Dear Parents of Sibylla Kiddle School,
This past week we took part in two events at the school that were not intentionally connected but still had significant connections to each other nonetheless. On Monday, staff participated in the first CBE System Indigenous Education Professional Learning Day. On Wednesday, a number of our students participated in a national initiative, Take Me Outside Day.
On Monday, our staff had the opportunity to learn wisdom related to education from many Indigenous Elders. We reflected on keynote speakers discussing Indigenous perspectives and we took time to learn from one of our own teachers, Mrs. MacLeod as she taught our staff about the medicine wheel. One of the biggest take-aways our staff received from the day was an understanding that Truth & Reconciliation is a process of unlearning (truth) and relearning (reconciliation).
On Wednesday, many teachers took their classes outside to learn both on and from the land. Students observed seasonal changes, considered how the land is a resource, looked at the formation of different rocks and considered larger questions regarding what the land can teach us about what is important. Learning and playing on the land sparks creativity, inspires questions, facilitates self-regulation and is often simply just fun.
Saa’kokoto (Blackfoot Elder Randy Bottle) has said, “I always emphasis the kinship with Na’a (Mother Earth) because that’s where everything begins. It’s where all of our education begins.” What have you learned from the land and being on the land? What did you first learn on the land? How can your family foster time to learn together both from the land and on the land? It is on the land where meaningful connections are made and “where all of our education begins.”
Sincerely, Brad Emery Principal
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