My last practicum, it has been a bitter sweet journey. I am grateful for all the memories created here in the final 10 week practicum. I am also sad to say good-bye to this school as I have spent all of my three practicums here. The community has been so warm and welcoming.
Community
There is a lot of community spirit here at this school. Everyone seems like a big connected family. The students, staff and parents that help out with PAC things. There are a lot of afterschool programs and daycare for families needing support with their children. The school seemed to arrange fun games and activities for students to participate in. I also noticed students being leaders in these activities with the younger students. I love that there is a Facebook page where important events are posted and it seems like a lot of the parents check it regularly.
Connection
There is connection everywhere, all around. In the classes, hallways, playgrounds and afterschool activities. I noticed a lot of positive connections that students were making with their friends at recess and in class. I loved how some of the classrooms were doing big buddies and little buddies. I think it is a great way for students to connect with different ages and older students are given a wonderful opportunity to mentor younger students.
Caring
Lax Kxeen students and staff are really caring. I’ve seen the care in the day to day routines and as well as the after school care and events planned for spirit days. I have enjoyed being apart of all the love and community here. I witnessed a lot of care in how the staff interact with the students on a daily basis. There is care in the breakfast program and how the staff who make the breakfast are always so positive and full of energy. I witnessed the librarian always spreading so much joy and positivity to all of the staff and students daily. It is going to be sad to say good-bye however, I am grateful for all the memories and experiences here.
Fun memories
Halloween fun day was eventful. The whole school participated in a Halloween parade into all the classrooms. It was a exciting way to see everyone’s costumes. In the afternoon, I set up a variety of Halloween games. There were five stations and two minute to win it games which were so fun. This group is very competitive and they love to win. It definitely got competitive and there was a lot of exciting energy all around the room. My favourite game was seeing the students attempting to land a cookie from their forehead to their mouth and not using their hands.
Lax Kxeen ROCS
Respect
I saw students being respectful with their manners towards staff and their peers. I witnessed many students speaking up for their peers and notifying staff when they witnessed their peers being unkind to their friends. I also felt a lot of respect for this one staff member who was so humble and kind to the students. She always went above and beyond to support any child in need for anything that was small or big.
Ownership
As I reflect on my 10 week practicum, I have some fond memories connecting with the students and staff. I enjoyed prepping on the weekends, as it was a chance to also connect with other teachers and reflect on the week as well. Arriving to the school early mornings, there was always this briskness in the air. Some mornings the fog was lifting over the mountains and sunshine hitting the trees. Everything was so bright and memorizing. It often brought me to my childhood memories. I feel so grateful to be here in Prince Rupert and to have had all three practicums at Lax Kxeen. I loved seeing my previous students throughout the 10 weeks. I would sometimes visit their classrooms during lunch break or at recess, I would go outside and say hi to them. Their excitement is appreciated and reciprocated.
I loved how it was important for teachers and the school to hold students accountable for their actions. There were certain students who were getting consequences for their actions. For example, one student resorted to hitting his peers and his plan was for him to sit in front of the office for the day. The school was struggling for better consequences as his parents refused to cooperative with the school. Although I think it was supportive for the rest of the class who was able to continue on with their day and go on neighborhood walks whereas this student would not be invited due to this actions that were not safe for his peers.
Community
I would say that I contributed to the school community in many ways. I joined the school on parent teacher conferences, our class evening movie night, took the class on three different museum fieldtrips, participated in the community rock snake, providing after school bhangra lessons, engaged in a music circle at the senior’s centre and hosted a family afterschool event for the StoryWalk.
This one student kept writing her name in Punjabi ever since she learned how to write it. She appeared proud and excited to show me every time. I thought that was pretty rewarding and amazing!
Success
The school wishes to see each student thrive and succeed in their education and personal growth. I witnessed the principal on a daily basis relaying the importance of each “ROCS” acronym so that students were reminded of what the school stands for. It was a daily reminder of attitude and actions. On the daily, I witness many small successes and throughout my time at the school, I feel grateful to have seen students individual growth.
