National Day for Truth & Reconciliation


every child matters	every child matters	every child matters	all children are loved

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION WEEK is a 5-day national event that will continue the conversations from Every Child Matters. Seven Oaks School Division recognizes Orange Shirt Day on September 30th as identified by the Government of Canada and the Province of Manitoba as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to recognize the history and trauma caused by residential schools.

Annually, Seven Oaks School Division recognizes Orange Shirt Day and the week leading up to September 30th, as a time for acknowledging the survivors of residential schools and reminder that Every Child Matters.

While our schools are closed for September 30th, we are encouraging everyone to reflect, learn and listen. As quoted by then Minister of Indigenous Reconciliation and Northern Relations, Alan Lagimodiere, "We all have a role to play in reconciliation. We can all listen, learn, and support the healing needed to address the intergenerational trauma caused by the residential school system. Reflecting on our tragic history by recognizing the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation provides an opportunity for Manitobans to learn about hte ongoing legacy of residential schools. This shared understanding of our history is essential to reconciliation." (CBC).

On September 29th and 30th we encourage everyone to wear an Orange Shirt as a way to walk in solidarity.

If you have any questions around why we wear Orange Shirts on September 30th, please ask a young person in your life to share what they know why we wear orange shirts.

From Our Schools...

Schools throughout Seven Oaks School Division will be spending time throughout September learning about, honouring, and reflecting on Truth and Reconciliation. To held us gather a glimpse of the important work happening at schools throughout the division, we are sharing some oft he thoughtful work and intentions highlighted by various schools.

O.V. Jewitt

September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation across Canada. We urge our O.V. Jewitt staff, students, and their families to spend this day continuing to learn about the intergenerational harm residential schools caused to Indigenous Families and Communities and to find ways to move forward with the TRC's Calls to Action. Reach out, connect, and make change. “We have described for you a mountain. We have shown you the path to the top. We call upon you to do the climbing," the Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair.

Maples Met

At Maples Met School, we are deeply committed to doing our part as members of the broader Canadian community, to reflect on the mistakes of the past, the ongoing inequities in the present, and the meaningful action we can take to ensure that our society is one founded on respect, compassion, truthful understanding of our history, and a commitment to justice for all people. We hope you will take time this September 30th to reflect on your role in the journey towards truth and reconciliation.

École Constable Finney School

At École Constable Edward Finney School, students and staff will recognize Orange Shirt Day on September 29, as there is no school on September 30 on observance of the day. Students and staff are invited to wear orange, and we will come together for a school-wide assembly, along with learning and reflection in classrooms.

Together, we will honour the children who attended residential schools, those who never returned home, and their families and communities. While Orange Shirt Day provides an important opportunity to come together in remembrance and reflection, our commitment to truth and reconciliation extends beyond this day. At Finney, this learning and commitment continue every day throughout the school year.

À l’École Constable Edward Finney, les élèves et les membres du personnel souligneront la Journée du chandail orange le 29 septembre, puisqu’il n’y aura pas d’école le 30 septembre afin d’observer cette journée. Les élèves et les membres du personnel sont invités à porter de l’orange. Nous nous rassemblerons également pour une assemblée à l’échelle de l’école, en plus de poursuivre notre apprentissage et notre réflexion en classe.

Ensemble, nous rendrons hommage aux enfants qui ont fréquenté les pensionnats, à ceux qui ne sont jamais rentrés chez eux, ainsi qu’à leurs familles et à leurs communautés. Bien que la Journée du chandail orange soit une occasion importante de nous rassembler pour nous souvenir et réfléchir, notre engagement envers la vérité et la réconciliation va au-delà de cette journée. À Finney, cet apprentissage et cet engagement se poursuivent chaque jour tout au long de l’année scolaire.

Collège Garden City Collegiate

September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We encourage our Garden City students, staff, and community members to spend time on this day reading the TRC's Calls to Action to better understand each of our roles in actively repairing and rebuilding the intergenerational harms caused by residential schools to Indigenous families and communities.

Seven Oaks Met School

At the Seven Oaks Met School, we are proud to be on Treaty One Territory. As such, we mourn the children forced to attend government mandated residential schools, and those who never made it home to their families later to be found in unmarked graves. We feel shame and anger for the complicit role our government, and specifically the institution of education, played in this policy of forced assimilation. On Orange Shirt Day, we wear orange to be reminded of our role as educators in working towards meaningful Truth & Reconciliation and we will continue the ongoing work with our students to decolonize education at our school. On our National Day of Truth & Reconciliation, we encourage you to also wear orange, to take some time out of your day to learn more about our history, and to reflect, honor, and remember the children who were forcibly taken from their families in an attempt at cultural genocide. We invite our school community to take action to help repair the damaged relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada by participating in one of the activities happening across the city on September 30th.

