Burchell earns ‘Cultural Uniqueness’ award

WASILLA — The Mat Su Borough School District’s 2011-12 Celebrating Diversity in the Mat-Su Valley program at Teeland Middle School on April 26 included several presentations by local schools.

Fronteras Immersion School’s folk dancers entertained the crowd with a Spanish version of “The Wizard of Oz” and a cultural dance. Performances from Burchell included the dance class demonstrating differing dance styles from the past and a poetry slam.

The gym at Teeland was a showcase for local schools to exhibit their projects depicting diversity. The genre ranged from an entry by Houston Middle School of traditional masks from around the world to a totem depicting the Burchell High School story. Another school taught participants the art of origami, and another a traditional Alaska Native dance.

Burchell High School earned the first-place prize in the Cultural Uniqueness category. Its entry included miniature Alaska Native dwellings, photographs of students dressed in Alaska Native regalia and a 4-foot papier-mâché igloo along with a 9-foot totem pole. The totem pole was accompanied by the story of Burchell High. Here is that story:

The Burchell Totem Story

The Burchell Totem tells of the continuing life of Burchell High School. This is part of that story.

The bear is a Native teaching symbol to our students and it anchors the base of the pole. Native lore says that Bear taught people skills needed to survive just as the teachers at Burchell teach lifelong educational skills.

The wolf is the mascot of Burchell. It is a symbol of our individual strengths and our unity.

The salmon symbolizes persistence and determination, skills our students need to overcome adversity and to achieve success.

The mother and child represent the young parents at Burchell who make the choice to continue their high school education.

A music staff and notes are representative of the music program and creativity at the school.

The silhouette dancers reveal the outstanding dance program that brings forth the hidden talents of students.

The raven is an indigenous symbol of curiosity and is never boring, characteristics most students possess.

The stained glass heart is a product of the stained glass class and depicts the radiating love between Burchell students and staff.

The technology collage is representative of the electronic revolution in process as it applies to education in the 21st century. Burchell embraces online learning and technology in the classroom.

The arrows symbolize the archery team at Burchell, which excelled at the state competition.

The stylistic metallic wolf symbolizes the newly established robotics team at Burchell and the school’s focus on science and technology.

The Native Youth Olympics logo represents the Burchell team who won state competitions.

The eagle in Native tradition is referred to as intelligent and resourceful. These traits are vital to Burchell students.

Topping the totem is the graduation cap atop a student’s head. The goal of all staff at Burchell is to plant the inspiration to achieve success in the future, beginning with graduation.