Roseau Valley School leaders focus on community

The interim tag is being removed for Roseau Valley School’s principal Jennifer Collette and vice principal Kerry Peterson for next school year as they continue forging community relationships in Dominion City, Roseau River and the surrounding area.

Before serving as interim principal this school year, Collette was the vice principal for five years. Previously a teacher, she has been at the school for 15 years. Peterson has been with the school for 17 years as interim vice principal and a teacher.

Both stressed the importance of including the community in what the school does. Collette and Peterson said it is a way of teaching using real world tasks to the kindergarten to Grade 12 students.

“What is your plan for after? What is your passion? How can we inspire their passion so that when they leave us they can have a better idea of what they might want to do,” said Peterson.

An advantage for a small school like Roseau Valley is that everyone can know everyone else, and all the skills of the community are more easily found and put to use showing kids some potential paths.

“We bring in people like artists to enrich some of our art program. We have Woodmore Women’s Institute doing things like gardening clubs,” described Collette.

“There are experts in our own communities. We don’t have to call on people from Winnipeg… We actually have a lot of people who have so many different skills that they could bring into a school setting,” she added.

“And we get into the community as well because I think we make things better for each other.”

The school paid to have the ice rink open every day over Christmas break.

“That’s just something that we do to support the community, but also support kids who want something to do when they’re home for that two-week period,” said Collette.

“We always hope that the work that we do here transfers out. And I think that’s how you change the world.”

New this spring is an everyday lunch program, evidenced by the savoury smell wafting in Collette’s office as the administrators described how they believe the school over the years has become more of a community hub. The lunch program was started in 2022 before the province added nutrition program money to the budget, and a breakfast program has been in place over 20 years according to Collette. It is made possible by people coming in to make enough to keep kids fed and focused.

“You can’t do this without families. I mean they’re sending their kids to us every day, trusting us with their children. You need that partnership with parents and guardians to actually make it all go well, because we’re all investing,” said Collette.