Barbara Latkowski
Caledonia Courier
It may seem early days as a new school year begins at Nak’albun Elementary School in Fort St. James but it’s not too early for fishing for these students.
From Sept. 12-14, students not only fished but cleaned their catches from Stuart Lake.
The new provincial school curriculum stresses the importance of culture and knowledge integrated through all areas of learning to help reflect the First Peoples Principles of Learning.
At Nak’albun Elementary School, this cultural element has become a regular staple as students continue to engage in cultural activities with a hands-on approach year after year.
This cultural focus is especially important for Nak’albun principal, Terry Espejo.
“We are very lucky here. Our learning certainly reflects the culture of the community” Espejo said.
Beautiful sunny days brought in a great number of fish as Vince and Keith Prince took groups of students out on their boats.
The nets were dropped 10 ft. and left out the night before each fishing day.
“I’ve been offering this for 17 years now,” Vince Prince said. “I started doing this for the school way back when my own kids went here.”
And since then, students can’t wait to hop in the boats and net some fish including brightly coloured sockeye salmon.
But the students weren’t finished yet. It was time to clean their catches.