Building A Greater Understanding
Each day in school represents an opportunity to be inspired and learn. Throughout September, staff at Clayburn Middle School were actively engaged in teaching lessons of great importance in the days and weeks leading up to September 29, Orange Shirt Day and September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Learning and correcting miseducation about the history and teachings of Indigenous people in Canada is the first step towards repairing harm done in the past and giving hope for the future. It was encouraging to see students involved in activities that reflect the First Peoples’ Principles of Learning, as they discovered how to weave on traditional looms, engaged in lessons about Residential schools, designed hearts with supporting messages, and studied the local history of the unceded lands on which we reside.
On September 29th, Clayburn staff and students wore orange shirts to raise awareness and recognize the on-going and lasting effects of the Canadian residential school system. As part of the events of the day, there was a virtual assembly featuring Indigenous acknowledgements, student presenters and a video of Phyllis Webstad explaining the significance of the orange shirt that was taken from her in 1973 at St. Joseph’s residential school in Williams Lake, BC.
As noted by author/speaker Kevin Lamoureux, “even though education was used as a weapon against children, schools became places of healing for all of our children. We get to be the touchstone for something wonderful.” It is our hope that engaging in learning about Orange Shirt Day and Residential Schools helps provide Clayburn students with a greater understanding of the true history of Canada and how they can play a role in providing for a brighter future for all Canadians.