The entrance to Leslie Park Public School has a new addition, a warm and welcoming Inukshuk. The traditional stone figure was designed and constructed for the community school by Dion Metcalfe of the Ottawa Inuit Children’s Centre.

The Inukshuk is an enduring representation of Children Inspiring Peace (ChIP) project, a Character Education initiative by students in kindergarten to grade 6 at Leslie Park Public School.

The Inukshuk is a daily reminder to students to seek cooperation and balance in their lives — these qualities were needed to build it. The Inukshuk represents strength and permanence.

The goal of ChIP is to bring us together as a community so that we can learn about one another and listen to each other’s stories. The project uses an Inukshuk as a frame to hold the story each child tells about where they are from, what is important to them, how they resolve conflicts, and how they live within a community of character. The ultimate objective of (ChIP) is to gather stories from children and youth around the world.