Chief Sam Cook School at the Tataskweyak Cree Nation in Split Lake, Manitoba has become the focus of Central Church’s National project. Central’s mission began with the return of a member of our congregation.
Doug Whistance had been teaching Industrial Arts at the Chief Sam Cook Mahmuwee Education Centre on the Tataskweyak Cree Nation at Split Lake, Manitoba.
School attendance, at all grades, was very poor resulting in a high drop-out rate. In our modern world of today, education is key to the prospects of children’s opportunities and the making of good choices. In his time there, Doug had worked hard to try to improve his classes’ attendance at the school. He didn’t want his efforts to end with his return home.
Central took up the challenge. With Doug’s guidance, we began an incentive program for good attendance. We began targeting the early grades. Our goal? To improve overall attendance starting with the very young. In August 2009, Doug and his wife Marion visited Split Lake arriving in their car filled with stuffed toys for the children and books for the school library.
The next step in the good attendance rewards program was to provide t-shirts with the Chief Sam Cook School logo to students of grade 3-12. A month’s perfect attendance will be
required to receive one of these.
