WELLINGTON COUNTY – Students are set to recognize Truth and Reconciliation Week from Sept. 23 to 30 with the Upper Grand District School Board and the Wellington Catholic District School Board.
UGDSB
The UGDSB will commemorate National Truth and Reconciliation Week with a “continued focus on learning and action,” board officials state.
Educators and staff are invited to participate in activities and live-streams from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, by reading the 94 Calls to Action and in turn, working towards meaningful individual and class commitments to action and change.
Peggy Janicki
The Indigenous Education Team planned to host two virtual sessions on Sept. 25 with author and educator Peggy Janicki.
She wrote The Secret Pocket, about her mother’s experience in a residential school, which “highlights the ingenuity, brilliance, resistance and resilience of survivors,” officials state.
Janicki will speak to students in Grades 4 to 8 in a virtual live-stream, followed by a professional development session for educators in the evening.
Teacher resources
Lesson plans have been provided to junior and intermediate classes, “so classes can explore the text safely and appropriately,” officials state.
Educators have been provided with an updated slide-deck of vetted digital and in-school resources organized by division.
This slidedeck includes live-streams, opportunities for inquiry, exploration, research and action in classrooms, as well as suggestions for ways educators can continue their own learning.
Staff and students are encouraged to wear orange shirts on the 30th, to purchase shirts from Indigenous creators/businesses if interested, and to participate in the activities recommended on the slidedeck.
School staff can share their commitments and events through social media and/or directly with the Indigenous Education Department.
Sessions for families
For parents, guardians, caregivers and families, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation will again be offering free virtual ‘Lunch and Learn’ sessions each day of Truth and Reconciliation Week.
These 50-minute sessions will cover topics such as the health related impacts of the residential school system, allyship and confronting unconscious bias, and a community perspective on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. More information and registration can be accessed at trw-svr.nctr.ca/lunch-and-learns.
Fundraising
If schools choose to fundraise, the Indigenous Education Team kindly requests funds be directed to Woodland Cultural Centre, (the former Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford) or the Survivor’s Secretariat in Six Nations.
WCDSB
At the WCDSB, officials say educators have been provided with a number of classroom resources; opportunities to hear from First Nations, Métis and Inuit knowledge keepers and elders; access to books through library learning commons; and lesson plans to enrich students of all ages’ understanding of Truth and Reconciliation.
Additional opportunities to engage in learning and access resources will continue throughout the school year, officials add.
“Our staff work with our Indigenous Education Advisory Council, comprised of educators, members of senior management, families of Indigenous students and First Nations, Métis, and Inuit representatives from our community to share information, discuss how we can work towards Truth and Reconciliation in our schools, and provide meaningful learning opportunities for all our students.”
All school sites will be recognizing Truth and Reconciliation Week, the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, and Orange Shirt Day in different ways.
