Orange Shirt Day

September 30th was National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Falkland School students and staff were encouraged to wear an Orange Shirt to raise awareness of the individual, family and intergenerational impact of residential schools. The Orange Shirt is meant to symbolize that EVERY CHILD MATTERS.

Our whole school decorated feathers to hang on our outside fence. Each classroom door was decorated by orange hearts where the kids wrote words and pictures about what truth and reconciliation means to them (ex. Love, kindness, learning, support, truth, honour, remembering, honesty, healing, hope, etc.).

In Mrs. McAfee’s Kindergarten and Grade 1 class, students read “Phyllis’s Orange Shirt” and compared/contrasted Residential School to our school. A discussion was had about how remembering what happened to others in the past can help us treat others better in the future. Students spent time outside in nature building an appreciation of the beauty that surrounds us on this land.

In Ms. Corke’s Grade 1 and 2 class, students read Shi-shi-etko and completed a lesson on memories. We also read ‘Phyllis’s Orange Shirt’ and ‘With Our Orange Hearts’. Students completed orange shirt day colouring sheets as they reflected on the content in the stories and their personal efforts to ensure every child matters.

In Mrs. Zoph’s Grade 2 and 3 class, students read “When I was Eight” by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, and then discussed and created Venn diagrams on how our school compared to Olemuan’s school. Students watched a recorded author talk by Nicola Campbell, author of Shi-Shi Etko, where she read the story and talked about the significance of her work. Students discussed the idea of a memory bag like Shi-Shi Etko puts together and what would be in their own bags, and students were invited to bring their bags to school and these were shared as a class. Students participated in a collaborative art poster of “Every Child Matters” and wrote hearts of healing and hope to the children who had to go to residential school. Students discussed the hardships the children went through and how it is our job moving forward to be better and do better to be allies and stewards.

In Miss Minchenko’s Grade 4 and 5 class, students read “When I Was Eight” and compared the differences between our school and what school was like at a Residential School. They also read an article titled Truth and Reconciliation. Students discussed and answered questions to show their understanding.

In Mrs. Celesta’s Grade 5 and 6 class, students read “Phyllis’s Orange Shirt,” “The Orange Shirt Story” and “With Our Orange Hearts.” We also read an article titled ‘Truth and Reconcillliation’ to learn a bit about the journey we have made as a country when it comes to Truth and Reconciliation. The kids then completed questions to show their understanding of the information. In addition to our reading, the students were asked to share words that indicate what truth and reconciliation means to them. Many heart-felt words were shared. Following this discussion, students did Orange Shirt Day reflections in Visual Journals where they created their own Orange Shirt Day Shirt Designs on paper (they are displayed in the classroom).

In Mr. Clarke’s Grade 7 and 8 class, students completed an Every Child Matters collaborative art project. Students also completed a journaling task where they were asked to write about their thoughts and feelings about residential schools. Students read “With Our Orange Hearts” and particpated in a class discussion around the important topics related to truth and reconciliation.