Back to school for students of all ages
Returning to school or pursuing continuing education can seem like a daunting task. The Cree School Board and the staff of Sabtuan Adult Education Services (SAES) offer a wide range of courses for adults looking to develop or improve a variety of skill-sets that can translate into a meaningful career. Sabtuan hosts vocational programs within all the communities of Eeyou Istchee and they are looking to expand into other First Nations communities, such as Amos and Matagami, in the coming year.
SAES provides more than just the education and the training necessary to be prepared and successful in the workplace. They also work with potential students to assess their personal needs and career goals, help them find a program that’s right for them and assist them with meeting the necessary admission requirements. Guidance counselor Luc Bertrand is just a phone call or an e-mail away and available for personal consultations upon request. Call 1-844-923-3346 ext. 1323 or e-mail lbertrand@cscree.qc.ca.
“Every time I meet someone I ask them, ‘Do you have an idea of what you want to do, or is it a blur?’” Bertrand explains. “For example, if someone wants to become a pilot, I tell them it’s not easy. You have to complete a process: do you like math, or sciences? A pilot has to study lots of math and science.”
Bertrand says he won’t tell students what to do, but will help them examine options that gibe with their interests and skills. Then he will explain the steps that must be taken to achieve those goals.
If you’re still unsure of the next step to take in your career plan or search for employment be sure to visit Wemindji for the annual Cree Human Resources Development Regional Career Fair October 18-19. For now, here’s a list of vocational courses the SAES hopes to run in the next year.
Start dates and program offerings are subject to change depending on interest level and the number of students enrolled, so stay up-to-date on the Sabtuan website at www.csbsaes.ca/en/vocational-programs.
Hotel Reception: Hotel Reception training teaches students how to maintain guest registry books, respond to client inquiries about hotel services and utilize digital and manual systems to take care of administration duties in a hotel setting. If you’re bi- or tri-lingual and a good multi-tasker with customer service and computer skills, a Hotel Reception certificate could help you land a comfortable job at a front desk anywhere in Quebec.
Commercial and Residential Painting: This program trains painters to apply finishes that protect and decorate surfaces in residential, commercial, institutional and industrial buildings as well as construction sites. Training involves preparing wood, masonry, plaster, cement, metal and chalky and synthetic surfaces prior to applying paint, high-performance coverings, waterproof materials, flame-retardant materials, varnish, lacquer, wall coverings and special finishes.
Upon completing their training, painters have a number of employment options available to them – working for a construction company, maintaining residential buildings, working in an industrial setting or striking out on their own as entrepreneurs or independent contractors
Accounting: Thinkers, mathematicians and those who enjoy managing money and budgeting are ideal character traits for successful accountants. Graduates of Sabtuan’s accounting course master manual and digital accounting tasks, learn how to manage and maintain financial data and demonstrate bilingual communication skills. Accounting programs are planned for Chisasibi and Waskaganish in Spring 2017.
Home Care Assistance: This is an ideal course for individuals who find fulfillment in helping others, exhibit kindness, patience and understanding and possess solid listening and communication skills. Students are trained to provide basic care and services to people of all ages who are dealing with sickness or physical and mental disabilities. This involves helping clients carry out their everyday activities, organizing their living environment, ensuring clients’ safety and intervening in crisis or emergency situations. Students also learn to help clients integrate and socialize in individual or community activities.
All of these tasks require establishing a relationship of trust with clients and those close to them. They also advise clients on their lifestyle habits and provide parenting support where applicable. The goals of a home-care assistant are to meet their clients’ general needs, help them compensate for their disabilities, maintain and promote their autonomy, accompany and support them in their daily lives and handle any family or social problems that could interfere with their well-being.
Computer Support: Training in Computer Support involves becoming familiar with computer operation systems old and new, using application software, creating and implementing databases and using telecommunications. Problem solving, research skills, effective time management and communication skills in French and English are all important assets in this type of career as providing technical support in person or over the phone will be a regular element of your work day.
Ultimately, Computer Support graduates will develop the ability to manage computer networks, assess the structure and function of computer systems, develop programs of their own, install hardware and software, manage network access, set up resource sharing tools and optimize computer performance.
Starting a Business: This program focuses on project management skills and gives potential entrepreneurs the knowledge and skills they need to develop and prepare their own business plan. If you have an idea for a business or would like to eventually strike out on your own as an entrepreneur, here’s a course that will equip you for success. This year’s course will be hosted in Chisasibi and Wemindji.
