Connected North Announces Partnership with New Gold Inc. and Rainy River District School Board
TORONTO/FORT FRANCES, ON (June 3, 2020) - Lessons in art, science, math and music have been more easily accessible thanks to Connected North, a program run by Canadian charity TakingITGlobal. Rainy River District School Board (RRDSB) schools are generously supported by New Gold.
“TakingITGlobal is proud to provide these unique learning opportunities to students across the Rainy River District School Board and the country. Along with partners like New Gold, we are committed to providing students with access to content that is engaging, innovative, and inspiring hopeful learning moments.” – Michael Furdyk, Co-Founder & Director of Innovation, TakingITGlobal.
Connected North is a leading edge program that connects children and youth in remote, Indigenous communities to experiences and opportunities not available to them locally through real-time, high definition videoconferencing sessions using Cisco technology. Schools choose the sessions most relevant to them – including mental health and wellbeing services, mentoring, access to museums, aquariums, science centres, art galleries, teacher training and support, digital skills training and much more. Founded in 2013 by Cisco Canada and managed by TakingITGlobal since 2015, today Connected North serves 15,000 children and youth through 65 schools.
“We are very thankful for the wonderful partnerships we have with Connected North and are so appreciative of this support made possible through many organizations, such as our local partner, New Gold. This programing provides many educational benefits to students of the Rainy River District, allowing students to participate in virtual field trips and remote lessons on a variety of engaging topics.” – Heather Campbell, Director of Education, Rainy River District School Board
In light of school closures resulting from COVID-19, Connected North launched Connected North@Home on March 16th to continue to serve students from our partner communities wherever possible. Connected North together with a variety of providers have offered over 100 live sessions with continued planned opportunities for students to connect to museums, zoos, artists, storytellers and other amazing organizations to offer unique learning experiences while students are at home.
Rainy River District School Board is thrilled to be taking part in Connected North@Home to deliver immersive educational lessons to K-12 students. Some of the lessons available include:
- Deep Sea Creatures with Vancouver Aquarium/Ocean Wise
- Drawing Lessons with the Winnipeg Art Gallery
- Physics of Light with Astrophysicist Laurie Rousseau-Nepton
- Live concert with Juno-nominated artist Evan Redsky
In the first month of programming, Connected North@Home has reached over 5,000 students and families across the country.
“We are pleased that so many of our students have taken advantage of these supplemental sessions during this time of learning at home.” – Heather Campbell, Director of Education, Rainy River District School Board
The Connected North program is supported by an ecosystem of multi-sector partners, including: New Gold, Government of Nunavut, RBC Foundation, Canada Life, Cisco Canada, McConnell Foundation, Samuel Family Foundation, Webster Foundation, Milroy Family Foundation, Pace Family Foundation, Barry & Laurie Green Family Foundation, Clark Family Foundation, Hydro One, Athabasca Basin, Paliare Roland, Canadian North, John & Nina Cassils, Gail MacNaughton, Sheila du Toit, Terry Tyres & Annick Tonet-Tyres, Willa Black & Donald Jarvis, Anton & Allie Erdody, Lisa Applegath, Sean St. John, Dan Madon, and all of the donors who support the Tech4Good Tournament.
We are grateful for the network of over 150 content providers who provide engaging, meaningful content for students. Some of these incredible institutions include: Winnipeg Art Gallery, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Ann Arbour Hands On Museum, Royal Botanical Gardens, McMillen Health, Boogaloo Academy, The Actors Company, Teaching Awareness Through Puppetry, DiscoverE: University of Alberta, Royal Tyrrell Museum, Don Harrington Discovery Center, Alaska Sea Life Center, Learn Different, and many more.
We also thank the individuals who share their knowledge and wisdom with students, including: Shawnee Guilmond, Waukomaun Pawis, Kevin Wesaquate, Joe Crone, Michael Kusugak, Joshua Pawis-Steckley, Mitch Holmes, Krista Paul, Naomi Smith, Linsay Willier, Ashley Rose Cummings, Evan Redsky, Jade Roberts, Laurie-Rousseau-Nepton, Levi Marshall, Ovila Mailhot and more who participate in the RBC Future Pathways program.
To learn more and join these virtual classes, visit: https://connectednorth.org/athome/
See the full press release