THE RAVEN PAGC EDUCATION PAGC EDUCATION
Transcript of THE RAVEN PAGC EDUCATION PAGC EDUCATION
THE RAVEN PAGC EDUCATION SPRING 2019
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PAGC
EDUCATION The Raven Newsletter
April 2019 Issue
Photo taken by: Flora Cook
A big thank you to Serban Bagiu
from Father Megret High School in
Wollaston Lake for sharing loads of
great Phys. Ed lessons for the PAGC
Education portal! He has shared
user-friendly lessons on teaching
volleyball, basketball, soccer, field
hockey and others. These useful les-
sons are being uploaded to our por-
tal now. If you have lessons or unit
plans that could benefit other teach-
ers, send them to us and we can
share through the portal!
Newly added to the PAGC Educa-
tion portal is a brand new Library
management program! It is a
program developed with the needs
of our schools in mind, easy to set
up and use. We are contacting
schools about this fantastic oppor-
tunity, but feel free to get in touch if
you have questions or need assis-
tance in the meantime.
PAGC Education is now pleased
to be able to support school/
community/family literacy nights.
All PAGC Education Directors have
been contacted with information
about local Family Literacy Nights,
and several arrangements are being
made for PAGC Education to assist
with these evenings in the Spring.
For more information, email:
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Dene Language……….……..…….1
Teacher Mentor…..….……....…….2
Numeracy………….…………........3
Early Years Literacy,……...…........4
Mental Health…………...………...5
Student Support Services…. ..…….6
Cree Language & Culture................7
Teacher Services…..........................8
Literacy…………..……..…............9
Educational Technology……........10
Physical Education………………11
PAGC EDUCATION RESOURCES
THE RAVEN PAGC EDUCATION SPRING 2019
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Father Porte Memo-
rial Dene School
The Dene language team went up
to Black Lake for one week to finish
editing their language project which
consists of over 2000 words. Alt-
hough the Athabasca basin speaks
the same Dene languages, there are
many words that are diverse and
unique in each of these three com-
munities. It is a great honour to be
part of this project which is intense
and profound. We involve elders
and local teachers who wrıte in theır
Dene language to enrich their own
local Dënësułine language. While
we were up there, Rosalie Tsannıe-
Burseth and I delıvered a huge post-
er to promote the Dene language
use.
The banner reads: nuhyatıe
bet’a hıtı hoɂa. We are gıven thıs
language to use. We also made one
for each of our Athabasca region
schools.
On March 30, we were invited to
join the Connected North communi-
ty celebration in Saskatoon to hon-
our a young Dene artist from Hatch-
et Lake. Nicole’s art wıll be used to
create resources in the Dene lan-
guage. It includes 35 images trans-
lated into the Dene language. It can
be used by educators ın a series of
learnıng activities for Dene language
teachers.
Marsı chogh
Florence St.Pierre
Dene Language
The Dene Language (Right Photo) Mary Jane Yooya, Rosalie Tsannie-Burseth , Philip Sayazie, Nancy Sayazie, Mary Jane Kasyon, & Florence St. Pierre
THE RAVEN PAGC EDUCATION SPRING 2019
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Effective Teach-
ing Strategies
Spring is finally here, which also
means another school year is nearing
the end. I have had the privilege of
working with many wonderful teach-
ers and administrators within our
PAGC schools. My position as an
Early Years Teacher Specialist/
Mentor has been very rewarding. I
am looking forward to the next cou-
ple of months of travels and meeting,
working with new people. I have al-
so had the opportunity to work with
my colleagues in specific areas with-
in PAGC education. My area of spe-
cialization is to work with our teach-
ers on planning and being prepared. I
cannot stress enough the importance
of planning and being prepared for
your classroom.
Six Ways Proper Preparation
and Planning Will Pay Off:
Make you a better teacher: A
significant part of planning and prep-
aration is conducting research. Stud-
ying educational theory and examin-
ing best practices helps define and
shape your own teaching philoso-
phy. Studying the content that you
teach in depth will also help you
grow and improve.
