The smallest school in the Foothills School Division has opened a space with a large heart.
“This new space is being used for a quiet space, a place where we can come to centre ourselves and it is a space to have privacy or share with friends,” said Grade 6 student Nada Malih at the official opening of the school’s new Gathering Space on March 11.
The opening, which was attended by about 45 students, parents, teachers, Foothills School Division trustees and administrators, was a gathering – with plenty of food and down-home camaraderie that came straight from the heart.
The room provides a relaxing atmosphere for students, parents and staff to gather – ideal for low-pressured informal meetings.
“Tonight is also parent-teacher conversations,” said Rhonda Bymak principal of the Kindergarten to Grade 6 school. “It’s less formalized and more inviting to community and to families.
“If we have more informal setting like this, we are hoping that the community will become even more engaged… They’re not setting up interview times, teachers are ready to go and we have food and community comes together…The students are more successful when community is involved.”
Bymak envisions the school being a hub in the community for parents and families to exchange ideas and gather information.
“If I am dreaming it would be like a drop-in centre,” she said. “Designate an afternoon for cookies and conversations, we will have families come in who require support, if they need outside agency involvement, if they just need a quiet place to be.
“I am trying to bridge between school and community.”
While there will be boundaries – it is a school – she envisions having mini open houses dealing with potential ideas such as health unit personnel coming in to discuss sleep behaviour, technology or other groups gathering to discuss issues.
“This is place we can come together, break bread – it takes a village, that kind of idea,” Bymak said.
Christina Weir, Longview deputy mayor, said the gathering space is a welcomed addition.
“To turn a storage room into a welcoming safe place for our students and the community is amazing,” Weir said. “It is geared towards our students and a great place for them to congregate.
“This school is huge for our community.”
Charity Tegler, the Foothills division First Nations, Metis, Inuit success coach, said the room is an important part of the reconciliation education, now part of the Alberta Education curriculum. The school of about 55 students is approximately 50 per cent First Nations, the majority from Eden Valley.
“This room is a place for all students to come and gather, invite their families and kind of bridge the community in the school,” she said. “A place for students to celebrate, meet in circles and have a visible presence in the school community.”
It’s just a cool place to be, said Grade 5 student Bert Kavanagh.
“It makes us a better student because it is good positive work place where we can study in if we need to calm down,” Kavanagh said. “It is like a space you can talk to a teacher about something. A nice positive space opened to everybody.”
