Dreaming of Quality Education for all Canadians

The main purpose of our Project is to inspire our students to lead their school and local community by raising and increasing awareness of the current issues surrounding First Nations groups. This ties in perfectly with the Grade 6 Social Studies curriculum expectations (– identify some present-day issues concerning First Nation peoples that relate to results of early contact (e.g., the effect of new technologies on First Nation cultures; land claims); –identify achievements and contributions of Aboriginal people in present-day Canada; -– describe the attitude to the environment of various First Nation groups). As most messages received by the students is through media outlets, it's important for them to be engaged in a first-hand perspective. Therefore Janet Wilson (author of Shannen and the Dream for a School) will be coming to the school to speak about Attawapiskat. The students will then have the opportunity to connect as pen pals with the grade 6 students in Attawapiskat. We hope to extend this opportunity for the next 2 years so that when the grade 8 students in Attawapiskat come on their annual trip to Toronto, they will have the chance to meet, after having been pen pals for 2 years! This will engage our students.

The secondary purpose of the Project is to raise funds and to empower our students to determine how best to distribute these funds to assist in providing resources to students of Attawapiskat. The funds will be raised at a Strawberry Festival (which is a First Nations tradition) in June. The students will use their knowledge of Attawapiskat (through Janet Wilson and connecting with the students of Attawapiskat) to co-construct criteria to determine where the funds will be most effectively used. Again, the primary purpose of the Strawberry Festival is to raise awareness and connect with the school and local community, so parents/guardians will also be invited to this.