Boost student performance and
achievement: As a teacher, you
should have the content that you
teach mastered. You should under-
stand what you are teaching, why
you are teaching it, and you
should create a plan for how to pre-
sent it to your students every single
day. This ultimately benefits your
students. It is your job as a teacher to
not only present the information but
to present in a way that resonates
with the students and makes it im-
portant enough for them to want to
learn it. This comes through plan-
ning, preparation, and experience.
Make the day go by fast-
er: Downtime is a teacher’s worst
enemy. Many teachers use the term
“free time”. This is simple code for I
did not take the time to plan
enough. Teachers should prepare and
plan enough material to last the en-
tire class period or school day. Every
second of every day should matter.
When you plan enough students re-
main engaged, the day goes by
quicker, and ultimately student
learning is maximized.
Minimize classroom discipline
issues: Boredom is the number one
cause of acting out. Teachers who
develop and present engaging les-
sons on a daily basis rarely have
classroom discipline issues. Students
enjoy going to these classes because
learning is fun. These types of les-
sons do not just happen. Instead,
they are created through careful
planning and preparation.
Make you confident in what you
do: Confidence is an important char-
acteristic for a teacher to possess. If
for nothing else, portraying confi-
dence will help your students buy
what you are selling. As a teacher,
you never want to ask yourself if you
could have done more to reach a stu-
dent or group of students. You might
not like how a particular lesson goes,
but you should take pride in knowing
that it was not because you lacked in
preparation and planning.
Help earn the respect of your
peers and administrators: Teachers
know which teachers are putting in
the necessary time to be an effective
teacher and which teachers are not.
Investing extra time in your class-
room will not go unnoticed by those
around you. They may not always
agree with how you run your class-
room, but they will have a natural
respect for you when they see how
hard you work at your craft.
(From: Meador, Derrick. "Building
an Arsenal of Effective Instructional
Strategies." Thought Co, Jul. 5,
2018, thoughtco.com/building-an-
arsenal-of-effective-instructional-
strategies-3194257).
Flora Cook
Early Years Teacher Specialist/ Mentor Prince Albert Grand Council Box 2770, 3601 5th Avenue East Prince Albert, SK S6V 7M2 (306)953-7342 [email protected]
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A Teacher is only as good as her/
his tools, especially the assessment
tools. One of the main goals of
PAGC Education is reducing and
eradicating the academic gap be-
tween our students and the rest of
the province and Canada. It is im-
possible without a reliable assess-
ment system in place. It must be-
come a part of the class environ-
ment.
We will look into four out of many
conditions, which are necessary
for effective assessment:
Clear and truthful feedback
The inclusion of a stu-
dent into the learning
process
Teacher’s ability to
modify his/her teaching
plans in accordance with
assessment results
Student’s self-
assessment
Effective teacher’s
"feedback" to a student is
important for both parties.
Teachers must see and
understand each of their students,
know their strengths and weak-
nesses, respond to help requests
and encourage one's success. The
student should not be afraid to talk
to the teacher about difficulties if
any. Next step - developing a plan
(with a teacher) to overcome these
difficulties.
The active inclusion of students
in the process of learning; what
does it look like? The student must
want to “learn” new material pro-
posed by the teacher, understand it
and be able to apply the previously
received knowledge. To do this,
the student must actively work in
the classroom: listen and hear the
teacher, take part in the class dis-
cussions, confidently voice hy-
potheses and suggestions, and be
able to defend own ideas. A teach-
er is responsible for creating an
inviting and safe atmosphere in the
class.
Flexibility and adaptability. The
teacher must take a student’s eval-
uation results into considera-
tion. It helps to set lesson goals
correctly and simplify the tasks of
planning the next lesson, as well as
choosing the lesson materials.
The ability of students to realis-
tically assess their results is critical
for their learning. The skill of de-
ciding what works and what does
not separates the great students
from the rest. The Teacher’s work
is to teach that skill.
