Primary (K - Grade 8) Archives - Page 20 of 23

Kiskinohomatasowin – École en forêt de la communauté atikamekw de Manawan

Posted on June 21, 2018 by Flavie Robert-Careau

Kiskinohomatasowin – École en forêt est un nouveau programme éducatif s’adressant aux jeunes (13-18 ans)de Manawan fréquentant le secondaire (les jeunes à risque de décrochage scolaire sont privilégiés). Ce programme permet aux jeunes d’amalgamer l’apprentissage scolaire à des activités traditionnelles autochtones. Afin d’encourager l’incorporation de l’apprentissage atikamekw, les étudiants peuvent vivre plusieurs jours en forêt où plusieurs activités culturelles et traditionnelles leur sont proposées. Ils ont ainsi la chance de participer à des ateliers sur la chasse, la pêche, la préparation de produits d’érable et de montage de tentes. Les jeunes filles et garçons du secondaire peuvent, au cours de quelques jours, partir en compagnie d’adultes sur le territoire (le Nitaskinan) afin de renouer avec le mode de vie des ancêtres et se déconnecter de la technologie. Cet éloignement semble bénéfique car il permet aux jeunes de s’ouvrir et de discuter des différents aspects de leur vie.

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First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Program in the Grande Prairie Public School District

Posted on by Frannie and Kisa Rogers

The FNMI Program Coordinator for the Grande Prairie Public School District shares about the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in the school system.

Building community relationships and highlighting local resources to help support the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in Grande Prairie’s pre-K to grade 12 public classrooms. A critical component of this happens outside of the classroom through First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) Family Outreach Workers by being available to help address possible barriers to education. This success in this piece of the FNMI Program is that family enhancement work is being done; working with a family as a whole. This is key to relationship building within the community and building connections with families.

Land-Based Education Program at Chief Kahkewistahaw Community School

Posted on June 18, 2018 by Sarah Louison

Chief Kahkewistahaw Community School offers land based education whereby students learn seasonal teachings.

Riel Thomson, a teacher at Chief Kahkewistahaw Community School, describes their land based program for middle years and high school students. The curriculum of the land based program focuses on fall, winter, and spring seasonal teachings with input and support from Cree Elders. Thomson includes content from the Elders when he is creating his annual teaching plans. The school is looking to expand the land based program to target students with behavioural and academic issues in the classroom. Students will be chosen to participate in the land based program in order to achieve specific objectives and then they would be reintegrated into the classroom.

Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Centre – A Resource for The Community and The Classroom

Posted on June 15, 2018 by Timothy Merasty

Ensuring an institution exists where Indigenous languages and cultures are respected, honoured, and shared.

The Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Centre (SICC) is a provincially based non-profit organization whose Elder Council and staff are dedicated to promoting, preserving, and protecting Indigenous cultures and languages in Saskatchewan. SICC’s President, Wanda Wilson, explains, the organization records stories and visions from Elders and Knowledge Keepers from Saskatchewan’s eight linguistic groups (Plains Cree, Swampy Cree, Woodlands Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, Lakota, Nakoda, and Dakota). SICC’s programs reflect community needs and Saskatchewan needs the truth, supported by and through the formal education system.

St. Augustine School: Building Capacity through Collaboration

Posted on by Kaitlyn Walcheske

St. Thomas Aquinas School Division (STAR) and Nipisihkopahk Educational Authority (NEA) have entered into a education partnership through an Alberta Education Grant- “Building Capacity Through Collaboration.” Together, these schools are sharing, teaching, learning and collaborating on best practices in education.

Dene Kede

Posted on June 14, 2018 by Miriame Giroux

Dene Kede encompasses the language, culture and the way in which five Dene nations view the world. In K to 6, themes are used to reinforce and teach the four concepts central to Dene perspective: the Spiritual World, the Land, the Self and the People, while grades 7 to 9 employ a modular approach. The purpose of this curriculum is to present children with the experiences, knowledge, skills and attitudes which will guide them toward becoming capable citizens. https://www.ece.gov.nt.ca/en/services/education-et-programmes-detude-de-la-maternelle-la-12e-annee/aboriginal-languages

Spirit Lines Educational Tool Kit

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Richard Stecenko

Spirit Lines is an educational tool kit developed jointly between the Manitoba Museum and First Nations communities in Northern Manitoba. It consists of three photo books, two text books, and a recording of 20 oral histories. The toolkit has been used in all classes from Kindergarten to Grade XII. Also, it has been used at community events. David describes the amazement of people hearing stories told by their parents and grandparents. https://manitobamuseum.ca/main/manitoba-museum-reaches-out-to-northern-communities/

Know Who You Are – Traditional Knowledge Holder Darlene Cardinal

Posted on May 30, 2018 by Frannie and Kisa Rogers

Traditional Knowledge Holder uses her experience in the classrooms of the Grande Prairie Public School system with an aim to help students know who they are and where they belong. This Traditional Knowledge Holder teaches directly in the public school system classrooms of Grande Prairie. She works to share cultural teachings to students and to bring a cultural perspective to support the helpers in assigning meaning to what is happening in a child’s world both in and out of the classroom. Advocacy of children and the culture and the role culture must play in their lives both in and out of the classroom is an urgent piece of her work at all times.

Chief Whitecap School – An Alliance with Saskatoon Public Schools

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Timothy Merasty

The Principal and Counsellor from Chief Whitecap School and the Superintendent from Saskatoon Public Schools discuss the importance of the alliance that brought about the school.

In partnership between Whitecap Dakota First Nation and Saskatoon Public Schools, Chief Whitecap School embodies the vision of provincially mandated curriculum taught in a good way and in alignment with Dakota First Nations culture, language, and traditions. With funding from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, Chief Whitecap School is the designated school for Whitecap Dakota First Nation students in Grade 5-8. The funding helps to reduce the education and graduation gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students which has given opportunities for continued Dakota cultural learning and language acquisition. This partnership is committed to reconciliation as it works towards the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action. The success of the school is determined within the relationships of the partners, teachers, students, and community.

Wiseman Mathematics Contest

Posted on by Timothy Merasty

A national mathematics contest for Indigenous youth on reserves in Grades 4-6.

Dr. Arzu Sardarli is an Associate Professor of Physics and Mathematics in the Department of Indigenous Science, The Environment, and Economic Development at First Nations University of Canada. Since 2008, Dr. Sardarli has been leading Math contests for students between Grades 4-6 who are living on-reserve. Supported by their teachers, up to five hundred students compete each year from reserve schools between British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. The competition is strong. Students finishing in first, second, and third place receive certificates of participation and the first-place winner becomes that year’s national winner. Dr. Sardarli believes that this competition builds a network of students and teachers who are connected around this topic.