Another week in Rupert has flown by. I was fortunate enough to spend some more time with Marlene Clifton this week and take part in some of her drumming circles, as well as in a drum-making day at Port Edward Community School. On Tuesday I was able to join in to a couple of her drumming lessons at Lax K’Xeen while I was spending the day shadowing the Sm’algyax language teacher. It was really interesting to be able to see those language lessons from Kindergarten to grade 5. The teacher had between 30 and 40 minutes for each class and I was able to see how she tailored the lesson to each grade level. She included more visuals and game-type activities for the younger grades and expected more oral participation and writing from the older grades. We were able to chat a little bit about report cards, as well, so I was able to hear about her holistic approach to assessment. I was happy to hear that she makes every effort to meet the children where they are at and think about their overall learning, as opposed to whether or not they completed x, y, and z assignments. Some students don’t get time to do homework at home. There are many reasons this approach is more equitable. She explained that if the student could speak some of the language she had taught and understood what it meant she graded them appropriately based on that. I was also very grateful to be able to meet the fluent Sm’algyax language speaker on Friday when I participated in the drum-making at Port Edward Community School. He shared some of his perspective with me about the importance of the language being taught in school and how he became a teacher without ever thinking he would. It was difficult to hear how few people there are left alive who are fluent in Sm’algyax. However, this district is one of the few in the country who are leading the way in revitalizing the language through the school system. I was honoured to speak with Mr. Spencer about the language as he shared his wisdom about drum-making with the children of the Port Ed school.

On Wednesday we helped supervise the middle school students doing  band tour to all the elementary schools. We helped them load and unload their gear, set up and “shhhhh”ed them while they got antsy during the performances. It was a fun day! It was lovely to see how vibrant the band is here in Prince Rupert and how many talented young musicians there are sharing their love of music.

I also shadowed Sue Neilson, the occupational therapist, this week. That was a really incredible experience. I’m not sure when I would have ever had the opportunity to see that side of the field if not for this CFE, so I was really grateful to be able to spend the day with her. She was very knowledgable and shared a lot of her insights with me over the course of the day. I was able to see what a diverse range of needs she is attending to each day and how far and wide those needs take her. We drove from here and there all day and it was really amazing. I helped set up their table at the Health Fair with books and games. My favourite part of the day was spending time in the sensory room with Sue and a student. What an amazing experience! What an incredible difference it’s making for children’s lives to have time in that room to play and move and explore.

We finished off our second week with a boat tour with the teachers in the district. It was a blast! And incredibly beautiful! They stop at a certain point and feed the eagles, so we were able to see an enormous amount of eagles swooping down to the  water right in front of the boat. It felt like we could reach out and touch them. They were enormous and unbelievably gorgeous. It was a moving experience and a regular occurrence for the locals here in Rupert.

Another regular occurrence in Rupert. A lawn friend!

Some happy CFE teacher candidates

A circle of eagles