Orange Shirt Day at Nesika

Orange Shirt Day Assembly

Phyllis Webstad, who attended a residential school in British Columbia in the 1970s, started Orange Shirt Day in 2013. If you’re in grade 4, that’s the year you were born. Phyllis was initially excited to go to school and went shopping with her granny to pick out a new outfit for school; she chose a shiny orange shirt. That shirt was taken away from her when she arrived at residential school and was never returned to her.

On September 30th Canadians wear an orange shirt to demonstrate the commitment to reconciliation and opening and continuing the dialogue about residential schooling. The slogan for Orange Shirt Day is “Every Child Matters”. It is important that we are aware of what it means to matter and how children matter in our communities. All week you’ve been participating in lessons that have been developed to allow for an age appropriate understanding of Orange Shirt Day and are meant to build on one the previous years’ lessons to allow you students to develop a strong understanding of Orange Shirt Day and the impact residential schooling has had on Canada both past and present.

Today our assembly is to gather together in our strength as a community, to show our support to our First Nations friends and family members, and to continue our learning. Thank you for wearing your Orange Shirt today.