Tri-City schools won't be in session on Sept. 30 this year — and in the years to come.
School District 43 (SD43) has sent a letter to families informing them of a new statutory holiday as the federal government passed legislation earlier this summer to declare the annual day on the calendar National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
SD43 Superintendent and CEO Patricia Gartland explains the change is to "commemorate and honour those who were lost, the Indigenous survivors and the families and communities who continue to grieve as a result of the residential school system in Canada."
She calls the new STAT an important step toward reconciliation, and that SD43 will be following the B.C. education ministry's notice to close its schools to honour the day each year.
Sept. 30, 2021, is a Thursday. As of this publication (Aug. 26), it's unclear if the following Friday will be off for students, but Gartland adds 2021-22 school calendars will be adjusted accordingly.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was passed resulting from the discovery of unmarked graves at several former residential schools in B.C. and across Canada.
To date, more than 1,800 known unmarked graves have been uncovered in recent months through radar technology used by local Indigenous groups, starting with the 215 found at the former Kamloops residential school in late May.
Sept. 30 is also known as Orange Shirt Day, in which Canadians are encouraged to wear orange in honour of residential school students and survivors.
SD43 is currently projected to see about 32,000 students back in classrooms on Sept. 7.
