Carol Baldwin
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wakaw Recorder
An Open House at Wakaw School on Thursday, Oct. 3, was well attended by community members.
Co-hosted by Wakaw School, Wakaw School Community Council (SCC) and the Humboldt Regional Newcomer Centre (HRNC), they served 400 barbecued burgers and hotdogs before people settled in the school gymnasium for a movie night. The movie was initially planned as an outdoor experience, but the drastic temperature change called for a change in venue from outdoors to indoors.
The School Community Council (SCC) is an advisory group that can make recommendations to the Principal on ways to improve student achievement and well-being. It also promotes ongoing parent engagement between the school and families. SCC meetings are open to the public, but only elected members have voting rights. SCCs collaborate with parents and the community to share responsibility for the learning success and well-being of all children and youth. They encourage and facilitate the involvement of youth, parents, and the community in school planning and improvement processes. Any parent or guardian of a student who attends the school, or any community member who is an elector as defined in The Local Government Election Act and lives within the school’s attendance area, is eligible to run for an elected position on the SCC.
SCCs are made up of two types of members: elected and appointed. SCCs typically have between five to nine elected parents and community members, with the majority being parents or guardians of students attending the school. Appointed members include the principal, one teacher, and one or two students from grades 10-12 (if applicable), as well as First Nations representatives if students live on reserve. They are found in schools across Canada and are a way for the public to contribute to the school and community, and connect with teachers, administrators, parents/caregivers, and other community members. They are the community’s voice in local education and provide families and community members an opportunity to work with their local school on programs that enhance learning and student well-being.
The collaboration between Wakaw SCC and the Humboldt Regional Newcomer Centre in hosting the event highlighted that communities across Canada are recognizing the importance of newcomers and are making immigration a main component of their plans for the future, both at the provincial, territorial, and increasingly, at the municipal level. Over the past decade, the destinations of newcomers have become more diverse, and changing demographics have made immigration a growing necessity. This has led to an increased focus on both attracting and retaining immigrants, emphasizing the important role of community. Local Immigration Partnerships (LIP) are the mechanism through which Citizenship and Immigration Canada supports the development of community-based partnerships and planning around the needs of newcomers and whose main objective is to engage a wide variety of stakeholders in a focused strategic planning process to strengthen the welcoming communities for newcomers, and thereby promote their success in Canada.
Connecting Grids Regional Immigration Partnership is one of Saskatchewan’s Local Immigration Partnerships (LIP). With its main hub in Humboldt, Connecting Grids was established after research identified a need for coordination and collaboration between newcomers and organizations in their new communities within Saskatchewan’s Central North East regions. LIPs foster inclusion and integration of newcomers into local communities by focusing on public awareness, housing, and mental health. Newcomers face specific challenges during their settlement journey such as cultural adjustment, language barriers, discrimination, racism, and trauma which can significantly impact their mental health. By offering support services and resources to address these challenges, LIPs can help newcomers successfully navigate their settlement journey and reach their full potential.
Public awareness education is a top priority for Connecting Grids. It is important to educate the general public, employers, and service providers about immigration and settlement, as this can lead to a better understanding of the experiences of newcomers. By gaining knowledge and understanding of the experiences of newcomers, citizens may become more aware of issues such as language barriers, international credentials and the assessment process, the differences between permanent residents, temporary foreign workers, refugees, displaced people, and international students, as well as the discrimination that these groups face. This awareness can help people in communities support newcomers more effectively.
The Humboldt Regional Newcomers Centre operates the Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) program which provides newcomer students, and their families, support as they settle into life in Canada. It is a school-based outreach program geared towards assisting newcomer students to adjust and participate in their new school and community and achieve personal success. SWIS is available in all schools in the Horizon School Division and is a partnership between Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Humboldt Regional Newcomer Centre, Horizon School Division and Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Division. The Humboldt SWIS team offers various free interactive, educational, and fun programming that students and families are encouraged to attend throughout the year. SWIS services include but are not limited to, information and referrals, school registration, school orientation for newcomer students, information sessions, liaising between teachers, parents, students and support workers to accommodate meetings, promoting cultural sensitivity in the school and community, providing translators for students/families with limited EAL ability, providing academic assistance, providing support to parents/teachers during parent/teacher interviews, connect families to community resources (extracurricular activities – funding if eligible), and free summer and after-school programming.
The HRNC offers several services for newcomers based on each person’s or family’s needs. Some newcomers may need assistance with English as an additional language, while others may need services more geared toward acquiring a job. Some of the services offered through HRNC include basic orientation to Canadian life and culture and winter safety, applying for a Saskatchewan Health card or a Social Insurance Number, and providing social events where newcomers can meet other newcomers and begin establishing a network of friends and advocates. Newcomers in any part of the Central North East can reach out to the HRNC for assistance in any of those areas, or to the local school for information and forms for the SWIS program.
