Pilick community school changes name to honour elders' vision

A Wolastoqey community in New Brunswick unveiled the newname of its kindergarten to Grade 6 school on Wednesday as ittakes a more holistic approach to education.

Wulastukw Elementary School inPilick, Kingsclear First Nation,about 13 kilometres west ofFredericton,is nowWulastukw Wolokehkitimok. Wolokehkitimoktranslates to "a place of holistic learning."

Elder Imelda Perley (Opolahsuwehs)saidthe late Pilick eldersVeronica Atwin and Charles Solomon were instrumental in keeping ceremony and language alive in the community and it's their vision of a holistic schoolthat inspired the new name.

"Both of them are champions," said Perley, whose workin Wolastoqey language spans decades.

She said Solomon was a medicine man and helped her learn vital teachings about muskrat root and Atwin was one of the first Wolastoqewlanguage teachers she could remember. Atwincreatedher owndictionaries without any formal linguistic training.

Theschool is incorporatinglanguage, culture, land-based teachingsand Wolastoqey ways of knowing.

"We're learning about us, we're learning for us, we're learning how to maintain our language and everything within our language," said Perley.

WATCH | Community unveils school's new name:

Behind the new name for Kingsclear First Nation school

2 years ago

Duration 2:50

Kingsclear First Nation has renamed Wulastukw Elementary School to Wulastukw Wolokehkitimok, a name elders say means to "think, love, and learn in our language" as students are taught in Wolastoqey.

PrincipalRamona Solomon, agranddaughter of Charles Solomon, saidit's important the school serves as a safe place for students to learn.

"It's been ingrained in us to be ashamed of who we are and theydon't have to," said Solomon.

Jesse Simon, the First Nation's director of education,saidthis year theylaunched a Montessori style of education, where students can learn at their own pace. He saidthey have their own measurements of success andat the centre is meeting thechildren's needs.

"The model itself is built for developing the wellbeing of the child so they will be able to overcome these challenges once they leave this community," said Simon.

He said they have a three-year plan for this approach which will include literacy and numeracy measurements.

Simonsaidthey're developing plans to create more language nests in the community becauselanguage is vital for the health of the children. Hesaid he wants to see early childhood and adult immersion classes someday.

As the school's new name was unveiled, Chief Gabby Atwin announced the community's official language is now Wolastoqey.

"We have to bring our language backto our community," said Atwin.

Atwin saidhe was proud to see Wolastoqey youth speaking the language.