Complementary and Compassionate Services

Complementary & Compassionate Services
1.1 Our mission
1.2 Team
Special Education
1.1 Team
1.2 Resources
Psychosocial
2.1 Team
Compassionate Schools
3.1 Our Mission
3.2 Guiding Principles
3.3 Team
3.4 Resources
Video

1. Complementary & Compassionate Services

1.1 Our Mission is to provide…

Services and support for every child in Nunavik to grow, learn and succeed in a safe and culturally relevant environment.
Trauma-informed services to all students and strengthen Nunavik schools in this area.
Professional development opportunities to increase Inuit capacity in areas related to student support services.

Our vision

We put the child first
Positive regard for: Children, their parents, the community
Support students in partnership with the school staff, administrators and parents

Support services for students

Each and every student is different. Some students have special needs. For example, students may have special needs related to their hearing, sight, speech, emotions or behaviour. Our services help students get the right support.

In Quebec, approximately one student out of five is identified as having special needs. This represents 20% of the overall student population (MEES, 2019). The school board estimates that in Nunavik, the proportion of students with special needs is similar to the provincial reality.

Who provides the services?

A regional team of professionals provides support services to students in Nunavik. They work closely with their counterparts in each school. Our regional professionals specialize in two areas: psychosocial and special education support.

In the psychosocial sector, students who may be affected by social and community challenges can find support from our specialized team. Our team consists of student support professionals, local student counselors and behavior technicians.

For the special education sector, the area of learning challenges such as dyslexia first need to be screened and assessed. Our team of pedagogical counselors, psychologist and speech and language pathologist will work directly with the school support staff such as the special education teachers and technicians.

The regional team is formed of psychologists, psycho-educators, education consultants, speech therapist and coordination managers.

In each school, the members of this team work closely with behaviour technicians, student counsellors, student support professionals, special education technicians and special education.

Team

My name is Tunu Napartuk, I am the Director of Complementary and Compassionate Services (CCS) and I am based in Kuujjuaq, Qc. I am with the CCS department since over a year and it has been privilege to work for the schools in Nunavik. I learned very quickly that all of our work and decisions we make are for the student first. So, creating partners with each member of the schools in each of the communities is really important.

My studies

Class of ’89 at Jaanimmarik School in Kuujjuaq, Qc. in French.

My professional background

I am the Director of Complementary and Compassionate Services since August 2019.
I was the Mayor of Kuujjuaq from November 2012 to October 2018.
As Mayor, I was a member of or worked very closely with the Kativik Regional Government during that span.
I was also a board member for the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Service from 2012 to 2015.
I have previously worked at the Kativik Regional Government at the Information Technology Department and the Recreation Department.

My responsibilities

I am responsible to make sure that support and services reaches to the student in need through two important sectors; Special Education and Psychosocial Support. Our staff in Special Education sector prioritizes support to student with learning needs that may range from learning and physical disabilities to children with more specialized needs. Through the Psychosocial Support sector, personal and social needs of the students as well as the staff are prioritized. Social challenges of our communities will affect our students and it is our responsibility to give this important support to local resources in the schools.

In July 2019, the Council of Commissioners approved the restructuring of CCS. Compassionate Schools became part of Complementary Services. Through our Compassionate Schools team and by using the Positive Behaviour Interventions and Supports (PBIS) approach, teachers in the communities will receive support and training to relate to this approach.

To ensure the cultural and social reality of the Inuit of Nunavik is respected and understood;
To make available support and services to students needs outside of their regular classroom;
To create partners with other local and regional organizations to remove the gaps of services needed for the success of our students;
To improve academic success by ensuring the social needs of the children are met and understood by our resources.

I encourage you to contact me by email or by phone (819 964-1136 ext. 230) with your ideas and suggestions. Ideas may come from your experience in other schools or in your own life.

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2. Special Education

Team

Stéphane Plante ✉️
Assistant Director of Special Education, Complementary and Compassionate Services.

