Rural Community School.

November 13, 2012

I had the amazing opportunity to embark on a field trip and visit the rural community school in the village of Xxxx, Saskatchewan a few weeks ago. It was certainly an eye opening experience and made me more aware of the various educational environments that exist beyond the city of Saskatoon. I grew up on a farm outside of the small town of Colonsay, Saskatchewan, and expected that the Xxxx visit would just be a monotonous, mundane, typical rural school, identical to the one I had previously attended for 11 years of my life. I was sorely mistaken.

Xxxx offers classes to grades ranging from pre-kindergarten, all the way through to grade 12 and is a part of Saskatchewan's Prairie Spirit School Division. Due to its location and with the number of Aboriginal Reservations surrounding Xxxx, almost every student is bussed in. The school offers all of the requirement classes to graduate, as well as electives such as woods, home-economics, welding, and even a music recording technology class. It also boasts a "health hut", where breakfast, lunch, and snacks are provided throughout the day, free of charge to the students, although the teachers are required to pay $3 for their meal of choice. In each classroom a bowl of fruit is stationed at the teacher's desk and is a free-for-all during the school day. Xxxx recognizes that it must ensure that the students, as human beings, need to have their basic needs met prior to them being required to fulfill any concentrated school efforts. They offer extra-curriculuar programs to their students, such as: badminton, basketball, curling, volleyball, soccer, yoga, track-and-field, zumba, noon half hour open gym, golf, and open gym nights. As well, Xxxx Community School has various clubs that students can take part in: chess, SLC, yearbook, and outdoor education.

On the Xxxx Community School website (I can provide the html link if requested), they have posted their foundations for learning:

Our Mission:
To provide a safe, supportive learning environment for each student to be engaged in developing the skills and knowledge necessary to become a responsible, contributing citizen and life-long learner.

Our Beliefs and Core Values:
-Every individual is capable of achieving his or her potential.
-Learning is an essential life-long process for all members of the school community.
-Each individual has a responsibility for his or her learning.
-Diversity strengthens individuals and the community.
-Every individual is a valuable member of our school community.
-Parental and community involvement is essential for student success.

Xxxx is considered an "inner-city school in the country" due to the high population among its students (and in many cases their families) of drug and alcohol related abusers, teen pregnancies, high drop-out rate, and low graduation numbers. To assist and guide the students who are dealing with these or other issues, a councellor is made available on-site for the students to meet with with complete confidentially.

All in all, visiting Xxxx was a eye-opening experience for me. I feel like I was so incredibly sheltered from many issues and realities growing up, kind of like I grew up in a bubble. Being exposed to a community school has greatly opened my eyes to the bigger issues that people have to face throughout their entire lives, and has made me eager to find ways that I can contribute to the success of such individuals.