Day 62: Ashley Summers, Twelve Mile Coulee School

Grade 5’s are working through Canadian History through the lens of Innovations and Inventions. Through a collaborative discussion on our options for displaying our newly gained knowledge the students were quite set on learning a new skill: Clay making.  This year at Twelve Mile Coulee we have an expert in the building available daily to teach students and teachers multiple skills. We took the opportunity as a class to learn the art of clay making.

Clancy Evans (Art Specialist) walked us though the process of making clay tiles with symbols of either the Underground Railroad or First Nations motifs. Students each illustrated a tile, formed, painted and fired their pieces. The end product will be two collaborate art pieces: A quilt that sends a message to freedom and a quilt that expresses the first nations tribes that are in Canada.

The students wanted to learn this skill so that they had “more options for future projects” – Chris 5E

Having specialists in the building that are dedicated to sharing the knowledge with their peers has made a uniquely personalized experience for students. As a teacher, having the opportunity to just say “YES! Let’s do it” is an amazing feeling. Continual learning is a priority for many teachers and I couldn’t think of a better way to gain valuable skills than from those supporting you.

“I’m going to build my land bridge for Science out of clay – It’s the perfect material” – Oliver & Landon 5E. 


Ashley Summers is an educator who enjoys volunteering her time and continually learning new skills from her peers.