September 30^th, 2021

A sea of orange was seen today at Bond Academy, everyone wearing orange, “Every Child Matters” Zoom profile pictures, 215 pairs of children's shoes displayed at the playground, and presentations about a brief history of Orange Shirt Day delivered twice...

 

On September 30^th, all teachers, staff and students in Bond Academy wore orange and participated in activities for bringing awareness to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation/Orange Shirt Day, raising awareness of the tragedy of residential schools, and to honour the thousands of survivors and supporting the Indigenous people in Canada. At this time, $585.00 has been raised for the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, with donations still incoming.  

Sending an impactful message to raise awareness, both in person and online students and teachers changed their zoom profiles to  orange “Every Child Matters” profiles to stand in support of Indigenous communities on September 30, resonating very loudly that every child matters, and hoping that Canada continues to move in the direction of truth and reconciliation. 

Bond's Secondary BOH4M/Leadership Class delivered a presentation for National Truth and Reconciliation Day once at 9:30 and once at 12:30. They made an amazing effort in putting together a very comprehensive, thoughtful and engaging program for Orange Shirt Day. The online and in-person students were both equally engaged and took a lot of pride in presenting and/or raising awareness which speaks highly of the effectiveness of the class being taught. 

Bond's Library collected 215 pairs of children/teenagers’ shoes and displayed them in Bond's playground, serving as a reminder of the atrocities that occurred in our Residential School System. At the Kamloops Indian Residential School, the remains of 215 children were discovered. The memorial was created to honour the lost lives of First Nations children at residential schools. This memorial has been displayed across the country and it will be an important lesson for our Bond students to remember and honour those who suffered and died at Residential Schools. 

Mr. Phil Davies, Secondary Principal, was very thankful to all the staff and students who donated and took part in today's events, especially to Izabella, a secondary teacher at Bond. She kept the discussion of reconciliation active with her letter to Salma Zahid. He said, “It is very encouraging to see Bond's involvement, be it Elementary or Secondary, for such an important day and as part of the reconciliation of our nation's past.”  

Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day that honours the children who survived residential schools and remembers those who did not. This day relates to the experience of Phyllis Webstad, a Northern Secwepemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem'c Xgat'tem First Nation, on her first day of school, where she arrived dressed in a new orange shirt, which was taken from her. It is now a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations. Read more