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Photo Credit : External Relations
A Message From the Dean
In early April , I had the opportunity to accompany University of Regina President , Vianne Timmons , on a fly-in tour of three northern Saskatchewan communities . In Pinehouse Lake , La Ronge , and Cumberland House , we visited schools and talked with students , staff , and community members . Each community welcomed us with hospitality and food and an openness that was inspiring . ( The freshly caught and cooked pickerel cheeks and lake trout for lunch in Pinehouse were a culinary highlight ).
In Pinehouse , I met the principal of the school , Rosalina Smith , whom I had taught English 100 to 20 years ago in SUNTEP Prince Albert . Rosalina , in the meantime , by James McNinch
had completed her Master ’ s degree through our community-based program in La Ronge . At the Senator Myles Venne Band School in Air Ronge , I met Viviane Ruiz- Arcand who is currently enrolled in the second cohort of students in our Master ’ s of Education program . She was particularly excited about the next course to be offered this summer by Dr . Wanda Lyons on theories and practices of inclusive education . At Churchill Community School in La Ronge , we met the principal , Martina Cain , another graduate of and strong advocate for the U of R education program . In Cumberland House , we visited with Lily McKay-Carriere , principal of the Charlebois School , another U of R Education grad who had also completed her
Principal Rosalena Smith with Dean James McNinch
Master ’ s of Education degree in the La Ronge program .
There are so many things that impressed me about these individual educators : their commitment to the communities in which they work and live , their belief that education can and will make a difference in the lives of individual students , and that education is the key to improving the quality of life in these northern communities . It was clear that in all three communities , the schools are what I have come to call the “ hubs of hope ” for the future . These dedicated individual educators spoke eloquently about moving a post-colonial agenda forward with their predominantly First Nations and Métis populations .
This was evident in many initiatives connecting the schools to the communities : the new preschool and early learning centres for 3- and 4-year-olds ; the apprenticeship programs in the schools , innovative programming with partners in the resource and tourism sectors ; the anti-bullying programs ; the drug and alcohol awareness programs ; the school buddy and family reading programs ; the mentorship by members of the RCMP detachments to “ at risk ” students ; the Cree immersion classes ; the lunch programs ; and the inclusion of community elders in the daily work of the schools .
I was both humbled by what I heard and saw and greatly inspired by it . These are individuals and
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