Introduction
Our project
The goals of our playful projects are:
- To decrease the number of internal dropouts by providing a positive, welcoming and responsive learning environment;
- To restore social cohesion among students. Develop the values of belonging, mutual aid, valuing differences;
- Restore social cohesion with the community. Establish a give-and-take relationship with the various partners in the region.
- To develop and nurture the Francophone, Acadian and Canadian culture of the student in a minority context, New Brunswick.
We plan to carry out one activity per month according to the ideas brought out by the students when they were asked the question: what does your dream school look like? Here is an overview of the projects we want to do: The four grade 8 teachers have a common goal and they have set their goals on a monthly basis.
- (Oct) Repeat Hackoween experience including technology, cardboard and old clothes for costume making, artists, coding in an environmentally friendly way;
- (Nov) Remembrance Day. In the woods, collect branches on the ground and make wreaths and maybe sell them.
- (Dec) Seigniorial for the 2nd year. Church, house, recreate the territory of the seigniory, the fields of three different crops. Creative lab.
- (Jan/Feb) Creation of a skating rink and its maintenance. Division of the schedule. Since there are no music classes this year, invite artists/musicians for workshops.
- (Feb) Middle Ages: weaver, blacksmith and the evolution of trades (example: goat shearing); Prepare and decorate cookies for Valentine’s Day and perhaps sell them.
- (Mar) Prepare maple candies and start a small business to sell them. Visit Mont Farlagne: sliding, cross-country skiing, downhill skiing and other activities.
- (May): Landfill site in Green River and its recovery process.
- (June): Visit to Mount Carleton: physical activities.
Tell us about your team and your school community.
In all transparency, the educational approaches at our school are mostly traditional. Since we are in the minority as primary teachers in a predominantly secondary school, I understand the reluctance of my colleagues in relation to learning through play, as they have always operated in an educational context related to knowledge sharing. We work very hard to value the importance of a student-centered educational culture and well-being. Therefore, we take small steps to positively influence others. Our team is made up of 4 committed teachers and an assistant principal who love their students and are willing to invest time and energy in making learning sustainable. For our community, here is what is important:
- Life and career development
- Development of NB Exit Profile competencies
- Wellness
Tell us about the importance of learning through play for your team and for your students.
We are a team that is willing to do whatever it takes to allow students to love school. We understand that learning is emotional and that learning is only sustainable if the student is having fun. In adolescence, their overall development varies greatly: some are more physically developed than others, some are more mature than others and many are searching for their identity. Therefore, we need to provide them with a non-judgmental environment in which they can be comfortable enough to let their own colors shine. If they let their colors shine, they will feel comfortable and will be able to truly learn and remember these learnings for a lifetime.
Tell us about your interest in joining the Canadian Playful Schools Network.
We want to gain confidence in ourselves as moderators of learning in a playful context and learn to collaborate as effectively as possible. We want to learn as much as the students do and want to be able to recharge and share with other passionate teachers like ourselves. We also hope to provide our students with interdisciplinary learning and to ensure the development of their full potential by emphasizing our own strengths as individuals.
Some pictures from our activities !