Victory School

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a day to reflect on the truths of Canada's past and the ongoing injustices against many Indigenous peoples. We ask everyone to consider your place in this story and the ways we can all contribute to a better future.

Governor Semple

We encourage families to invite their children to share what they have learned about residential schools. Please ask your children why we wear orange shirts to honour the experiences of residential school survivors, and those who did not return home. This conversation can be an opportunity to reflect on the harms and mistakes of the past, and the role each one of us must play in moving forward towards reconciliation.

A.E. Wright

Classrooms at AEW are continuing the conversations from the “Every Child Matters” movement of last spring, acknowledging and expanding student identities. Teachers continue to provide learning contexts for students to critically retrace their steps through the history of this land; the truth of residential schools, indigenous treaties, inherent racism, and the power relations that continue to marginalize Indigenous populations. As a community we all are thinking about our own personal acts of reconciliation.

Exchange Met

Exchange Met is located at the heart of Treaty 1, on the homelands of the Anishinaabe and the birthplace and heart of the Red River Métis. Our school faculty and students are committed to deepening our understanding of Indigenous history as truth and working in partnership with our communities towards actions that address the ongoing challenges and resilient successes in reconciliation.

In exploring who we are as a school, we have committed to unlearning colonialism by centering the land, celebrating the power of story and narrative, and engaging in climate action. This also includes community-based learning through ongoing and meaningful relationships, where all members can establish what reciprocity looks like for them, and fostering a space for the continual exploration and celebration of our identities through authentic opportunities for students to collaborate with community across the division.

Reconciliation goes beyond Orange Shirt Day, and we see it as our obligation as a school to engage in this work year-round. We begin each day in a good way by placing ourselves and acknowledging our responsibility to Treaty One lands, celebrating the nations and relations who have called this place home since time immemorial, and recognizing the lands and waters that sustain our school beyond Treaty One.

From our Land Acknowledgement, to students bringing their learning home, to inviting families in as essential members of the team, we understand reconciliation as an ongoing responsibility. It asks each of us to remain open to continued learning about what it means to live and learn on Treaty land, both within our school and beyond graduation.

École Seven Oaks Middle School

Nous espérons que les familles qui faisaient partie du système des pensionnats resteront fortes. En ce jour, il est important de se souvenir, prendre l'initiative d'apprendre et de réfléchir le passé pour travailler dans une direction positive à l'avenir. Nous espérons que les familles porteront l'orange pour se souvenir et respecter la journée de chemise orange.

We need to continue to move forward with HOPE on a path of Truth and Reconciliation. Without truth, we cannot maintain integrity, or reconcile. Without truth, we cannot teach generations to come. We have many more similarities than differences. Let us honour all students of Residential School Survivors and those children who did not make it home.

Amber Trails

September 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation across Canada. We encourage our Amber Trails community to pause, reflect, and acknowledge our shared history and our collective responsibility moving forward. At school, we will continue engaging in meaningful conversations with students, staff, and our broader community about the significance of this day. Together, we will deepen our understanding of Canada's history and the lasting impacts of residential schools. These conversations help us honour the truths of the past and strengthen our commitment to reconciliation. We hope to use this day as an opportunity to listen, learn, and reflect. Together, we are committed to advancing truth, reconciliation, and respect for all. Our goal is to carry the spirit of this day beyond September 30 through our daily actions, relationships, and learning.

École Templeton

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a day of remembrance and reflection. It is a time to honour the Survivors of Residential Schools, remember the children who never returned home, and acknowledge the lasting impacts of this painful chapter in Canada's history. It is also a day to listen, learn, participate in community events, support Indigenous artists and communities, and commit to meaningful action and reconciliation.

James Nisbet

In recognition of the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation on September 30th, our James Nisbet family – students and staff – are gathering for an outdoor, student-led assembly to lead us through reflection and honouring those who went to residential schools. We are asking our James Nisbet family to wear orange shirts on September 29th, the day of our assembly. On September 30th, please engage in conversations with your child around their learning and understanding of Orange Shirt Day and how we can all move along our journey of living as a part of our community through Truth & Reconciliation.

