Indigenous Education Archives - Page 2 of 3

St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School Hosts Water Walk!

Posted on April 29, 2022 by admin

The students and staff at St. Benedict will walk for water in their upcoming Water Walk on Thursday, May 5th. This event will run all day and will commence at the school and continue onto the water pump station near Countryside Sports Complex.

As part of the day, students from every grade will take time to Walk for Water and elementary students from Holy Cross will be joining in on the walk in the afternoon.

In addition to the water walk, there will also be a WaterLution “Water Speaks” art exhibit in the school building all day to enhance student learning further. This event was organized on behalf of the Diversity Club of St. Benedict Catholic School with the help, guidance, and support from Indigenous Support Lead, Shannon Agowissa.

“We are looking forward to bringing our student and staff together and shining a light on the continued need for clean water in our communities. We are truly proud of the efforts of our Diversity Club and Shannon Agowissa, as they work together to deepen their understanding of issues by planning events such as this Water Walk and put their learning in action.” – St. Benedict Principal, Laura Kuzenko

On May 5th, it is also an awareness day for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit People. In the MMIWG2S Final Report we note the Call for Justice:

“Calls for Educators:

11.1 We call upon all elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions and education authorities to educate and provide awareness to the public about missing and murdered. Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, and about the issues and root causes of violence they experience. All curriculum development and programming should be done in partnership with Indigenous Peoples, especially Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. Such education and awareness must include historical and current truths about the genocide against Indigenous Peoples through state laws,policies, and colonial practices. It should include, but not be limited to, teaching Indigenous history, law, and practices from Indigenous perspectives and the use of Their Voices Will Guide Us with children and youth.”

In honour of those Loved Ones Stolen, St. Benedict plans to play their part by joining Indigenous Women and their traditional roles of protecting the Water. On page 29 of Their Voices Will Guide Us, St. Benedict began foundational teaching of Indigenous Women’s roles, and specifically in protecting and speaking for the water and this event will allow them to continue this learning with action.

The Water Walk will shine a light on the continued need for clean water in our communities and to celebrate the unpolluted, fresh water left in our community while supporting the Indigenous Peoples of the area in the ceremony.

The SCDSB Takes Part in Treaties Recognition Week

Posted on November 5, 2021 by admin

November 1-7 is Treaties Recognition Week, an important time of year where Ontario students acknowledge and learn about treaties as well as the histories, perspectives, and contributions of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board (SCDSB) is celebrating its participation in Treaties Recognition Week. This year, we honour Indigenous histories, perspectives, and contributions through meaningful lessons, presentations, readings, events and celebrations for students and staff at all our schools.

School Highlights

St. John

At St. John Catholic Elementary School, students in Mrs. Galipeau’s class learned about wampum belts in an activity where they could make their own belts out of Lego. Students in Grade 5 and 6 created the 1764 Treaty of Niagara wampum belt. Pictured are Nathan and Olivia, Jaguar students proudly showcasing their class’s completed belt. Wampum belts represent agreements and promises that last “as long as the sun shines and rivers flow”.

St. Charles

On Nov. 2nd, Grade 2 students in Mrs. Child’s class at St. Charles Catholic Elementary School read “Dakota Talks About Treaties.” Afterwards, they created a word web to describe what the word “treaty” means. Also, reading a story was Ms. Trudeau and Ms. D’Angelo’s class! “A Family Cookout” was read to help students explore measuring objects. Afterwards, Ms. Trudeau led an engaging lesson on making bannock where students used their knowledge in a real-life context. However, reading wasn’t the only popular activity. Mrs. Blakely’s grade 1 class learned all about the medicine wheel, smudged, made wampum belts and created their very own classroom treaty.

St. David

At St. David, a school-wide activity was implemented in preparation for the week. The Grade 5 class mapped the forested area in an educational exercise that touched on Indigenous identity, history, and ways of being. In an abundance of activities, students learned about treaties, promises, wampum belts and what it means to be indigenous. The school listened to “The Drum Calls Softly” and students created versions of the artwork in the video.

Pius XII

Over at Pius, Treaty Recognition Week was in full force. The school’s Grade 6 students took part in a lesson that included constructing their own Wampum commitment string. Wampum commitment string symbolizes an agreement of respect and peace. Collectively, all the strings will attach and form a family circle to honour Treaty Week.

St. James

To commemorate Treaty Week, the students in Grade 2/3 FI at St. James explored the significance of wampum belts as representations of promises that were made to last. They recreated the Treaty of Niagara wampum belt with Legos and other materials and mapped out some of our province’s treaties.

