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Monday 28 July 2014

Engaging learning opportunities brought to Maskwacis community on July 16, 2014

160 people registered for the reading program on July 16, 2014. Bring your reading notebooks to the library and receive a surprise gift.

Engaging learning opportunities brought to Maskwacis college
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Maskwacis Cultural College hosted a Science Day on Wednesday, July 16 to mark the efforts undertaken by the college staff, in particular librarian Manisha Khetarpal, to engage not only the students but also the larger community.

Invited by Khetarpal down from Edmonton was the Let’s Talk Science team, an outreach science organization affiliated with the University of Alberta, to engage the community in several topics.

“We grabbed activities that encompasses all the areas of science we cover,” said site lead Shakib Rahman.

Let’s Talk Science uses simple household items to further interest kids in learning. “The biggest thing is, if you make science approachable to the kids . . . you find a lot of them coming out,” said Rahman.

He says teaching children science isn’t about intimidating them with every detail but about fostering an interest and a passion. “It’s about self-discovery.”

He wants approachable science to break down barriers and attract students of all ages to learning.

Sociology class

In the spirit of furthering their education and knowledge, the students of the college are exposed to a sociology class taught by Yun-Csang Ghimn.

Ghimn joined the college almost six years ago and began teaching a course equal in value to those at the University of Alberta, making the course transferable and providing more post-secondary options to the students.

He also teaches sociology at the University of Alberta and feels the smaller classes are more beneficial in readying the First Nations students for other schools and experiences. “Academically, I would say they’re more than ready.”

The small size also allows for more emotional interactions between the students; heated arguments and debates are common, says Ghimn.

Ghimn focuses on social structure and inequality with a First Nations perspective.

“(It) seems like the last five years, my students have had some organic exposure to non-white ethnic people,” said Ghimn. “I believe it’s an important thing for native students to have.”

The open dialogue of the class deals with customs, traditions, and truths and myths behind stereotypes, both for First Nations people and the rest of the world. “That’s a quite unique Maskwacis sociology class,” said Ghimn.

“I believe the college has to work as a window for them to the outside world,” he added.

Unlike most academic courses, where one lesson segues into the next, Ghimn’s class jumps from one topic to another depending on what the students wish to discuss.

He finds some of the topics closest to students’ hearts include race ethnicity and the hierarchy of “white” people, which refers to immigrants and other styles of people in a traditional western secular society, such as Hutterites.

“Students tend to find a few or several topics they love to talk about and they’re on fire,” said Ghimn.

Maskwacis Cultural College, 40th anniversary

Maskwacis Cultural College is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a year of cultural ceremonies and celebrations.

The college was provincially sanctioned in 1988 and has graduated more than 2,000 students with degrees, diplomas and certificates. “We’re a provincial private institution,” said president Patricia Goodwill-Littlechild.

“We hire the finest faculty; highly qualified faculty and teach courses approved by the government of Alberta,” said Goodwill-Littlechild. Maskwacis Cultural College’s courses are transferable to many universities, including Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge.

http://www.ponokanews.com/news/268295092.html

Friday 4 July 2014

Did you pick up your reading packet prepared by Maskwacis Youth?

Next pick up date for Library in a Box and reading packets is July 16 at the Maskwacis Cultural College.

Calling everyone;
We need your time as support for the Flash Mob cataloguing. Our goal is to catalog 200 books in 2 hours. We are using Soutron Global software. Training and instructions will be provided. Books are sorted in categories such as teen fiction, children's books, resource kits for schools, Library in a Box for early and adult literacy organizations,  etc.
 
If possible please bring your own laptop and extension bars.
 
Refreshments, cultural understanding, social time and a Certificate of Participation are the perks in appreciation of your time. Thank you. Your presence is a present.