Wesmor Community High School recently held an event called Growth through Culture.
The event was held at the school on Thursday and saw many elders from the community along with community resource people come to the school to speak with students.
“The students seemed to enjoy it; they were very engaged in the demonstrations. We’re very happy they devoted their time to our young people here,” community school coordinator Susan Stobbs said.
The elders shared their knowledge with students regarding the transition from being a youth to becoming an adult.
“Rose Flurry (86 years old), was one of the elders here today, and she talked about the importance of having her role turn over to a new younger person, a new generation, so teachings continue from her generation to the next and to the next. That was a big part and important part of our day,” Stobbs said.
Along with the elders the students got a chance to see demonstrations done by SIAST instructors about survival skills.
Students got to see and try first-hand how to start a fire from scratch without matches or a lighter, how to send smoke signals, how to tell the age of trees and some survival tips if they find themselves alone in the wild.
“I think it’s a rewarding experience for the young people. If we do this more often we can instill some of our traditions and culture into our youths,” mentor John Hanikenne said.
John mentors at Wesmor and was pleased with the event.
“I’ve worked with a lot of the elders before, and it was a real treat for myself, and I hope that it was for our students. These were a lot of the people who taught me when I grew up, and I hoping some of those things rubbed off on the students,” Hanikenne said.
A big thanks from John and Susan to all those who helped make the event as successful as it was.
The school hopes to do another event like this in the future.
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