Maquinna Elementary

With Maquinna Elementary, we focused on our relationship with nature. Our focus was pollinators with the K-2 group. We discovered all the ways our lives intersect with pollinators and how we can be in community with them! We did this by dancing like bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. For our celebration, we created the "tastiest flowers", made prints of the fruits and vegetables we receive thanks to pollinators, created "magic earth crowns" and made seed balls to grow food for our pollinator friends! 

The focus for Grades 2-4 was Trees. We looked at what humans have in common with our tree relatives. 

We created a poem and trunk drawing that reflected each person's journey, creating unique, colourful cross-sections. We discussed how trees communicate with one another through their root systems and in turn created our own root systems. We worked collaboratively on imaginations of bark patterns! All our creations were turned into a community forest connecting us to each other and to the generous silent giants around us. 

Intermediate  students from Seymour and Maquinna are exploring the theme of Human  Movement and Migration. Each year, thousands of people leave their home  and move to a new city or country.  Migration occurs for many reasons whether social, political, economic  or environmental. There is often both a “push” to move to a place where  living conditions are more favourable and a “pull” to remain close to  family, community and culture. In our schools,  many students and their families know first hand the experience of  displacement, migration, exile and relocation. 


Divisions  1, 2, 3 explored the theme of Human Movement and Migration. Students  are creating a story around a universal wire sculpture of no particular  identity. Through imagining the transition  between old land and new, the past and the future, we will attempt to  visually represent the space where hopes and dreams exist. Through  movement studies, painting on wood, wire sculpture, photography and  writing, each student will experience how art helps  us to understand and gain empathy for the diverse lived experiences of  those who have come to a new home. An exhibit including both art and  movement elements will guide classes from both schools to follow  footsteps of hope through the school ground and inspire  a walk through the streets near the school. We hope the dialogue that  follows will help us locate feelings of hope here in our own community!


Teacher quote:
“Photography is an incredibly calming experience for my students. I am happy to see them work with such focus.” -Seymour Teacher.