Oshki Ogimaag Community School
October 16, 2024
Boozhoo Oshki Ogimaag Community School Families and Community Partners,
Wiikandiwin - Feast
We began this week with a Feast. In preparation for Indigenous Peoples' Day, our students have been busy harvesting the vegetables they planted and using them to prepare a Feast for their families. The past couple weeks have been filled with harvesting and preparation. Autumnal scents of apples and cinnamon wafted through the halls as students prepared apple butter and apple chips. The cozy smell of freshly baked bread filled the halls and wrapped around us like a warm blanket as students baked artisanal breads. Students prepared herbal teas from the garden they planted. Students harvested potatoes and root vegetables that they planted, to be used for a hearty fall stew at our Feast. Students were filled with excitement to share all that they had worked so hard over seasons to prepare, with the people they love most in the world; their families and friends.
Our Feast began with listening to the Stone Bridge Singers Drum group. Students danced around the drum with Mr. Billy Blackwell. Dr. Erik Redix joined us and spoke about the meaning and history of Indigenous Peoples' Day, and reclaiming the day from Columbus Day to a day that is meant for togetherness, Community, recognizing that Indigenous people are not only in the past but in the present and thriving.
In preparing for our Feast our students engaged in every spect of our school's mission;
Rooted in Anishinaabe language and culture we will:
- Prepare students through hands-on, community-based projects to be lifelong learners that reach their personal and academic potential.
- Preserve the Anishinaabe language and culture.
- Contribute to the wellness of future generations.
Each day at school is another step we take to live our mission well and to support the thriving of our students both academically and social/emotionally.
Chi-miigwech to our students for working hard to prepare our beautiful feast, to our families for joining us, and to all of our staff for the important work they do!
A special chi-miigwech to Ms. Kat who has been working to re-instate Indigenous Peoples' Day Feast at Oshki Ogimaag for several years and put in much time and effort to planning for this day! We appreciate your time, effort and dedication very much!
Chi-Miigwech to:
- Ms. Tess for being generous with her time and efforts in harvesting and cooking with students, as well as for her time spent with us planning, and the delicious teas and fresh apple cider she shared with us!
- Ms. Stella for her many hours planning, cooking and preparing (especially her delicious fish!)!
- Ms. LeeAnna for her many hours planning, cooking and preparing (especially her delicious frybread!)
- The Stonebridge Singers Drum group, for their time and beautiful drumming and singing
- Dr.Erik Redix for his time and words at our Feast
- Mr. Joe Deschampe for donation of fish
- Mr. Isaiah Deschampe for donation of partridge for our stew
- Mr. Billy Blackwell for leading our students in dance
Migiziwag, Makwag, and Waagoshag!
Each classroom has chosen a name to identify their classroom. Classrooms wanted to use animal names that represented animals local to Grand Portage.
3rd, 4th and 5th Grade are Migiziwag (Eagles). Eagles represent strength, wisdom, courage and honor. They are revered and respected, viewed as messengers to the spiritual realm. This name was fitting for our oldest classroom group. The class uses an acronym, "SOAR," (Safe, Own It, Achieve and Respect.) Their classroom motto is, "At Oshki Ogimaag we soar! We create a safe environment, we own our actions, we achieve our goals, and we respect each other."
2nd Grade are Makwag (Bears). Bears represent strength, courage, and wisdom. They are often viewed as healers, teachers, protectors and leaders. This name is fitting for our 2nd graders as they are a group of young leaders! This is a group of students with big ideas, they think deeply, they have big energy and are adventurous! They are also protectors of each other. While at home, when you hear the highs and lows of the day, you might get to hear about disagreements because 2nd graders have big opinions and are learning how to engage with each other and share differing opinions without arguing - but you might not hear about the many times of day when these students help each other, provide encouragement when one of them is struggling, hugs and affirmations when someone feels sad, and friendship when someone feels lonely. 2nd graders are still learning how to regulate their big feelings and this group of young leaders is amazing to work with! Today in SEL (Social/Emotional Learning) and Art, they made bear claws and had a lesson about courage. I love hearing all the wonderful ideas this group has!
Kindergarten and 1st Grade are Waagoshag (Foxes). Foxes often represent cleverness, playfulness, resourcefulness and a little bit of a trickster! They also often represent transformation. This name is fitting because our youngest group is incredibly clever and playful, always resourceful and we see them go through so much transformation as their learning expands. They have a silliness and joyfulness that is so wonderful to be around and then they surprise you by how much they know and their depth of thought!
A Peak Into What We've Been Up To This WeeK:
Waagoshag- Continues to focus on writing and phonemic awareness (the ability to identify, hear, manipulate the individual sounds or phonemes in words) - which is a key skill to develop preparing for reading. In math, they've focused on number sense, which is the ability to work with numbers, build an understanding of how numbers work and relate to each other.
Makwag - In math we were finishing up lessons on addition and subtraction, using different strategies for when a math problem is tricky! When we return to school next week, our next math lesson will be about collecting data! In Language Arts, our content-based literacy lessons have centered around The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig. Students are learning how to do a "Close Read" of a text, where we look closely at the pictures, reread important parts of the text, and act our important part of the text. Students are learning to respond to questions using details from the text to support their answers. This text promotes inclusivity and helps teach empathy, showing how small acts of kindness can make a big difference in helping others to feel valued, included and help them flourish. In our lessons students also do a lot fo writing in response to details from the text, exploring different themes. This a higher level of academic rigor and this group has been impressive and rising to the challenges! We also read How The Birds Got Their Songs, by Travis Zimmerman and illustrated by Sam Zimmerman, and practiced painting in the style of Sam Zimmerman! With only three days, we still had a full week! We will continue our modules on The Invisible Boy, into next week.
Migiziwag - This group was excited to virtually meet their cow, Clementine (as the Farmer calls her)/a.k.a. "Holy Cow." The class built a diorama of Clementine's environment and is working on letters to the Farmer with questions about Clementine!
It's Spooky Season!
Students should come to school on Halloween in their regular clothes, but are welcomed to bring a costume to change into. At 1pm students will do our Annual Halloween Parade in the Community Center! After that, they will return to their classrooms for classroom Halloween parties!
Preparing for Indigenous Peoples' Day Feast
Students preparing for our Feast with the WONDERFUL Ms. Tess Bailey, Grand Portage Community Nutrition Educator and Ms. Kat. They made apple chips, apple butter and artisanal breads. They harvested vegetables for the stew. Everything was nourishing and delicious!
We Need at Least 1 More Parent of a Currently Enrolled Student to Join Our Board!
We are looking for a minimum of one more individual who is a parent/guardian of a currently enrolled student of Oshki Ogimaag Community School to join our Board of Directors! The Parent Board Members are required per MN statute. We are looking to fill these vacancies ASAP!
The Board meets 1 time per month, the 3rd Wednesday of each month (unless otherwise noted on the calendar), at OOCS at 4:30pm.Our next meeting is a Special Board Meeting, Wednesday, October 23rd, at 4:30pm, OOCS Conference Area.
Participating on the Board is a great way to serve Oshki Ogimaag Community School and use your voice to play an instrumental role in supporting OOCS in meeting the goals of our mission! Also, we have amazing Community Board members that you would get to spend time with!
Please reach out (email below) or reach out to a current Board member (see our website) if you are interested!
