Individual Learning Centre (ILC)

ILC -  Orange Shirt Day Sept 2023

The students and staff cut out Orange Feathers,  participated in a discussion about Truth and Reconciliation. They also shared stories of what the day meant to them. Everyone wrote something on an Orange Feather and the feathers became wings.  

TASK Program Recognition Ceremony

The TASK (Trade Awareness Skills and Knowledge) recognition ceremony was held on January 11, 2024. 

This District Career Program is run in partnership with SD63 and Camosun College and is hosted at Saanichton Learning Centre. Students join the TASK program from across the Saanich district and learned welding, electrical, plumbing, drywall, carpentry, painting and more! 

We are so proud of these students and their promising career pathways in the trades!

ILC Basketball Team

ILC's First ever ILC basketball team! Isaiah and Luther are strong forces on the court!

ILC Graduating Students

Nation Indigenous Peoples Day at ILC

We celebrated National Indigenous Peoples Day early at ILC, while there were still students in the building. As part of our celebrations, we had an art station, where students learned about traditional Coast Salish shapes and were able to create their own pieces of artwork. We also had a crepe truck visit for the day, to provide free meals for everyone and to celebrate Metis culture.To honour Inuit culture, we had an expert on staff who provided information and showed a short video about Inuit tattoo revitalization. A fun day was had by all!

Walk to End Violence 

The Moosehead Campaign’s Walk to End Violence was a moving event. Nearly 100 students and staff from SD63 travelled downtown on two school buses to participate on May 11th. Speakers and presenters from across the continent attended, and the presentations were live-streamed to hundreds of thousands of viewers world-wide.

Tri District Indigenous Grad Celebration at Camp Thunderbird 

The first ever Tri-District Indigenous Grade 12 Celebration at Camp Thunderbird was a beautiful day in nature for Grade 12 students from SD61 (Victoria), 62 (Sooke), and 63 (Saanich). Paige James attended from SD63, enjoying her day of canoeing, beading, archery, listening to drumming, and meeting new people. We look forward to having more students attend next year’s celebration day! 

Indigenous Leadership Lunch Activities 

ILC’s Indigenous Leadership group has continued to cook meals together every Thursday, with a highlight being the fry-bread tacos, which was led by Patti-Ann Aleck in the spring. We also had two amazing beading workshops, led by Shai Prevost, and Ana Charlton. Thank you to all ILL students who participated in the lunches, as well as in the district’s “Student Voice” meetings–we really appreciate your feedback! We are all excited to visit the Russell Island sea gardens with you for our final field trip on June 19th! 

Sea Garden Field Trip with Parks Canada 

Indigenous Leadership students from ILC travelled by boat to visit the Russell Island sea gardens in W̱SÁNEĆ Territory, where we learned about traditional mariculture practices and sea life from local Knowledge Keepers.We also learned about important local plant species and helped Parks Canada staff to remove invasive plants in the meadow. What an amazing experience and a spectacular way to end the year. HÍSW̱ḴE to all who made the trip possible!

Red Dress Day at ILC 

The ILC Indigenous Ed team made presentations to each Zone about Jaime Black’s Red Dress Project and MMIWG. We viewed a short film and had meaningful conversations about raising the voices of Indigenous women, including the importance of joining marches such as the Stolen Sisters March and the Walk to End Violence. Small red felt dresses were handed out to staff and students so they could pin them to their clothes/backpacks to continue the important conversations in their communities. 

Camosun Tri-District Indigenous Learners Day

The first ever Tri-District Indigenous Learners Day at Camosun was a big hit with our students! We toured Camosun’s Centre for Trades Education & Innovation, as well as their Centre for Health and Wellness, doing various trades, technology, and health activities along the way. We also visited Eyēʔ Sqȃ’lewen – the Centre for Indigenous Education & Community Connections, who are there to help students along their post-secondary journey. Our learners had a great day and left the campus excited to learn more!

Take a Hike Program

The Take a Hike program is halfway through their first full year at ILC and the students have been enjoying weekly field trips, outdoor activities, a Snotty Nose Rez Kids concert, and a multi-day trip on the Juan de Fuca Trail! A recent visit from Sheralyn MacRae and the Territorial Map was a powerful experience for all. 

