Kyuquot is far different from any other community I have ever visited before. The wildlife is unique; sea otters and eagles patrol the bays in abundance and small black bears are a common site roaming along the logging roads. There are no outlying thoroughfares to and from Kyuquot for commuter traffic, with the exception of a collection of local boats that can take you to and from Fair Harbor, a dock and connection to the rest of Vancouver Island, located some 30 minutes away from the community.

Just one of the community dogs coming for a hangout outside the Kindgergarten class.

One of about 15 bears i saw on my trip. This little guy was roaming outside of our kitchen. I also had another funny encounter where I almost physically ran in to a grazing bear when I was out on a run.

Otters like this one are a common sight within the bays. However they are not very welcome because the clam population within the kelp beds is diminishing due to Otter feasting.

It was great to see the eagles feast on fish guts spread out along the beach. Most of the time they would circle and then do a quick nose dive for some goodies but this guy wanted to exercise the legs a little.

I am disappointed that I was not able to spend more time in the school with the teachers and students due to the teachers strike (We were just getting started on organizing SPORTS DAY). Despite the circumstances I am grateful that I was able to stay in Kyuquot and work in the preschool and kindergarten for the remaining two weeks. This was far different from my practicum experience in a grade 7 classroom. Tears were shed in both classrooms but the content and routines were quite a bit different. One highlight about working in the kindergarten/preschool was participating in the chaos of PE or daily physical activity. On one such occasion we ran two stations: a contained floor hockey setup for mass mayhem and a dance area where the students could follow along to the popular dances and tunes from Just Dance. In contrast to grade 7 PE where I instructed team based sports and specific skills like throwing and catching, PE with the young ones reminded me of an action sequence from any Michael Bay movie: loud noises and body parts flying in all directions. I was consumed with the excitement surrounding me and I greatly enjoyed chucking “sick sauce”, a.k.a. floating the balls with a simple wrist flick, or making diving saves just the same way I did when I played mini stick hockey in my formative years.

Use your imagination. Strip away the chairs and tables and you have one excellent surface for some floor hockey madness. There were no pics of the “hockey war” because I was in a perpetual state of self preservation.

Pura Vida – “the pure life”

-How does learning “look/feel different” in this context?

With the BC teacher strike in full swing, I have adapted my community learning experience to the current situation. I was only able to spend a few days working in various classrooms in Kyuquot Elementary/Secondary School which is unfortunate because I was starting to build a rapport with the students. I am now spending my time in the Houpsitas kindergarten and preschool program; this program is not part of the BC teachers strike because it is a Cheklesahht tribal building and the program is run by the band.

Side view of Kyuquot Elementary/ Secondary School. Small gym is on the left, played a lot of evening volleyball and basketball with the community members

Houpsitas Kindergarten and Preschool. This Band building is located within community near the dock, whereas the school is located further up the logging road on the crest of a hill.

Logging road from our lodging and school down to community and kindergarten/preschool.

Despite the changes I have enjoyed being part of an eclectic mix of learning communities. One thing that stands out to me that is different in this community is the FUN FRIDAY’S program in the primary grades at Kyuquot Elementary (gr. 1-6). Since the community is so remote, many individuals need to travel long distances on the weekends to have many of their basic needs met including buying groceries, seeing the dentist or any other kind of specialist. For this reason the school has at least one Friday off each month to encourage families to travel on those weekends; the goal of this initiative is to boost already sporadic attendance among the students. Since attendance is erratic regardless of what day it is, the primary teachers focus their attention on fun, collaborative art projects on the few Fridays when school is in session.  This past Friday I had the chance to help coordinate tie-dye festivities. I had never seen this done in action and relished the opportunity to watch the wonderful deliberate and organic creations.

The students mixing their fabrics into various dyes outside on the basketball court. The students took responsibility for their work and were engaged most of the time.

Since there are so few young learners in the community, typical grade partitions and instruction formatting that we see in larger communities do not exist in Kyuquot. For instance most teachers instruct students from at least 3 “grade levels”.  Teaching is often differentiated and based on developmental level rather than age. This is evident in a school wide literacy program. Students are separated into groups based on reading and writing ability; grade level or age has nothing to do with it. Within the kindergarten and preschool program, students get an opportunity to explore their environment through play, but get specific instruction things like letter recognition, basic counting and writing. Again, instruction is unique to each and every learner based on the level of development. This is especially important because there is a huge developmental gap among learners, the students are as young as 3 and as old as 6.

A look at the inside of the Houpsitas learning community.

A student practicing reading and letter recognition on an interactive website.

A quick 20 minute hike on Wallace Island across the bay from Kyuquot was all it took to reach this beautiful lookout point.

Sometimes we found various community dogs sitting on the steps outside Houpsitas keeping guard over the young ones we assumed.

-What are you learning about the community you’re working with?

It took 2 days of travel by ferry, driving on highways and logging roads and then another boat to the secluded Kyuquot community but we finally made it. I did not know much about the community before my arrival but was soon immersed in a unique tradition on day 1 at the school. Kyuquot Elementary/Secondary school is the only school in the community and it consists of 44 students ranging from primary to secondary students.

A beautiful scenic drive. Long but enjoyable!

Had to stop and take in the surroundings somewhere between Campbell River and Gold River.

The truck was fully loaded. It is challenging buying enough food to last for 3 weeks; there is only one store in Kyuquot, open 3 days a week and only accessible by boat.

The water taxi from Fair Harbour to Kyuquot. As you can see by my expression I am pretty tired from the long trip. We did not get in to Kyuquot until 10:30pm after a full day of travelling.

Twice a year, once in the fall and once at the end of the year the school has a beach day at a special place called Aktis. This is a unique field trip because the whole school has to organize boats to take everyone out of the Kyuquot community and over to a little island and beach area called Aktis. It is funny because most of the community comes and joins the school at the beach for a bbq, some swimming and usually field games. However, it was not the beautiful boat ride, kayaking among the unique islands and wildlife, or the lounging on the beach that gave me insight into an exciting community with such a rich history. It was the stories that the members of the community shared with us that day.

The beach at Aktis!

We got to take a few kayaks out. Lots of beautiful things to see including Bald Eagles and Otters.

Another picturesque moment at the beach.

A view from the dock at Kyuquot. Boats are the main mode of transportation since the community is not accessible by car. Across the way is Wallace Island where a number of residents live and that is where the one store is.

Kyuquot is a small coastal community that is part of the  Cheklesahht nation. A traditional language Nuu-chah-nulth still exists but does not appear to be spoken much among the community members. However, it is taught in the school. Many dialects of this language exist up and down the coastal communities from as far south as Ucluelet to the northern most point of Kyuquot, which is closer to the northern tip of the island right on the west coast in the Nootka sound. Aktis was the former home of the Kyuquot community and there are still a few houses intact from the old days. Some members of the community even grew up on this island and get sentimental when they think about the land and the rich history of the people. A few of these people happily shared their stories with us. The Department of Indian Affairs moved the community from Aktis to its current location in 1972, but the memories of Aktis are still held dear by many members of the community. One highlight of the beach day was the traditional salmon cook; the salmon was wedged within two prongs of a cedar stick which reminded me of a giant clothespin and then held in place by chunks of cedar. The salmon was then placed down wind of the fire so that the heat could cook up the delicious meat which we happily savored, along with various home made salads. It was a unique first day experiencing the Aktis beach tradition!

Our principal Jeff Rockwell doing his Admin duties and getting the fish ready.

A unique way to cook the fish!

Memories of Aktis! This poster depicts the rich history and traditions of the local people.