Nursing Wellness Rooms Established in Greater Saskatoon Catholic School
The new awâsisak kâ-nîmîhtocik – St. Francis School will include dedicated wellness rooms for nursing students.
University of Saskatchewan (USask) nursing students complete a community clinical placement in their fourth year of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. Often, that clinical takes place within educational facilities, such as an elementary school.
Nursing students have been involved in a partnership with the St. Frances Cree Bilingual School in Saskatoon since 2007, when the 1950s-era St. Frances School began its Cree language and cultural programming.
USask College of Nursing Associate Professor Dr. Marcella Ogenchuk (PhD) has overseen the clinical placements at the school.
“Nursing students work with the school community to learn about their strengths and needs to enhance wellness,” said Ogenchuk.
“The nursing students collaborate with a multidisciplinary team, build relationships, provide screenings, referrals and treatments, deliver presentations, demonstrate wellness skills, and teach about oral health, nutrition, and addiction.”
Currently, nursing students at St. Frances gather in the boot room, library, or are juggled from room to room based on availability to work with students.
But at the new awâsisak kâ-nîmîhtocik – St. Francis* School opening fall 2025, there will be a dedicated wellness room for USask nursing students to use.
“Students come to St. Frances from all over the city and from all walks of life,” said Kelley Cardinal, superintendent of learning services at Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools.
“Access to health services can be an issue for some families, so being able to offer those services where students come every day can better their overall health and equip them to make good, healthy decisions as they grow and mature. We’re grateful for our partnership with the College of Nursing, and we’re happy to be able to offer dedicated space at the new school.”
“The nursing students have successfully collaborated with the school community over the years working with the space they were given, but to have dedicated space for them to work with students in the new school is an incredible opportunity,” said Ogenchuk.
“Students at the new school will always know where to find the nursing students, it will increase the types of teachings the nursing students can offer, and the space will help to build the community connection with nursing students within the school even more so than we currently do,” added Ogenchuk.
In 2020, the Government of Saskatchewan announced the new replacement school to be located at 2010 7th Street East in Saskatoon and is scheduled to open in the fall of 2025. The school is expected to provide space for approximately 700 students and is a partnership between the Ministry of Education, Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Division, and Saskatoon Tribal Council.
USask College of Nursing faculty and staff tour new awâsisak kâ-nîmîhtocik – St. Francis School during construction in January 2025.
Updates on the awâsisak kâ-nîmîhtocik – St. Francis School can be found on the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Division website.
*Along with the addition of the Cree new name, the school’s patron saint and namesake changed from St. Frances Cabrini to St. Francis of Assisi. For more information on this name change, please visit the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools news story.
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