Category Archives: Metro Fraser Valley

Remembering Gladys ~ Heart Garden in Spuzzum, BC

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 On Thursday, October 27, 2016, the grade four and five students in Ms. Moir’s class (Division 5) went on a field trip to Spuzzum, B.C. to visit the territory of the Nlaka’pamux Nation (ing-khla-kap-muh).  The class took flowers and hearts (made by our students) to the cemetery of an aboriginal girl (Gladys) we have been learning about.  Gladys went to residential school in Kamloops. We then went on a hike in the local provincial park down to the old Alexandra Bridge before visiting the local General Store and having an ice cream before heading home. Continue reading Remembering Gladys ~ Heart Garden in Spuzzum, BC

Gordon Greenwood students create heart garden

In honour of Aboriginal Day on June 21, 2015 and the Truth and Reconciliation Ceremony which took place on June 5, 2015 Shelby Croft’s grade four class from Langley, BC decorated hearts to put in the school’s garden. The hearts were decorated in memory of those who were affected by Indian residential schools.

The students had participated in several weeks of cultural lessons which ended with the history of residential schools. The students were very shocked and angry learning what happened to the students who attended those schools. It gave a brief glimpse into the lives of others. Some of the hearts were then sent off to Ontario for the Truth and Reconciliation closing ceremony to be placed along with 1000 heart flowers from across the country.

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GGE Heart Garden

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Honouring Memories, Planting Dreams

After learning about the legacy of Indian Residential Schools through a presentation by Cecelia Reekie, one of Langley’s Cultural Presenters, the Grade 6 classes at Yorkson have made hearts out of seed paper to send with Cecelia for her trip to the Truth and Reconciliation Closing Ceremony in Ottawa. The hearts are made out of paper embellished with wild flower seeds. The message they’d like to send is that the survivors receiving the hearts can plant the wild flowers and watch them grow in hopes of healing their hearts. The students and teachers are sending their love and hope for all of the survivors of residential schools. The students were very touched by Cecelia’s story.

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As a legacy to the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada, former students of Indian Residential Schools and their families, the TRC, the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, KAIROS and Project of Heart invite children and youth across the country to create a Heart Garden.

http://www.fncaringsociety.com/honouring-memories-planting-dreams

Si:yaye Yoyes ….Friends Working Together

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Several districts in the fraser valley brought staff together
to network and participate in

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some fabulous workshops including Project of Heart and Justice for Indigenous Women.

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Students from across the province at all grade levels have designed tiles in honor of the survivors and for the children who never returned from Indian Residential Schools. Participants at the conference then created jewelry from the tiles. For more information about this project please contact gstromquist@bctf.ca

Stolen Lives: Human Trafficking

BCTF members as well as support staff from many districts participated in the Stolen Lives Conference to bring to light the many forms of domestic human trafficking. The opening welcome by Kwantlen  Elder Lekeyten set the stage for the many informative presentations by Melissa Hyland, Charlene Bearhead, and Victor Porter.  The day ended with a healing ceremony which included participants creating witness pieces for survivors at the Truth and Reconciliation  closing ceremony  and in support of a new initiative of Project of Heart, Justice for Indigenous Women.

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Outgoing school trustee dreams of sea of orange

Outgoing Board of Education trustee Cecilia Reekie (front row, third from left)hopes students across the Langley School District will wear orange next Sept. 30 as a symbol of the atrocities carried out at B.C.’s residential schools. — image credit: submitted photo

by  Monique Tamminga – Langley Times
From Langley Times, Oct 15, 2014

Langley Board of Education trustee Cecilia Reekie won’t be sitting as a trustee next year, but she has a dream she wants achieved next Sept. 30.

“Sept. 30 is a very significant day across the country. It is Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters for survivors of residential schools and to remember those who didn’t make it home,” she said at the last board meeting.

Continue reading Outgoing school trustee dreams of sea of orange