There are many more ingredi-
ents in the recipe for the effective
classroom, and many of them will
be more or less compatible with
the specific classroom. Yet, forma-
tive assessment is essential for
each effective classroom, like salt
for any main dish… with one ex-
ception, I have never seen too
much formative assessment.
Nevertheless, formative assess-
ment does not improve student
achievement by itself, just as
weighing doesn’t increase the
weight of your ‘derby’ fish. Evi-
dence obtained during the forma-
tive assessment should be used
constructively to meet individual
needs, and help students to become
independent learners.
Stepan Tulchynskyy
Numeracy Specialist
PAGC
EDUCATION:
NUMERACY
Images from google
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PAGC Early Literacy April 2019
Mrs. George is using the Daily 5 with her Gr.1 students. The Daily 5 is a
literacy framework that teaches students independence and creates a
classroom of highly engaged readers and writers. This structure allows
teachers the time to work with small groups in order to meet the learning
needs of each and every student.
For the Love of
Reading… As part of our ongoing celebra-
tion of literacy in our PAGC
schools, this month we shine the
spotlight on Lolery George’s
Gr.1 class at Mamawe Awasis
School.
Group 1: Meet with Teacher (Guided Reading)
In the first picture students are working on a vocabulary activity. They are
looking at high frequency words from the book they will be reading.
In the second photo, the students are reading the book step-by-step using
before, during, and after reading strategies.
Group 2: Word Work (Phonics/
Word Families/Spelling)
Group 4: Read to Self
Students practice their reading
skills using books at their individ-
ual reading level.
Group 3: Listen to Reading
Students are using RAZ Kids
on I Pads to listen to stories.
Group 5: Work on Writing
Student use writing prompts to
work on writing in their journals.
Their goal is to write at least 5
sentences by the end of Gr.1.
High fives to Mrs. George and
support staff at Mamawe Awasis
School in Red Earth.
As you can see from the pic-
tures, it takes a team to get Daily
5 running in a Gr.1 classroom,
not to mention dedication, plan-
ning, and organization. The stu-
dents will definitely reap the
benefits of everyone’s hard
work.
Mrs. George’s class will be
entered into a draw in June for
some wonderful prizes.
If you would like to see your
classroom/school highlighted in
our June edition, email your
submission to:
Jenny Hulak
THE RAVEN PAGC EDUCATION SPRING 2019
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“Kids Have Stress Too”
Training
Kistapiskaw Elementary School
Staff from the Kistapiskaw
Elementary School in Des-
chambault Lake participated
in a one-day workshop facili-
tated by Holly Toulejour, Men-
tal Health Therapist, from the
PAGC Education Department.
Holly delivered a six-hour
workshop developed by the
Psychology Foundation of
Canada. “Kids Have Stress
Too” provides participants
with an assortment of re-
sources designed for parents,
as well as those who work with
young children in ear-
ly learning settings, and in the
classroom. If you are interest-
ed in training your staff in
“Kids Have Stress Too”,
p l e a s e c o n t a c t H o l l y
Toulejour, Mental Health Ther-
apist, PAGC Education, at 1-
306-953-7234.
Day Workshop on Bully-
ing & Mental Health
Concerns Among
Students.
Kimosom Pwatinak Collegiate
Over 60 plus staff and stu-
dents gathered in the gymna-
sium to engage in discussions
on mental health concerns, as
well as group activities to
share resources and coping
skills when experiencing
stressful times. If you would
like a workshop on bullying or
mental health concerns among
youth, please contact Holly
Toulejour, Mental Health Ther-
apist, PAGC Education at 306-
953-7234.
Workshop on Bullying &
Mental Health Concerns
Among Students:
The grade nine students and
teachers at Sturgeon Lake
Central School participated in
a one-day workshop on bully-
ing and mental health among
youth. Students engaged in
discussions about the effects
of bullying, particularly on an
individual’s mental health as
well as coping skills to deal
with stress. If you would like a
workshop on bullying or men-
tal health concerns among
youth, please contact Holly
Toulejour, Mental Health Ther-
apist, PAGC Education at 306-
953-7234.