Hi! First of all, I want to tell you that this a real pleasure to meet you and to welcome you to Kativik School Board. My name is Stéphane Plante, Assistant Director of Special Education, Complementary and Compassionate Services. I look forward to knowing and collaborating with you. I am an approachable person and don’t hesitate to communicate with me if you have any questions.

My studies

I have a BA in Special Education from University of Quebec in Montreal;
I have a certificate in “Formation de la personne”;
I have begun my Master’s degree diploma in School Management at University of Montreal;
I have also a Spanish and English certificate.

My professional background

I worked at the same school from 1990 to 2006. At the beginning as homeroom teacher in Special Education with teenagers from 15 to 17 years old with behaviour and learning issues;
Then, at 28 years old, I became substitute Vice Principal for Special Education for 2 ½ years, and during this period, I created a disciplinary system in collaboration with the school psychologist.
After, because my intention wasn’t to be a manager, I went back to teaching;
Finally, still in the same school, I again became substitute Vice Principal, but this time in the regular sector and for International Education;
After that, I decided that a new challenge was necessary and I accepted a positon as the head of Students Services in a private college and as head of success before arriving to Kativik
Now, to finish my career, I realized an old project, and I work for Kativik Ilisarniliriniq since January; So, like you I am new and I learn something new every day.

My responsibilities

Overall, I am in charge of the pedagogical part of the services, it is important to mention that we all work as a team and we consult each other for the decisions concerning our DIFFERENT SECTORS.

To find the resources needed for students with special needs (assessments and services);
To develop a vison of services for Complementary Services which will serve students with special needs;
To create promotional material to emphasize the importance of the services offered in our department;
To use the First Child Initiative fund;
To support teachers and principals of each school related to the Special Education field;
To provide essential information to the principals and the teachers concerning the policies and the procedures in force at the School Board creating the documentation connected to this matter;
To provide training to the staff under my responsibility, to the Special Education Technician or to any other employee who could work for the special education sector;
To implement the online IEP on Dash;
To develop Nurture groups in each school;
To buy and to maintain the soundfield systems for deaf children in collaboration with an audiologist from the South;
To collaborate with our external partners like World Wide Hearing;
To establish and manage our department budget;

If you want to have more info concerning my responsibilities or if you have any specific questions, don’t hesitate to contact me by email or by phone at 819 964-1136.

Catherine Burns ✉️
Pedagogical counsellor for Special Education English sector, Kuujjuaq

Catherine collaborates closely with students that are having learning difficulties in English;
She works with Special Education teachers in the schools to help identifying the students that are having learning issues, To make recommendations with interventions that can be done;
She is also in charge of the training of the Special Education Teachers;

Marie-Zulie Claude ✉️
Pedagogical counsellor for Special Education French sector

Marie-Zulie collaborates closely with students that are having learning difficulties in French;
She works with Special Education Teachers in the schools to help identifying students that are having learning issues, and make recommendations with interventions that can be done.

Jessie Clunas ✉️
Pedagogical counselor for Special Education Inuktitut sector, Kuujjuaq

Jessie collaborates closely with students that are having learning difficulties in Inuktituk;
More precisely, she evaluates students with learning issues in Special Education;
She is also in charge of the training of Inuit Special Education Teachers and she sits on several committees (Kindergarten derogations, classification of kindergarten students, cultural diagnostic tools, etc.).

Catherine Dench ✉️
Speech Therapist, Montreal

Catherine works with students who experience speech issues. More precisely, she assesses communication skills and make recommendations to the school staff. She also helps to apply the recommendations in place;
She develops assessments tools adapted to both culture and linguistic reality of Inuits;
With the regional Special Education Technician, she is the contact person for students who have special needs, especially creating a network contacts health professional working in the South.

Rosie Etok ✉️
Regional Technician in Special Education,

Rosie possesses a considerable work experience with Inuit children experiencing behavioral, physical growth problem, intellectual and learning issues;
More precisely, she supports the interveners who work individually with special need students;
With the Speech Pathologist, she is the contact person for the students having a variety of special needs.

