Fort Whyte Field Trip

In contrast to our Urban Exploration, today we went on a Rural Exploration to Fort Whyte Alive.

In the morning we went on a self-guided tour and saw turtles, red-winged blackbirds, geese, spittle bugs and tons of plants!

In the afternoon we split into 3 groups to participate in guided tours. We were so lucky to have engaging and knowledgable guides. These people are all volunteers and do a phenomenal job of leading and teaching kids. 

Checking out a spider's web with binoculars.

So many cute turtles swimming around in the swamp!

Critter Dipping!

Learning how to carefully, and safely pass by geese while they're with their goslings.

Nature's sunscreen. Powder produced by trees to protect them from the sun. 

We did talk about staying on the trails to avoid poison ivy and wood ticks.When we got back to school I showed students exactly what a wood tick looks like and we all checked ourselves. That being said, please make sure you have closely checked your child for ticks. 

Urban Exploration Field Trip

Today was a magical day. For months, we have been learning about Winnipeg and today we went out on a huge adventure to explore downtown!

We had a huge list of places we wanted to visit. The teachers were a little worried it would be too challenging for our students. Boy did they prove us wrong! They walked and walked with huge smiles on their faces and excitement for every new destination.

We could not have made this day happen without amazing volunteers, Educational assistants, the gracious folks at The Forks, Prairie 360, The Fort Garry Hotel, and The Legislative Building. THANK YOU!

Here's a little video with highlights of our day.

Shannen's Dream

Over the last few months our class has been learning about the Rights of a Child. We read this fantastic book that is based on The United Nation Convention on the Rights of a Child.

You can read about them here.

Recently, the students learned about Shannen's Dream.

"Shannen Koostachin, a youth education advocate from of the Attawapiskat First Nation in Ontario, had a dream: safe and comfy schools and culturally based education for First Nations children and youth.

Many First Nations schools receive less funding per student than provincial and territorial schools, and zero dollars for things like libraries, computers, languages or extracurricular activities. Many also do not provide a safe and appropriate learning environment, and may pose serious health concerns, including mold contamination, high carbon dioxide levels, rodent infestations, sewage, and inadequate or lack of heating.

Shannen worked tirelessly to try to convince the federal government to give First Nations children a proper education. Unfortunately, she passed away in a car accident at the age of 15 before her dream could come true. But it did. On June 22, 2012—the day Shannen would have graduated—construction started for a new school in Attawapiskat. The new school opened in August 2014 (CBC)." 

The children from Room 9 were shocked to learn that many students in Canada still do not have access to safe and comfy school. They decided to write letters to the Prime Minister to try to change that. 

The letters went something like this...

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,

We are grade 1/2 students at Stevenson-Britannia School. We think you are doing an great job of running the country. We are writing to ask for safe and comfy schools for all children in Canada. Every student should have enough space to study and learn in a classroom. Only adults and children should be inside a school working and learning. All animals, no matter how small, should be outside. 

The windows and doors in all classrooms should open and close easily. Children should only need to wear their indoor clothing when they are learning in their classrooms and all children should have a clean school to learn in.

Thank you for taking the time to read our letters,

Sincerely,

Room 9 Students

Today we finished the letters and walked to the post box to mail them. The students were so proud to be making a difference and showing that they care about the wellbeing of all Canadians.