Spring, 2018

Métis Education St. Michael Community School

Another Great Year at St. Michael School If you have been following this newsletter over the last three years then you know we have come a long way in celebrating our Métis culture, language and perspectives throughout our school and the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School division. June is a time when we finish the year in a celebration of our accomplishments, but also with a grateful heart to those who have supported us on our journey through the year. We want to highlight a few of those accomplishments but also celebrate those that supported us this year.

St. Michael School’s Very Own Sash We are proud to share with everyone our very own sash design. We worked with Etchiboy, a Métis design company to create our very own sash. Our students chose the colours and pattern! Our students will now where them when they are out performing in public with our jigging, fiddling and choir groups!

We are proud of our new St. Michael Métis Education Model and are happy to share information about it.

Additional information can be found on our school website: www.gscs.ca/studentsandfamilies/schools/MIC

2

Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Central Urban Métis Federation Incorporated

St. Michael School Fiddler’s CD In our last newsletter we shared how Mrs. Dorgan Lee applied for and received a grant from the Saskatchewan Arts Board to produce our very own fiddle music CD. Since that time Karrnnel Sawitsky has been working hard with our Grade 5-8 classes to co-create songs and then perfect them for the CD. Our students rose to the challenge and in the last week of May went to the recording studio to complete their final product. The three new compositions are: Jam on the Bannock by the Grades 7/8 class; Peaceful Winds by the Grade 6 class; Coming Home by the Grade 5 class. On the afternoon of June 15th we shared our learning with students from École St. Paul and then in the evening we had a community supper and dance. We also showcased the talents of our students as they shared their new songs accompanied by Karrnel, Mrs. Dorgan-Lee, Kelton Headly-Wolf, and other friends of the program! We launched our CDs, which are now available for $15 at the school.

Thank you to everyone who helped make our dream become a reality!

3

Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Central Urban Métis Federation Incorporated

Community Engagement Is Important to Us! We value the people in our community. We have a great partnership with Sask PolyTech. This year we invited their students from the LINC program to our school to hear our stories but also to learn more about Métis culture. The visit was a great success and strengthened our relationship with this group. In the spring we invited the Police Preparation course to join us for an afternoon learning about Métis culture. This June, at the launch of their Indigenous Student Success Strategy, our students were invited to perform the Métis anthem for the gathered guests; it was quite an honour. In addition, Sask PolyTech presented us with a new fiddle to support our program. A big maarsii to Brian Gallagher, Shane Stack, Jason Seright, and all the good people at Sask PolyTech for being great neighbours!

Another great neighbour is Joni at our local Tim Hortons. Joni arranged for our students along with Elders from CUMFI to participate in a photo shoot to promote our Sharing Our Stories leadership project. Watch for us in their next advertising campaign!

Core Michif Program coming to St. Michael School This September we will start the preparations to have a Core Michif language program in our school. We are in the process of hiring staff and then will concentrate on the development and implementation of the program. We are excited for this new opportunity to revitalize and retain the Michif language! Thank you to CUMFI for providing the funding for this position!

4

Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Central Urban Métis Federation Incorporated

CUMFI / GSCS Partnership Highlights

Since the formation of the CUMFI / GSCS Educational Alliance, the two organizations have collaborated to advocate and provide system support for the inclusion of Métis content and perspectives. This spring the partnership held two functions to support Métis education.

Métis Education Think Tank

Members from the Métis community across Saskatoon were invited to join staff from Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools and Saskatoon Public Schools to brainstorm ideas to create a vision to advance Métis education. We had an amazing turnout with representatives from Gabriel Dumont Institute, Sask PolyTech, Métis Nation – Sask., SUNTEP, College of Education, SIMFC, City of Saskatoon, as well as Elders, trustees, principals, coordinators, consultants and Traditional Knowledge Keepers from both school divisions.

Métis Education Recognition Night

A Métis Education Recognition Night was held on May 24th at the Western Development Museum. The purpose was to facilitate an opportunity for SUNTEP students to network with GSCS administration as well as to celebrate the contributions of our Métis staff in the division. SUNTEP staff and students, as well as GSCS Métis staff and their families were invited for an evening where supper was included and guest speaker, Eric Howe, presented on his report, the More You Learn the More You Earn.

5

Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Central Urban Métis Federation Incorporated

GSCS School Visits Since the fall of this year it has been my pleasure to come alongside teachers in our school division to support them in the inclusion of Métis content. It hasn’t just been about making curricular connections but also about building the cultural competencies of both teachers and students. We covered a variety of subject areas and topics. It has been my pleasure to work with staff at École St. Paul, École St. Gerard, École St. Matthew, St. Lorenzo, St. Marguerite, Oskayak, Father Robinson, Holy Trinity, and Pope JohnPaul II Schools. It is important to acknowledge École St. Paul and Father Robinson Schools who made it part of their Learning Improvement Plan to have me visit every class in their schools. One of the benefits of working with great teachers is the accumulation of lesson plans in a variety of subject areas. I hope to be sharing these on our division website in the immediate future!

6

Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Central Urban Métis Federation Incorporated

Treaty Catalyst Teacher Training Workshops On May 14th and 15th, Greater Saskatoon Catholic School worked in collaboration with the Office of the Treaty Commissioner to offer two days of Treaty Catalyst teacher training. Sixteen participants completed their training giving us a total of 64 staff members who have received all four Treaty Education workshops to become Treaty Catalyst teachers! As we work to support the implementation of Treaty Education in all our schools, it is important to have advocates to provide leadership wherever possible.

I was also able to help schools as they prepared to raise Treaty flags and to help prepare for the installation of a Treaty medal at École St.Paul School.