Marie Sharpe Elementary
This September, our school community came together under the theme of Respect with a focus on Belonging, guided by the Circle of Courage and the 7 Sacred Teachings. In the Circle of Courage, Belonging reminds us that every person is valued, cared for, and connected to the larger community. In the 7 Sacred Teachings, Respect and Love remind us to honour ourselves, others, and the land in ways that build trust and kindness.
Throughout the month, students across all grades took part in weekly lessons that helped us explore how respect strengthens belonging in our classrooms and school. We practiced using respectful actions through charades and role-play, sorted real-life scenarios into respectful and not respectful choices, and created class charts that showed how respect can be shown to ourselves, to others, and to our community. Students listened actively to one another, brainstormed examples of kindness and empathy, and reflected in journals on ways they could carry respect into daily life.
With our primary classes, we closed the month by reading "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?" and discussing how we can fill everyone’s buckets, even our own, through words and actions of kindness. With our intermediate classes, we created a "Pledge of Respect for Our Community," which now hangs proudly on the wall of our Human Flourishing classroom as a daily reminder of our shared responsibility to live with respect.
We also honoured Respect for History by preparing for and participating in Orange Shirt Day. Every student decorated or folded an orange shirt to create our own "Sea of Orange," a powerful visual reminder of the children who attended Canadian Residential Schools. This collective act allowed our school to remember, honour Survivors, and promise to walk together in Truth and Reconciliation.
In September, our learning showed us that respect is more than an individual choice, it is a shared responsibility. Through listening, caring, and standing together, we built belonging, honoured our connections to one another, and lived out the teachings of respect, love, and truth in our school community and beyond.
We move in to October! This month our theme is "Empathy" with a Circle of Courage focus on Generosity (giving kindness, care, and support to others).
