Spotlight64!: Galiano and Mayne Island Schools - Fostering Learning Through Connection

Last week, the Board of Education spent the day visiting Galiano Community School and Mayne Island School. Separated by water, these schools are deeply connected through shared values: fostering belonging, nurturing curiosity, and celebrating the power of community. Both exemplify the strength of community and collaboration.

Galiano Community School Visit

Trustees began their day at Galiano School with a warm welcome from Vice-Principal Kadek Okuda, staff, and students. With just over 50 students, the school embodies what it means to be a true community school - a place where learning extends well beyond the classroom.

Building on last year’s focus on adopting learning environments to increase engagement and inclusion, this year’s school goal emphasizes strengthening reading skills and enjoyment, allowing for an increase in deeper learning. Students and staff are approaching literacy as a collective endeavour, using assessment data to guide instruction and collaboration. The school is partnering with the Galiano Community Library to provide decodable readers and host literacy activities that extend into the community. This aligns beautifully with district’s Strategic Directions; particularly Knowing, Being, and Understanding, as reading supports both personal agency and access to the wider world.

Galiano’s strong community partnerships are evident throughout the school. The Feeding Futures lunch program was a highlight, supported by the Galiano Club Food Program, which supplies meals in reusable containers and connects directly to the school’s  program. Planting, growing, harvesting, and meal planning around the gardens yield offer students deeply meaningful, hands-on learning experiences. Each Monday, the whole school gathers for soup, a simple yet powerful ritual of connection.

Outdoor and place-based learning remain integral, supported by the Galiano Conservancy and Galiano Activities Centre Society (GACS). And the school’s partnership with Mayne Island School continues to flourish through shared events like track and field and participation in Blue Jays Care, a program that fosters teamwork, sport, and leadership. Galiano and Mayne are notably the only two schools in B.C. to be part of this national program - what a fantastic initiative!

It is evident that, at Galiano School, learning blooms from strong relationships built on trust, care, and a deep sense of community.

Mayne Island School Visit

Trustees spent the afternoon across the water at Mayne Island School. Led by Vice-Principal Marcus Down, the school is home to 50 students in three multi-age classrooms. Like Galiano, Mayne is a school where relationships, community, and creativity form the bedrock of learning.

Mayne’s 2025–26 School Growth Plan focuses on deepening student inquiry through foundational skill development in literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional learning. With strong foundations in literacy and numeracy, staff are guiding students toward deeper, more meaningful inquiry - learning that begins with confidence and grows through curiosity.

This focus came to life during the school visit. The school has thoughtfully organized spaces to enhance belonging and flow. Classrooms are brimming with curiosity, collaboration, and care. Notable is a strong commitment to outdoor learning. Dedicated outdoor time is planned each week, and on the day of this visit, one class spent the entire day learning at Mount Parke. Across settings, students work together in multi-age groups, fostering connection and shared responsibility. The school’s culture reflects the district’s Strategic Directions of Doing, Being, Knowing and Understanding; learning is active, relational, and rooted in experience. Students engage through outdoor land-based exploration, buddy reading, and shared inquiry that strengthen both understanding and community.

Another highlight is the upcoming SENĆOŦEN language program, which will bring weekly lessons from local knowledge keepers and high school students from the W̱SÁNEĆ Nation, deepening cultural understanding and connections. 

The Feeding Futures initiative continues to thrive here as well, enhanced by a student-led snack bar that removes stigma and builds agency. 

Trustees noted a palpable synergy among the staff, a model of effective collaboration and adaptability, ensuring every learner is known, supported, and challenged. 

Shared Strengths Across Islands

Both Galiano and Mayne Island Schools exemplify the heart of small-island education: relationships first, learning always. They remind us that learning is not confined to classrooms; rather, it is cultivated through gardens, community partnerships, cultural teachings, and connections that extend across islands.

The Board of Education extends heartfelt appreciation to the staff, students, families, and communities of Galiano and Mayne for welcoming us so warmly and for sharing their stories of creativity, care, and collaboration. Each visit reinforces how our small schools, rooted in community, are shaping big learning in the Gulf Islands.