THE RAVEN PAGC EDUCATION PAGC EDUCATION

THE RAVEN PAGC EDUCATION SPRING 2019

1

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:

[email protected]

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


1

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

[email protected]

The Dene Language (Right Photo) Mary Jane Yooya, Rosalie Tsannie-Burseth , Philip Sayazie, Nancy Sayazie, Mary Jane Kasyon, & Florence St. Pierre


2

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]

https://www.thoughtco.com/qualities-of-a-great-lesson-3194703

https://www.thoughtco.com/qualities-of-a-great-lesson-3194703

https://www.thoughtco.com/making-classroom-discipline-decisions-for-teachers-3194617

https://www.thoughtco.com/making-classroom-discipline-decisions-for-teachers-3194617

mailto:[email protected]


3

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

[email protected]

PAGC

EDUCATION:

NUMERACY

Images from google


4

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

[email protected]


5

“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


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


apist, PAGC Education at 306-

953-7234.

Sturgeon Lake Central School

Mental Health Therapist

In-School Workshop


6

Special Education-By Brian Zimmer

[email protected]

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


7

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


8

“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


9

Literacy By Vincent Brittain

[email protected]

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.


10

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




Sturgeon Lake Central School


11

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


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


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

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