Sturgeon Lake Central School
Mental Health Therapist
In-School Workshop
THE RAVEN PAGC EDUCATION SPRING 2019
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Special Education-By Brian Zimmer
Student Support Services, former-
ly know as the RMO are beginning
an ongoing series for this issue of
the Raven on common disabilities
that are supported in our schools. In
this issue we look at Autism Spec-
trum Disorder (ASD) and general
supports for students identified with
ASD.
ASD is a developmental disorder
because symptoms usually appear in
the first few years of life, although
autism can be diagnosed at any age.
The term “spectrum” reflects the
variation in challenges and strengths
of every child with autism and
symptoms can range in severity
from individual to individual. Com-
mon symptoms include sensory is-
sues and difficulties with verbal and
non-verbal communication, social
skills, and a range of restricted/
repetitive behaviors, often with in-
sistence on a specific routine that
the individual with autism will show
resistance to changing.
No cure exists for individuals
with autism and there is no one-size
-fits-all treatment, however there are
many effective ways to supports stu-
dents with autism. Some common
strategies and supports include:
Understand how your student
with autism learns and identify
their strengths. For example,
many students with autism are
visual, therefore using visuals
can support their ability to learn
about rules or social situations
such as turn-taking or bounda-
ries.
Provide structure to your day.
Routines are very important for
children with autism. In addi-
tion to a regular class schedule,
students with autism can benefit
from a personal daily schedule
with built-in visuals.
Be aware of sensory issues.
Most children with autism are
over- or under-reactive to senso-
ry stimuli. For example, the
buzzing of fluorescent lights in
the classroom or noise can trig-
ger some students. Monitor sen-
sory issues and make adjust-
ments such as giving breaks.
Keep your language simple and
concrete. Children with autism
can have difficulties with pro-
cessing language, therefore
communicate your directions to
the child with autism in as few
words as possible.
For many students with autism,
making choices can be difficult
when given a wide range of op-
tions to consider. Because of
this reality, give choices to stu-
dents that are clear and limited
to both assignments and person-
al decisions.
Change can be a difficult thing
for children with autism to ac-
cept. Therefore, provide warn-
ings of any upcoming changes in
routine or activities.
Children with autism, like all chil-
dren, have both strengths and chal-
lenges. Planning and collaborating
as a school team are effective keys
in supporting the needs of children
with ASD.
Student Support Services
THE RAVEN PAGC EDUCATION SPRING 2019
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Cree Language
and Culture
Projects in progress: 1. Red Earth Cree Nation audio
review completed by Mar-
lene and Sam McKay and re-
recordings completed.
Nearing completion on the
pictures being collected.
2. Little Red River School App
The recordings will require
a review. Pictures file collec-
tion is complete.
3. Sally Ross School Scope and
sequence work is completed
and being typed and cor-
rected by the recorder of
the group.
4. Nihithow Awasis School
Scope and sequence have
had two meetings and the
elders completed 46 of the
categories identified. Two
more meetings are set aside
to complete this project.
5. Peter Ballantyne Cree Na-
tion Scope & Sequence. We
have had 2 meetings and the
third meeting is March 26,
27, 28, 29, 2019.
Projects that need
to be completed: 1. Little Red River app audio
recording review
2. Nihithow Awasis School
scope and sequence project.
Two more meetings.
3. One more meeting for Peter
Ballantyne Cree Nation to
complete Scope & Se-
quence.
4. Meetings with Shoal Lake
Cree Nation for Scope & Se-
quence. work to complete
the Swampy Cree Sector.
Language teachers confer-
ence on March 19, 20, and 21
was on “Accelerated Second
Language Learning”, this Dr.
Greymorning method of Oral
language Learning has 13 Cate-
gories and 346 pictures. The
sample lesson plans for each
picture was compiled by Mar-
guerite Allard and she present-
ed the material to the teachers.
