For the past school year, Sea to Sky Learning Connections has occupied what was once Stawamus Elementary. Inside the halls of the old school are a couple of programs that different new ways to teach students.
For the elementary-age children, there is Cultural Journeys, which has been put together with the Squamish Nation, and for the students from Grades 7 to 12, there is Learning Expeditions, which leans heavily on student-initiated, project-based learning.
As these programs are still new, many parents in the community have questions about how they work. To answer these, Learning Connections is hosting a night for new parents to come see the school and find out more information about the programs.
“We’re just finding people are hearing different things about the programs,” principal Ryan Massey said.
The event will take place next Wednesday (May 4). The Cultural Journeys session will start at 6 p.m., with Learning Expeditions to follow at 7 p.m.
For Cultural Journeys, a program offered for children from kindergarten to Grade 6, the teachers work with the Squamish Nation’s culture and language worker Charlene Williams.
“We’re using culture and language as a vehicle to deliver learning outcomes,” Massey said. “She’s worked very closely with teachers to design the units…. She’s just such an amazing resource.”
This might mean offering practices for the young kids to communicate in ways such as a circle, as well as activities like a potlatch.
They also learn about things indigenous to the people living in the valley for many generations. During a recent visit, the youngsters offered a quick tour to see some of the plants and trees they have been learning about as well as their many uses.
The program leans heavily on place-based education and uses local sites as a way to pass on knowledge about heritage.
“They’re learning about this territory,” Massey explained.
Through Learning Expeditions, meanwhile, the older students have been working on projects that incorporate many disciplines and start from a basic question.
“Their focus is really based in project-based learning,” Massey said.
Their current question is about conservation needs and has students focus on a plant or animal from the region.
To make connections, the students look at the subject through different lenses. At present, they have moved on to a related arts project, making masks based on their plant or animal. They will also be working with a children’s author to produce children’s books of their own.
“It’s much more complex to take a big idea and synthesize it for young kids,” teacher Cory Hartling said.
Learning Expeditions offers an alternative, with students in smaller classes directing much of their own learning, rather than in traditional high school classrooms with teachers specialized in a particular area.
“Part of the vision of this program is what if we didn’t have those restrictions,” Massey said.
The school building did require some renovation for Learning Expeditions in order to open up a wall between two classrooms and make it one large space. Sinks were also raised to accommodate the new older and larger students.
The small size of the classes also means the students can interact more with others at different grade levels. For example, recently a few Learning Expeditions students displayed their science and technology projects for the younger Cultural Journeys class inside the gym.
Still, the school does want to get at least a little bigger.
“We really want to put the word out that we’re interested in growing,” Massey said.
Parents can have a look for themselves next week. For more information, contact Sea to Sky Leaning Connections at 604-892-5220 or email [email protected].
