February is Black History Month
February and Forever: Celebrating Black History today and every day
Every February, people across Canada participate in Black History Month events and festivities that honour the legacy of Black Canadians and their communities.
The 2022 theme for Black History Month is: February and Forever: Celebrating Black History today and every day, which focuses on recognizing the daily contributions that Black Canadians make to Canada.
No matter where you live, Canadians are invited to learn more about these communities, and how they continue to help shape the story of Canada.
For more information on Black History Month, please visit the Government of Canada's Canadian Heritage page here:
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression Administrators Committee
Additionally, Lethbridge School Division continues work through its Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression Administrators Committee.
A group of administrators from elementary, middle and high schools started this committee in June of 2020.
This committee was inspired by a desire by these professionals to facilitate and foster greater learning in the area of anti-racism and anti-oppression. The group recognized a need for growth in our Division in this area.
They developed a vision, “A community of reflective, engaged citizens continuously striving for a culture free of racism and oppression.”
This statement truly reflects the honest, transparent and motivated conversation that has taken place during the five meeting times. Given the challenges that our administrators have faced during the pandemic they have committed to continue to meet monthly.
The mission they identified, “To embark upon a journey of individual responsibility, holding space for discomfort, while personally acknowledging our privilege and bringing self-awareness and discussion to important reflection and action,” has been put into practice. They have facilitated professional learning for the administrators group, administrative assistants, and they have now broken into a sub-committee to develop an Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression policy for the Division.
There is some tremendous work happening in some of our schools in our Learning Commons that is supporting deeper cultural understanding and appreciation for staff and students.
We are also grateful for the work Bev Smith and Jordan Hoffos (ESL Team) have done on an ongoing basis to support cultural awareness in our schools.
The committee strongly identifies a need for a policy to support the positive work we wish to do in establishing a Division free of racism and oppression. The committee is hopeful to present a policy to the Policy Committee in the 2022/2023 start up.