New projects for both Kamsack Comprehensive Institute and Victoria School have become a reality thanks to the Sunrise Health Region, said Heather Netzel, the Community School Co-ordinator at both schools.
KCI received a Sunrise Health Promotion grant of $1,855, while Victoria School received a grant of $1,000.
KCI is using the grant money to fund a First Nation Story Bags project with the Grade 6 students in which the students will choose a book from the books provided by teachers and will then sew together a cloth story bag, Netzel said. They will also create meaningful literacy activities that can be done after reading the book.
Some of the activities could be comprehension questions, games or puppets for re-enactment, she said. The books, the activities and all materials will go into the story bag ready to be shared.
Before students begin the project, the Grade 6 teachers plan to have an elder come into the school to talk to the students about storytelling and the significance of it in the First Nation culture, she said. They hope to have the project finished by the end of February and then they would like to take the story bags to Victoria School to share with the students in connection with February Aboriginal Storytelling month.
Victoria School is using the grant money to fund its After School cooking club.
Any student who is already signed up with the After School program will have the chance once a month to stay after school and do some cooking or baking, Netzel said. Everything that they will be making will be nutritious and will be something that they could make at home.
This club is a great way for students to learn the lifelong skills needed for cooking and baking, she said. In June, all the students will be able to take home a cookbook of all the recipes that they made in the After School cooking club.
“Students and staff of KCI and Victoria School would like to thank the Sunrise Health Region for its generosity in supporting these wonderful projects,” she said. “Students at both schools cannot wait to see the outcome of these projects and the lasting effects they will have on the students.”
