在Louis Riel中，存在着许多新旧面孔，这些面孔构成了GATE和科学学生和教师人群。学校内的关爱关系传达出怜悯、理解和尊重。学年伊始，他们通过Wendy Ewald的《我最好的部分》书籍启动了一项全校挑战。这个启发促使学生展示他们最好的一面，并最终展示了Louis Riel最好的一面。九年级的GATE学生Matthew J.说：“这很重要，因为它让老师们看到我们的兴趣，并了解如何利用这些兴趣来更好地提高学习经验。”

在5年级到9年级，最好的我项目在学生的职业技术基础（CTF）课程中进行。Louis Riel学校鼓励学生通过设计为基础的体验和探索来发现和关心他们生活的世界。在一些学校，CTF是在专门的课程（如食品或建筑）中进行。在Louis Riel，CTF项目看起来不同：教师们为学生设计了深入的探究问题，并且学生自主选择工具和技术来最好地应对挑战，这同时发生在核心课程班和预定的CTF时间。例如，学生们使用经典的视觉艺术（绘画、画画和雕塑）来代表自己的最佳方面。六年级的Mark M.使用雕塑和他对解剖学的兴趣来雕塑一块肌肉，代表他在学习中的力量。九年级的Matthew J.利用3D技术设计和打印了一把蛋糕刀。这把刀被用来切割他烤的蛋糕。Matthew很喜欢最好的我项目，“因为它让老师们看到学生们对什么感兴趣，老师们可以利用这些兴趣来提供更好的学习体验。”

这种方法是由学生推动的，旨在使学生将任务和挑战与日常生活联系起来，帮助他们对自己的世界和学术以及CTF在核心课程领域之间的相互关联有所了解。5/6年级的教师Shauna Murphy指出，CTF教师与核心科目教师之间的合作关系是Louis Riel方法成功的关键：“作为一名课堂教师，这是一项成功的任务，因为学生以有意义的方式参与其中，而我也能与CTF教师一起支持学生。这是新学年的一个奇妙的开端，因为它迅速使学生们对以多种方式完成任务感到舒适。”

正值学年初，最好的我项目让学生分享了他们的“内在品质，而不一定是外在品质”，正如九年级学生Owen C.所说。在“有权选择自己想做什么”的情况下，Owen表达了这使他更了解“CTF实验室所提供的东西”。学生们在CTF实验室有广泛的材料、工具和用品可供选择，这使他们了解到了可供选择的工具和技术。这也让教师们了解到学生们，发现他们的学生的热情并创造出了真正有意义的东西。

在我们的小学和中学科学和GATE课程中，学生们在课堂上首次接触到最好的我项目。在这个过程中，你可以感觉到学生们与学校和彼此之间更加联系紧密，以高度合作的方式参与任务。该项目以学校整体的学习庆祝活动结束，包括展示Louis Riel幼儿园到9年级学生最好一面的项目，让家长也参与其中。

There are many new and old faces that make-up the GATE and Science student and teacher population at Louis Riel.  Caring relationships within schools convey compassion, understanding and respect. They kicked off the year with a whole school challenge inspired by Wendy Ewald’s Best Part of Me book. The inspiration led to the students showcasing the best parts of themselves, and ultimately the best parts of Louis Riel. Grade 9 GATE student Matthew J. shared that he thought “this was important because it allowed the teachers to see what interests us and how they could use those interests to get a better reading on how to make the learning experience better.”

In Grades 5 – 9, the Best Part of Me project took place in the students’ Career and Technology Foundations (CTF) program. CTF at Louis Riel School encourages students to discover and care for the world in which they live through design-based experiences and explorations. In some schools, CTF takes place in discipline-specific classes like Foods or Construction. At Louis Riel, the CTF program looks different: the teachers design deep inquiry questions for the students to respond to, and students self-select the tools and technologies to use so they can best respond to the challenge, which happens both in core subject classes and scheduled CTF time. For example, students used classical visual arts (painting, drawing and sculpture) to represent their best aspects of themselves. Mark M. in Grade 6 used sculpture and his interest in anatomy to sculpt a muscle, representing his strength in his learning.  Matthew J. Grade 9 GATE, used 3D technologies to design and print a cake-knife.  This was used to cut a cake he baked.  Matthew enjoyed the Best Part of Me “because it allowed the teachers to see what students were interested in and teachers could use these interests to make learning experiences better”. 

This approach is student driven and aims to have students connect tasks and challenges to everyday life, which helps them gain an understanding of their world and academics and the interconnectedness of CTF amongst core subject areas. Grade 5/6 teacher Shauna Murphy noted the collaborative relationship between CTF teachers and core subject teachers as key to the success of the Louis Riel approach: “As a classroom teacher, this was a successful task as students were engaged in a meaningful way and I was able to work along with the CTF teachers as they supported students in this endeavor. It was a fantastic start to this year, as it quickly made students become comfortable with focusing on a task in multiple approaches.”

Right at the beginning of the school year, the Best Part of Me project allowed students to share their “internal qualities and not necessarily the external qualities,” as grade 9 student Owen C. put it. In having “a choice to do what you wanted,” Owen articulated that it allowed him to understand more about “what the CTF lab had to offer.” Students had access to a wide variety of materials, tools, and supplies in the CTF lab, giving them an orientation to the tools and technologies available to them. It also allowed teachers to get to know the students, uncovering their students’ passions while create something truly meaningful. 

In our primary and middle school Science and GATE programs, students were introduced to the Best Part of Me in the homeroom classrooms. During the process, you could sense that students felt more connected to the school and one another, engaging in the task in a high collaborative manner. The project ended with a whole school celebration of learning where all the best parts of Louis Riel’s K-9 students were on display for parents.
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