Students at Ecole St. Patrick High School gathered round to take part in their feeding the fire ceremony this year on Sept. 13.

Johnny White, a teacher at the school, explained the reason behind the ceremony.

"We try to do one at the start of each school year," he said. "We do them around significant events such as this, to pray for a good year and to look out for our students."

The ceremony featured Dene drummers and Elders who shared stories and offered prayers.

White said it takes a couple days to put the entire ceremony together and the hardest part is that the school needs to find people to take part in it and organize.

This year was made a little easier, though.

"I got to use my Leadership and Resilience students, who did a lot of helping out," White said, adding that it's one of the school's programs for Indigenous students that focuses on traditional skills and cultural knowledge.

Some of the students from that program were drumming during the ceremony while other students, also from the program, helped make offerings to the fire.

White explained that the offerings typically consistent of bread, tobacco, tea and sugar mixed together and are put into the fire to feed it as an offering for protection.

The Leadership and Resilience program has been running at the school for two years now and White said he's hoping it will grow and excite more students.

He added he's looking for more ways to get the program involved with the community.