My Heart Fills with Happiness

 School Wide Read Aloud Book 4:

My Heart Fills with Happiness by Monique Gray Smith

Words of the Week:

Heart - Deh

Sing - Nigaam

I am happy - N’gchi-nendam

I love you - Gizaagin

Click here to access the Words of the Week PDF

How Chipmunk Got His Stripes

 School Wide Read Aloud Book 3: 

How Chipmunk Got His Stripes by Joesph Bruchac and James Bruchac

Words of the Week:

Chipmunk - Goonsenh

Fox - Waagosh

Owl - Kokoko

Rabbit - Waabooz

Click here to access the Words of the Week PDF

Last Leaf First Snowflake to Fall

School Wide Read Aloud Book 2:

Last Leaf First Snowflake to Fall  by Leo Yerxa

 

Words of the Week: 

It's Snowing - Zoogpo

Fire - Mshkode

Canoe (or boat) - Jiimaan

Click here to access the Word of the Week PDF

Indigenous Authored Books

Hello, Boozhoo! It's been awhile since we've posted but we wanted to let everyone know that we are still here and still working hard to bring Ojibwe into our schools. During our TLLP project, we were able to invite Elders into our classrooms to share stories and lessons with our students. We would learn several Ojibwe words from the stories and then turn those into our school wide Ojibwe Word of the Week learning. For those of you who have followed along on this journey, Thank You and Miigwech! We hope that you have been able to learn with us! 

One of the challenges of our TLLP project was that not everyone in our school was able to hear the stories being shared in our classrooms. So, we decided to change how we were going to choose and learn Ojibwe Words of the Week. We decided that we would choose words from an Indigenous authored book and then educators would be able to read the book in their classrooms. 

We are fortunate that each month Nicole reads and records the books for P.E. McGibbon. The first Monday of each month we play this recording is played on our video announcements so that the entire school gets to hear the story together. 

We will post our book choice and words each month if you would like to learn with us. Miigwech! 

Nicole, Chantima, Allie, Jen and Gretchen

Turtles Race with Beaver by Joseph Bruchac and James Bruchac

Words of the Week:

Mzhiikenh - Turtle

Amik - Beaver

Makwa - Bear

Waawaashkesh - Deer 

Click here to access the Word of the Week PDF 

Online Stories

One of the goals of our project was to have local First Nations community members share oral stories with our classes. We were able to meet that goal and had several rich learning experiences for our students. But we realized that not all of the classes in our schools were able to access the Indigenous voices we were fortunate enough to hear. The next step was to look at books that were written by Indigenous authors. Our hope was to record Indigenous voices reading these books and make them available to everyone in our school communities.  Stolen Words below:

Nicole Gooding, teacher at P.E. McGibbon Public School in LKDSB reads "Stolen Words" by Melanie Florence

Ojibwe Word of the Week: June

This month we decided to continue with the idea of a pow wows and chose words from the book "Bow Wow Pow Wow". We read this book to our classes, watched videos about the significance of pow wows and reflected on our own visit to the Lambton College Pow Wow earlier in the year. This book had a lot of animals so we decided on four animals for the words of the week. We have found that our students make good connections when the words are animals.

Ojibwe Words of the Week: June

Nimosh - Dog
Waabooz - Rabbit
Esiban - Raccoon
Gaag - Porcupine

Click here to access the Ojibwe Word of the Week PDF

AAW Year End Trip to Bkejwanong

Earlier in the week our grade 5/6 and 6 classes were fortunate to take a field trip to Bkejwanong.  It was a beautiful sunny day - perfect for archery, fishing, drumming, singing, and a delicious lunch as well!

It is a quick bus ride from A.A. Wright to Bkejwanong.  The students spent the ride talking about past fishing experiences, what they were looking forward to, and sorting through their tackle boxes comparing lures and hooks.  Once we crossed over the bridge and travelled down the main road it was so meaningful to hear and see students point out where their grandparents lived, where their cousins went to school, where they have played lacrosse or hockey in the past, where their siblings go to day care, and even where their parents work.  Hearing those connections and seeing the pride on their faces as they were able to point these things out to their peers was priceless.

Once we arrived at the Bkejwanong Youth Facility (BYF) we were met by Adrian and his two post-secondary summer students.  They welcomed us to the BYF, told us all about the activities and programs that are run there, and answered our questions.  Many students were excited to learn that they were old enough to take part in the activities offered there.  If you are interested in learning more about the Bkejwanong Youth Facility you can check out their website HERE.

After this we divided into two groups to start our morning activities - archery and fishing.  At archery Adrian taught us how to properly hold a bow, the best stance to be successful, and the importance of being aware of your surroundings.  For some it was their first time trying archery, while others were already familiar and comfortable with the skill.  Either way they were all engaged and excited to rotate between the 6 targets set out for us.

After an hour or so our group rotated so it was our turn to take on some fishing.  Again, we had some students who were experienced, while others were new to it.  The staff were so helpful in showing our kids how to cast and probably untangled more lines in that hour than they have in the rest of their lived combined.  For the students, it was a great opportunity to work on patience, calm, and appreciating the landscape around you.

At this point it was time for lunch.  We were fortunate enough to have locally catered fry bread tacos.  Based on the empty plates and full tummies I think its safe to say the kids all thought it was DELICIOUS.

