Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024

Laurentian Learning Centre graduate gives back in a big way

Near North District School Board (NNDSB) Laurentian Learning Centre (LLC) graduate Allie Travale credits the alternative school with “saving my life in many ways,” and has thought about giving back to the school ever since graduating in 2015. It wasn’t until four years later that an opportunity to do just that presented itself.

Travale, who had excelled academically throughout school, struggled with severe anxiety and depression, which began to harm her education.

“My attendance counsellor, Erin Fitzgerald, played a pivotal role in getting me into the LLC. At the LLC, I was provided with an environment that was flexible, caring, non-judgmental and supportive. The teachers were (and are still) all amazing people. My peers were just youth like me, struggling for a wide variety of reasons, trying to get through school and life,” Travale said. “It creates a feeling of safety being around people who understand struggling in their own ways. The smaller class sizes also helped a lot with my anxiety.

“I grew so much in my time attending the LLC. I was able to work through a lot of the anxiety and depression slowly but surely, and part of that growth came from the LLC environment, the available supports, and the consistent encouragement,” Travale said. “I began to see that maybe I could still graduate and live a life worth living after graduation.”

Soon after graduation, Travale dreamed of giving back to the school and assisting future students as she was assisted. “I wanted to be a part of that helpful environment for other young people in situations, or mental places, that I could relate to. It became a dream goal of mine,” Travale said.

An opportunity to realize that dream presented itself in 2019 when Travale and project partner Chelsea Reid learned of the Laidlaw Foundation’s Youth Action Fund, a grant stream focused on youth with “lived experience” in either the education, child and family services or justice system. The grantors specifically wanted youth to lead the project, helping other youth underserved by one or more of those systems.

Travale and Reid then formed C-ACE (Creative Arts-Based Civic Engagement), which aimed to integrate art into the school, funding everything needed for the classes and facilitating the art classes alongside a teacher.

“We hoped to increase attendance, raise student confidence as well as access to self-expression, increase food budget support, incorporate cultural components, and increase credit achievement levels, thereby increasing overall graduation rates,” Travale said. “We also hoped that the results and new art supplies at the school would lead to regular arts credits being offered at the school when our grant ended.”

With assistance from local non-profit N2M2L (Near North Mobile Media Lab), the team’s grant application was accepted in early 2020.

Inspired by their success, Travale began thinking of the next project to take on.

“A second grant project idea came to me in the Summer of 2021. Our grant was set to end at the end of 2021/beginning of 2022, and I was thinking ahead with hopes to apply again,” Travale said. “I was looking for a way to expand what we had done into something even more impactful and beneficial for the students and the school. I knew that we could go even deeper into aiding the wellness impact for students.”

From this desire to do more came the Ways to Wellness Project (WTWP), which supports holistic wellness endeavours by helping to facilitate physical education, general health, and mental wellness opportunities at LLC.

“Through WTWP, media and visual arts are being woven into the school offerings, along with civic engagement opportunities and activities supporting the crucial multi-faceted aspects of well-being,” Travale said. “This includes Indigenous cultural components, such as the creation of the Nishnaabemwin/Anishinaabemowin Language Deck (ALD), which is a key component of the project. The language deck is a bilingual educational flashcard deck designed to encourage and enable people everywhere to understand and speak Anishinaabemowin.”

“The ALD has been an incredible part of this project that LLC students participated in, aiding in language revitalization and cultural pride,” Travale said. “The language deck was reviewed by Nipissing First Nation’s Language Committee, with distribution being supported by Anishinabek Nation to connect with First Nation communities across the province. Other spaces with a variety of culturally relevant programming have received decks as well. We had close to 20 artists onboard for the deck artworks, whose Anishinaabe heritage spans a large geographic region along the North Shore of the Great Lakes. The Seven Sacred Teachings cards artworks were created digitally by LLC and Nbisiing Secondary School students alongside elders/cultural facilitators who spoke about the teachings with the students, which was beautiful.”

The WTWP has also provided physical education equipment, supported cooking classes and food access for students, continued support for art classes, supported the school garden, purchased books and a variety of other supplies, and provided opportunities for field trips and guest speakers/workshop facilitators.

LLC Vice-Principal Lisa Spencer said Travale understands that students need a bit of extra time, extra encouragement and extra support to reach their goals.

