Next week is March Break. That means that students will have a one-week break from the routine of classes. For some, this is a time for a break, but for others it's a time of great stress. When the school setting is the only 'normal and predictable' environment, the mere thought of its absence for a week or so can cause all kinds of anxiety.
You wouldn't know that there was any thought of such disruption though by the pictures that were taken yesterday during my visit with my friends. Have a look:
Students in Grade 1 are learning how to read, and since I'm the visitor, I get to learn how to read too. My friend is doing a wonderful job. Who knows if she will become a teacher someday. Only time will tell.
In another classroom, pictures afixed to the page become the inspiration for stories that will be composed and then told to classmates. What wonderful adventures!
Over the past couple of months, I've had the wonderful privilege to get to know some of these youngsters, and as it happens, they are always happy to tell the stories of their lives, and to help me understand the lessons they are learning too. What wonderful teachers they are!
Saint Daivd is composed of about 40% identified First Nations students. Here, one of my friends is learning how to sew a medicine bag, with some help from his teacher. He also knows that the sacred medicines are made up of sage, sweetgrass, tobacco and cedar. His medicine bag will be used to hold some or all of these revered substances.
Some of my friends are learning the complexities of adding suffixes to verbs in order to change their tenses. In most cases, this is a simple matter of adding a few letters, but on occasion it calls for some ingenuity, and a little bit of help never hurts.
In some cases, group work is needed to help some of my friends to enhance their reading comprehension skills. It seems that at least one of our friends noticed the camera and was a bit distracted from the task at hand.
There is even a French-language component to the Grade 8 curriculum. Entering this classroom is always a source of surprise because in a school where many of the students are facing life challenges, it's all the more remarkable that some of them can grasp the complexities of working in a language that is not their own. They're always willing though to tell me about their adventures, and for this I'm very grateful.
You wouldn't know that there was any thought of such disruption though by the pictures that were taken yesterday during my visit with my friends. Have a look:
Students in Grade 1 are learning how to read, and since I'm the visitor, I get to learn how to read too. My friend is doing a wonderful job. Who knows if she will become a teacher someday. Only time will tell.
In another classroom, pictures afixed to the page become the inspiration for stories that will be composed and then told to classmates. What wonderful adventures!
Over the past couple of months, I've had the wonderful privilege to get to know some of these youngsters, and as it happens, they are always happy to tell the stories of their lives, and to help me understand the lessons they are learning too. What wonderful teachers they are!
Saint Daivd is composed of about 40% identified First Nations students. Here, one of my friends is learning how to sew a medicine bag, with some help from his teacher. He also knows that the sacred medicines are made up of sage, sweetgrass, tobacco and cedar. His medicine bag will be used to hold some or all of these revered substances.
Some of my friends are learning the complexities of adding suffixes to verbs in order to change their tenses. In most cases, this is a simple matter of adding a few letters, but on occasion it calls for some ingenuity, and a little bit of help never hurts.
In some cases, group work is needed to help some of my friends to enhance their reading comprehension skills. It seems that at least one of our friends noticed the camera and was a bit distracted from the task at hand.
There is even a French-language component to the Grade 8 curriculum. Entering this classroom is always a source of surprise because in a school where many of the students are facing life challenges, it's all the more remarkable that some of them can grasp the complexities of working in a language that is not their own. They're always willing though to tell me about their adventures, and for this I'm very grateful.
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