After lunch we took part in some drumming and dancing with local community members, the Isaac family.  They shared with us some of their knowledge surrounding residential schools and the impact they had on Indigenous culture.  For example, Cedric explained to us how Pow Wows and drumming were made illegal as a means of suppressing culture.  It was important for the students to have this knowledge reinforced.

The students enjoyed checking out the drums and shakers and identifying which parts of the animals were used for which instruments.  Last but not least we took part in a round dance before we left.  All in all it was a fantastic day of culture, activity, learning, and sharing!  Thank you to everyone who helped make today such a meaningful and worthwhile experience for our students!

Wrapping up the Year at Bkejwanong

For our year end trip, Jen's class and my class travelled to Bkejwanong (Walpole Island). Up to this point, my kiddos have only experienced the flow of the water from lake to river and the reedy landscape of the First Nation through the beauty of Google Earth. 

"That sign says Boozhoo!" a six year old yelled out on the bus as we traveled over the bridge and onto the First Nation of Bkejwanong. Their eyes were sparkling as they experienced the Snye River in real life.

Enroute to our destination of High Banks park, we shared our observations of the ferry dock that travelled directly across the St. Clair River to the United States of America. The kids were in awe of the colourful climber equipment at Bkejwanong Kinomaagewgmig (Walpole Island Elementary School) and were pleasantly surprised to see a daycare and police station.  

After some exploration time at the outdoor fitness and play equipment at High Banks Park, we were joined by the Isaac family. Students were quick to form a circle around them on the grass under the clearest sky we've had in weeks. Their eyes were locked onto the shakers and drums made of horns, deer hide, and rattle snake as the Isaac family shared their make and sounds. And then magic began...

We spent the next 40 minutes matching the beat of our shakers to the rhythm of Mr. Isaac's drum. We sang along celebrating the land, women, and one another. We danced in unision. We embraced a culture we had been celebrating throughout the year. 

Ojibwe Word of the Week: May

This month we decided to focus our words on members of the family. We read the book "Jingle Dancer" to our classes, which focuses on a little girls' journey to create her very own own jingle dress. She visits different members of her family to talk about her dress and get jingles to add to her dress. When she gets her dress made she hopes to dance at the next pow wow.

Late spring and summer are when local First Nations communities host Pow Wows, so we added the word Pow Wow to this month's words as well.

Ojibwe Word of the Week: May

Mishomis - Grandfather
Ngashi - My Mother
Noos - My Father
Biiweziimag - Family
Jiingtamog - PowWow

Click here to access the Ojibwe Word of the Week PDF

AAW Goes to the Lambton College Pow Wow

On April 4th the Grade 5/6 and 6 classes travelled to Lambton College in Sarnia for the annual Pow Wow.  This was an event that our classes were very excited to attend.  Some students had been to Pow Wows previously at Bkejwanong or Aamjiwanaang while others were looking forward to a new cultural experience.

The week before we left we reviewed a slideshow created by Gretchen with some background information on Pow Wows as well as Pow Wow etiquette.  It was important to me that our students knew how to behave and interact appropriately in order to be respectful of the dancers, drummers and cultural experience as a whole.

Our students had also become familiar with Pow Wow dances through dance and music classes earlier in the year.  If you're interested in introducing Pow Wow dancing to your classroom check out the Pow Wow Sweat video series on YouTube by clicking HERE.

When we arrived at Lambton College our students were so excited to head to the arena and check out the vendors, the drummers, the dancer's regalia, and of course the food, before the dancing started.  Once the Grand Entry began I was again thankful for Gretchen's slideshow as the students had acquired appropriate knowledge and understanding of the ceremony and proceedings that they were now a part of.

Over the course of the next hour or so many students took advantage of the opportunity to join in with the group dances while others chose to observe.  Either way, I was happy that our students had the opportunity to take part first hand in such a culturally rich experience that many would not have had otherwise.

If there is a local Pow Wow close to your school I would definitely recommend taking your class as it is a culturally rich experience that all students can benefit from and enjoy!

P.E. McGibbon off to the Pow Wow at Lambton College

With the news and anticipation of the 27th annual Lambton College Indigenous Pow Wow approaching, the team saw this as an opportunity to provide our students as well as ourselves with an authentic experience. Jen and I had familiarized our students with traditional Pow Wow dancing by engaging in Pow Wow Sweat (if you haven't checked out these YouTube videos by The Style Horse Collective yet, you're missing out!). 

Jen and I brought our grade 1's and 2's from P.E. McGibbon to the event and were overwhelmed by the knowledge that guided us into the new athletics centre where the PowWow dancing arena was formed. The most impressive aspect of the Pow Wow was the amount of knowledge its participants were able to seek out by walking around and speaking to Indigenous People to gain first hand knowledge on cultural practices such as beading, regalia, and symbols. 

Our students hurried to grab front row seats and immediately picked out dancers doing the fancy shawl and chicken dance. The most heartwarming part of the day was the inclusive environment established as attendees were invited to become participants. Every single one of my students jumped (literally) at the opportunity to join in the dancing arena. The rich cultural experience I gained alongside my students came from not only familiarizing ourselves with Ojibwe culture and dance but most importantly, taking that risk to try something new and foreign to us and coming together in that experience that we share and appreciate.