Glebe St James and Glebe Montessori reflect on Orange Shirt Day
Teaching our children about Indian Residential Schools
On Orange Shirt Day, September 30th 2024, Glebe Montessori students and Glebe-St.James worked together to create new orange felt t-shirts to replace the faded shirts on the Dream Catcher on the east side of the church building.
The kids at Glebe-St. James started this project during Children's Church, after reading Phyllis Webstad's story about having her orange shirt taken away at residential school, and they placed some new shirts on the Dream Catcher.
Rev. Sue Toller planned a lesson for the Montessori casa (preschool) and junior students, and Margo Williams led the lesson in Fraser Hall on Monday morning. We discussed the meaning of Orange Shirt Day, read Phyllis Webstad's "Phyllis’s Orange Shirt" and the children talked about how they felt and why 'every child matters'. The children were attentive and many added valuable insights to our conversation. They cut out new felt t-shirts, and together with their teachers, clipped the t-shirts on the Dream Catcher. After school, many students were excited to show their parents the t-shirts they had hung to remember Indigenous children who were sent away from their families to live at residential school. Sue and Margo helped to explain and invited anyone interested to hang up more shirts.
Please be sure to have a look at the Dream Catcher - Rev Dr Teresa designed the Dream Catcher in 2014, Mike's Ironworks created the hoop and feathers, and Teresa and Ruth strung the wire web. We have installed a sign and we hope the refreshed orange t-shirts are noticed by everyone!
