9 08, 2023

Diving into SelfDesign philosophy: Part 5 – Modelling and mentoring

2023-11-21T11:01:40-08:00August 9th, 2023|Our Approach|

By River Meyer, SelfDesign Director of Organizational Learning and Culture This is the fifth article in a series exploring the SelfDesign philosophy.  Actions speak more clearly than words Folk wisdom suggests that children learn more from watching how we live our lives than from listening to what we say. As the primary guiding adults for our children, our work is [...]

28 06, 2023

Change and community: SelfDesign’s Learner Council offers opportunities to connect and make a difference

2023-06-30T10:41:20-07:00June 28th, 2023|Our Approach|

Every fall, learners from grades 8 to 12 with SelfDesign Learning Community elect 10 of their peers to represent them on SelfDesign’s Learner Council. The main role of this group of elected learners is to be a voice for the school’s learner body and act as a bridge between learners and the school’s leadership and administration. Learners throughout the school [...]

12 04, 2023

For this learner, SelfDesign meant opportunities to gain real-world industry experience before he finished grade 12

2023-04-12T09:08:45-07:00April 12th, 2023|Our Approach, Learner Stories|

When John finished grade 12 with SelfDesign journey last June, the 18-year-old had already achieved considerable skill in computer programming. That he was able to do so, he says, is largely due to the encouragement he experienced as a SelfDesign learner to explore his passions and interests as integral elements of his learning. “There’s so many opportunities that came out [...]

29 03, 2023

Thanks to SelfDesign’s support and flexibility, this learner is setting world records in his sport

2023-03-29T09:05:06-07:00March 29th, 2023|Our Approach, Learner Stories|

On October 30, 2022, 18-year-old Nicholas set a world record in the men's 200-metre freestyle S14 swimming event at the FINA [International Swimming Federation] World Cup preliminaries in Toronto. Three months earlier, he had set a Commonwealth Games record in the 200-m freestyle S14 Para swimming event in Birmingham, England. Those achievements followed a silver medal in the same event [...]

15 03, 2023

SelfDesign Support Services’ intake process: How to ensure your child has the specialized learning supports they need once they enrol

2023-03-15T09:45:45-07:00March 15th, 2023|Our Approach|

SelfDesign® Learning Community is all about supporting learners so that they can be successful in their learning and in meeting their learning goals. It’s what we do. It’s what we’re known for. It’s what sets us apart from many other schools. As part of that, SelfDesign Support Services arranges support for learners and their families who have been diagnosed with [...]

22 02, 2023

Rainbow Hub supports younger learners as they explore issues around sexual orientation and gender identity

2023-05-31T12:51:34-07:00February 22nd, 2023|Our Approach|

SelfDesign believes in the safety, acceptance and inclusion of all learners in regard to ability, learning style, culture, race, personal or spiritual beliefs, and gender identity and expression. We work year-round to find ways to implement SOGI 123 (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity 123) throughout our organization and offerings to support our learners and other community members who identify as [...]

1 02, 2023

Building community: SelfDesign’s Minecraft group for learners

2023-08-10T17:56:50-07:00February 1st, 2023|Our Approach|

SelfDesign believes that learning happens in relationship and in community. To help make this happen, we offer safe spaces where our learners can gather, connect and share. These include everything from our Genius Hours for learners in grade 3 to 9 to our themes, workshops and circles for learners in grades 6 to 12. One secure online space we hold [...]

25 01, 2023

Personal projects allowed this learner to dive deeply into her passions and build new skills

2023-01-25T11:38:46-08:00January 25th, 2023|Our Approach, Learner Stories|

When SelfDesign learners and their families, and educators gathered in the Lower Mainland last spring for our Commencement Ceremony celebrating our Class of 2022, they were treated to a performance by one of their peers. At the ceremony, Amelia, who finished her SelfDesign learning journey in June with a Dogwood Diploma (B.C. certificate of graduation), sang a haunting traditional Celtic [...]

18 01, 2023

​​Board Chair gives back to SelfDesign

2023-01-18T16:09:03-08:00January 18th, 2023|Who We Are|

Verena Gibbs joined the SelfDesign® Learning Foundation Board of Directors in 2017 because she thought it would be a good way to support an organization that had given her so much earlier in her career. “I’m very grateful to have worked with Brent Cameron, River Meyer, Kathleen Forsythe and Michael Maser while at Wondertree and SelfDesign between 2002 and 2009. [...]

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