March 26th 2019
Directors Report Prepared by Otto Fietz & Marguerite
Allard, and Darrell McCallum
Sally Ross School: Cree Language Scope & Sequence Team
Nihithow Awasis School: Cree Language Scope & Sequence Team Cree Language Scope & Sequence Focus Group
THE RAVEN PAGC EDUCATION SPRING 2019
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“The Other Day…” The other day... I was talking
to an Elder from Black Lake,
chit-chatting about the crazy
spring weather and his travel
down to Prince Albert for the
PAGC Fine Arts Festival. The
Elder shared the excitement on
children’s faces as they talked
about the rehearsals and forth-
coming competitions. He asked
me about my family and so it
goes…. The community circle
that binds us to the children
through our work in schools is
illuminated through the grace of
our Elders. We feel so blessed
to be a part of “Happenings”
that become our stories.
The other day... in Red Earth,
I heard stories from students
about “spirit days” demonstrat-
ed by walking into a classroom
where the students and the
teacher along with their EA’s
are in full “PJ” garb. On another
day it’s “Jersey” then “hat” day.
Of course, with Easter fast ap-
proaching the excitement spills
over as prayers hold high our
gratitude.
The other day... I saw two ea-
gles as I drove home. They cir-
cled, signalling strength, wis-
dom and protection. Holding
fast those thoughts to share with
teachers, the mind dances and
sings with words as fluid as
tracking steps toward trans-
formative education.
The other day... we shared
collegial dialogue grounded in
holistic transformation. In tech-
nology, in language and cul-
ture, in land-based teaching
and learning, in treaty educa-
tion, etc. Celebrations balance
the acidity of challenges. If you
can envision blood-lines of First
Nation people coming together
in celebration then just imagine
the threads of respect, value
and benefit of unconditional
support for one another to grow
and develop into healthy and
contributing members. How
awesome is that?
Tell me What happened to
you, “the other day...”
kinana'skomitina'wa'w,
Teacher Services Specialists
Mary Sasakamoose, M.Ed. &
Shirley Waskewitch, M. Ed.
Teacher Services
THE RAVEN PAGC EDUCATION SPRING 2019
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Literacy By Vincent Brittain
Suggested Resources
These are some resources that
are currently being utilized to
help teachers in their Language
Arts programs:
The Reading Strategy Book
has over 300 strategies to
help the needs of students. It
is a ready to use resource for
Reading Workshop, Daily 5/
CAFÉ’, Guided Reading, Bal-
anced Literacy and core
Reading programs.
The Writing Strategy Book al-
so has 300 strategies to help
students with writing. It corre-
sponds nicely with 6+1 Traits,
Writing Workshop, Daily 5
and various writing programs.
Understanding Texts & Read-
ers, Jennifer maps the four
nonfiction and fiction compre-
hension goals she presents
in The Reading Strategies
Book to fourteen text levels
and shares sample responses
that show what to expect from
readers at each. These books
address the Fountas and Pin-
nell levels nicely.
Guiding Readers. This book
introduces a range of reading
strategies and processes that
lead students to access vari-
ous levels of texts. It provides
practical lesson routines for
emergent, early, developing,
fluent, and struggling read-
ers.
100 Minutes. This book ad-
dresses the balanced literacy
approach with a break down
to 100 minutes in a literacy
block. Reading time, award
time and writing are three
components that provide stu-
dents with opportunities to
engage with literacy.
