University of Regina pre-service teachers, Jane Brundige and Brooke Alexander, bring their talent and passion to grade four Henry Janzen students.  Here’s what they had to say:

“First, we would like to thank Project of Heart for this opportunity that you have provided for us, and our students. It was a very meaningful learning experience. We engaged our students in a variation of Project of Heart due to the three-week time constraint of our teaching block.

“We were very lucky to have the experience of Elder Hazel Dixon who shared her personal stories about experiences she had at the residential schools. She also answered many of the students’ questions.

“For the action project portion of the Project our students engaged in two activities: the creation of a learning blog and a school-wide fundraiser. The students truly wanted to commemorate the lives of students who lost their lives in residential schools and to be able to give back to youth in the community who are still being affected because of the inter-generational trauma.

In their short time Brundige and Alexander were at the school, they were able to oversee a student-planned, school-wide fundraiser– a donut sale!  $270.00 they raised went to   Street Culture, an organization in Regina that gives back to youth who are unable to acquire adequate food and clothing, or access affordable shelter. Says Brundige, “Ms. Juno’s grade four class had a blast with this project, and were excited to learn about this topic.”

Both Alexander and Brundige agreed that Project of Heart gave their students an opportunity to become active participants in their learning. Alexander states, “In the short time they spent with us, they made exceptional growth in their awareness, understanding, empathy and care for discussions concerning residential schools. Project of Heart positively impacted the students’ interest in this topic; they were extremely excited to be a part of a nation-wide program.”

Both Brundige and Alexander iterate how Project of Heart exemplified learning for their students in an active, engaging manner. “It helped push the two of us to plan our learning experiences in a very interactive manner, and to have the opportunity to see learning at its best.”

Project of Heart takes its hat off to students at Henry Janzen Elementary, and their pre-service teachers.  Thank you!