Ghùch Tlâ Community School
Gunałchéesh hàt yìy.adi and welcome to our school!
We continually strive to not only have BIG ideas, but to make those ideas happen!
Ghùch Tlâ Community School (GTCS) is located in the community of Carcross, in the Southern Lakes region of Yukon, about a 45-minute drive from Whitehorse.
We have 65 full-time Learners, over 90 per cent of whom are Ghùch Tlâ Community School (C/TFN) members living in Carcross and the surrounding area.
Our teaching staff consists of seven Educators, including a Łingít (Tlingit) Language Educator, three Paraprofessionals/Educational Assistants, a Child Development Centre worker, a C/TFN Education Support Worker and Elder in the School, three regular Teachers on Call, and a part-time librarian.
We acknowledge that we work, plan, and learn on the Traditional Territory of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation.
We extend a great, big Gunałchéesh to the generations of C/TFN citizens who have ensured, preserved, and vitalized the land and its teachings in this beautiful region.
At Ghùch Tlâ Community School, we believe in connection to culture and community.
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Literacy
Ghùch Tlâ Community School works to improve literacy outcomes through the use of science-based reading strategies and culturally inclusive approaches.
We value play as part of literacy development.
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Numeracy
At Ghùch Tlâ Community School, numeracy is delivered in a targeted, comprehensive, and culturally-inclusive way.
We value play as part of numeracy development.
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Whole Child
At Ghùch Tlâ Community School, we believe in a holistic approach to learning.
Our staff are informed by current literature on neuroscience and its influence on learning, emotions, and the body.
We focus on our Learners' strengths, abilities, and interests, thereby creating a safe space in which they can learn, grow, and thrive.
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Land and Language
We lift up cultural practices, traditional languages, and on-the-land learning at Ghùch Tlâ Community School.
We listen to and learn from our Elders.
School Calendar
Ghùch Tlâ Community School Calendar
Our school calendar is structured to reflect Carcross/Tagish First Nation culture and C/TFN’s ways of knowing and doing.
Our school year starts in early August, and we have multiple extended breaks throughout the year for Learners to spend time with their families while engaged in cultural activities.
A word from our Principal
Welcome to another new school year!
I am so excited to see the kiddos back with us daily. They brighten our worlds so much.
I would like to welcome everyone back to the fold and Stefanie Cayen our newest member of the team in the office.
We will still provide breakfast and lunch, and are thankful to the Carcross/Tagish First Nation Capacity Department for handling the government funding our food right now; and welcome back to Samantha as our awesome cook.
Let’s get started!
Ms. Cynthia Wagner
Principal, Ghùch Tlâ Community School
What makes FNSB schools different
Accountability
We take the words of past reports and the wisdom of our communities seriously. The Auditor General Reports of 2009 and 2019, the Joint Education Action Plan (JEAP), and the various reports from the Yukon Child and Youth Advocate (YCAO) have given us a clear map with checkpoints to ensure the needs of our Learners are met and our communities are heard and empowered. An overarching theme of these reports is accountability. You cannot have accountability without objective data and transparency.
Through our Yukon First Nation values, we have built all aspects of FNSB around this, especially how our schools operate and support our Learners' education. Everything from our school growth plans, to teacher evaluations, academic assessments, and the development of new data measures for cultural connection and belonging, FNSB is ensuring we are accountable to our Learners, families, First Nations, communities, and the public.
Together with local First Nations
We are changing what education looks like at Ghùch Tlâ Community School because local First Nation citizens are involved and leading everything from staffing and budgets to school rules and programming. Our school is a part of the community, not separate from it. Our Leadership Team includes education leaders from Carcross/Tagish First Nation, and our localized governance model of Community Committees, made up of citizens and families, enables our community to genuinely share the delivery of public education.
High Expectations, High Support
Ghùch Tlâ Community School follows the BC Curriculum, and we work with Carcross/Tagish First Nation to integrate local knowledge, histories, languages, and cultures with high academic rigour. We know true learning engages minds by reflecting lived experiences and fostering a sense of belonging. Our community should maintain high expectations of our Learners, and the Educators and School Teams entrusted to teach them. In reciprocity, all Learners, Educators, and families are supported through a localized First Nations approach, which is strengths-based and wraps around the whole person, not only one aspect.
Inclusive of all
All Learners, Educators, and families are welcome at Ghùch Tlâ Community School. Every decision we make holds our Learners and families at the centre. We provide education grounded in reconciliation. A Yukon First Nations model puts the whole Learner first through a strengths-based and community-centred approach. We all hold the privilege and the responsibility to learn about and from the people, teachings, and languages of this land.
