Director’s Message Ahead of Pride Month at HWDSB – June 2021
This year, for the first time, all HWDSB schools will fly the rainbow Pride Flag for the month of June, to honour and celebrate students, families, and staff of diverse genders and sexual orientations.
Pride Flags will be raised Thursday, June 3, out of respect for Indigenous communities after the discovery at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. All HWDSB flags are currently lowered.
Pride Month, typically celebrated in June around the world, symbolizes solidarity and awareness about the discrimination and violence faced by Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+ individuals and communities.
By raising the flag, HWDSB schools can symbolize their solidarity with the Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+ communities, while highlighting the important work to be done on human rights, equity, and inclusion. You will soon see a video of our flag raising on social media.
Unfortunately, many students and family members who identify as Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+ do not always feel safe at school or in our communities. Sexual orientation and gender identity play an important role in peoples’ well-being, and are often sources of harassment and discrimination in our schools and communities.
However, HWDSB’s goal for Positive Culture and Well-being in our Board Annual Plan is to “improve the well-being of all students and staff and close the gap for those historically underserved.”
The raising of Pride Flags at all schools is one way to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the work that will ensure that our Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+ students, families, and staff, feel safer, supported, accepted, and affirmed in their diverse and distinct identities.
In age-appropriate ways, students in HWDSB schools learn about the experiences and contributions of Indigenous Peoples, racialized peoples, people with disabilities, people of varied faiths and people from Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+ communities. We strive to represent all identities as we deliver the Ontario Curriculum, and as we promote safety, respect, acceptance, and inclusion for all.
Thank you for helping all students, staff and community members know that they are welcome at HWDSB.
Happy Pride Month!
Sincerely,
Manny Figueiredo
Director of Education
Updated on Monday, May 31, 2021.