Northern Building Maintenance: Directed at northern industrial life, this course helps students develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for managing a small warehouse. Learn the ins and outs of storing and maintaining tools, electrical equipment, plumbing and heating systems and develop the ability to work on internal and external building components. If you enjoy problem solving and working with your hands, this certificate could be your first step to landing a job in your home community or elsewhere in Eeyou Istchee.
Northern Heavy Equipment Operations: Here’s your opportunity to jump on industrial vehicles, move tonnes of earth and materials and get involved in the heavy lifting side of construction. This program teaches the basic principles of construction infrastructure and provides the knowledge and practical application of safety regulations in the industry. Students learn how to maintain heavy machinery and master the operation of different types of machines through a hands-on approach and comprehensive class experience.
Professional Cooking: Do you love to cook? Can you work well under pressure? The Professional Cooking program gives students the knowledge, ability and attitude necessary to prepare and implement a work plan and incorporate the necessary elements to provide smooth service, apply hygiene and practice food safety. Courses also teach how to practice occupational health and safety standards, cook various foods properly, present food in accordance with industry standards, prepare, season and store hors-d’oeuvres, soups, meat, fish, vegetables, sauces, desserts and other products in accordance with specific procedures and create menus for various meals including table-d’hôte menus, à-la-carte items and buffets.
Recreational Leadership: This course is specifically designed to train its students to organize recreational activities and events up north, developing the competencies and abilities to create positive workplace relationships, make use of recreational equipment and facilities, integrate into a work environment and promote safety in the workplace. For those with an interest in sports and leisure and a community-oriented attitude, this course gives you the chance to learn how to plan, organize, coordinate and implement recreational programming in Eeyou Istchee.
Trucking Class 1: This program develops attitudes and behaviours that are essential to the practice of the trade, such as defensive and fuel-efficient driving. The course teaches courtesy behind the wheel, a sense of responsibility and professionalism, time-management skills, resourcefulness and problem solving when handling unexpected events and emergencies and projecting a positive image of the company by means of a neat personal appearance and a clean vehicle. If you like to drive and can handle long hours on the road, Trucking Class 1 is your first step towards a job operating a big rig.
Other courses that might be offered during the upcoming school year include Trucking Class 3, Drilling and Blasting, Flight Regulation, Mining Mobile Mechanics, Electricity, Carpentry, Plastering, Secretarial Studies, Semi-Automatic Welding, Surveying and Topography, and Water Processing and Treatment.
For more info: www.inforoutefpt.org
Eeyou Istchee invests in Elementary and High School Programs
Summer’s end and the start of the school year is always bittersweet for young people as the freedom of vacation is traded in for a new year of classes. While confronted with long hours in the classroom and piles of homework, most are reunited with friends and are offered exciting opportunities for arts and recreation. Here are a few initiatives organized by the Cree School Board, the Cree Justice Department and some of the CSB’s partners that elementary and high school students can look forward to in the coming academic year.
The Niikaan Project
A joint effort between the CSB and Minority Media, the Niikaan Project is a three-year video game concentration program currently being run at Waapihtiiwewan High School in Oujé-Bougoumou. Students learn the ins and outs of video-game production and have the opportunity to focus on the elements of the process that interest them the most – either video production, sound production, graphic design, story writing or a combination of one or more digital media related skills.
The Niikaan Project introduces its students to the world of digital media and is designed so that upon graduating high school, students who have participated in the program are capable of creating, producing and sharing their individual and community stories, moving on to further their studies at the CEGEP or university level or immediately pursuing employment in the media industry. As the CSB and Minority Media fine-tune their curriculum in Oujé-Bougoumou, we will hopefully see the course expand to other high schools in the James Bay territory.
Mikw Chiyâm
“Moving forward without hesitation” – the theme of an arts education concentration program launched last year in Mistissini – is a fitting name for a project that spares no expense to immerse Cree youth in the arts and provide outlets for creative self-expression. Recently featured on APTN National News, Mikw Chiyâm is accessible to students in Secondary 1 to 4 and consists of four seven week intensive artist residencies that bring contemporary Indigenous artists together with students to promote cultural identity, increase student retention and train participants in the artistic medium of their choice.
The brainchild of N’we Jinan’s David Hodges and CSB’s Serge Beliveau and Kim Quinn, the 2016-2017 Mikw Chiyâm program is expanding from Voyageur Memorial School in Mistissini to Wiinibekuu High School in Waskaganish and James Bay Eeyou School in Chisasibi. This year’s offerings range from a host of visual arts (painting, drawing, collective mural, multimedia, photography and collage) to music and performance, drama, performance and show production, multimedia writing and zines, and multimedia and film.