“Allie is a creative soul who sees the best in everyone, accepts individuals for who they are and seeks to meet them where they are. Allie contributes an artist’s touch and a big heart to each project she contributes to,” Spencer said. “She comes to LLC as often as she can to work with staff and students to build a community of collaboration and comfort for everyone to learn and experiment. She adds value to the aspects of LLC that students love the most: art, experiences, mentorship, hobbies, community and, of course, learning. Allie is a strong mentor for the students at LLC, and everyone benefits from her gentle presence and determined direction.”

“Access to alternative schooling is incredibly important for youth with lived experience and youth who are struggling. Often, these youth are the ones who fall through the cracks, possibly ending up on a less than favourable path, or worse,” Travale said.

“When these students can learn and grow in a smaller school where alternative approaches, wellness focuses, uplifting teachers, and flexibility are all prioritized, it creates a critical bridge to a brighter future for them,” she added. “Hope and vision can change the entire way that we live our lives, and sometimes we need help getting into that type of mindset.

“We can’t eliminate all of the struggles or unique reasons that youth may need a school like the LLC, but we can do our part to support spaces that help pave better paths forward for those in need. In doing so, we are ensuring that these spaces can continue fostering deeply meaningful transformations for youth, creating lifelong impacts, and ultimately shaping a brighter future for both the youth and our society as a whole,” said Travale.

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Friday, Dec. 13, 2024

The following are the highlights of the Near North District School Board (NNDSB) meeting of Tuesday, December 10, 2024.

Director of Education’s report

Director of Education Craig Myles began his report with a reflection on this season of giving, gratitude and hope and urged everyone to pause and celebrate the efforts being undertaken in school communities. He noted that the staff’s hard work and passion bring the board’s mission to life every day.

The report outlined several activities that took place on the Nov. 15 professional activity day, including a learning symposium for secondary educators, a collaborative session with the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit to address conditions to promote positive school climate, math, English, civic and career workshops and a session that explored science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning through an Indigenous lens.

Myles thanked the staff and trustees who contributed to the Nov. 27 multi-year strategic plan (MYSP) public information session. A recording of the session has been uploaded to the MYSP page. NNDSB is also seeking stakeholder and rightsholder feedback regarding the MYSP. A survey is open until Dec. 31. Access to the Fall 2024 survey can be found here.

Student conduct administrative guideline revision

A report to the Board presented a draft revised administrative guideline about student conduct management. There will now be a 30-day consultation period. The final guideline will aim to incorporate applicable feedback that aligns with the mission, vision, and values of the board and the Ministry of Education.

The draft revised guideline contains three areas of major change, including: how to respond, report and assign consequences for behaviour that is motivated by bias, prejudice or hate; language has been updated to be more inclusive with gender-specific pronouns removed; language has been updated to be more user friendly, and directs readers to other areas of the NNDSB website that contain additional resources, such as the bullying prevention and intervention plan and the Safer Schools Reporting Tool. 

School trip administrative guideline revision

A report to trustees included revisions to the School Trips Administrative Guideline. The guideline was last updated in May 2023. The proposed revisions note that the changes are small but speak to the board’s desire to create a clear guideline that outlines specific parameters that promote student safety with high levels of student participation. This guideline will be posted for 30 days for public consultation.

Proposed changes to the school trip guideline include:

• incorporation of the new Ontario Physical and Health Education Association (OPHEA) terminology (the guidelines are now called Ontario Physical Activity Safety Standards in Education;
• clarification of water-related activities that changes the wording to “near water” (instead of when on or in water);
• acknowledgement that not permitting Grade 9 students to attend Level 3 or Level 4 trips negatively and disproportionately impacted smaller secondary schools, where Grade 9 students are integral parts of sports teams and extra-curricular clubs. The previous restrictions resulted in either having to decline the opportunity or leaving a portion of their group behind;
• removing the requirement to bring paper copies of medical forms for Level 1 trips. These trips are local and occur during the school day when trip leaders can obtain medical information via phone from the school if required.

Trustees to ask for a meeting with the City

Following a discussion in the committee of the whole meeting, trustees agreed to send a letter to the City of North Bay asking for a meeting to discuss the effects of the low-barrier shelter on the Chippewa Secondary School community and NNDSB.

Indigenous Student Trustee’s report

Indigenous Student Trustee Riley Trudeau noted in her report that members of the Indigenous Youth Circle met in November at F.J. McElligott Secondary School.

Students at Northern Secondary School learned about medicine pouches, supported Treaty Week and Veterans’ Day, and will be working on ribbon skirts and shirts at the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre.

