Every year, Nov. 5 to 11 is Veterans’ Week in Canada. It is an opportunity for Canadians to honour the valiant effort and sacrifices of our veterans and those who continue to serve.
At Wesley, the highlight of Veterans’ week was our special Remembrance Day service which was held on Friday, November 10th, with guest speaker, retired Commander Paul Delhaise, from the Royal Canadian Navy. We also had three of our Grade 8 students from the 351 Silver Star Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron participate in the service and take photos with some of our ELC classes.
However, there were other activities and learning opportunities for students in the ELC and elementary divisions.
Many of our ELC students spent time making Remembrance day crafts involving poppies, wreaths and crosses. These creative fine motor activities were reinforced by simple videos and books that explain the significance of the poppy and why we remember. Our JK1 class used a video recording (Riko’s Reading Room) of Heather Patterson’s A Poppy is to Remember to introduce their students to the significance of Veteran’s Week.
For our elementary students, each class received learning materials for Veteran’s Week from the Government of Canada. Booklets, posters, newspapers and bookmarks are all examples of materials that were distributed for learning and review. As part of their social studies class, our Grade 2 classes also memorized a poem that was recited at our elementary Remembrance Day service. Elementary students were also given class sets of peace cards to write messages to Canadian veterans and those who are currently serving in the armed forces.
Veterans’ Week is an important part of our history, culture and future. By encouraging our children and youth to take the time to remember, honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and respect those who have served or are serving now, we are sowing the seeds of peace and instilling the need to love one another.