School Visit Highlight: Parkland School Division and Shaping the Future Conference 

Photo credits: Chief Aranazhi School – Photo by Sonya Alexis

From January 26 to 31, Carmen had the opportunity to do an extended week of school visits and go to Parkland School Division, Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation School, an Edmonton public school and the Shaping the Future conference. It was a great opportunity for her to connect with schools and learn from all the different breakfast programs.

Read the story of her journey in the following text.

Our BCC Coordinator Carmen had the opportunity to do an extended week of school visits and go to Parkland School Division, Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation School, an Edmonton public school and the Shaping the Future conference. It was a great opportunity for her to connect with schools and learn from all the different breakfast programs. Read on to discover the story of her journey.

Parkland School Division On Monday and Tuesday, I toured several Parkland School Division schools in Stony Plain and Spruce Grove with Shelley Akers and Rebekah Ferguson. It was great to take the time to put on our aprons and get our hands dirty to help prepare yogurt parfaits for Westview School, and to join Millgrove School for Toast Tuesday and experience the amazing work of their volunteers. Listening to Brookwood School and Spruce Grove Composite High School speak about the future they envisioned for their programs was invigorating.

Seeing how Copperhaven School incorporates their breakfast program into classroom learning to teach students how to budget for food, shop and prepare breakfast proved to be an inspiring lesson on how to engage students to take ownership of their breakfast program and learn life skills. Lastly, I enjoyed learning about the unique program experiences that students in the Connections for Learning campuses at Spruce Grove and Stony Plain can access.

Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation School On Wednesday, I visited Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation School and got to tour Waka Mne Elementary School and Chief Aranazhi School. I want to thank everyone for the warm welcome and the engaging visit, culminating in a fun photo opportunity with students! I had a great time learning about the breakfast program and seeing the amazing work being highlighted at the schools.

An Edmonton public school Thursday took me to an Edmonton public school, giving me the opportunity to observe their breakfast in the morning and have an inspiring conversation with the staff there. It was incredible to learn how a true community has been built at the school and the impact it has had on the students, teachers, staff and parents. I appreciate all the work that they have done to foster the community and build linkages with different organizations and businesses.

Shaping the Future conference I capped off my week by attending the Shaping the Future conference. It was a valuable opportunity to learn new ways to support schools, find out what other people have been doing in their breakfast programs and make different connections that will surely have an impact.

My thanks go out to Parkland School Division’s schools in Spruce Grove and Stony Plain for the amazing time I had visiting each school, serving breakfast and learning from your programs. Thank you to Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation School for an awesome morning! It was great to tour your schools, check in and spend time together. Thank you to an Edmonton public school for hosting me! I really valued learning about your fantastic community outreach. Lastly, thank you to everyone who connected with me at the Shaping the Future conference! I enjoyed catching up with old connections and meeting new ones. Your expertise is greatly appreciated!