SunWest animation courses highlighted during Throne Speech Debate

Sun West was a pioneer in the field of distance education in Saskatchewan and through the Sun West Distance Learning Centre (DLC) has become the largest online school in the province. Today the Sun West DLC offers over 180 courses including all core requirements and a variety of high school electives in such areas as agriculture, business, trades, paleontology, forensic science, graphic design, astronomy and mental wellness.

It was due to this foundation that when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Sun West was in a strong position to provide online education and other school divisions have sought Sun West’s assistance.

This has not gone unnoticed as on November 1, during the Debate on the Speech from the Throne, the Honourable Dustin Duncan, Minister of Education, while discussing online education in Saskatchewan highlighted some of Sun West’s work. He stated:

But we have a number of school divisions that have been offering online school before the pandemic and we have a number that have been offering it since the pandemic began. And I would say it’s been challenging for many and it has been successful for some, and some students have done well. We have some school divisions, in fact I know of one, Sun West School Division that has been operating distance learning, online learning for some time. High school students in Lucky Lake, Dinsmore, and Marengo are taking animation. High school students are taking animation classes that are offered through the Vancouver Animation School, and their instructors are employees of Disney and Pixar. That’s happening today. It’s happening in rural Saskatchewan. It’s happening in urban Saskatchewan. I know that they’re partnering with other school divisions. So there has been some success.

Minister Duncan was speaking about two courses offered through the Sun West DLC, Animation 20L and Animation 30L. These courses are taught by Sun West DLC teacher Jody Polowick who has been accredited by the Vancouver Animation School (VANAS) to teach the same content they deliver to their students. This includes instructional videos that were created by Disney and Pixar animators.

As part of these courses, students develop online portfolios of their work that they can use to showcase their work when applying to postsecondary institutions and when seeking jobs in the field. A small number of samples from the work of a few students follow below:

The Sun West DLC Animation courses have been very helpful in launching students into careers in this area. Dinsmore Composite School graduate Tyler Thomson took both Animation and Graphic Design through the Sun West DLC.

“I was looking for another arts-based course and animation looked interesting,” explains Tyler. “I liked the idea that the course was connected to the VANAS and that the instructors knew what they were talking about.”

Tyler’s interest in animation led him to pursue post-secondary schooling in animation after high school. He received a diploma in 3D Animation from the Recording Arts Institute of Saskatchewan where his final project was a collaborative team effort involving thirty people.

“I was a rigger on the project,” states Tyler, “so I added the full range of movement on objects. Rigging is like putting the bones into an object. Fortunately, I had experience with this as it was something I learned in the Animation class through the DLC.”

Tyler’s interest in animation was passed on to another Dinsmore Composite School student, Tiegan Wollen, a Grade 10 student who shares Tyler’s interest in the arts and who will be taking the course next semester.

“Before registering in Animation 20, I talked to Tyler about the course. I am interested in the ways that artists express ideas through animation and Tyler encouraged me to sign up,” Tiegan explains. “I grew up watching animated movies on VHS and was able to connect myself with other people’s stories. I already do some work with graphic arts as a way to express myself and do some commission work. Animation 20 will let me try a different form of art to create stories for others.”

Linden Berndt and Ashton McIntosh from Lucky Lake School signed up for the course because animation is an important part of the video game industry. They stated: “We’ve always had an interest in video games. This class is an opportunity to learn how video games are made. We are really enjoying learning about something we are passionate about.”

Connor Warrington a student at Westcliffe Composite School in Marengo sees ways to apply what he learns in Animation to an industry a little closer to home. He explained that he believes that animation can be used so people not involved in agriculture can have a better understanding of this important industry. “I plan on using animation to make sequences and videos to educate people on agriculture. So I can use my two passions, agriculture and animation . . . [and] that’s how I am planning on using this skill further into my future plans.”

“It is gratifying that the Minister has taken note of the great work being done in our schools by our teachers and students,” states Randy Emmerson, Sun West Director of Education. “Our Animation 20L and 30L students have done very well and we see that same kind of success in many other courses and programs. We are proud that we can offer our students programming that is sometimes not even available in larger urban centres. It’s part of the way we work towards success for all.”

(Left to right) Connor Warrington, Linden Berndt and Ashton McIntosh.