Education

About KZA-GBFN Education

Starting High School can be a challenging time for everyone. Gull Bay First Nation is committed to helping and supporting the families who have children that need to leave the community to continue with their secondary education needs.

Roles and Responsibilities

Parental Responsibilities

Parent resides in Gull Bay First Nation full time to ensure the INAC rules and regulations are being met.
Parents are required to find their child a boarding home.
Parents need to establish Rules of Behaviour with Boarding Parents.
Should their child/student break the Rules of Behaviour, Parents need to establish disciplinary actions with Boarding Parent.
When a parent comes to Thunder Bay they agree NOT to pull student out of class.
When a child/student goes back to Gull Bay First Nation for a weekend or holiday the parents ensure the child/student is returned back to Thunder Bay in time for classes starting on the next school day.
If a child cannot be returned by the next school day, parents will call school, Boarding Parent, and Education Counsellor to advise of absence, reason of absence and when child/student will be returning.
Parents will return all messages (phone, email, Facebook message etc.) in a timely and respectful manner.
Parents will support Child/Student in attendance of ALL classes.

Boarding Parent Responsibilities

Boarding Parent will ensure that the student has an age appropriate bedroom.
Single bed sleeping arrangement. (Not sharing a bed)
If the bedroom is shared, it is with someone of the same sex. (i.e.: male with male, female with female)
If the bedroom is shared, it is with another person who is in the same age category.
Must have an emergency phone line. (If student is home alone and requires emergency assistance they must be able to contact the proper authorities)
Boarding Parents will work with Parents to develop Rules of Behaviour.
Boarding Parent will work with Parents to develop disciplinary actions should the student/child break the Rules of Behaviour.
If the student/child is sick and does not attend school, Boarding Parent will notify the school, parent and Education Counsellor to advise of absence and reason for absence.

Student Responsibilities

Follow the Rules of Behaviour set out by Parent and Boarding Parent.
If the Rules of Behaviour are broken, student/child accepts any associated discipline.
Student/Child is committed to attending school on a full time basis.
Student/Child is committee to attending the student activity each month- realizing that this is the time and place to not only pick up the attendance allowance incentive, but, to interact with other students from GBFN, as well as, learn about service providers in Thunder Bay, and to bring any questions or concerns to the Education Counsellor.

Education Counsellor Responsibilities

Committed to the assurance of the associated INAC and GBFN Practices, Policies and Protocols.
Act in accordance to the Roles and Responsibilities of the job.
Act with due diligence upon requests made by Parents, Boarding Parents, Students or GBFN Members of Council in a timely and respectful manner.
Monitor Student attendance weekly.
Send attendance to Parent, Boarding Parent and Student Weekly.
Work with the Schools and teachers to ensure students are receiving the best education available.
Work with Schools and Teachers to help students achieve all their credits.
Make referrals when needed. (i.e.: Counselling, Tutors, Doctors, Therapists etc.)
Will keep all parties (Parents, Boarding Parents, Students) involved in student’s progress.
Provide monthly activities for students.
Providing a positive learning experience for all involved.

Get up Gull Bay!

Here’s to the Gull Bay First Nation students ... as they travel their lifelong journey of learning. May they always feel the support and love from their families and their grateful Nation as they continue to gather experiences that will truly make them leaders of their futures - no matter what path they choose to take!

Tobacco Processing Teachings

Step 1 – Prepare your tobacco for drying.

Lay tobacco over a dry breathable surface.

Step 2 – Separate the tobacco seed pods from the plant.

Lay seed pods over a breathable surface (newspaper, paper, flyers or Im sure cardboard is fine too). This will allow the seeds to fully dry and not get moldy.

Step 3 – Prepare your string/sinew

Cut strings to about a foot in length. Then make one loop on one end. Leave the other end untied. You may need to knot this to a line or in my case a hanger.

Tip: with sinew, you can divide one line into 3 strands to be more conservative and make your sinew roll last longer.

Step 4 – Tie your tobacco leaf (or stalk) for hang dry.

Take the loop end and wrap it around the butt end of the stalk or leaf and put the other end of the string through the loop and knot it. You can wrap it around another time to make sure it holds.

Step 5 – Hang Dry

Find a nice dry and warm place for your tobacco to dry for a few weeks. Be sure to not expose it to direct sunlight as this will sunburn your leaves. Also, be sure to leave some breathing space between the leaves to avoid molding.

September Education Newsletter

Activities

Once a month, the students and the Education Counsellor get together to do an activity that offers growth and experiences to the students in their life long educational journey. This time also provides the students with information as to what service providers are available in Thunder Bay. Some of the activities have included:

Geocaching

Rock Climbing

Bowling

Swimming

Canoeing

Barbecues

Halloween Activity

Graduation

Since September 2010, per a KZA-GBFN Band Council Resolution on educational recognition, once a student graduates from Grade 12, KZA-GBFN provides the student a monetary honoraria.

Graduating students must submit their transcript to initiate this process.