thunder bay teacher receives national recognition

greg chomut, (bed ’08, ba ’08) who teaches art, history and media at dennis franklin cromarty high school, received a certificate of achievement in the 2020 prime minister's awards program.

a government announcement credits chomut with building multiple bridges between his 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 and the wider community "in a city with a troubled history of racism":

in a city with a troubled history of racism, greg chomut (bed ’08, ba ’08) builds multiple bridges between his indigenous 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 and the wider community. he organizes innovative classroom activities and runs diverse extra-curricular activities. above and beyond all that, he regularly invites at-risk 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 to live with his family as they finish their education; all of the 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 who have lived with him have graduated.

teaching approach

greg focuses on giving his 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 confidence and helping them find their voices, whether they're making a painting, learning from elders how to bead moccasins, recording a song with a juno-winning act, or writing letters to politicians.

in the classroom

• promotes 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 ' artistic expression through an after-school art club: student artworks are displayed in airports and were the backdrop for journalist and author tanya talaga's massey lectures; many 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 have sold pieces and now consider art as a career path.
• helps 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 earn college credits: art 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 became so proficient with digital tools, such as adobe creative suite and apple final cut, that greg was able to set up a program with confederation college that allows 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 to earn a college credit for their work.
• stages an annual full-school re-enactment of the battle of vimy ridge, using paintball equipment: the demonstration includes an hour-long lesson on ojibway sniper francis pegahmagabow, with the grandson of this highly decorated first world war soldier speaking to 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 .
• fosters political awareness: coordinates class visits by senators and members of parliament; leads trips to ottawa, where 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 meet politicians.

outstanding achievements

• founded the wake the giant music festival: 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 perform alongside indigenous and non-indigenous acts, such as wolf saga and metric, in what is one of thunder bay's largest festivals, designed to boost inclusivity and cross-cultural understanding.
• reaches out to local businesses: some 300 firms and organizations display decals noting they are inclusive spaces for indigenous youth; a student said a decal made him more comfortable entering a counsellor's office; greg organizes field trips to local businesses for hands-on activities, such as making gelato.
• developed program to help 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 navigate the city: older 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 work with new 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 during an "amazing race"-style orientation, as they learn how to travel to useful local organizations and services on city transit.
• sources:  tb newswatch and ic.gc.ca