Youth Development
There are many unique offerings and opportunities for students to thrive in the Frontier School Division, and one of those areas is Frontier Collegiate. Located in Cranberry Portage, Manitoba, Frontier Collegiate has anywhere from 20 to 30 First Nation communities represented by the students in the school. About 350 youth from across Northern Manitoba have chosen to go there, or need to go there because their community does not have a high school. “They’ve just put in a state-of-the-art welding program,” explains Klassen. “It’s the only accredited welding program in northern Manitoba.” Frontier Collegiate also offers building construction, hairstyling and various technical vocational trades.
Some of the other highlights that Frontier should be proud of include the construction of a new state-ofthe-art construction building that recently opened in Norway House in September. The facility will support students from Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre, providing skills training needed for a career in the skilled trades. Students in this program will learn carpentry skills and to build houses, filling the high need for housing in northern communities.
Last year, the division also purchased the Caribou Lodge in Cranberry Portage and is refurbishing it so that they can run their Engaged Learners program—a transition program for youth who are no longer enrolled in full-time schooling for whatever reason and find themselves unsure of what to do next. The program serves as a stepping stone to continuing education, either in the trades or by completing their high school diplomas. With fairly strict rules and guidelines, each session is approximately three weeks, and some students continue to go back to the program for up to three years. One of the conditions is that each participant must find employment before returning to the program for more skill development. Future renovations at Caribou Lodge include creating a dorm setting out of the existing motel structure and the construction of a greenhouse.
This year the Frontier School Division will celebrate 50 years of the Frontier Games—a large annual four-day winter celebration in a selected community that involves students in grades five to eight participating in several activities and friendly competitions. “We have trap setting, which is fun to watch, I’ll tell you. Some kids are really fast with setting traps,” explains Klassen. “We also offer snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, volleyball, hockey and other events.” Frontier also hosts an annual fishing derby where every school has the opportunity to have its students fish on the lake nearest their school.