St. Bens

St. Benedict’s kicked off Treaty Recognition Week with Smudging available to students and staff. Classes participated in the Treaty Awareness dialogue. For example, Treaty is ‘Legally Binding’ and that there is also a ‘Sacred Element’ to the agreements. In addition, the school’s Life Skills Class learned and designed a Wampum Treaty Belt of their choosing. Tobacco was offered to our Indigenous Support Worker, Ms. Agowissa, for knowledge sharing. “We Are All Treaty People and are in the Robinson Huron Treaty region.”

Other highlights included secondary students participating in the Robinson Huron Treaty “Treaty Talks with Tomorrow’s Leaders”. Students were able to listen to different Ogimaak/Chiefs from RHT communities share treaty knowledge past, present and future about ‘Gweksijigewin’ (making things right). This knowledge was applied on Friday, Nov. 5th, with presentations from the students.

Treaties Recognition Week

It truly is very exciting to see what beautiful things our schools are doing to honour this essential part of the learning experience. Thank you to all our staff and community leaders, who took the time to capture and share some of the many wonderful things they were able to participate in this week. For more school activity updates, check out Indigenous Education SCDSB.

Sudbury Catholic District School Board Lowers Flags in Honour of BC Residential School Victims

Posted on May 31, 2021 by admin

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board joins communities across Canada in honouring and praying for the 215 Indigenous children whose bodies were discovered on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in Tk-emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation territory.

To honour their lives, flags at all SCDSB schools and board buildings will be lowered for nine days (May 31-June 8) – a total of 215 hours to represent each of the 215 children. As a sign of our collective mourning, the Board will also be participating in the National moment of silence at 2:15 p.m. today as we honour and acknowledge the children who never returned home.

“Today, we honour the lives of the 215 Indigenous children who will not be coming home. It is a heartbreaking tragedy and while there are no words to truly express the deep mourning those impacted are experiencing, we humbly offer our prayers that they and their families will find healing. We also acknowledge the pain and trauma this brings to all Indigenous peoples across the country, and we recognize the need for ongoing truth and reconciliation. May God continue to watch over the 215 souls and their families,” said Michael Bellmore, Chair of the Board of the Trustees for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.

“All Sudbury Catholic District School Boards schools and facilities are standing in solidarity with communities across Canada in honouring the 215 Indigenous children. While it is indeed an unspeakable tragedy, we send continued prayers and healing to all those affected and to the Indigenous communities in the Sudbury area and across the country. We have lowered all flags for 215 hours and will join the National moment of silence at 2:15 p.m. As a system, we are also wearing orange shirts on Wednesday, June 2 and will unite in a collective prayer service as a reminder that every child matters,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.

Every Child Matters: Sudbury Catholic Schools Honours Orange Shirt Day

Posted on October 1, 2020 by admin

Staff and students throughout the Sudbury Catholic District School Board joined hundreds of others across Canada by participating in Orange Shirt Day on Wednesday, September 30, 2020.

By wearing orange shirts, we recognize the harm the residential school system did to children’s sense of self-esteem and well-being and it serves as a symbol of our commitment to reconciliation. Since it began in 2013, the phrase “Every Child Matters” has been used as part of the movement to recognize the value of every child and for communities to come together.

“The Sudbury Catholic District School Board firmly believes that every child matters and as such we will continue to honour Orange Shirt Day year after year,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education. “We are committed to Truth and Reconciliation and we strive to find opportunities for our staff and students to come together in support of intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect.”

Honouring Reconciliation: Sudbury Catholic Schools Participate in Orange Shirt Day

Posted on September 30, 2019 by admin

Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come. Orange Shirt Day recognizes the harm the residential school system did to children’s sense of self-esteem and well-being, and is an affirmation of our commitment to ensure that everyone around us matters.

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board participated in Orange Shirt Day on September 30, 2019. Staff and students throughout the system participated by wearing these shirts or their favourite orange shirt as a reminder of the importance of this day.

St. Benedict students win Board t-shirt design contest!

Posted on June 26, 2018 by admin

Congratulations to Erika Poirier and Marja Frederiksen of St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School for their beautiful t-shirt design in honour of Orange Shirt Day which will take place in October.

Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and
communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations
of children to come. According to orangeshirtday.org, “The annual Orange Shirt …
opens the door to global conversation on all aspects of Residential Schools. It is an
opportunity to create meaningful discussion about the effects of Residential Schools
and the legacy they have left behind. A discussion all Canadians can tune into and
create bridges with each other for reconciliation. A day for survivors to be reaffirmed
that they matter, and so do those that have been affected. Every Child Matters, even
if they are an adult, from now on.”

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board will be honouring Orange Shirt day on
October 1st, 2018 of the upcoming school year.

Boys with Braids event aims to bring cultural awareness and sensitivity training to youth at St. Benedict

Posted on June 11, 2018March 27, 2019 by admin

Don’t cave to any public pressures of any kind. That was the message delivered to students at St. Benedict as part of a school wide assembly this week.

The assembly was put on by the Indigenous Club and Diversity Club in partnership with funding from a Speak Up grant provided by the Ministry of Education.

Boys with Braids events were first started by Michael Linklater, a Cree from Thunderchild First Nation in Saskatchewan who wanted to raise awareness of why Indigenous boys and men wear a braid. Linklater was teased and bullied at school.

Speakers Charles Petahtegoose from Atikameksheng and Wasauksing along with Perry McLeod-Shabogesic, a traditional co-ordinator at Shkagamik-Kwe Health shared their wisdom on why braids are a symbol of strength and wisdom that reflects identity.
The speakers were able to explain to the students that the issue transcends braids to anything they see in society from another culture.

Afterwards, the speakers held a power circle teaching for a group of students to talk about how braids, bullying and the struggle to conform has impacted their lives.

St. Benedict Pow wow educates locals and internationals alike

Posted on May 10, 2018 by admin

Thanks to great weather, the educational pow wow at St. Benedict went off without a hitch Wednesday, May 9, 2018.

The detailed and colourful regalia stayed dry and there were hundreds of students who were able to walk away from the experience learning something about traditions and Indigenous culture.

The pow wow was partially funded by a Speak Up grant from the Ministry of Education in the area of Opening Doors for Indigenous Conversations.

Laura Kuzenko, Principal of St. Benedict Catholic School says the grant was successful to ensure that more than 450 visitors from within the board and within other boards learned the traditions and spiritual meaning behind such an important cultural solstice event.

“We have a number of international students at our school who would have experienced a pow wow for the first time and yet we have many Canadian nationals who were here for the first time as well to learn together.”

Lunch was also served to the visitors which included traditional Indian tacos.

The raw truth unveiled during blanket exercise at St. Benedict

Posted on November 15, 2017 by admin

The raw truth unveiled during blanket exercise at St. Benedict

The history of Canada and its relationship with Indigenous peoples was unveiled today at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School in Sudbury.

A number of students took part in a Kairos Blanket Exercise to learn the truth about how the Indigenous Peoples were treated by European colonizers, settlers and the Canadian government for hundreds of years.

Ms. Dowdall organized the blanket activity in collaboration with the Indigenous Sharing Learning Centre at Laurentian University. She explains that the blankets represent the land we know as Canada (Turtle Island) and works to increase empathy and understanding among participants.

The activity was created in 1996 by the Aboriginal Rights Coalition to develop a new way for people to understand the shared history of Indigenous peoples in Canada. The students walk thru pre-contact, treaty making, colonization and resistance. It’s always followed by a talking circle.

A huge thank you goes out to the classes at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School that participated in the blanket exercise today.

In photo: Avery Dambremont, who is studying grade 11 Aboriginal art takes part in a blanket ceremony in the school gymnasium today.

Connecting to the land

Posted on June 23, 2016 by admin

Recently our secondary schools students had an opportunity to attend a sweat lodge building and ceremony as part of the “Bundle Roots Program”. The event was hosted by Indigenous Education Secondary Support staff & teachers. At this event we had students from various cultures take part. The turnout was great and the weather was wonderful. There were three secondary schools that took part in this activity. The Sweat lodge was held on Atikameksheng Anishnawbek territory.

The sweat lodge is a structure, which is dome shaped made using natural materials given to us by the land. sweat lodges are used by Indigenous people on Turtle Island for ceremonial prayers. The ceremony and traditions associated with the sweat lodge vary from region to region but are similar in nature.

Students were able to partake in constructing the sweat lodge which was a rich learning experience for all staff and students. All the young men and women took part in constructing the sweat lodge. The Elders were both helpful and insightful for the youth and the staff, and shared their knowledge.

We completed our very full day with a very delicious feast, along with a spirit plate given back to our sacred helpers during this ceremony.