Sk’aadgaa Naay Elementary

What a busy week! I only spent a couple days this week in the classroom because of all the other things that were going on around the school, but that time was mostly in Kindergarten. Monday the school had a talent show all afternoon – I was really impressed by all the talent in such a small school! It was a really great afternoon, and it was so nice to see the entire school so engaged in all the performances. You could tell how strong the school community is by how much respect each student was showing towards the performers.

After school Ashley, Taylor, Charlotta and I went to check out balance rock which is located on the beach just down the hill from the school. It was pretty impressive!

Balance rock

Tuesday was the bike rodeo, where the RCMP came to teach the students about bike saftey. The students brought their bikes and got to ride through a little bike obstacle course, which they seemed to really enjoy. The grade 1 teacher was busy until lunch fixing bikes, so Charlotta and I did some team teaching with the grade 1’s. It was cool to spend some time in the classroom with another teacher candidate; we had a fun morning! About 50 new bike helmets were donated to the school and given to students who didn’t own a helmet, or who’s helmet was broken. I helped fit helmets to students in the afternoon. It was a great way to give the kids more incentive to stay safe. I also saw many students riding their bikes in to school the next morning sporting their new helmets, so I think it gave them some extra motivation to ride their bikes as well!

On Friday the school celebrated Aboriginal day. The day began with a play put on by the grade 5/6’s. The play was organized by the students and told a Haida legend; it was really well done and very enjoyable to watch – the whole school was engaged. Afterwards, we got to watch some Haida drumming and dancing, and the students also showed off the new Haida regalia the school just received. It was really neat to see how connected many of these students are to their culture.

Afterwards, the whole school headed down to the beach for lunch and some traditional Haida games. One of the games was called “slippery stick”; two people held each end of a stick that had been greased up with oil to make it slippery. The students then had to try to pull the stick out of their opponent’s hands without crossing the line drawn in the sand. Traditionally, this game was played to determine who would be good at pulling up the fishing lines, as it tested an individual’s ability to hold on to something slippery. In another game, two lines of people stood facing each other, a bit like red rover. One side held a stick and called someone over from the opposing team. That person then had to come get the stick without smiling or laughing, and bring it back to their side. If they smiled, they would get brought over to that side. Despite some rain, everyone kept their spirits high, and it was a really fun afternoon with some delicious food, a beautiful setting, and lots of laughs.

Fighting for sunshine