It's okay to chew gum in school

As adults, we are often encouraged to set up our day and our surroundings to bring out the best of our abilities, spark imagination and improve concentration.

We often think we are doing the same favour to students in school, but that's not always the case.

Cando School principal Tammy Riel and vice-principal Jennifer Montenay gave a demonstration recently to the Living Sky School Division Board of Education on the self-regulating initiative they have been implementing for the last two years.

Through this program they are improving learner engagement, behaviour and discipline issues and self-awareness.

The physical environment of the student was the first thing to be addressed.

After learning about the program two years ago in Regina, said Riel, the first thing they did when they got back to Cando was de-clutter the classrooms to make them feel more calming and to remove distractions from the students' lessons.

They introduced moveable and moving furniture, a pacing strip at the back of the room, "fidgets" for the students' hands, mp3 players for those who benefit, aromatherapy, even gum-chewing. A transitional room was also made available where students could go to find calm and quiet when necessary.

All of these things, she said, help students self-regulate themselves.

And the students have bought into it, she said. They are experiencing successes in learning to self-regulate, so much so, said Riel, that the teachers are learning lessons from them as well.

But it wasn't just the student's physical surroundings that underwent a change. Their daily routine did as well.

A healthy nutrition program was already in place, said Riel. Added to the nutrition routine was the daily check-in, in which students were able to assess how they were feeling in relation to their readiness to learn, and do what was necessary to get to that state.

And the routine throughout the day enforces their self-regulation by embedding movement within their lessons.

The school serves Cando and the surrounding rural area as well as Mosquito and Red Pheasant First Nations. There are also many adult learners in the school. The self-regulating initiative applies to all the students, said Riel.

In addition to improving their learning opportunities, the program is also helping to bring self-regulation and self-awareness to students dealing with challenging out-of-school situations. Some have reached out for help and are finding healing, said Riel.

She and Montenay added the Cando School Community Council and the school's Elders are very supportive of the program.

Brian Quinn, superintendent of School Operations, Curriculum and Instruction, said the students took the initiative seriously and effectively made it their own.

Director of Education Randy Fox congratulated Riel, Montenay and the Cando staff and students on their initiative, as well as the division's Al Highton, assistant facilities manager for his work.

Fox, along with the board member representing Cando School, Todd Miller, both said even the change brought about the de-cluttering of the classrooms was surprising and enlightening.