Caroline Roy ✉️
Ungava Bay Psychologist, Kuujjuaq

Caroline works with students that are having psychological needs;
More precisely, she meets students to assess and to plan treatments, to connect with external resources, to make recommendations et to support staff in schools. She also supports the student counselors and participate to their professional development.

Resources

The Special Education folder, available on SharePoint, contains the following documents:

Student referral procedure
Role of the Special Education teacher at KI
Special Education Committee
KI Reference Interne Appendix A
Individualized Education Plan

Access the Sharepoint

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3. Psychosocial

Team

Jasmine John ✉️
Assistant Director for Psychosocial Sector, Complementary and Compassionate Services.

My name is Jasmine John and I’m the Assistant Director for the Psychosocial Sector of Complementary and Compassionate Services at Kativik IIisarniliriniq. First, I want to let everyone know that it’s a great honor to be able to have the opportunity and privilege to be working with such a wonderful culture on your land.

My studies

I have a Diploma of College Studies (DEC) in Special Care Counselling from Vanier College
I have a BA in Social Work from Mc Gill University
I have a Minor in Women’s Studies from Mc Gill University

My professional background

I have been working in Nunavik since 2014. I started in the beautiful village of Kangiqsujuaq as a youth protection worker
In 2016 I started working at Kativik School Board now known as Kativik IIisarniliriniq as a Student Support Professional (SSP) in Aupaluk and Tasiujaq
In 2017 I started working as the supervisor for all the SSPs and had the responsibility to travel to help manage crisis response in all 14 communities
In 2018 I became the Coordinator of Complementary Services at Kativik IIisarniliriniq
In 2019 until now I’m the Assistant Director for the Psychosocial Sector of the Complementary and Compassionate Services at Kativik IIisarniliriniq

My responsibilities

Overall, I’m in charge of the Psychosocial Sector for Kativik IIisarniliriniq, with the direction of Tunu Napartuk and with a great team we work together to help meet the needs of students who face behavioral, emotional and academic stressors.

To manage the crisis team to help meet the needs of all students;
To collaborate with the external partners on crisis intervention;
To establish and manage our department budget;
To ensure trainings are given to the crisis team;
To supervise the Coordinator, Student Support Professionals, Regional Student Counsellors, Student Counsellors and Behavior Technicians;
To attended Commissioners’ meetings and present reports on crisis response;

Others relevant trainings

Best practices in suicide intervention- Nunavik version;
Certified in crisis response planning, walking through grief -helping others deal with loss, Brief Focused Counselling Skills, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and Trauma -Strategies for Resolving the Impacts of Post-Traumatic Stress from the Crisis & Trauma Resource Institute;
Legal Aspect of Family Centered Child protection GPJ-1;
Mediation Approach in the field of Youth Protection GPJ-3;
Training in Addiction for Frontline Workers in Nunavik;
Is a member of the order for Order des travailleurs sociaux et des thérapeutes conjugaux et familiaux du Québec since 2014;

If you want any other information concerning my responsibilities and role please feel free to contact me by email or by phone at 1 819 964-1136 ext: 252.

Student Support Professionals

Sapina Snowball
Kangiqsualujjuaq

My name is Sapina Snowball. I am a Student Support Professional at Ulluriaq School in Kangiqsualujjuaq.

Sidara Ahmad
Tasiujaq

My name is Sidara Ahmad, I was born and raised in Montreal. Educational background in Social Work.

Laurent Vachon Roy
Aupaluk

I am a philosophy teacher at Cégep de l’Outaouais and in prison where I have developed an interest in the question of trauma informed teaching.

Robert Levy Powell
Puvirnituq

Arrived in Nunavik in 2006 – Puvirnituq SW and Program Evaluator for McGill, 2007 KI- Complementary Services…

Ingrid Murphy
Kangiqsujuaq

After a diversified academic path in psychology, Spanish, social work, and psychology, Ingrid showed a strong interest for psychosocial intervention…

Melly-Jade Poulin
Kangirsuk

I graduated as a Psychoeducator in 2018 and work in Kangirsuk as a SSP since then.

