At Cambie Secondary, our inquiry focus continues to centre on strengthening literacy skills for Grade 8 students as they transition into high school. Building directly on last year’s introduction of a Grade 8 literacy assessment modelled after the Grade 10 Graduation Literacy Assessment, this year we have taken intentional steps to begin the work earlier and with greater collaboration, ensuring that every Grade 8 student starts the year with clear supports in place.

Led once again by our Literacy and Numeracy Helping Teacher, Stephanie Paukov, the Grade 8 teaching team came together in early September to co-create shared goals and instructional strategies. Recognizing that last year’s initiatives began later in the term and needed more time to show impact, the team committed to front-loading planning and intervention so that literacy support is embedded from day one.

A key part of this year’s Scanning and Focusing phase was establishing a clear baseline of students’ literacy skills at the very start of Grade 8. On Monday, September 29, 2025, all Grade 8 students in Block D completed a common literacy assessment developed through the Richmond School District’s Secondary Literacy Team initiative. The assessment asked students to read an authentic article and respond to questions that targeted foundational literacy skills, including:

• Predicting
• Decoding and vocabulary development
• Making text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections
• Identifying main ideas and supporting details

This early administration gave teachers immediate, actionable data about each student’s strengths and stretches in reading comprehension and written response. Results were shared with the entire Grade 8 team and staff meetings so that literacy instruction and scaffolding can happen in every classroom, not just English Language Arts.

These baseline results will serve as our starting point in the Spirals of Inquiry. The same cohort will complete a parallel assessment in June 2026, allowing us to measure growth over the full school year and determine which strategies have been most effective. In the meantime, the Grade 8 team will continue to meet monthly to develop and refine high-impact instructional practices, share student work samples, and adjust supports in response to ongoing formative assessment.

By starting earlier, collaborating intentionally, and gathering baseline evidence right from the beginning of the year, we are positioning our Grade 8 learners for stronger literacy growth and a more confident transition into high school. This focused on giving every student the tools they need to succeed across all subject areas and throughout their high school journey. We look forward to sharing evidence of student progress later this year.