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Orange Shirt Day 2016 was honoured throughout the North Vancouver School District. The outpouring of support from students and staff was truly inspirational and a clear demonstration of our committment to reconciliation.​ Check out these photos from the day:

Every year, September 30 is Orange Shirt Day and the North Vancouver School District honours the day by having students and staff wear orange, as well as by undertaking many educational initiatives geared at reconciliation.

Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters is a national event that began in 2013 and is a chance for First Nations, local governments, schools and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come. The initiative started in 2013 as a legacy project of the St. Joseph Mission residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake, BC. It grew out of Phyllis' story of having her new orange shirt taken away on her first day of school at the Mission, and it has become an opportunity to keep the discussion on all aspects of residential schools happening annually. 

The date was chosen because it is the time of year when children were taken from their homes to residential schools, and because it is an opportunity to set the stage for anti-racism and anti-bullying policies, programs and initiatives for the coming school year.  It also gives teachers and staff time to plan events that will include children, as we want to ensure that we are passing the story and learning on to the next generations.

More information about Orange Shirt Day can be found HERE.

To support Orange Shirt Day, the North Vancouver Board of Education officially declared September 30th, 2016 as Orange Shirt Day.​