Chris Robertson, Jamie Bradbury, Sharon Hunter, Moe Clark, Ahau Marino, Cheyenne Scott, Francine Cunningham, Melanie Garcia, Kalkidan Assefa, Brit Kewin, Nicolas Gouin and Fanny Aishaa are the artists scheduled for residencies throughout the academic year.
For more info: mikwchiyam.com
Cree Justice Department offers Back-to-School Support
SNAP Program
Stop Now and Plan (SNAP) is a program designed to assist children ages 6-11 who struggle with behavioural issues, and their parents. It is administered at home and in the classroom and is aimed at teaching children foundational skills that will assist them throughout their lives. SNAP sessions focus on things like body cues, dealing with anger, respect, dealing with bullying, and body respect and wellness. The service is available to all elementary-level children across Eeyou Istchee.
Alternative Suspension
The Alternative Suspension program was developed by the Montreal YMCA and has been expanded to over 40 communities throughout Quebec. The initiative sees school suspensions as opportunities for personal development through active youth engagement. The YMCA and the Department of Justice of the Cree Nation Government have partnered to create a culturally literate, Cree version of the Alternative Suspension program that takes into account history and lived realities of the Cree Nation. During the suspension, a youth worker helps students with their homework, and administers a variety of workshops tailored to each youth. The youth worker also keeps the parents and teachers informed on the participant’s daily progress.
Challenge Days
Challenge Days are six-and-a-half-hour events done in schools, with up to 100 students and 25 adult volunteers, centered on sharing and connecting while creating a safe environment. During the event, the youth are encouraged to participate in a number of speaking exercises in front of their peers and adults, knowing that everything that is talked about stays in the room. For the children, it’s about seeing they’re not alone and being heard in a safe space.
Me to We / We Day
Me to We / We Day is about teaching youth that you do not have to wait to grow up to make a difference in the world. As children and youth, they have the power to make positive change in their own communities and in the world as well.
Youth Engagement Funds
Through youth engagement funds, the Cree Justice Department has funded such activities as youth canoe brigades, summer camps, youth workshops, youth music-and-art festivals, on-the-land cultural programs, and girls’ self-esteem programs. Youth engagement is about working with youth leaders to develop programs and initiatives to help young people in communities succeed in school, develop personally and socially, build leadership and team work skills, challenge themselves, stay in school, talk about issues such as bullying, addictions and other subjects they choose.
Mindfulness Program
The Mindfulness program launches this year and is for youth with learning disabilities. Though breathing and discipline based programs like yoga and martial arts, it is meant to focus a youth’s attention so they can succeed in school and improve their inter-personal relationships.
How to turn in a great paper
by Will Nicholls
Of the things I’ve learned over the years, among the most important was how to turn in an assignment that would get me a great mark. As with everything it requires a little work but not as much as you would think. In fact, once you do the initial research it gets much easier.
In a nutshell, here is what I learned. Check out what your professor has written. Look at a few of their papers. In academia, the saying is “publish or perish.” When reading a professor’s work look for a few things.
- Their ideas on the subject or a subject similar to what the assignment is.
- Look for catchphrases. Almost every prof has them. It might be the way they start a sentence i.e. Logically speaking…, Understandably the data…, an empirical…. Some might be a whole sentence. You will notice them in the papers you look at. Use them yourself as this type of flattery is the way to go. It shows you think like them or they have influenced you.
- Check out the bibliography and footnotes. See who their heroes or influences were. Once again, look at their catch phrases and use them. More importantly, quote them in support of your assignment. The prof will know their work and get a warm and fuzzy feeling because not only did you go beyond the scope of the assignment, you actually researched their favourite peers. Plus, quotes eat up space.
- Always eat up white space with content. That means no triple line spacing, larger margins on the sides or a larger font than usual. These things will always be noticed and counted against you.
- Any illustration/pictures should support the assignment. If you can find some that pertain to the assignment through the bibliography or footnotes, this is a bonus.
You can use the above information over and over again as you already have the basics.
Now, this is important – always agree with the prof even when you think they are wrong. Black can be white in the classroom, so find a way to justify that. When you have a doctorate you can argue and change the system.
If you really must, you can introduce one new idea as longs as it supports the professor’s thinking.
Very importantly, always remember to credit your sources to avoid being accused of plagiarism.