The ARES end-of-September newsletter is published! Read about activities to mark Orange Shirt Day and our community walk to Creston Town Hall, our playground grand opening and family picnic, and our Bike Education Program as well as other information about student learning.
Erickson School engaged in numerous activities regarding Orange Shirt day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Every classroom took part in learning and to become more aware of and to honour the impacts of residential schools on Survivors and their families. Our Aboriginal Support worker, Janet Zarchukoff, was instrumental in making ideas and resources available to staff and students.
We were so happy to be able to resume our traditional Corn Roast on September 20th. This is an annual event that brings our school community together to start the year off in a fun and positive way. Relationships are built and faces are connected to names, and our students and families had an opportunity to relax and enjoy the school grounds and delicious food. Thanks to Sutcliffe Farms for donating the corn, and our volunteers who took it all home to cook for us to enjoy!
The K-7 class has settled into their routines, and the older students (the Sunflowers) have published the first edition of their weekly newsletter. There is a great article about how cats communicate; riddles and jokes; drawing competition winners; "Kudos To" recognitions; word searches of thematic vocabulary and more. Great job, Creston Sunflowers!
Welcome back to a bit more normal school experience. It has been a wonderful return to school without masks, cohorting, restrictions, etc. We hope it lasts.
We started the school year with our first school-wide assembly in two years and welcomed our graduating class of 2023 and incoming class of 2027, encouraged students to get involved in all the extra-curricular opportunities that are available, and reminded them that we are a school where all students need to be respected and feel safe at all times.
This year we are also in the process of drafting our first Kootenay River Secondary School Strategic Plan which will focus on learning, inclusion, community, and reconciliation. Throughout this process we will be engaging with our various stakeholder groups, PAC, Student Council, Staff, and community in general. The more engagement we have from community, the better our plan will be. So please don't miss your chance to be involved and watch for more information shortly about how you can do so.
We have already experienced positive community events with Spirit days, BBQs, and a positive and reflective even in the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30.
Salmo Elementary Students were ready to run for Terry Fox this year!
With approximately a third of our student population identifying as aboriginal, Salmo Secondary is committed to embedding indigenous education in all that we do. We understand the importance of Truth and Reconciliation and hope to continue to anchor our work in the Calls the Action. One of our first steps occurred several years ago when the staff decided to ground our school planning day work in the Circle of Courage.
After our first-year focus on Belonging, we noticed large shifts in all our measurable data sets including the MDI, grad rates and school belonging surveys. On planning day this year, we continued our work on using the Circle of Courage as the framework for our social/emotional school goal. While continuing with our work on Belonging, this year’s goal will focus on Generosity. We know that when students help each other, they develop their own sense of worth.
By focusing on being caring, loyal, empathetic, and supportive, we teach the value of contributing to a larger group. Activities will run throughout the year and across all subject areas.
South Nelson Elementary School is extremely grateful to the many people who have helped us with building our new pavilion structure on our upper playground. The concept of this structure has been in the works for a few years, with the intention of supporting more place-based, outdoor learning experiences for our students to engage in. Thank you to the following key supporters who have helped with the many phases of this project which was completed this past August:
- South Nelson PAC Executive - Megan Moscatelli (Chair), Kate Walker (Vice-Chair), Cheryl Lowe (Treasurer), and Claire Philipson (Secretary)
- Pavilion Project Developers Daphne Powell (Parent), Tanji Zumpano (Parent), and Julia Lehnert (Teacher)
- Project designers/builders Andrew McBurney, Phil Peabody, Joel McBurney, Mark Maarhuis, Rick Schneider, and Marlon Renney
- The City of Nelson
If you have not had a chance to visit the new school mural completed this summer, please take the time to do so. The final Hume School Mural is an expression of reconciliation that has emerged from the collaborative efforts of the Nelson & District Arts Council, Youth Arts Action Committee, 220 students at Hume Elementary School, and Ktunaxa artist, PJ Gilhuly.
Friday September 30th was the National Day for Honouring Truth and Reconciliation. It was a day to honour the healing journeys of residential school survivors and their families and a time to engage in meaningful discussions about the history and legacy of the residential school system. At Rosemont School we are committed to honoring of the ongoing teachings, learnings, languages and ways of knowing of Indigenous communities and the calls to action put forward from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
On the morning of Sept. 29th, the Grade 4/5 class participated in the Heartbeat Parade. Inspired by this public recognition, Rosemont School did our own Heartbeat walk through the Rosemont community. Thursday, September 29th, we gathered together in circle outside for some sharing, then walk in community through the streets of Rosemont, drumming and proudly wearing our orange and carrying our Every Child Matters flag.
On the very first day of school, Anna Spark's Grade 2-6 class was introduced to several new students and a crash course on the brain! Knowing how we think, learn, sense, feel, respond, and navigate the world are very important teachings that school can offer, especially in a multi-age class. This also directly ties into Anna's class's year theme which is "Trails, Paths, and Bridges."
Each year, teachers at Wildflower help learning to blossom through an annual theme. These themes flow through all of the subject areas, others classes, learning upon the land, in our communities, and beyond. Structuring or de-structuring learning in this way fosters collaboration and connection and weaves the them through curriculum and community.
Other class themes are these:
For Orange Shirt Day our staff and students incorporated various themes of reconciliation into engaging student activities. Our outdoor assembly was led by our Aboriginal Academic Success Teacher, Liv Hilde. Students from each class showed bravery by speaking in front of the school.
On September 26, Trafalgar Middle School students gathered together in the gym to ask questions of the SD8 School Trustee Candidates running for a seat at the Board of Education table in the General Local Elections taking place about two weeks from now on October 15.
Through the forum, students were able to make a first-hand connection with the people who work at the school board and learn about the important work they do.
In the coming weeks, Trafalgar students will also hold forums for candidates running for mayor and council in the City of Nelson. Then, all students will vote in a mock election process that mirrors the 2022 B.C. General Local Elections on October 15.
On September 28 2022, LVR students had the opportunity to engage with various clubs and groups in the school and community.
Teachers, along with our Aboriginal Success Teacher, Ms. Jenna Hopper, will be planning activities for Orange Shirt Day on Thursday, September 29.
Students designed and created orange feathers to remember and honour all the Indigenous children and survivors who had their culture, freedom and self-esteem taken away over the generations. During our assembly, we listened to O’Canada sang in the Cree First Nation language and then Aboriginal Academic Success teacher, Ms Jenna Hopper shared the Orange Shirt Story by Phyllis Webstad who is a residential school survivor.
This important day is time for staff to come together to focus on goal setting to support student learning. Schools across the district are required to develop three goals for the year; a literacy and numeracy goal, along with one other school determined goal.
Our Grade 5/6 class headed to Kokanee Park to attend Forestry Day on September 21st. They learned about Logging, Wood Products, Ageing, Wildfire, Invasive Plants, and Wildlife. It was an excellent day for our children! Thanks to Meg Tandy of the Selkirk Natural Resouce District for giving our students such a great experience and providing useful and interesting information.
Several activities have taken place this month, one of the highlights being our Parent Meet and Greet on Sept 21. Over 50 families joined our staff for an evening of introductions, and conversations about the incredible opportunities our students will have for learning.
At CBESS we opened the 2022-2023 school year under the theme of building community. Our first day assembly was inspired by the children’s book “Be a Good Ancestor”.