Saskatoon Head Start in Deer Lake
Ga Wiianiniiganiitamagoyak Children’s Centre in Deer Lake recently participated in a Community Exchanges Program through the Aboriginal Head Start On-Reserve Program (ASHOR). Deer Lake is partnered up with one of Saskatoon Tribal Council’s Head Start sites, located at Mistawasis First Nation. Four program staff from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan program arrived in Deer Lake on September 06, 2004. They included:
- Early Years Coordinator Dawne Mutch,
- Head Start Coordinator Sonya Johnstone,
- Special Needs Assistant Mellissa Watson, and
- Head Start Speech and Language Joe Duequette.
The Community Exchanges acitivites kicked off with the participants being taken to the GW Children Centre where students, parents and staff were waiting to greet the visitors. After being greeted by the Head Start Program team, the participants went on a community tour of Deer Lake First Nation. The participants were amazed at the rockiness of the community, the lakes and rocks made a lasting impression on the participants. The participants are use to the vast prairies across the province of Saskatchewan.
The next day the visitors continued their tour of the community. Community programs and services were visited. The participants were most interested with the Telehealth Services available in the community. They had never seen such equipment and asked many questions about Telehealth. Thank you Lily Sawanas for your time in showing us the Telehealth equipment, you are truly an expert at what you do (smiles).
The third day, the participants spent most of the day in the program with the children. During class time, participants were able to observe how the Centre incorporates Deer Lake’s culture and language into the program. Towards the end of the day, the participants visited a few of Deer Lake’s elders. The elders are used by the program as Traditional Instructors.
The fourth day, the exchange participants met with the Family Support Worker to discuss the parental involvement in the program. In the afternoon, they met with the Parent Group to talk about the programming and operation of the Centre. After the meeting with the Parent Group, there was a feast to end the community exchanges initiative. Community members were invited to the feast so they could meet the Exchange participants from Mistawasis First Nation.
Overall, the Community Exchanges Program was a success, the participants were able to exchange valuable information and ideas with the staff at GW Children’s Centre. All the objectives of the exchange visit were met. Deer Lake’s Head Start Program will be visiting their site in October.
Check out the Children’s Centre website for pictures at http://gwchildrencentre.ca