Chippewa students participated in a youth leadership event with graduates and past leaders. In addition to Okimikon, a mino-okimakon was established to support Grade 7 and 8 youth, more than $700 was raised to support the Chanie Wenjack fundraisers, and a candy-gram campaign will support the Stuff the Cruiser event. Students have plans for making moccasins, medicine pouches, ribbon skirts and shirts, mini drums, and beading with the Indigenous Friendship Centre.

At West Ferris Secondary School, students delivered educational Treaty Week announcements and posters and have been fundraising for the toy drive. Students participate in a weekly drumming circle for both hand drums and the grandfather

drum. Students are looking forward to rattle making, medicine teachings, water teachings, pow wow dance and culture teachings, and ribbon skirt and shirt making.

Students at Almaguin Highlands Secondary School supported Treaty Week with activities. They create and share daily announcements for days of recognition like Orange Shirt Day, Louis Riel Day, Rock Your Mocs and Indigenous Veterans’ Day. Students continue to learn about the Seven Grandfather Teachings and how to apply them in everyday life.

F.J. McElligott students have been working on spirit days that highlight Indigenous culture. They’ve been making bannock to support the Stuff the Cruiser fundraiser. Indigenous food is celebrated weekly at the school. Plans are underway to build hand drums, and students are excited to engage in the annual OYAP paddle-building transition activity incorporating Indigenous art forms.

Parry Sound High School representatives could not attend the IYC meeting in person but shared that they had a parent night. The Grade 7 and 8 Indigenous Ezhkiniigijik O’zaswinwaa (Youth Nest) space was officially opened that evening with a dedication by Elder Dave Rice.

Trudeau said the IYC worked with the Student Senate. She presented a slideshow to the Senators explaining what IYC is and what they do. There are plans to grow the relationship with the Student Senate to create a safe place for students to connect and show partnership.

IYC has been working on the Stuff the Cruiser/IYC Gives Back initiative. Each school has been fundraising for the event. Dokis First Nation donated $1,000 to the initiative, and an event at Sturgeon Falls Canadian Tire raised $1,282 and filled the box and cab of an Anishinabek Police Service truck with gifts for children.

Student Trustee’s report

Student Trustee Nanak Sidhu’s report to the Board included updates on academic successes and community-focused initiatives that demonstrate students’ passion, resilience and creativity.

With the holiday season approaching, students have embraced the spirit of giving in many ways. At Chippewa Secondary School, a student-led necessities drive is underway to support the North Bay Crisis Centre. Almaguin Highlands Secondary School is hosting a food drive for the local food banks, and Northern Secondary School is bringing joy to 15 residents at the West Nipissing General Hospital through thoughtful gift-giving.

In athletics, athletes are participating in sports like volleyball, basketball, and football, with students bringing school communities together to cheer for their peers.

The recent Student Senate meeting was productive as the senators made significant progress on our primary initiative to develop foundational resources to empower current and future senators. These resources include a comprehensive

Trustee and Senator Handbook, a database of external contacts, templates for organizing past events, and pre-prepared materials to support new initiatives effectively.

During the meeting, senators heard from Riley Trudeau, who provided an overview of the IYC and its mission. IYC also heard a presentation about the Student Senate. Both groups then had the opportunity to connect over lunch and engage in meaningful discussions. Feedback from the senators was overwhelmingly positive. They found the session informative and greatly valued the chance to engage with the IYC, especially the newer senators. Looking ahead, the Senate is excited about potential opportunities for further collaboration.

Student Trustee Sidhu had the opportunity to represent NNDSB at the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association (OSTA-AECO) Fall General Meeting. Connecting with student trustees from across Ontario, Sidhu gained valuable inspiration for future initiatives and practices from other board senates, which he looks forward to adapting for NNDSB.

Sidhu also attended the OSTA-AECO December Leadership Retreat. This retreat allowed the team to carry out a lot of the planning regarding the OSTA-AECOS Education Action Conference (EAC) as well as receive professional development. One of the highlights of the retreat was an engaging and thought-provoking Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) workshop led by Irfan Toor, the Social Justice and Anti-Oppression Advisor for the Ontario Principals’ Council. This workshop offered profound insights and strategies that deepened the team’s understanding of EDI principles and their practical application in leadership and education.

Sidhu said he is confident that students within NNDSB will continue to thrive in academics, activism, athletics, and the arts. He added that he is eager to see the progress of the Senate’s initiatives and the impact they’ll have on school communities in the new year.

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Note: the full agenda package is posted on the website prior to meetings, and official minutes are posted after they are approved at the next Board meeting.