RamsayRowland

September 29, 2023

September 25 - 28th

We began this week together reflecting on our changing seasons by discussing our connections and memories to the season of Fall. We discussed how the autumn equinox is a balance between day and night and that the season is a time to gather and collect but also a time to let things go (as our trees teach us) and prepare for what comes ahead. We used the anchor text, This Is How I Know , by By Brittany Luby, a dual language book as a provocation to help us connect how we know Autumn has arrived. We then headed out on the land to observe, find and collect evidence of Fall. Students then chose a medium to represent their collections and the results are stunning! Here are some photos from our experience -

This week we also examined the Truths around Orange Shirt Day & National Day for Truth and Reconciliation through books, videos and through circle sharing. As a group we deepened our understanding of the truths and need for learning and action. A few of the mentor texts we used to deepen our awareness were the book, When We Were Alone by David Robertson and the story, Shishietko by Nicola Campbell. This is a story told through the eyes of a young girl heading off to residential school and her resilience. Shishietko teaches us of the importance of connections to one's place, people and memories. We spent time as a group examining the notion of Home and what it means to us and like Shishietko we thought of items, things from the land and memories that we would collect from our home.

To honor this important work we then took action to be on our land and make connections with our place and each other by heading out on a community walk. Our grade 2 classes were fortunate to be gifted a beautiful fall morning where we headed through our community examining and reflecting on our place which included animals and birds, plants, the river and the fall sky. We spent time looking and discussing the river and how the water way has changed over the seasons but also how it impacts the land and the creatures that rely on the waterway. Students were also given the task to document all of this learning through a directional sketch in their nature journals. When we returned from our walk we discussed actions that we could commit to take to ensure that our school was a safe and caring place for all and created orange hearts which are on display outside the office as a school wide initiative.