On April 7, schools across SD 73 held assemblies and activities to honour and recognize Secwepemc and Nlaka'Pamux territory as well as other First Nations and Aboriginal groups. In Kamloops Thompson School District this is now known as the "Day of Sucwentwecw." Sucwentwecw (sook-went-wa) means to acknowledge one another. During this day a number of events, activities and assemblies were held to recognize the Secwepemc and Nlaka'Pamux Nation and to teach students and staff about the traditional aboriginal and First Nations people, their histories and the territories SD 73 now occupies. The theme for this year's Day of Sucwentwecw was 'Well Becoming Through Emotional, Physical, Intellectual and Spiritual Indigenous Values'. '. At BEST we began the day with our first whole school assembly in two years and welcomed guest speaker Don Bowser. The school then gathered together outside to have a picnic style snack before recess. Later, each class used the resources provided by the District to participate in learning activities. Mr. Bowser introduced us to drumming and led us in a few songs. In the afternoon Team Awesome learned about talking sticks and how they are used and some of us chose to make our own talking stick to take home. And at the end of the day Team Awesome read a story written by Trudy Nielsen called 'Fox's Journey of Well-Becoming' and discussed things we can do to make ourselves feel good. The Day of Sucwentwecw is a day to celebrate and acknowledge one another and we would like to think that we at BEST do just that every day and not solely on April 7. Please send 2 hard boiled in-shell eggs with your child for Wednesday, April 13 so we can dye them as part of our Easter activities. A hard-sided labelled container to transport them in is a good idea so they don't get crushed/ cracked. Some of the children will elect to eat them for lunch and some will decide to take them home. This is usually the time of year we are encouraging parents to allow their children to be more independent by having them come into the school and get ready for class on their own in the morning and do the same in the afternoon. But of course, we don't have to do that as Team Awesome has been beginning and ending their school day without parental help since the first day of school. They have been doing a great job and we are very proud of how independent they are in our learning spaces and around the school! Way to go Team!
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Mrs. Bowden &
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