Kluane Lake School
Kwíyájàl Lhùʼààn Mân Kêtsʼádań Kų̀
We are a K4 to Grade 12 school located in Destruction Bay, on the shores of Kluane Lake. We may be small but we don’t let that stop us from exploring big ideas. We are committed to integrating land-based learning, Southern Tutchone language, and community exploration into our classrooms and school.
We acknowledge and respect that we live and work by the shores of Kluane Lake which reaches the St. Elias and Ruby Mountain ranges, A si keyi – My Grandfather’s Country – the traditional territory of the Lhù’ààn Mân Ku Dań, the Kluane Lake People.
At Kluane Lake School, we believe in connection to culture and community.
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Literacy
We are using literacy data to identify gains and areas of weakness to inform planning and instruction. This includes work on our long-range plans, coaching and professional development with our FNSB Literacy Coaches, engagement with families, and ensuring assessments are completed and informing intervention.
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Numeracy
Numeracy data will be integrated in our long-range plans to guide priorities and areas where more support is needed. We are ensuring on-going, school-wide professional development with Mathology. Ensuring assessments are completed and informing intervention is at the core of our numeracy strategy.
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Whole child
We want to provide educators and school staff with the tools to ensure that they can support the complex emotions and needs of each student. We want to empower students to express themselves in a way that feels authentic, but without risking the safety and learning of others. We will learn about co-regulation and supporting students through difficult emotions, while simultaneously giving them authority over their choices (ie- break times, identifying/labelling emotions, tools to support focus and independence).
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Land & language
Students should be confident and empowered to embark on cultural pursuits. By training educators to feel more comfortable taking on excursions and ventures that may feel overwhelming, we tear down a barrier and create an atmosphere of learning together. Involving elders and knowledge keepers throughout the process means we do it in a good way. Community involvement is at the core of this initiative, and we will rely on each other as we head down this path together.
School Calendar
Kluane Lake School Calendar
Our calendar is structured to reflect cultural ways of knowing and doing.
The school year starts in early August and we have multiple extended breaks throughout the year to to spend time with their families while engaged in cultural activities.
A word from our Principal
Welcome back!
We are so excited to welcome learners back to Kluane Lake School for the 2026-2027 academic year. We hope everyone had an amazing summer!
Educators are returning on August 21st for a Professional Development Day to learn about FNSB’s new Numeracy initiatives, and learners are welcomed back to school on August 24th.
We will be kicking off the school year with attendance at Hunting and Gathering camp. We had a wonderful time attending last year and feel very privileged to be included again this year.
Planning for the school year begins months in advance, in collaboration with Educators, FNSB, and Community Committee. Below, you will find some important dates/events for September and October. Some of these are tentative/open to change, others are set in stone. A calendar will be available to families once school officially starts, and our website is frequently updated to reflect upcoming events.
Aug 21- Professional Development day for Educators
Aug 24-27- Kluane Lake School attending Hunting and Gathering Camp
Aug 31- First day of classes for Aurora Virtual School
Sept 7- Labour Day- School Closed for all
Sept 14-25- Grades 1-7 Literacy Assessment Period
Sept 18- Earth Rangers Assembly, Hand games with Nelnah Bessie John School
Sept 21- Oct 7- Grades 1-7 Numeracy Assessment Period
Sept 25- Picture Day
Sept 29- Orange Shirt Day at Kluane Lake School
Sept 30- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation- School Closed for all
Oct 1-2- YAEP Conference in Whitehorse- School Closed for learners
Oct 12- Thanksgiving- School Closed for all
Oct 29- Costume Day
Oct 30- KFN Flex Friday- School Closed for all
We look forward to continued collaboration and support, and starting the year in a good way at camp!
Kelsey Shiels
Principal, Kluane Lake 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 Kluane Lake 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 Kluane Lake 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
Kluane Lake School follows the BC Curriculum, and we work with Kluane Lake 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 Kluane Lake 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.
