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!

1 comment:



  1. Dear Chantima Oliveira

    Hello.
    This is a student project team from Korea University and Yonsei University.
    We would like to ask if we can have a chance to interview your experience in ‘Teacher Learning and Leadership Program’ (TLLP) as part of our project.
    Our project aims to experience the teacher learning community culture in Ontario, Canada, especially the operation of Collaborative Learning Community (CLC). All five members of our team are planning to pursue a career as professional teachers in secondary school in near future.
    Our team is very interested in the Teacher Learning Community, as it is one of different ways to improve expertise of Korean educators. The cooperation and support within the community allows teachers to provide students with better education. Therefore, we are currently looking for model examples in foreign countries and institutions that have successfully operated teacher learning community. The visit and interview would greatly inspire us to think of how they can be applied to the Korean education.

    In our visit, we look forward to interviewing on project ‘TLLP’ including its past and present operations as well as feedbacks on possible improvements.

    Please let us know if group visits and interviews are available, and when is a good time for the visit. Our team plans to visit Canada around mid-August.
    Please ask if you have questions regarding our project or other detail.

    Sincerely yours,
    University Project Team from Korea

    ReplyDelete