It’s been said it takes a whole village to raise a child and if that’s the case, there are children in Rainy River District who are benefitting on a global scale.
Last week, Crossroads School in Devlin celebrated an annual affair which demonstrates that concept as well as any likely to be found anywhere.
Aboriginal Awareness Week, which has been a part of the school’s curriculum since it opened its doors in 1996, is just one example of what principal Brian Love refers to as “building a sense of community” in a school whose students and staff are composed of as diverse an ethnic background as the United Nations.
“About 25 percent of our students and staff are native, but we also have descendants of some of the original families who have been here since the country opened up way back when,” Love noted.
Included in that eclectic mix are Mennonites, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Dutch Christian Reform, as well as people from all faiths who have moved here from the cities over the years since.
The task of maintaining a productive learning environment under such conditions is one which Love and his staff have embraced with enthusiasm.
The secret, he says, is to use all that diversity and turn it into a opportunity for learning and understanding.
“We emphasize respect for the differences people bring to the school,” Love stressed. “We try to build a sense of one school community of many different groups.”
That’s why Crossroads students have been making the trek up to Northwest Bay First Nation every year to celebrate Aboriginal Awareness Week. And it has become a tradition all students look forward to as more than just a day off school.
“It’s really worthwhile,” observed Love. “The people really put on a good show for all the kids.”
Some of those people are Love’s own staff and students, including 13-year-old Alyssa Bunting, the current Treaty 3 Princess. The princess serves as an ambassador-at-large for the entire territory—a role that carries significant responsibility.
“It’s a tremendous achievement for a Grade 8 student,” Love enthused. “Most of the girls selected are much older.”
Of course, no community exists in complete harmony but at Crossroads, incidents of disrespect and disharmony are few and far between. Love insists that is a result of the continuous efforts from all concerned.
It also helps prepare his students for the even greater diversity and challenges they’ll face when they move on to high school.
“We really try to do things proactively, to build a sense of community,” he said.
Community. Love likes that word and so far, it has served him and his school well. But like all communities, there is always room for improvement.
“We’re a work in progress,” he admitted. “That’s the way it is when you’re in the kid business.”
(Fort Frances Times)
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
