Our Student Learning Surveys of Grade 4 and 7 from 2019 - 2022 indicate that only a small majority of our students feel a strong sense of belonging at our school. In addition, although we have seen improvements in the results, these surveys indicate that only a small percentage of our students feel that they have learned about and celebrated the richness of local Indigenous Cultures.

The staff at Woodward believe that ours is a caring and supportive learning community but we know that we can always strive to do better. The results of this survey only steel our resolve to ensure that all of the students in our care feel safe, valued and connected - and that they feel they belong within our school community.

With this in mind, at our Non-Instructional Day on Friday, Sept 22nd, our staff engaged in some powerful discussions with the purpose of creating learning experiences for our students regarding Truth and Reconciliation and making plans to ensure that all of our First Nations students and families (and all of our students) feel a stronger sense of belonging as members of the Woodward family.

At our Truth and Reconciliation "Orange Shirt Day" Assembly on Friday, Sept 29th, all students and staff gathered in the gym to share our learning in regards to Truth and Reconciliation, and to acknowledge and address the hardships and injustices that the people of First Nations descent have experienced in previous years.

We formed a large Welcoming Circle. We invited everyone to join the circle as equals and passed a "talking stick" from person to person, and class to class to share our learning about Truth and Reconciliation over the past few days at Woodward. We sat in a circle as equals with a common purpose - to celebrate the rich and vibrant cultures of our Indigenous peoples, and to make our community and the world a more inclusive and connected place for all of our children.