South Island Distance Education School

June 2024

SIDES 2023/24

SIDES is very pleased to announce three winners of our National Indigenous Peoples Day poetry contest

Students were asked to respond to one of three prompts: Land, Unity, and Resilience.

Freya (gr 10), Isla (gr 9), and Sofi (gr 9) are our three winners, and they did such an amazing job of capturing the spirit of these concepts. We hope you enjoy these poems as much as we did.

SIDES Spirit Bear

The Indigenous Education Department connected us with Stelly’s teacher Douglas Heinekey and his student Grace, a fluent SENĆOŦEN speaker. We sent them a list of attributes that the students felt represented the bear, and Grace began working on some name options. Grace met with the students via Zoom and shared four potential names, explaining the meaning of each. The students decided that the bear was a girl and Grace revised the names accordingly. She taught us how to pronounce all of them and the students narrowed it down to two names. Grace explained that a person can be gifted more than one name, and that both names carry equal value but that they can be used in different situations.

The students chose two names: HILEȻTENOT (to be glad, happy, cheerful) and QOMQOMTENOT (to be strong). HILEȻTENOT was chosen because the students felt that spirit bear regularly attends story time and that story time represented a fun, happy time. QOMQOMTENOT was chosen because they liked the way it sounded and felt that a spirit bear, as a protector, would also have to be strong.

We are incredibly proud of our students for their thoughtful engagement in this process. A big thank you to Lois for getting us started and Grace for her innate ability to connect with our students and her generosity in sharing about her culture and language. HÍSWKE

January 2024

SIDES 2023/24

Ally P is the new Indigenous Support Teacher at SIDES. She is really excited to be able to work with students from all over BC. She loves to read and walk to the beach. She is proud to have been born and raised in Saanich and is happy to be able to work with the people who taught her.

Lois W the Indigenous Support Liaison for SIDES. She is from Xeni Gwet’in (Nemiah Valley, B.C.), which is on the mainland in the Interior. Her Communit is one community out of six in the Tsilhqot’in (Chilcotin) Nation. She is able to provide cultural support to Indigenous students within the school district. I facilitate communication between school and home, cultural interactions with the Indigenous community, and the involvement of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Resource People in the school.

SIDES - Royal Oak Campus Orange Shirt Day Sept 29, 2023

SIDES - Spirit Bear Adventures

Spirit Bear enjoying a reading break

Story Time Via Zoom for the Spirit Bear

January 2022

SIDES - Zoom Story Time Welcomes Keira Nolting

On January 18,2022 SIDES students welcomed Keira to their weekly Zoom Story Time. Students across our province, from Prince George to Delta, Zoomed into the session. Keira shared pictures and stories about her home, community and culture. SIDES students were intrigued by Keira’s stories and asked many questions about the far north, Keira’s home. Keira’s warm and engaging stories had the students, and many parents hovering in the back of the Zoom screen, captivated. The SIDES librarian has already had requests from students and parents to invite Keira back. Thanks for taking time from your busy schedule to share with our students, Keira!

Patty, Laura, Keira

June 2021

Congratulations

SIDES congratulates all of this year's graduates! It has been an extraordinary year, and each of you has done a wonderful job of staying true to your goals and successfully completing your secondary school experience. Take the time to enjoy and celebrate what you have done and be as proud of your tremendous accomplishment as we are of you!

The Staff of SIDES

January 2020