with their neighborhood schools. By integrating education into home life and community spaces, Seven Oaks gives young learners, and their parents, the tools to approach kindergarten with confidence. The holistic approach reflects the division’s understanding that education begins long before the classroom. “We recognize that in some of our communities, there are significant socioeconomic barriers,” Kreml explains, “this is an opportunity for us to assist in that early literacy.” LAND-BASED LEARNING: THE AKI CENTRE At the heart of Seven Oaks School Division’s commitment to Indigenous education lies the Blue Thunderbird Land-Based Teachings Learning Centre (Aki Centre), where Operations Coordinator Alexis Nazeravich explains, “the classroom is the land.” This 50-acre site represents far more than an outdoor education space, it’s an active restoration of Indigenous knowledge disrupted by colonization. “When you’re speaking about curriculum and pedagogy, this place was born from a collective, a 4 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 06
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