Junior high students delve into SACI’s E3 Program

Advance Photo Courtesy of SACI. EXPERIENCE: Students learning about feedlots with Jordan at KCL Cattle Co. West Lot.

By Nerissa McNaughton
Southern Alberta Newspapers

Explore, Engage, Experience – better known as E3 – is an innovative component of the Southern Alberta Collegiate Institute (SACI) career pathways program, created in partnership with seven Southern Alberta School Divisions, Lethbridge Polytechnic, and several industry partners. While SACI has programs for both junior high and high school students, The E3 program was designed specifically for students in grades 7-9.

E3 offers an engaging, hands-on experience in trades, agriculture, and health care. This program not only introduces students to the career opporttunities and training available in these fields, but also equips them with the essential skills and knowledge needed for future success.

Lori Adamson, a teacher with E3, notes, “This school year, we anticipate hosting around 3,000 students through our workshops and events, with opportunities for 84 schools to participate in workshops and 60 schools in events. Workshops are full-day activities for individual schools (we hold 12 workshops annually, offering each division a chance to send one class). Events, such as our recent Cultivating Roots program host multiple schools over one or two days. 

She describes some of the highlights students in the program enjoy, including, “Spending a day at the Polytechnic, where they often learn directly from instructors and access state-of-the-art facilities. Agriculture students visit the aquaponics/hydroponics facility to feed fish and plant seeds, while health care students experience the simulation lab, a high-tech setting mimicking an acute care environment where a programmable manikin exhibits symptoms for students to help diagnose.”

Adamson continues, “In October, students from various schools attended farm tours, visiting a feedlot, a potato farm, and a specialty crop farm. At Harvesting Ambitions, students will have the chance to meet women working in agriculture, join sessions led by industry professionals, and connect with peers who share their interests.”

For educators and schools looking to get involved, learn more at https://www.southernalbertacollegiateinstitute.ca/projects.