Oshki Ogimaag Community School
May 17, 2024
Boozhoo Oshki Ogimaag Community School Families and Community Partners!
This week, we are thrilled to share that Ms. Kelsey Knollmueller will be joining our teaching team for the 2024-2025 school year!!! Kelsey earned her Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Augsburg College, Kelsey began her teaching career at GES teaching 2nd grade, following that school year she moved to Michigan where she continued to teach 2nd grade. Kelsey has taught in charter schools and resident district public schools, she's been teaching in the Twin Cities for the past few years. Kelsey also has experience as a Swim Coach and loves swimming!
Kelsey is drawn to teach at Oshki Ogimaag Community School because of the close-knit community and the school's focus on environmental education. Kelsey looks forward to learning Ojibwemowin and joining Ojibwe Language Table, when it resumes, alongside other Oshki Ogimaag Community School staff!
Kelsey will be living outside of Grand Marais with her fiancé, Alex, their two dogs Kale and Zane, and their cat,, Dust. Kelsey and Alex love the North Shore and are excited to make it their home once again! Kelsey loves to read, hike, bake and spend time cuddling her pups!
Kelsey is certified in Groves literacy curriculum, she is trained and experienced in Responsive Classroom, Kelsey was trained working alongside educators leading award-winning STEM programs in the Minneapolis school district, and has experience working in special education. Kelsey's approach to teaching matches the approach of Oshki Ogimaag Community School in meeting students where they are at and supporting students by teaching in the ways that they learn as individuals versus expecting students to learn in the ways we teach. Kelsey sets the stage for learning by creating classroom environments that are welcoming, calming, and convey a sense of warmth (and fun!).
Kelsey's greatest strength as a teacher is the genuine connections she makes with her students. She gets to know each student she works with, appreciating each individuals's intricacies, figuring out their learning styles, and forms bonds with them that span beyond their time in her classroom. Kelsey's presence is warm and welcoming and even the most reserved students feel supported and seen by her. She brings with her energy, enthusiasm and positivity wherever she goes and we look forward to having her on our team!
Check us out on Boreal!
Boreal Community Media has been doing a Staff Spotlight series on Oshki Ogimaag Community School staff, starting with our wonderful Interim Director/Ojibwe Language and Culture Instructor, Ms. Cherie James! They have done a spotlight each day on all staff members who responded! Miigwech to Boreal for reaching out and asking us to share about our amazing team! It has been so fun to read about everyone!
Did you check out the spotlight on our fantastic and creative teacher Ms. Jeana Van Dyne (a.k.a. Headmistress of Camp Jeana) last weekend? See the link below!
As our educators plan curriculum, they plan for multi-age groups and target specific MN standards for each grade-level the lesson will be delivered to. Some of the Common Core Reading Standards in Literature under Key Ideas and Details for 2nd graders includes retelling stories including key details and demonstrating understanding of the central message or theme. For 3rd graders, the standard includes describing characters in a story (e.g. their traits, motivations or feelings) and explaining how their actions contribute to the sequence of events. For 4th graders, the standard includes describing a character, setting or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (a character's thoughts, words, or actions). This list reflects only one criteria of many included in the standards. In addition to this, educators must differentiate based on the abilities and development of their specific students.
Our educators must approach teaching flexibly and creatively, thinking outside the box in order to target several standards, for multi-age groupings and interdisciplinary learning. Well-planned lessons and curriculum are like an art form, a dance connecting so many pieces, balancing accessibility with appropriate level of challenge, planning around student interests to increase levels of engagement, timing lessons just right to sustain attention, creating a balance of direct instruction, independent work, group work, hands-on activities, and delivering the lessons in ways that connect with learners. Teachers don't often receive credit for holding all of these pieces in their minds as they approach instruction.
This week, Ms. Jeana facilitated an immersive literacy experience for her students, after the class completed the novel Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Hatchet is a Newbery Honor-winning young-adult wilderness survival novel. Hatchet is filled with expressive, visceral language and the reader becomes deeply connected with the main character's thoughts, feelings, and mood. I can still vividly remember reading this novel as an elementary school student, how intense parts of the novel are and how well the author conjures up the world of this book so you feel as if you are truly there experiencing it.
Ms. Jeana took the wilderness survival theme of this novel and created Camp Jeana in her classroom this week. Ms. Jeana and her class completely transformed the classroom and Ms. Jeana came to school in character as Headmistress of Camp Jeana, with her whistle ready! Recreating some of the wilderness experiences in the classroom supports students' understanding of the perspectives of characters, feelings, motivations, connecting how their actions contribute to the sequence of events that follow.
This is just one example of the creativity, intention and thoughtfulness Ms. Jeana brings to her role as educator and why we are so lucky to have her on our team at Oshki Ogimaag Community School!
Living Our Mission of Connecting with Community
After our team at Oshki Ogimaag Community School was restructured this school year, in our dialogue with one another, one thing everyone felt passionate about and dedicated to, is increasing our school's connections with Community. It is vitally important to each of us that our school be a place where students, staff, families, Elders, Community members and visitors of all kinds feel welcomed, safe, respected and valued, when they enter our school.
Our students' learning benefits from involvement of Elders and so many other Community members that engage our students in cultural, Ojibwe language, environmental education, STEM, literacy, and a wide variety of other learning experiences. At Oshki Ogimaag Community School, we are filled with gratitude for the many Community partners that collaborate with us, offering their time, talents and service to support our students with meaningful, intergenerational, and engaging learning experiences.
This week our Community Connections included on Wednesday, an interactive presentation on Invasive Species provided to us by the Cook County Invasives Team.
On Wednesday, all staff members from Oshki Ogimaag Community School attended the Grand Portage JOM Banquet, to support all Grand Portage students! Nearly all of our students were in attendance as well!
Also, this week Emily Derke,, Grand Portage Agricultural Coordinator, planted 126 pumpkin seeds with students for a fall pumpkin patch!