Trade Awareness Skills and Knowledge Program

Our 5-month TASK program has just wrapped up, with students building and plumbing their own bathrooms! This hard-working group of students tried their hand at welding, carpentry, plumbing, sheet metal, tile-setting, joinery, electrical, drywall, painting, document- and plan-reading, auto-service tech and more. Thanks to the support of Coast Salish Employment and Training Society (CSETS), our students also receive industry certification in Fall Protection, Construction Safety, Forklift, Skid Steer, and Confined Space, among others. 

Well done, graduates, and all the best on your future endeavours!

ILC Graduating Students

We are incredibly proud of this year’s graduating students. They have shared their lives with us over the years and have made our school a better place to be. Many of you have overcome incredible challenges during your schooling and learned many important life lessons. You all have persisted towards your educational and career goals and we are so thrilled to see you achieve great things. We wish you a life of purpose, wellness, community engagement, and continued learning. Be proud of who you are and may your heart lead you to happiness and fulfilment!

ILC Events - Spring 2022

Introduction of New Staff Member 

 ILC Grads 2021

ILC is thrilled to recognize 10 Indigenous Graduates this school year.

The “Yetsa Project” Student Group

Yetsa Olsen was the Indigenous Education Assistant at ILC from October to May this school year. Yetsa recognized the benefit of creating opportunities for cultural connection and leadership development for Indigenous students at ILC, and created a six-week group tailored to those key goals. Yetsa’s idea was to involve a number of positive mentors from each of the four nations of the peninsula, and to expose the group members to a variety of ideas and activities that would be inspirational, foster connection with culture, and support their own wellness. Activities included a brushing off ceremony, a leadership seminar, sports activities, carving exploration, a historical walk to SṈIDȻEȽ(Tod Inlet), and a music workshop. Each of the community guests and co-facilitators shared their own perspective on cultural connection and demonstrated positive role-modelling in their interactions with the students involved. Seven students benefited from the project, and we acknowledge the hard work that all of them put into engaging in this important series in addition to attending their classes. We were able to secure a grant through the BC Alternate Education Association to fund the project, and we hope to offer something similar next school year.    

Hummingbird Library- SŦOŦȽE 

The intent of the Hummingbird Project is to foster reconciliation by creating a space and offering a collection that invites the Indigenous and non-Indigenous students of our school to learn about each other and the traditional territory they live on; to share their stories; and to strengthen their confidence as learners.  This project is in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action which have tasked schools and educators with fostering reconciliation, a process that requires individual strength to embrace the hope and healing possible within relationships that cross cultural boundaries.  The Hummingbird  project was made possible by achieving the CFUW Canadian Library Award.  This library project features a Hummingbird carving by our previous ILC grad Tyrone James who was the recipient of the Aspiring Artist Award in 2019. The students have named this area as SŦOŦȽE in sencoten meaning sprout as it is an area designated for growth and development.

ILC Careers Student Highlights 

Indigenous Leadership Group at ILC

Lunchtimes at ILC look and sound a little different this school year. Pop in on a Tuesday and you’re likely to see a small group of young Indigenous leaders hard at work planning new directions for the ILC school community. With food, laughter, and brilliant brainstorming, this group is working to strengthen ILC’s goal of being a school that is welcoming to all learners and community members, and reflective of the worldviews and culture of the W̱SÁNEĆ people on whose territories the school is situated. The group was organized by humanities teacher Debbie Nikkel, and supported by Beacon Community Services counsellor Kat Hiebert. Nikkel and Hiebert provide the space and the food, but the directions of the group have been left up to the students and their goals for themselves and their school. So far, students have advocated for the importance of incorporating SENĆOŦEN language into the school landscape, and are already hard at work designing SENĆOŦEN signs that can mark areas around the school. The group will also play a leading role in selecting literature by Indigenous authors, and authentic Indigenous resources for the upcoming Hummingbird Library, another project of Nikkel’s. 

New EA and Transport Support for ILC

Attendance this school year has been strong despite the challenges that a pandemic presents. A big part of that strong attendance for some of our students has been the new Indigenous Education Assistant Yetsa Olsen, and the transport she has provided with the school district van. Yetsa started as an IEA at ILC Saanichton this fall, and we could not be more thrilled with the work she is doing so far! She has been an amazing support for our students in the classroom, as well as on the road to school - routinely picking up students from each of the four nations of the peninsula and offering them a direct route to our Saanichton campus with some friendly conversation along the way. 

