Through story, art, poetry, and song, our Grade 4 students led our school in Truth and Reconciliation Week activities and our Orange Shirt Day assembly. Throughout the week  we reflected on the legacy of residential schools, which took away Indigenous children’s languages, families, and cultures, leaving many unable to speak the words that tied them to their identity.

As part of the assembly, Grade 4 students shared their original poem, which demonstrated a deep understanding of the painful history and lasting impact of residential schools. Their words emphasized the importance of remembering this history, showing empathy for survivors, and committing to a better future. By ending with a call to action, their poem reminded us that we all share the responsibility to honour survivors and work toward truth and reconciliation.

Each year in September,

The truck would arrive.

To take away children,

Knowing some wouldn’t survive.

As you climb on the truck,

Your knees start to shake.

And as the truck rolls away,

You heart starts to ache.

You look back at your family,

A tear drops from your eye.

But the truck driver yells,

Don’t you dare cry!

As you wind down the road,

You feel alone and sad.

You arrive at the school,

And all the teachers are mad.

The first thing that happens,

Is they make you change clothes.

It’s almost like jail,

Shivering from head to toes.

The next part is worse,

When they chop off your hair.

Everyone looks the same now,

Which seems so unfair.

To erase the past,

You’re assigned a new name.

You know from that moment,

Things won’t be the same.

You aren’t able to speak,

In the language you know.

They’ve changed you so much,

You’ve never felt so low.

Each day you hope,

You will make it to another.

Crying each night,

Missing your mother.

Graves were dug,

And children never returned.

Their families had questions,

But answers weren’t learned.

As young Canadians,

It’s a story we hear.

But the past stays with us,

Year after year.

We gather each year,

At the end of September.

To support the survivors,

Which help us remember.

The youth will rise up,

And help better our nation.

So wear your orange shirt,

For Truth and Reconciliation.

Over the course of the week, students also heard Melanie Florence’s story Stolen Words, about a little girl and her grandfather. The grandfather explains that as a child at residential school, his language was taken away and he was no longer allowed to speak Cree. With the help of his granddaughter, he begins to reclaim his language, reminding us that words, culture, and family can be recovered with love and care.

Connected to our school theme Every Word Tells a Story, students created feathers with words meaningful to them—some in English, some in their home languages, and some in Indigenous languages such as Blackfoot. Together, the feathers formed wings, symbolizing that every child, every word, and every culture matters.

Grade 4 students also performed a haunting rendition of The Stranger by Gordon Downie, set alongside artwork inspired by The Secret Path by Gordon Downie and Jeff Lemire. This performance told the story of Chanie Wenjack, a young Anishinaabe boy who died in 1966 after running away from a residential school. Through music and art, students gave voice to Chanie’s isolation and suffering, helping us see the devastating impact residential schools had on children and families. Their work reminded us of the importance of listening to survivors, remembering children like Chanie, and committing ourselves to reconciliation.

Through Phyllis Webstad’s story, the wearing of orange shirts, and the display of orange hearts representing the lives of Indigenous children, students reflected on the harm caused by residential schools and the importance of listening to survivors, remembering the children who were lost, and ensuring such injustices never happen again. The assembly reminded us that residential schools brought deep loss—of language, family, and life itself, while also calling on us to honour survivors, take responsibility for truth and reconciliation, and hold close the message that every child matters, every word matters, and every story must be told.

Sincerely,

Angela McPhee

Principal