Students show off their spirit wear and back-to-school outfits during the first week back. Left: Bosanquet Central Public School students wear their school colours. Right: H.W. Burgess Public School students dressed for success on the first day of school.
This year, school staff put an extra focus on belonging and making students feel welcome. Left: Harwich-Raleigh Public School in Blenheim. Right: High Park Public School in Sarnia.
Confederation Central School and London Road Public School share excitement on social media about the start of the school year.
Kindergarten students at Thamesville Area Public School engage in hands-on learning by mixing colours.
At Lambton Centennial Public School, Grade 8 students put together a Play Day for the whole school. It was a great opportunity for students to participate in a variety of outdoor activities and get excited for the year ahead.
Cross-country runners at Bright's Grove Public School were happy to start practice now that some extra-curricular activities are back up and "running".
Students in the Food & Culture class at Great Lakes Secondary School practice their knife skills by creating swan garnishes from apples.
As the first weeks of school go by, the hallways come alive with displays of student art and learning. Queen Elizabeth II Public School in Sarnia shows off some new decorations on social media.
On September 30, LKDSB schools recognized Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. During the week of September 27-October 1, students participated in activities and learning opportunities to acknowledge the impacts of residential schools on survivors, their families, Indigenous students, staff and the broader community.
On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, students at Sir John Moore Public School in Corunna helped create a sin gnebik (stone snake) to connect the community centre to the daycare as a healing path. The project was led by Carrie Plain, Cultural Recreation Planner at Aamjiwnaang First Nation, with the help of LKDSB Indigenous Education Workers and teachers. Students painted rocks to add to the path, and intermediate students traveled to Aamjiwnaang to participate in a ceremony to place them. Participants acknowledged the truth and history of our ancestors, felt the impact on families of the residential school system, and committed to action in reconciliation. Upon returning to school, students wrote reflections about their experience to consolidate their learning and to process the emotional impact of the day.
Students participate in educational art activities on Orange Shirt Day. Top left: John McGregor Secondary School. Top middle: Northern Collegiate Institute & Vocational School. Top right: Tecumseh Public School. Bottom left: Thamesville Area Central Public School. Bottom right: Students at H.W. Burgess Public School make buttons with the help of Elementary Indigenous Education Teacher Gretchen Sands-Gamble.