THE RAVEN PAGC EDUCATION SPRING 2019
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New Fine Arts Fes-
tival Category -
Technology
This year at the 2019 Fine Arts
Festival, we introduced a new cate-
gory: Technology. Within the Tech-
nology category, we had the follow-
ing sub-categories:
Photography Fine Art Photography Conceptual Photography
(Edited Photos)
Video Production/Editing Short Film Documentary Animation/Stop Motion Music Videos
Sequential Art Digital Comic Strips Digital Book Making
Design Drafting Game Design Web Design
As it was our first year adding the
technology piece to the festival,
some categories were not entered
but we were ecstatic to receive the
entries we did. The results were:
Division I Music Video 1st - Keethanow Elementary
-“5 Little Pumpkins”
Division II Short Film 1st - Sturgeon Lake Central
School - “Girl Power Girls”
Division IV Conceptual Photography
1st - Titus Young
2nd - Leita McKay
3rd - Marlene Whitecap
Documentary
1st - Kalianna Whitecap
2nd - Jana Whitehead
Animation/Stop Motion
1st - Camillia Whitecap
2nd - Brent McKay
Drafting
1st - Titus Young
2nd - Jana Whitehead 3rd - Alexis Umpherville
Game Design
1st - Trayce Williams
2nd - Lonnie Nawakayas
3rd - Kenya Sanderson
Web Design
1st - Amelia McGillivary
2nd - Tzuriel Nawakayas
3rd - Tanis Whitecap-Bowman
During the festival, the technolo-
gy results were showcased during
lunch on Tuesday, April 9th for Di-
vision 1 and 2, and Thursday, April
11th for Division 3 and 4 students.
We are looking forward to next
years’ festival!
By: Grace McKenzie, Educational Technology Specialist & Don Dore, Educational Technology Coor-dinator
Keethanow Elementary School J.W. Head Education Centre
J.W. Head Education Centre
J.W. Head Education Centre
J.W. Head Education Centre
J.W. Head Education Centre
Sturgeon Lake Central School
THE RAVEN PAGC EDUCATION SPRING 2019
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PAGC Education
Publisher: Maureen McKenzie
Performance Measurement Specialist
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
S6W-0A2
Phone: (306) 953-7234
Fax: (306) 922-3135
Email: [email protected]
Editor: Grace McKenzie
Educational Technology Specialist
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
S6W-0A2
Phone: (306) 953-7234
Fax: (306) 922-3135
Email: [email protected]
IF YOU WOULD LIKE ANY STORIES, NEWS, ARTICLES, PICTURES OR INFORMATION ON
COMMUNITY EVENTS-PLEASE CONTACT US AT THE INFORMATION BELOW
The Raven
Newsletter Chief Joseph Custer Reserve #201
P.O. Box 2770, 3601 5th Ave East
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
S6W-0A2
Phone: (306) 953-7234
Fax: (306) 922-3135 Photo taken by Flora Cook
Physical Activity for Life Project Vision:
To provide our PAGC students the support that they need to develop a positive lifestyle through fun, fitness and role
modeling, so that our students create a sense of pride, within themselves, the community and their culture.
Five key areas of our Action Plan: 1. Communication to be improved 2. Interschool Athletics / Extra curricular Activities / Physical Activity- provide more for the children. 3. Training – support the school staffs. 4. Resources – purchase fun, innovative resources. 5. Traditional Games & Culture – provide training in this critical area & create Pride within the First Nations
Culture.
Achievements in 2018-2019
Funded six sport development camps: Three softball camps in the North: Fond du Lac, Black Lake and
Hatchet Lake. Golf development camp in Prince Albert. Softball development camp in Prince Albert.
Soccer Development Camp in Prince Albert! There were a total of 256 students that took part in these sport
development camps.
Hosted 4 workshops: Sport First, Sport Taping, Pickleball & Fitness Testing!
PAGC School Champions
Golf Sturgeon Lake
Midget Girls Volleyball Sturgeon Lake
Midget Boys Volleyball Sturgeon Lake
Junior Boys Volleyball Southend
Junior Girls Volleyball James Smith
Senior Boys Volleyball Stanley Mission
Senior Girls Volleyball Senator Myles Venne
Table Tennis Sturgeon Lake
Archery Senator Myles Venne
Senior Girls Basketball 3 on 3 Senator Myles Venne
Senior boys Basketball 3 on 3 Senator Myles Venne
Senior Girls Basketball Senator Myles Venne
Senior Boys Basketball Senator Myles Venne
Midget Boys Basketball Senator Myles Venne
Midget Girls Broomball Montreal Lake Senior Girls Broomball Senator Myles Venne Girls Hockey Montreal Lake
Boys Hockey Stanley Mission
Midget Boys Floor Hockey Stanley Mission
Bob Magee: Education Specialist