Over the course of this school year, the staff at Lee focussed on self-determination for students. We worked closely with our area counsellor, Ms. Hsu-Kondratowski, where we developed a self assessment survey to begin the school year.  This provided some baseline data for us as well as a starting point to develop and implement strategies to support students in this area. Time during our Professional development days were dedicated to looking at this more closely. We found, that students who are personally aware and responsible have a sense of personal efficacy and growing confidence in a variety of situations. They value themselves, their ideas, and their accomplishments. They are able to express their needs and seek help when they need it, to find purpose and motivation and act on it, and to advocate for themselves. So, our big question was, "How do we help our students with growing their level of confidence and self-efficacy so that when they're faced with a challenge (academically, socially, emotionally), they can persevere?"