Early in September, Bradley Trudeau, host of Sagamok’s Bimaadiziwin Radio: The Sagamok Hour asked me what I was most looking forward to this year for Sagamok students.
It was hard to know where to begin.
The Biidaaban curriculum is being re-envisioned to reflect the seasons and Sagamok's traditional practices, with faculty conceiving it less like the Western "linear" model and adopting a more cyclic approach. For the students’ day to day, this will result in additional exposure to learning and skill-building that is more relevant to Sagamok, and an education plan that fosters a sense of place and identity by its very nature.
At a time when there is a province-wide teacher shortage, Biidaaban, for the second year in a row, has started the year with a full complement of OCT-certified faculty, and an enviable level of support from educational assistants, Anishinaabemowin speakers, and visiting Elders.
Early in the year, some students will journey to the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation in M'Chigeeng to study Z'Gamok artifacts; others will attend an RHT Gathering in Sault Ste Marie; others will accompany Biidaaban's own Eagle Staff to ceremony on Manitoulin Island. We have boosted support for literacy and special education this year, and we've added the critical role of Student Mental Wellness Specialist (welcome Raven Hammond!) to address mental health in the school, starting with the bullying challenges identified by Sagamok's Elders. All of this will get going before Fall Harvest.
It's going to be another awesome year for Espanola High School Spartans, too. Faculty have expanded certain Specialis tHigh Skills Major (SHSM) courses to include leadership, community, and cultural components, allowing Sagamok students to earn credit while pursuing deeper involvement within the Sagamok community. EHS co-op and dual credit programs continue to offer innovative alternative pathways for learners, a new space for a gathering circle has been added to the campus, and EHS offerings have grown to include a new hair and cosmetology program.
Our Daycare, of course, operates all year round, and now is a popular time for enrollments. We started supporting the Daycare with land-based learning, language learning, and visiting Elder last year, and are looking to grow the language programming there in the coming year.
The Lifelong Learning Centre has, over the course of the summer, offered courses critical for the mining industry, forest fire fighting, and a very successful youth program.
It is an exciting time to be a student of any age in Sagamok Education!