Getting outside to learn continues to be emphasized at Wapanohk Community School in the 2018-19 school year, with a fire pit having been constructed, an arbour underway and plans for a gate in the back fence to make it easier for teachers to take students into the bush, says principal Kathleen Kelson.
And instead of just making these things for students, they are also involved in creating them with the help of physical education teacher J.J. Bujold, who enlisted the assistance of Grade 4 students to construct the fire pit, which will have benches added around it. Work started on the arbour in September and Kelson says the goal is for it to be done by the spring. It will also be available for other community groups to use once it is finished.
Other work that has been done includes new asphalt outside behind the school. Wapanohk was supposed to have windows installed during the summer, but budgetary considerations forced the School District of Mystery Lake to postpone that work until the summer of 2019.
With enrolment at around 500 once again, Wapanohk's principal says that they are running out of room inside, though they recently freed up a little in the forum by removing two sheds used for storage, since they now have two containers outside to hold equipment, including some used for land-based educational activities and gardening. With three classes each in kindergarten through Grade 3, finding adequate classroom space is a challenge, with a Grade 3 and a Grade 7 class are sharing the same space. Kelson says that full-day kindergarten at Wapanohk, which will be reduced back to half-days at the Thompson elementary schools that offered it, is supposed to be secure for next school year.
There are four new teachers at Wapanohk this year, including Sam Bruderer from Thompson, as well as Karmel Medwid, Cameron Flammand and George Barrymore. Many of the extracurricular activities offered at the school continue this year, including Family Literacy Night on Tuesdays from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Growing Healthy Families Mondays at 8 p.m. The Indigenous Veterans Day ceremony will take place Nov. 8 this year and the school plans to offer a Christmas feast again in December. The parent council held its first meeting in mid-September. The breakfast programs also continues, with about 30 to 50 students showing up every day. A cereal drive will probably be held this month. The lunch program also continues with 40 students, though another 30 are on a waitlist.
“There’s a huge demand for it,” said Kelson, but expanding the program would require more monitors.