Eve Galarneau
Salluit

Hey, I’m Eve! I’m a student support professional in Salluit! You can see me in both Ikusik and Pigiurvik school.

Clémence Couture
Akulivik

Unconditional lover of nature and relationships.

Paige Sebastiani
Umiujaq

I have a Social Service and Early Childhood Education diploma. I enjoy camping, hiking, and baking.

Alanah Heffez
Kuujjuarapik

I hold an MSW with a focus on Indigenous Trauma and Resiliency. I have worked in the Health and Education sectors in Nunavik and Eeyou Istchee since 2008.

Other Staff

Hyungu Kang
Anti-Bullying Pedagogical Counsellor, Kangirsuk

My name is 강 (Kang ) 현구 (Hyungu) an I am an immigrant-settler from South Korea currently working and living and playing in Kangirsuk, Nunavik. I am the Anti-Bullying pedagogical counsellor…

Lucina Gordon
CCS Coordinator, Kuujjuaq

My name is Lucina Gordon and I was born and raised in Kuujjuaq. I currently work as a healthy schools coordinator in the complementary and compassionate services department. I enjoy being out on the land with family and friends.

Laura McKeeman ✉️
Coordinator of Psychosocial Sector, Kuujjuaq

Laura has been working in Nunavik since 2013 initially for the Health Board for 4 years. For the past couple years, Laura travelled across Nunavik to deliver a trauma-informed, dynamic mindfulness program…

Resources

Access the SharePoint folder to access the following documents.

Crisis Intervention Protocol
Frequently Asked Questions
Grief Information Document

Sharepoint folder

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4. Compassionate Schools

Our Mission

The Compassionate Schools approach raises awareness of the impact of trauma on learning and supports the collaboration of the schools and communities in fostering resilience, well‐being, and success in students and staff.

Guiding Principles

BUILDING AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF TRAUMA
– Impact of trauma on learning
– Trauma-informed care (Compassionate lens)

CREATING SAFE AND NURTURING ENVIRONMENT
– Non-violent interventions
– Classroom management practices
– Positive behavioural interventions and supports (PBIS)
– Active supervision

BUILDING AND STRENGTHENING RELATIONSHIPS
– Restoratives Pratices
– Non violent communication (CNV)

FOSTERING WELLBEING AND MENTAL HEALTH
– Self- regulation
– Mindfulness – Tranformation life skills
– Self-care
– Sensory tools
– Calm zones

Our team’s objective is to make your daily school life easier and to support you in your efforts to offer a quality learning experience to your students. Therefore, whatever your needs or questions may be, it would be a pleasure for us to respond. Have a wonderful year!

Team

Alyssa Turpin-Samson ✉️
Compassionate Schools Education Consultant

After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Alyssa Turpin-Samson got her master degree in psychopedagy at Université de Montréal. She is currently doing her PhD degree in psychopedagogy. Throughout her career, she acquired an expertise in grief and trauma, school experience and teacher-student relationship with indigenous and immigrant students. She works in a systemic and transcultural approach to provide interventions that are adapted to the school context and the psychosocial reality of Nunavik.

Catherine Hallé ✉️
Compassionate Schools Education Consultant

After completing a bachelors’ degree in education, Catherine joined, in 2014, Kativik Ilisarniliriniq as a secondary teacher at Iguarsivik school, in the beautiful community of Puvirnituq. Passionate about children’ social and emotional development, she launched the nurture group there in collaboration with a teacher colleague and continue teaching this class for two years. Eager to help as many students as possible, Catherine became a Compassionate Schools Education Consultant for four schools across Nunavik. Her work is oriented towards the well-being and success of children by fostering relationships and partnerships between schools and communities. Mother of a one-year-old boy, Catherine enjoys spending time in the land with her family and friends as well as traveling and discovering the world and its cultures.