Friday, June 19, 2015

Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education

UBC Faculty of Education delivering a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) titled, Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education.  This is a free 6-week online course that begins on September 29, 2015.

Participants will learn about Indigenous Education through the lens of reconciliation, and will engage with educational leaders and resources that provide direction for how education programs and teaching practices can be modified in order to meaningfully integrate Indigenous knowledge worldviews and pedagogies in classrooms, schools and communities.

We'd like to invite you and your colleagues and associates in Richmond School District to join us in an online information session on June 24.  Learn more about this professional development opportunity and creating Communities of Practice engaged with the subject matter.

Please help us spread the word about this widely accessible learning opportunity with your colleagues and networks.

The announcement is available as plain text, as a one-page poster, or in HTML format (below).

Sincerely,
Heather

Heather McGregor
Professional Development & Community Engagement 
Faculty of Education 
The University of British Columbia 

1304 ­ 2125 Main Mall | Vancouver, BC  Canada V6T 1Z4 


Musqueam Culture Tour


Delta has kindly reserved 10 spots for Richmond teachers. Pick up and drop off will be in Richmond.  If interested, please respond by Friday, June 19 by 3 pm to lmccoll@sd38.bc.ca.

Cedar Weaving, June 15, 2015

Back in April, the Richmond School District’s Aboriginal Education department hosted Alice Guss of the Squamish Nation for a morning of cedar weaving. Alice is an artist, storyteller and drummer and has been involved in the field of education for over twenty years. She does workshops around the world in drum making and weaving.
More information about Alice can be found HERE.
We invited Alice back to Richmond as part of our National Aboriginal Day celebrations and this week she worked with two of our QTL (Playful Storytelling through First Peoples  Principles) classes at Steves and then joined teachers from the project after school.
Kathleen Paiger’s kindergarten class and Ellen Reid’s grades 1 and 2 class at Steves Elementary listened to Alice singing and drumming and learned about how cedar is harvested for the purposes of weaving and making practical items and regalia. Alice shared some of items that are made from different parts of the cedar tree.
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The students learned how to weave a cedar bookmark and they were quite interested in the texture and smell of the wood.
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The students then enjoyed listening to Alice’s stories and she said them in some dancing to her drumming, with the students taking on different animal roles.
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After school, a group of teachers involved in our QTL project along with some other interested educators, came together. Alice shared her family’s history and we learned about the story of The Chief in Squamish and  of the two-headed serpent, a story important to the Squamish people. The teachers then learned more about the importance of cedar and how cedar trees that have been culturally modified (stripped for cultural purposes) can not be cut down by logging companies. An article about culturally modified trees can be found HERE.
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The teachers learned how to weave a small cedar basket. There was lots to be learned during the process about persistence and learning new things and also about the natural properties of the cedar. The completed projects were cherished by the teachers and were all one of a kind.
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It was an honour to have Alice join us in Richmond again and we hope to have her back again next year!

Thursday, June 11, 2015

CELEBRATING FNMI LITERATURE

  • Hear Our Stories: Celebrating FNMI Literature
  • "The Canadian Children's Book Centre is offering a free online theme guide that focuses on books written by and about members of Canada's First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities. It also provides activities for using these books in the classroom, library or at home. View it online or download."

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Wednesday, June 3, 2015

FNESC First Nations Languages Conference, July 16 and 17, 2015


Registration is now open for the FNESC First Nations Languages Conference, In the Spirit of Sharing, happening in Vancouver on July 16 and 17, 2015 at the Coast Plaza Hotel.  Held every two years, this conference brings together Elders, teachers, linguists, administrators and others to learn and share, in order to promote quality First Nations languages education in BC.
  
We are pleased that Jessie Little Doe Baird, project founder of the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, will be our keynote speaker.  Jessie has been instrumental in the continued reclamation of the Wampanoag language and she is featured in a documentary that aired on PBS called, "We Still Live Here – Âs Nutayuneân.” 

Workshops
Haida Language Boot Camp: How to Host an Intensive Language Program
Getting Learners to Talk, Speak & Dialogue
Action-Based Story, Craft & Traditional Foods:  Immersion Techniques for Engaging New Adult Learners
Developing Usable Curriculum for the Classroom
Creating Quality Audio Recordings on a Budget
First Nations Languages Essential Learning Outcomes:  Moving to Implementation 
StoloShxweli.org and the Daily Halq’emeylem
Dah Dzahge Nodeside – Getting Our Talk Back:  Sharing our Journey of Tahltan Language Revitalization
Language Immersion in Practice and Play          
Implementing First Nations Language Curriculum Frameworks and Curricular Design
Coast Salish Woven Bag
Using CFR and Portfolio – an Alberta Example
Teaching JUMP Math in Ucwalmicts – Promoting Immersion Education           
Community Language Education Planning Workbook
(subject to change)           

Language Champions
Nominate an individual for one of the four BC First Nations Language Champion awards: Lifetime Achievement Award, School Education Award, Community Education Award, Youth Award (18-30 yrs).  One champion will be selected in each of the four categories and celebrated at a recognition event at the conference on July 17th.  See the information/nomination details on our event webpage. Nominations due May 28, 2015.

Registration
For online registration, registration guide and details, visit  http://www.fnesc.ca/languages-conference  Register early to avoid disappointment! (Note that this is not a FNESC reimbursable event.)  

Sincerely,

Jennifer White
Senior Communications Officer



First Nations Education Steering Committee
#113 - 100 Park Royal South, West Vancouver, BC  V7T 1A2
T: 604-925-6087 ext. 105  F: 604-925-6097  1-877-422-3672
www.fnesc.ca    follow us @fnesc


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