Weekly News September 27

Hi All,

Orange T-Shirt Day – Every Child Matters

Every year on September 30th, we wear orange! This year, HWDSB will be observing this day on
Monday, September 30th.  Orange shirt day has been declared an annual day to honour the lives
and survivors of Canada’s Indian Residential Schools. The Indian Residential School system was
put in place by the state and church to forcibly remove Indian children from their homes,
families and communities to attend church-led schools. In these schools, Indian children were
forced to leave their culture, languages, and everything they new behind to be more like the
rest of the children of the nation. The harm the children faced while in these schools is
irreversible, and many children and families still face the intergenerational affects caused by
the Residential School era. The last Indian Residential School closed in Saskatchewan in 1996.
We wear orange to honor the lives lost and survivors of Indian residential schools and to
ultimately acknowledge that every child matters.

Why orange shirts? Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) residential
school commemoration event held in Williams Lake, BC, Canada, in the spring of 2013. It grew
out of Phyllis’ story of having her shiny new orange shirt taken away on her first day of school at
the Mission, and it has become an opportunity to keep the discussion on all aspects of
residential schools happening annually. The date was chosen because it is the time of year in which children were taken from their
homes to residential schools, and because it is an opportunity to set the stage for anti-racism
and anti-bullying policies for the coming school year.

Re-Organization Staff Update

As you know we have had to reorganize our school because we gained a grade 3 class.  As a result, we have hired two new staff.  Please welcome  Mrs. Gordon Grade 3 Teacher and Mr. Pickett Grade 1 and Prep Teacher.  You will be able to meet our staff on Meet the Teacher Day, Thursday October 10, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.

School Council 

Our next meeting is taking place on Thursday October 3 beginning at 6:30 p.m.  All are welcome.

Hold and Secure Practice

Today we practiced our Hold and Secure procedure.  A Hold and Secure would take place when there is a safety situation in the neighbourhood external to the school.  Information regarding this procedure can be found here:  Secure School Protocol