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Pupils to draw pictures before writing Teachers in Gjoa Haven will incorporate art into the classroom
Miranda Scotland
Northern News Services
Published Monday, August 19, 2013
GJOA HAVEN/SPENCE BAY
This school year, Gjoa Haven's elementary school teachers will be trained on making art a part of learning.
They will be using picture writing, a technique where the teachers have students draw or paint a picture before writing on a topic.
"The belief is if the child draws the picture and they talk about their picture, then they have more language when it comes to actually writing the piece that goes with it. So children then are more successful in writing," said Margaret Joyce, Quqshuun Ilihakvik Elementary School principal, adding the focus would be on learning Inuktitut.
The other technique the teachers will learn is the picture word induction model, or PWIM.
For this, they would choose a large photo and have the children brainstorm a list of words, which they could then use to create sentences.
The aim is to build up the child's vocabulary, said Joyce.
PWIM will most likely be used for students in kindergarten to Grade 3 while picture writing would be used more with Grades 4 to 6, she added.
Both techniques are employed at Nakasuk School in Iqaluit.
Joyce said her granddaughter was in the program and showed excitement for it.
The school is also bringing in a new math computer program, called IXL, which will be used by all grades.
The students will be required to access it everyday. IXL tracks the child's progress.
The program was piloted with two classes last school year and the students loved it, Joyce said.
"You could walk into a classroom and hear a pin drop because the kids were all on their computers," she said.
"They would go anywhere to be able to get a computer if they could do it and they were on at night."
The school has since bought more computers and iPads to make the program available to all students.
The biggest upset this year at Qiqirtaq Ilihakvik High School will be dealing with ongoing renovations.
The GN is paying to have the school, which was built in the late 1960s, retrofitted.
The institution's cooking programs have been shut
down as a result.
"With the renovations, there is some limitations with some of the stuff we can do," said principal Paul Cipriano.
On the upside, youth will have some stability in their teachers.
"We have the same staff as last year, so that's a benefit because it's not a common occurrence lately here," said Cipriano.
There are also plans to hand out surveys to students to find out what extracurricular activities they would like to participate in this year.
In the past, the top picks were floor hockey, basketball and soccer, along with clubs for guitar, accordion and sewing. But every year, they seem to change what they like, said Cipriano.
Meanwhile, in Taloyoak Netsilik School, principal Gina Pizzo is seeing a slight bump in enrollment.
This year, the school is expecting 325 students, 10 more than the year before. Pizzo attributes the difference to the increase in birth rate.
Another change is the school's new agreement with the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation.
Students taking the video production course and those involved in the media arts club will be making videos to air on the local channel.
The focus of the content will be on learning Inuktitut.
"I think that's going to be really good for the students and that will create a lot of interest," said Pizzo.
All three principals said the greatest challenge they expect to face this year is attendance.
Each school is working on ways to encourage students to show up for class.
In Taloyoak, Pizzo said, they have a breakfast program, an early morning gym program and plenty of extracurricular activities.
At Qiqirtaq Ilihakvik High School, the staff is in the process of setting up a system where students will receive points for attendance, good deeds and participation.
Over at the elementary school, they hold celebration nights a couple times a year for parents of students with 85 per cent attendance or higher.
They also have child celebrations each month.
Joyce said the school is working on increasing the amount of home material they have available so children who miss school can do work outside class.
"They worry me if children aren't coming. Year after year, it really disables the child over time," she said.
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