Collicutt

September 30th is a day to reflect and acknowledge the experiences and effects of residential schools on the lives of the survivors and their families. Each student will take home an orange envelop with a talking point to start a conversation with their families on September 30th. It is our hope that our students will carry the torch by sharing the knowledge learned around Truth and Reconciliation. It is our responsibility as Canadians to work hard on building positive relationships between Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people. On September 29th, students and staff will wear orange and walk around our community to honor residential school survivors.

Margaret Park

We are committed to the work of healing and reconciliation, to learn the shared history of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada. We are committed to uncovering our own biases so we can walk the path towards reconciliation as a community.

École Leila North School

“The road we travel is equal in importance to the destination we seek. There are no shortcuts. When it comes to truth and reconciliation we are forced to go the distance."

~ Honourable Mr. Justice Murray Sinclair former Senator, Truth and Reconciliation Commission

West Kildonan

Orange Shirt Day, now the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, has been recognized at West Kildonan Collegiate since 2013. It began to educate people and to promote awareness in Canada about the residential school system and the deep-rooted impacts it had and still has on Indigenous communities. We will continue to learn about this in all of our classrooms and we wear Orange this week to make our support visible for residential school survivors and for a renewed commitment to Truth and Reconciliation. We hope on September 30th that you wear orange and that a part of your day (families and students) is spent reflecting upon and learning more about Truth and Reconciliation.

Forest Park

Forest Park Community School is committed to Truth and Reconciliation, not only on September 30th, but every day. Through storytelling, time with Elders, books, projects and rich discussions, students are gaining an appreciation for the Indigenous people who were on this land from the beginning and continue to be a valuable part of our community. During National Truth and Reconciliation week we reflect on and acknowledge those whose lives were lost, those that survived and those that were affected by residential schools. We continue to gain understanding of the significance of Every Child Matters.

Riverbend

Gakina abinoonjii ebiitandiziwag – Every child matters. At Riverbend, on Treaty 1 territory, we believe that every kid should know that someone cares about them and loves them for who they are, every day.

École Belmont

École Belmont invites families to remember the work we are doing as a community to learn together and do our part for truth and reconciliation. We hope families will use this time to remember and reflect.

École Riviere-Rouge

On Orange Shirt Day, as a school community, we honour the strength and resilience of Residential School Survivors, remember the children who never returned home, and acknowledge the lasting impacts of this painful chapter in our shared history.

Together, we will walk in solidarity, tie orange ribbons on our Heart Garden tree as symbols of remembrance and tribute, and come together in assembly to listen, learn, and reflect. Each student will also contribute to a community quilt, each decorated piece representing a commitment to truth, healing, and reconciliation.

May this day remind us that reconciliation is not only about remembering the past, but also about building a future rooted in respect, understanding, and justice. By learning from history and walking together in a spirit of compassion, we honour the truth that every child matters.

Shkola R.F. Morrison

At Morrison, we are committed to creating opportunities for learning, reflection, and action as we continue our shared journey toward truth, reconciliation, and respectful relationships with Indigenous Peoples throughout the entire school year.

As September draws to a close, staff and students will engage in learning and reflection to deepen their understanding of the history and ongoing impacts of residential schools, and to consider their role in reconciliation within our school, community, and beyond.

Throughout the month, classrooms and the school community will participate in activities such as book talks, discussions, collective art projects, and writing opportunities designed to increase awareness, foster empathy, and encourage meaningful dialogue.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30 honours the children who never returned home from residential schools, the Survivors, their families, and communities. We encourage Morrison families to participate in community events and learning opportunities taking place throughout Winnipeg as a way to reflect, learn, and take action together.

Staff and students are encouraged to wear orange on September 29 and September 30 as an act of remembrance, recognition, and solidarity. Orange Shirt Day honours the children who did not return home from residential schools and acknowledges the enduring impacts of the residential school system on Survivors, their families, and communities.

Resources

For All

National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation - click here
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Commission Reports - click here
The Survivors' Flag - click here
National Day for Truth & Reconciliation is One Step on a Long Journey - Murray Sinclair - click here to listen
Government of Canada National Day for Truth and Reconciliation - click here
The Witness Blanket - click here
NFB Films and Resources - click here
APTN - Programming - click here
Recommended Reading - click here

For Teachers

Education – Legacy of Hope Foundation This bilingual program is designed to support educators and administrators in raising awareness and teaching about the history and legacy of residential schools – effectively providing practical tools that can be implemented in classrooms. These products come in response to demands from educators for complete in-class resources, and serve as an entry point to both the subject matter and to existing resources currently available at wherearethechildren.ca

Elder Mary - Truth & Reconciliation Day