Having worked in elementary school and with children all my life,
I am always interested in how schools especially in other jurisdiction operate.
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| I had an opportunity to volunteer and visit the Onchaminahos School - an elementary school in Northern Alberta |
When our friend asked me if I would be interested in volunteering at an elementary school on this trip, I jumped at the opportunity to work with the children and to visit the school.
I visited and spent almost a day at an elementary school on a native reserve in Alberta.
Education in Canada is a provincial responsibility which means that each province looks after the education of its children.
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| A table was set up with the Smudging container outside the office of the school |
However, the native reserves are different. The aboriginal people belong to the First Nation which has a treaty with Canada, therefore, its educational system is different as it is looked after by the band council.
The school has about two hundred students.
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A table was set up with a smudging container placed upon it.
Each morning, students will perform the smudging ceremony before classes start for the day.
All visitors to the school were required to sign in at the office. I did and told them the teacher's name and the class I was supposed to be a volunteer for the day.
It happened to be recess time when I was there, therefore I was ushered into the staff room and waited there.
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| Lots of posters depicting native cultures and traditions around the school |
I had sometime therefore I looked around the school and noticed there were a lot of posters and bulletin board displays depicting Cree cultures and values posted around the school.
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| The Cree alphabets displayed on school wall |
The Cree language alphabets were proudly displayed on school wall for all students and visitors to see.
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| Positive messages with aboriginal people were posted to encourage students |
There were many poster printed with positive messages for students encouraging them to achieve their dreams of being a somebody!
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| I volunteered at a Gr. 4 class |
After morning recess, I went into one of the Grade 4 classes and met with teacher. Mrs. Q. who welcome me warmly into her class.
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| Classroom walls were full of language rich displays |
I loved the classroom! Mrs. Q has created a very warm, welcoming place for her students.
The classroom walls were filled with language rich posters and instructions which students could easily refer to when needed.
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She reminded me of my wonderful teachers in elementary school and the great time I had when I was a student.
I helped out in a language and Math class.
In the language class students were learning their spelling words through a couple of word games.
What I really liked was after the teacher demonstrated how the word game was played, students took turn going up to the front of the class and was in charge of the game themselves.
Students were polite, enthusiastic; they clearly enjoyed learning and were engaged in the activity.
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| Students were served lunch at school |
Then came lunch time! Lunch was brought in on a cart for students.
( I learned that working with the operating budget allocated to the school, the principal and the school try their best to find mone within their budget to provide lunch to students! Not an easy task, I must say.)
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| All the food served for lunch was finished by students |
Students lined up for their food - Shepherd's Pie and Mrs. Q. patiently dished out the food for each student.
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| I visited a Cree language classroom |
Teacher and students ate lunch together in the classroom with the teacher supervising them.
After students finished their lunch, they could go outside and play on the school playground.
I also asked for permission to visit other classrooms, one of which was a Cree language class.
What I saw in the Cree classroom reminded me of what a French Immersion classroom looked like in Ontario.
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| Learning posters in a Cree class |
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| A Cree class in progress |
Lots of posters and words in the Cree language to encourage and help students to learn the language.
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| School Library |
I also visited the school library at this elementary school.
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| Positive messages in the school library |
Again, I saw the same positive messages here for the students in the library.
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| Atrium to the School Library |
My most favorite place of the school was this sunny spot to the entrance of the library! A beautiful place with skylights where sunlight could stream in and brighten up the entire area.
With ample seating area, students could meet, congregate, talk and share!
I enjoyed my visit to the Onchaminahos School and appreciated the opportunity of working with the students and learning more about their cultures!
Thank you to Mrs. Q. and the Grade 4 class for your warm welcome and kindness!
R.T.
A Northern Reserve
Alberta
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