By Barb Brouwer
Contributor
Students in two School District 83 schools are learning the importance of remembering.
Principals from Salmon Arm West Elementary and Bastion have different but equally powerful approaches to observing Remembrance Day in their schools.
Salmon Arm West principal Laura Jegues joined the Navy Reserves right out of high school and said the experience taught her about her country and the importance of respecting and becoming involved in community.
As a recruiter and musician, Jegues had the opportunity to travel across Canada, but after serving part time for nine years alongside teaching, had to decide on one path.
“I ended up having my heart in school education,” Jegues said.
Her role, she believes is to make sure students are reminded why they live in a peaceful nation and to remind them to thank our Veterans and actively serving forces members. It is because of them, she said, that we are able to live safely in our community and country.
“I try to instil that when I am in the classrooms,” she said, pointing out there are sometimes tough conversations. “We get to come to school in peace.”
Proud of her naval career and in Canada as one of the peacekeeping leaders in the world, Jegues said it is important to be teaching the importance of remembering why we are free.
Salmon Arm West students from kindergarten to Grade 5, as well as retired teachers, staff and guests come together in a profound sense of quiet.
“It gives me goosebumps and reminds me of the importance of this work.”
There is more than one day to acknowledge as National Aboriginal Veterans Day is on Nov. 8, said Jegues, noting this year’s Remembrance Day assembly will be held on Nov. 9.
The school has one of the largest Indigenous populations in the school district, with a large generational involvement from parents to grandparents and elders. Community guests will include Department of National Defence veterans and hopefully an Indigenous veteran.
“We do a few songs about being grateful and that part, to me, is magical,” said Jegues, noting the assembly opens with an Indigenous education worker performing a welcome song and honour song. “Grade 5 students take turns reciting a special poem and the kids tell stories about family; maybe Grandpa who was in the war.”
Read more: Vernon’s No Stone Left Alone honours those lost to war
Read more: In Photos: Salmon Arm pays respect at Remembrance Day ceremony
Every year, families are asked to submit photos of their elders or grandparents who served or are currently serving in the military. And, as many of the students have never seen anyone in a military uniform, age- appropriate photos and videos of Canadian Forces members serving are included in the presentation.
After the assembly, teachers take the kids back to their classrooms where students talk about what is going on in the world.
Bastion Elementary will include an outdoor portion in commemoration of Remembrance Day this year.
A busload of students will go to the Salmon Arm Cemetery on Foothills Road to lay poppies on 87 veterans’ grave markers as part of the No Stone Left Alone program.
Bastion was recently accepted into the program, whose mission is to honour the service and sacrifice of Canada’s military by educating and inspiring youth to place poppies on veterans’ headstones. No Stone Left Alone (NSLA) provides resources and support to guide educators, students and community members for holding their own commemorative events at a cemetery in their community – expressing respect and gratitude for our fallen military veterans, while honouring living veterans, serving members and their families.
This is important to principal Heather Gobbett whose grandfather was a Second World War Air Force navigator who flew the English Coast looking for enemy aircraft and whose flight records brought those missions to life for her.
Bastion families are also invited to contribute stories and photographs of those who served or who are active in the military now.
On Nov. 9, Bastion students will take part in a formal assembly fashioned after the Royal Canadian Legion service held at the Salmon Arm Cenotaph. The assembly will be led by students and a recording of the Last Post will be played if a trumpeter is not available. Other students will participate by reciting poems and two minutes of silence will be observed.
Teachers dedicate a lot of time leading up to Remembrance Day with age-appropriate lessons. One class learns about “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes,” a children’s historical novel about the bombing of Hiroshima, written by Canadian-American author Eleanor Coerr. The book has been translated into many languages and published in many places, to be used for peace education programs in primary schools.
“This is one of the really important things we do to pay respect, to take seriously, and pass on the information to the next generation,” said Gobbett, pointing out the school’s responsibility to help children understand the significance of Remembrance Day. “I think schools do a really good job – far better than when I was a child.”