Jessica Nelson Wins Award for Demonstrated Excellence as a French Second Language Teacher

Congratulations to BEd teacher candidate Jessica Nelson, recipient of the Ontario Modern Language Teachers’ Association (OMLTA) Helen G. Mitchell Award.

Presented annually, this award recognizes one graduating student from each Faculty of Education in Ontario who best demonstrates the qualities of an outstanding French as a Second Language teacher.

Jessica was Jessica Nelson and James Steele nominated by James Steele, Contract Lecturer in the Faculty of Education (pictured with Jessica, left), in recognition of her exceptional performance in the BEd program, including her work in Curriculum & Instruction: French as a Second Language (I/S), Part 1. She was also recognized for her ability to apply effective second-language teaching methodologies that support student success during her practicum placements.

For Jessica, the award represents both a personal milestone and the beginning of her professional journey.

“Winning the Helen G. Mitchell Award is an incredible honour. As a graduate of the French Immersion program, my passion for the French language has been a part of my life since the beginning of my education and has continued to grow throughout my studies. This recognition is especially meaningful to me as I begin my journey into the teaching profession. I look forward to bringing and sharing that passion in my future classroom, helping my students develop a genuine appreciation for the language and culture. This is a responsibility I am proud to carry forward,” she says.

Jessica attended the OMLTA award ceremony in Toronto in March and will graduate in June.

Congratulations, Jessica!

Guided by the Stars: Vicki Monague Presents the Anishinaabe Celestial Sphere

As part of Lakehead University’s Research and Innovation Week in February, Anishinaabe scholar, Contract Lecturer, and MEd graduate Vicki Monague delivered an impactful presentation on Anishinaabe star knowledge and her work on the Anishinaabe Celestial Sphere project.

Vicki explains that for Anishinaabe peoples, the stars and constellations carry an entire system of knowledge. They connect people to ancestors and the spirit world while also serving as a calendar, navigation system, and guide for seasonal activities, ceremonies, and storytelling.

“As Anishinaabe people, we love the stars,” she said. “But the night sky isn’t just about constellations. It’s a living system of knowledge that guides all of our relationships with the natural world.”

The Anishinaabe Celestial Sphere Project

Developed at McMaster University, the Anishinaabe Celestial Sphere program began with a meta-analysis examining the written record of Anishinaabe star knowledge. From that research emerged an Ojibwe star knowledge show presented in a portable planetarium, where students can explore the night sky while learning about Indigenous star knowledge.

The program brings together Anishinaabe gikendaasowin (knowledge) and Western astronomy through a “two-eyed seeing” approach, while aligning with Ontario’s Grades 4–12 science and technology curriculum expectations.

Part of Vicki’s work involves updating the Stellarium software to include Anishinaabe planetary names and constellations. These include clan constellations such as Makwa (the bear, which includes stars from the Big Dipper) and Maang (the Loon, which includes the North Star).

Anishinaabe Natural Law Written in the Stars

“Anishinaabe people are sky beings,” Vicki explains. “Our creation story tells us that we came from the sky.”

Bagone-giizhig, the seven-star cluster known in Western astronomy as the Pleiades and sometimes described as the “hole in the sky,” represents an opening between the Earth and star world, reminding Anishinaabe people of their celestial origins.

Indigenous star knowledge also carries practical teachings that connect to Anishinaabe natural law, guiding people to live in respectful relationship with the land, water, animals, and one another, as well as informing ceremonial practices. For example, the constellation often called the “sweat lodge” in Anishinaabe star knowledge (known in Western astronomy as Corona Borealis) forms a circular pattern that reflects the structure of a sweat lodge. Its seven stars, visible at certain times of the year, are associated with the Seven Grandfather Teachings and serve as a reminder of the responsibilities and protocols involved in holding a sweat lodge ceremony.

There is a deep history and continuity to these teachings, Vicki explains: “People have been here for thousands of years, and our star teachings are older and longer than any established religion or mythology upon the earth.”

By weaving together language revitalization, cultural knowledge, and scientific learning, the Anishinaabe Celestial Sphere program highlights the stars as guides for understanding balance, responsibility, and our relationships with the world around us.

Pictured below: Vicki Monague and the portable planetarium.

Holding HIV: Poems of HOPE Amplifies Voices through Art and HIV Cure Research

Holding HIV: Poems of HOPE is a newly published poetry collection featuring the voices of 27 San Francisco community members living with or affected by HIV.

Authored by Dr. Pauline Sameshima (Professor, Faculty of Education), Emily Turner (Master of Education student), and Dazié Grego-Sykes (California-based poet, performer, and multidisciplinary artist), the collection places lived experience at the centre of HIV cure research.

The poems draw inspiration from the words, reflections, and artistic responses of focus group participants and members of the HOPE (HIV Obstruction by Programmed Epigenetics) Community Arts Integrated Research program. Participants were invited to sculpt clay “holders” in response to the Block-Lock-Stop strategy—an epigenetic approach aimed at permanently inactivating HIV. During the creative process, they reflected on two guiding questions: “What excites you about an HIV cure?” and “What are your fears regarding an HIV cure?”

In a review published in the February 2026 issue of The Walleye magazine, co-author Emily Turner described the collaborative creative process:

“We’d pore over the transcripts from those focus groups … and we’d play with different wording. [The poetry emerged from] all this mixing of our interpretations and our understanding of what the participants were vocalizing.”

The conversations were transformed into poetry enfolding multiple themes and emotions. One reviewer described the collection as “a tapestry of words woven together by emotion, fear, hope, loss, love, grief, and resilience—the experiences of a generation,” while another noted the poems “carry the collective heartbeat of those affected by HIV, deeply rooted in hope and resilience.”

A public book launch will be held on February 24 at 7:00 p.m. at Entershine Bookshop in Thunder Bay, with additional events scheduled during Lakehead University’s Research and Innovation Week (February 23–27).

January Issue of Education Exchange Newsletter Published

We are pleased to announce that the January issue of our Education Exchange newsletter has been published. This newsletter brings our current and former students as well as our educational partners together to share news, successes, and innovations.

To access our Education Exchange newsletter, click the following link:

Education Exchange Newsletter (January 2019)