Indigenous Trades Awareness Skills & Knowledge Program (TASK)

The District Trade sampler program TASK is wrapping up this January.  Students completing this trade training program sample the following areas:  Electrical, Plumbing, Sheet metal, Joinery, Carpentry, Automotive, and Welding.  In addition, the students complete Fork Lift Operator, Flag Person, skid Steer, Confined spaces, Fall Arrest, WHMIS, and CSTS industry certifications. Each student leaves TASK with a clearly articulated path to their chosen trade training area.  We are proud to be celebrating this trade training program in partnership with Coast Salish Training Society, and congratulate Johnny Sylvester, Jamie Charlie, Emma Bartleman, Dylan Thomas, JJ Love, Tyrell Jones, and Jeighton James for completing this intensive program!

SD63/VIU Hairstylist Program

The SD63 Hairstylist program is wrapping up in January. In this program, which is a partnership with Vancouver Island University, students have mastered the technical knowledge requirements and had many hours of hands-on experience with clients within the Studio 63 Salon, as well as during work experiences in the community. Breanna Cooper is one of the graduating students who will be graduating and moving on to bright career prospects in January. Congratulations to Breanna and the rest of the hair cohort!

Johnny-Ray W. wrapped up his graduation requirements early this year and has been incredibly successful at Camosun College in the Automotive Service Technician Foundation program!  We wish him all the best on his journey! 

In terms of scholarships and awards this year, ILC is very excited to announce that we had two female Indigenous students win BC Alternate Education Student Bursaries! These $1000 bursaries are intended for graduating students who plan on attending a post-secondary institution or education/training program, and who are or who have been enrolled in an alternate education program. There were 5 bursaries given out this year in BC, and our students, Mercedes W. and Jewelia W. received two of the bursaries! We are so very proud of these strong young women, who also happen to be Moms! 

ILC would also like to congratulate Grace G., as she received a $200 BC Alternate Education Association Student Achievement award! Way to go!  

ILC would also like to highlight that one of our graduates, Tyrone J., has won a prestigious award from the Vancouver International Airport Art Foundation. It is a $500 bursary to help support his carving endeavours. Well done!  

ILC was very excited to welcome local W̱SÁNEĆ carver, Curtis Henry from Pauquachin First Nation, as he presents our school with a female Welcome Figure. Curtis has been able to come to our Saanichton and Broadmead campus' to show the students and staff the figure in the early stages of being carved. Curtis has also shared traditional knowledge around what the significance of a Welcome Figure is, why it is important that our school has one, and the process he goes through from the falling of the cedar tree to the finishing touches. It has been a fantastic learning opportunity for our students and staff! On June 6th ILC hosted the unveiling ceremony of our Welcome Figure with a yummy BBQ to celebrate afterwards!

ILC’s Preparation for Employment Skills (PES) training program has been very busy this year! Teacher Gustav Guzek and Indigenous Education Assistant Brandon Dreyer had a fabulous bunch of students this year! The students who were selected for the PES program have had the opportunity to participate in many hands on activities such as: traditional drum making, cedar weaving, bird house building and archery! Students in the program have also participated in Food Safe and First Aid courses in order to obtain certificates that are applicable for summer jobs. 

Congratulations to our Indigenous Graduates 2018!

Our year was off to a good and quick start, with an all time record number of students returning ready to take on the new year. Our new students are feeling welcome and are excelling in the ILC environment, and our amazing Indigenous Educational Assistant, Kat Heibert, has been settling students in and bringing her energy and passion to the ILC team. 

Indigenous Trades Awareness Skills and Knowledge Program (TASK) 

Celebrating 5 years of Indigenous TASK program in SD 63. Ten Indigenous TASK students are wrapping up their trade sampler program this January. Students completing this trades training program sample the following trade areas: Electrical, Plumbing, Sheet Metal, Joinery, carpentry, and Welding. In addition, the students complete Fork Lift operator, Flag Person, Skid Steer, Confined Spaces, Fall Arrest, WHMIS, and CSTS industry certifications. Each student leaves TASK with a clearly articulated path to their chosen trade training area. We are proud to be celebrating six years of partnership with Coast Salish Employment and Training society.