Educators value the involvement and support of parents, guardians, families and communities in schools.
In all three of my practicums, I created an all about me poster to introduce myself to the students and their families. I wanted the opportunity to connect with the families and have them be aware of how long I would be in their child’s classroom.
I wanted my students to get authentic learning from the Indigenous unit I created so I reached out to the Indigenous department in the district and they provided me with knowledge of some of the authentic totem poles around town and some that were not authentic. I was hoping an elder would come to my classroom and speak more about the poles, however that did not seem to work out. I was able to get an elder and a Indigenous worker in the school district come teach my students how to make traditional Bannock bread called Lyoon.
Since I was doing a unit on the local history in Prince Rupert; I thought it would be a unique and full circle experience for the students to get a trolley bus ride around town. I contacted a previous teacher of mine who was a tour guide at the Trolley Company. He was able to get us a good deal and the students learned more about the local history of the town. This experience was a great opportunity for students to engage with the community as we stopped in a few spots around town and the students interacted with people in the community who were around. Students were engaged in asking questions and making connections with people, place and land.
Some ideas for my final practicum is to give my students an opportunity to connect with their community and do something positive for them right before the holidays.
- Deliver fresh soup to the homeless/ senior centre. Students will be learning how to cook and doing a new soup a week would be a great opportunity for learning connection and giving back. (I inquired about this however, it was not possible to do at the senior centre due to regulations).
- Collect a clothing/food drive (Didn’t have time to do this, something I would incorporate in the future).
- Make holiday cards for the community/elderly/homeless. (The grade 4 class in my final practicum was able to make Christmas cards for the seniors).
- Create a ‘story walk’ at Mariners Park for the community to read and enjoy as they are on their walks. (Students created a collaborative class story and it was displayed at the school for an afterschool viewing for the parents. Unfortunately due to the strong winds, I decided not to put up the story at Mariners Park. Instead the class will keep their pages and have an original copy of their story. I plan on doing another StoryWalk for the spring and it can be displayed at Mariners Park. I think the spring will be better for the pages to sustain any weather related effects).
- During my final practicum, I decided to teach Bhangra (East Indian Dance) lessons to grade 3-5 students two days a week for three weeks. The students in my class also performed the 3 minute routine they had learned at the senior centre. We also engaged in a drumming/dancing circle at the senior centre, it was truly a full circle moment. In my last week of practicum, all of the things I had envisioned ended up coming together in such a genuine and rewarding way.
I believe that I took a lot of steps for my class to be connected to parts of the community and engage in learning in the community. For example, we went on three museum tours, one in Port Edward (North Pacific Cannery), Museum of Northern British Columbia and Kwinitsa Museum. I arranged the bus and field trips forms for the North Pacific Cannery. The students walked to the museums in town. I also connected with the recreation manager at the Acropolis Manor (senior centre) in Prince Rupert and coordinated dates/times for students to connect with the residents. I contacted the city to arrange the StoryWalk to be put up at the Mariners park. I engaged in several emails/phone calls to arrange these wonderful opportunities for the students and I feel grateful for such a supportive community here in Rupert.
