News from the Nest - September Edition
Learning Bird Inc.
We partner with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit leaders to develop education solutions for lifelong learning.
As summer draws to a close, students, educators, and parents alike are gearing up to return to school. This time of the year also brings an important day of truth and learning: September 30, the?National Day for Truth and Reconciliation?and?Orange Shirt Day.?
This edition of our newsletter features free, downloadable classroom-ready resources for Orange Shirt Day, an opportunity to register for our free webinar outlining how to use these resources in your classroom, information about recent partner visits, upcoming grant opportunities, and more! ?
Free Educator Resources for Orange Shirt Day (September 30th)
Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots day intended to commemorate and raise awareness of the individual, family, and community impacts of residential schools. Are you wondering how to discuss such a heavy topic with learners you’re just getting to know? We can help!?
Learning Bird has created age- and grade-appropriate resources for K–12 learners. These resources explore the history of residential schools and how Orange Shirt Day started. These classroom-ready resource kits include a teacher background document, framing presentations, and a series of in-class activities that help learners understand the impacts residential schools had on Survivors.?
View and download the resource kits:
Free Webinar – Using the Orange Shirt Day Resources in Your Classroom
Looking for tips on how to use our Orange Shirt Day resource kits in your classroom? Register for our free webinar! Education Consultants Hannah Arseneau-Danielis and Denise Desjardins will discuss practical strategies and best practices?for using them in your classroom.
Date:?Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Time:?4:00 pm ET
Presenters:?Hannah Arseneau-Danielis and Denise Desjardins
Reconciliation in the Workplace
As we prepare for September 30, it’s important to remember that reconciliation is a multifaceted and ongoing process we must consider, commit, and recommit to daily in all aspects of our lives. From our homes to our workplaces, we can’t limit the discussion of Indigenous experiences in Canada to this single day.?
Read our most recent blog post ?for different strategies for practicing reconciliation at your workplace.
Welcoming Our New Partners
Over the last few months, we’ve welcomed six new partners to the Learning Bird family:
We’re so excited to be working together!?
Out and About: Partner Visits
We love being able to do in-person work with our community partners, and we’ve had a busy summer filled with trips and travel! Over the past few months, we’ve had the opportunity to visit a number of different partners. Thank you to the following partners for hosting our team members and collaborating with us:
Indigenous History and Heritage Gathering
In June, Andrea, Sam, and Hannah?attended the?Indigenous History and Heritage Gathering ?in Ottawa, ON. This gathering brought together diverse groups who are working to amplify the distinct stories of Indigenous people. We had the privilege of learning from many Indigenous changemakers and visionaries doing incredible work in their communities.?
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Grant Opportunities
Do you have a project idea that needs funding? We can help. We monitor available grants and help match projects with funding opportunities. Here are a few grants that are open or opening soon:
Grants of up to $100,000 are available for Indigenous-led initiatives in?Alberta that enhance, protect, or revitalize Indigenous languages, heritage, culture and arts. Eligible projects include:??
Application Period 2:?July 1 to October 31, 2024.?
Note: If you’re looking for funding for economic development projects, see the?Economic Stream ?instead.
Grants of up to $200,000 are available for regional (provincial) and local (community) projects. Grants of up to $400,000 are available for national projects. Eligible projects include programs that are related to the preservation, reclamation, development or understanding of First Nations or Métis history, cultures, or languages.
Note:?Applicants?MUST?have Qualified Donee status to apply for this funding.
Anticipated open date:?November 2024
The First People’s Cultural Council has a variety of funding opportunities for community language programs in?British Columbia.?
They’ve recently changed their application process. If you want to apply for language program funding, you must submit an Expression of Interest. FPCC reviews the Expressions of Interest and then invites selected applicants to complete a full application for the program(s) they’re interested in.
Anticipated open date:?November 2024
The True North Aid Community Initiatives Program supports Indigenous-led projects in northern and remote communities in Canada that aim to create positive and impactful community-centred change.?
True North Aid funds many different types of projects, with a focus on community events, culture camps, and workshops.?
Applications are always open.
Interested in pursuing a project? We can support you in all aspects of your project — from application to reporting to delivery.?
If you want to apply for a grant, email us at [email protected] to learn more.
Professional Development Workshops
Are you looking for new, innovative professional development (PD) opportunities? Want to get the school year off to the right start? We’ve got you covered!? We offer in-person and virtual PD workshops on many different topics. One?NEW?workshop we want to highlight is?AI Basics: Tools to Empower Your Teaching:
The release and widespread use of AI tools—like Chat GPT4.0—have left many educators wondering how teaching and learning will be affected. If you’re wondering how you can empower teachers to use AI effectively, this workshop is for you! In this workshop, we address common misconceptions about AI, explore AI tools, discuss prompt engineering and ethics, and offer strategies for designing AI-enhanced lesson plans.
Do you have a workshop idea you’d like help developing? Let us know! We can adapt one of our existing sessions to fit your needs or create a custom session on a topic of your choice.
We can even adjust our PD sessions to fit the schedule and timeslots of your education conference.
Contact us at [email protected] to learn more.
Look for Learning?Bird at the Indspire National Gathering!
The next?Indspire National Gathering for Indigenous Education ?will be November 20–22 in Winnipeg, MB.
The Indspire National Gathering brings together educators and partners to share their perspectives and collaborate to improve the educational outcomes of K–12 Indigenous students.?
We’re excited to announce that Joelle Chemali, Principal Consultant, and Lorraine Cardinal-Roy, Cree Language Specialist from Kee Tas Kee Now Tribal Council Education Authority (KTCEA), will be co-presenting at Indspire! They’ll showcase the Cree language learning resources we’ve created together and discuss how these resources support language instructors of all fluency levels.
We love attending this exciting and inspiring event every year. Be sure to stop by our booth to say hello!