March 30 Daily Update

De-board. You know the drill. We wait and then exit the plane last.
We will wait outside briefly before walking to a washroom as a group. Wait there. (Follow Ms. Prohaska.)
Debrief meeting. Should be about 20 minutes. All you have to do is sit and look like you are paying attention. This is the final group meeting until 12:13 on Monday in room 308.
Then we walk to the gate, see the meeting area, and then have free time until check-back time (TBA). Stay in groups of 2 or more. Be back on time. and stay on this side of security (do not exit).
When we are home and at the shuttle station at the Highliner, please say goodbye to your lead chaperone before leaving the shuttle station. Thx!
See you at school on Monday. We gather at 12:13 pm in room 308. Bring all gear to room 308 (not the office).
We will need 6-8 pieces of dry fire wood for the newly planed fire at Diana Lake on Monday (after we pick up GMCS students). The organizers of orientation may also need sporting equipment for their plans. Please talk to FAK if you can help. Bring any stuff to room 308 by 12:13 pm on Monday.

DEBRIEFING NOTES

Thank you for being good guests. This is some of what we noticed:

You are amazing. Your hosts went out of their way to tell us that CHSS students were polite, respectful, helpful, and overall good guests. This happened time and time again, with even neighbours and residents without a student on the trip telling us thank you for having such great students. That level of appreciation is rare.
You had fun. You were responsible. You were, for the most part, independent. Lots of students simply communicated, rather than ask when the request was clearly reasonable and was clearly in bounds. We appreciated the information you communicated and your level of independence and responsibility all week. This makes us proud to be teachers of your school and makes proud to part of CHSS.
You included each other, especially when doing school activities that the teachers directly supervised. Based on what we could notice, this extended to host home activities much of the time. At times this was uneven (could be better) but we did not observe much direct exclusion and respect for all and intentional inclusion improved over the week. (We want you all to really pay attention to the importance of inclusion and community when we are hosting. Include everyone to build a strong community for all.)
You were flexible and you helped each other. Throughout the week CHSS students helped each other. We saw this time and time again.
You balanced the “fun” and the “educational” part of the trip and were good sports when the chaperones made you do “teachery” things. We tried to get this balance right, and we noticed you being good sports about it when we over-taught, as you almost always looked like you were paying attention.
You functioned as a group, especially during transitions. You were good sports about group stuff, which we know can be a bit annoying. You woke up on time, you mostly stayed in line, you quickly adjusted when things went wrong, and you were patient.
You managed to do something that was not always easy and wasn’t always fun. For example, there was some rudeness, including CHSS students being rude to other CHSS students. (Not cool.) Another example, there were cultural differences. As a guest, it can be difficult when your host says or does things that you find disagreeable. A few other kinds of challenges also came up, and we saw you manage these things.
You communicated with the chaperones. From what we saw, our group did a very good job of asking for help, communicating concerns, and solving problems respectfully. A few big challenges came up but were resolved and that was good to see.
Finally, and super importantly, we noticed that many of you took risks and challenged yourself. Whether this was putting yourself into a uncomfortable situation by listening to ideas you disagree with, trying new activities, or solving challenges with minimal or no help from chaperones, we were impressed by the growth and determination shown by you. (This makes the trip fun for both of the teachers. We volunteer to spend our spring break, without pay, with you because watching you have fun, grow, and learn is fun for us. Thank you!!!!)

This is what you should pay attention to next:

Get enough sleep. Sleep helps you make good judgments and be safe. Excessive Monster drinks and intentional sleep deprivation can cause accidents, widen tensions, and make the things unsafe.
Pace yourself. There are five remaining phases to this exchange. First, resetting. This is going home, getting ready for the road trip, going to period 1 and 2 on Monday. Second, welcoming and orienting our guests. We do this Monday afternoon. Be n time to prepare on Monday at 12:13 pm. Meet in room 308. Third, showcasing and teaching about our cultures and communities. This includes being tour guides. The road trip is long (our towns, villages, nations are physically located far apart — especially when travelling by land and not on water — this much distance will be new for many GMCS students) and it will be a stretch for our guests. They will rely on our support, which includes us teaching, providing support through a great attitude and caring tone, and paying attention to basic needs. Fourth is hang out time in Prince Rupert and Metlakata. This time in the super twin houses is meant to be the highlight of the trip. This is what will be remembered the most for our guests. It should be safe, fun, interesting to all, and incredibly inclusive. As with our stay, we are the ones treating. But we as a community must be mindful to not set each other up. If you plan a $150 a person activity that only a few people can participate in (remember, we should be paying for our guests) this may leave a sour note for those left out. So keep this in mind, as there are plenty of low cost and free options. Whatever you plan, be prepared to include everyone. Finally, the last phase is saying goodbye and staying in touch. Be prepared to feel some loss when all of a sudden the trip ends. But it doesn’t need to end, as you can stay in touch.
Understand how our trip is different. Our trip is different because we live in our unique community. Every community is unique. We have wonderful things to share and celebrate. We also have our own challenges, like long distances between our towns and a housing shortage. We designed our trip with these values in mind: Pride of place. Celebration of culture. Sharing of community. Demonstration of respect. Including everyone. Showing off our strengths and teaching about the unique features of our community as a place. There are few places in the world like ours in terms of cultural riches, linguistic diversity, and thousands of years of continuous tradition and Indigenous civilization and continuous history.
Appreciate our community and what makes us uniquely awesome. See above.
See how the tables are turned. Now it’s our turn to be good hosts. Include everyone. Be generous by giving back. Best foot forward. Role model. Take of yourself, too. A week ago, you were the one out your comfort zone. Now it’s their turn. For example, there will be some new situations for the students from GMCS, things familiar to you but totally new and challenging to them. This is the heart of cultural exchange. Be gentle with yourself if you have already encountered challenges and be continue to show kindness, consideration and respect as our guests will also be very tired and might find parts of our upcoming journey very challenging.
Have fun and include everyone. Be a good host. Follow all the rules, especially rules about safety, not creating exclusive activities, and paying for anything that we (ourselves) organize or invite our guests to. (If they initiate it, you don’t have to do it and you certainly don’t have to pay for them.)
Include everyone, so only plan inclusive group experiences that are affordable and open to all. Everyone from both schools is equally part of all group experiences. We raised thousands of dollars to make the trip possible for both our twins and our students as a way to share an adventure together. Including everyone in invitations to participate in opportunities and experiences is a non-negotiable part of the exchange.
Finally, note that CHSS focuses more on “groups” and less on “twins”. On the river road trip, groups are formed by you and GMCS students. These groups are at least 2 students and under 5 students, are not more than 66% from one school, and last for the entire free time block (with two exceptions). A group of 2 may limit itself to 2 but then cannot become a group of 3 or more. A group that is more than 2 is open to anyone who asks to join it, but cannot be over 5 students. River road trip groups are formed at a meeting before a long free time block starts. Teachers may add someone to a group if required for everyone to be in a group. When in the “super twins” billeting part of the exchange (Friday to Sunday in PR/Metlakatla) groups are:(1) everyoneinterested in a CHSS-initiated (or organized) group experience or (2) everyone in one super twin household.