drawn for prizes.

Ongoing instruction in classrooms and celebrations of numeracy, building a love of math concepts and skills.

Chess club for grades 1-5 with leaders going to district competitions

Class based challenges and competitions in math facts, speed and fluency.

Math games and math read alouds are celebrated in classes, as well as math based art lessons (like tessellations, patterning and symmetry).

Data

High participation in weekly Math Mania questions.

Too many chess club members to count – this is a huge thing here at Auguston! (we have lots of trophies!!)

June 2025 FSA data – over 72% on track in numeracy

Year end report card data - % of students proficient or extending in Math:

K – 89% (75% of Indigenous)

Gr 1 - 88% (100% of Indigenous)

Gr 2 – 81% (75% of Indigenous)

Gr 3 – 84% (67% of Indigenous)

Gr 4 – 81% (100% of Indigenous)

Our students love math!