Module 1 – post 5

Thinking back several years, my inaugural web server that I created needed a name. Anyone in information technology is often faced with naming a new server. When the purpose is clear it is often pretty simple to name the server. When it is a little less well defined it becomes difficult. I thought that perhaps to ask our Aboriginal Support Teacher and Aboriginal Support Worker for their thoughts. I asked for a word that would somehow encompass learning or wisdom. Two challenges were with that server names could not use special characters such as apostrophes, accents etc, that and the two local communities’ languages were Beaver and Cree. There was some concern about offending one or the other. Two of our school servers were names after the school mascots, Oscar (seal), and Ookapik (owl) so one of the students suggested that Eagle would be an excellent name.

One of the students in the room while we were having the discussion was asked for his input as well as he had just attended a summer session in Kamloops with the Tk’emelupsemc Native Language Program. So to my point it made me think about Independent First Nations Schools and the Sk’elep School in Kamloops.

http://www.skelep.com/default.htm

The site is very much a school website with information about the school, the curriculum, and their programs. Their vision was interesting as my district has spent a great deal of effort around our vision and mission over the last year of which I have been part. I’ve included Sk’elep’s vision below

“Our vision for Sk’elep School of Excellence is to be a loving, nurturing house that will promote life long learning for all children; develop a strong sense of self pride, belonging, knowledge and confidence while balancing Secwepemc language, history, culture and academic excellence; in partnership with parents, family and community.”

From my experience in the visioning process the ideas of loving, nurturing places and a sense of spirituality or self pride, and belonging were shared amongst the Aboriginal peoples involved in our process as well.

I think I will contact the school and see if I could visit in October when I’m down for TRU/SD73’s TechItUp conference and ask about their vision of technology in a First Nations school