A $10,000 donation to School District 58 will be used to buy 20 iPads for Merritt Secondary School’s Aboriginal Academy program.
Teck Highland Valley Copper donated the money to SD58 on April 25 in response to a proposal submitted by the district’s aboriginal education principal, Shelley Oppenheim-Lacerte.
“With this, we’re planning to look at different language programs or apps that may possibly be available that we can provide on the iPads,” Oppenheim-Lacerte said. Aboriginal Academy students previously only had access to iPads designated for all Merritt Secondary School use, and Oppenheim-Lacerte said these 20 units for academy students will allow them to bridge their outdoor learning with contemporary technology.
“We do a lot of outdoor activities on our curriculum, which is connected to the land,” Oppenheim-Lacerte said. “We’re really excited that the kids will have that opportunity to connect their cultural and experiential learning with technology today and using it within the classroom.”
She said assignments may include photography and videography, as well as the interactive indigenous language application.
“The school district is ecstatic,” SD58 board chair Gordon Comeau said. “It’s a wonderful donation that goes a long way to enhancing opportunities for kids to learn their native language, which many of them and their elders fear will be lost.”
Teck Highland Valley Copper representatives agreed that language loss is detrimental to the community.
“With the current state of language loss within First Nations communities, we recognize the importance of preserving the local language and the value in providing tools for the development of sustainable language,” said Peter Martell, superintendent of Environment and Community Affairs and Marlena Anderson, First Nations Community Affairs Liaison in an email. “We value the positive impact this will have on the students’ self-worth and identity, and, in turn, increase their participation and involvement within their communities.”
MSS is also starting to take registration for Aboriginal Academy 10, a new addition to the cultural immersion program that will continue into a second semester.
Oppenheim-Lacerte said Aboriginal Academy 10 will bridge students’ school time from the cultural experience, which takes place largely outside of classrooms, back to the conventional school system with a focus on the academic side of the curriculum. For example, the First Peoples English class will focus on literature but will bring in First Nations authors, elders, and other resource people, Oppenheim-Lacerte said.
“There will be three streamlined academic courses, but there will also be one class that’s a cultural program where [students] will continue that connection with different practices, like smudging in the morning and drumming, and getting out to continue that experiential piece,” she said.
Oppenheim-Lacerte said the Aboriginal Academy program, which began in 2012, has become something of a model for other school districts around the province. The Gold Trail School District Principal of Aboriginal Education visited the area on Friday for research before the district looks at instating a similar program in Lytton, and a principal from Abbotsford recently did the same thing.
“We just keep building this foundation, growing our programs and making it solid. There’s a lot of firsts happening,” Oppenheim-Lacerte said. “Word’s getting out there.”
