THUNDER BAY — Students and staff alike donned their best colourful or mismatched socks, for a special occasion, on Friday.
The C.D. Howe Howlers rocked their fun socks in support of World Down Syndrome Day.
The school community is lucky to have a diverse population, said principal Hillary Howe.
“We’re able to learn with and from students and their families. We're spending lots of time as a school community building our understanding of differences but also similarities.
“We're working on building our skills to be good citizens and be able to support those in our community as well,” Howe said.
The school administration focuses on ongoing learning rather than ‘one and done’ days, she said.
“One of the themes we're using this year is ‘words matter’ and looking at the words that we're using to communicate with others and some of the words that we shouldn't be using.
“Today we've spent time in our classrooms learning about what makes us the same and different and how we can be better for ourselves. The students have done drawings, they've had funky socks, we've read stories, there's been some short clips and videos but we've also let our students share and shine their strengths,” Howe said.
We learn through real-life experiences and opportunities, she added.
“It’s real-life situations that we can't replicate from a book or from written content or a lecture format. The learning needs to be involved and it needs to be ongoing. Whether it's a different language, a different culture, different religion, different family dynamics, it enriches our opportunity to grow and expand. Our kids leaving C.D. Howe will have a better understanding of who the great people in our community are and how they can involve them in their lives,” Howe said.
Pia Kangasahl and Emma Lowery are Grade 7 students at C.D. Howe public school.
“Today our school is celebrating World Down Syndrome Day by wearing colorful or mismatched socks. We also have people from the community coming in to celebrate and teach us about the importance of World Down Syndrome Day,” Lowery said.
“We feel the importance of World Down Syndrome Day is to recognize our differences as people.
“It's important to accept these differences by not saying hurtful or mean things because in reality, everybody has their own differences,” Kangasahl said.
Haydee Bopp is a student in the Grade 7/8 class at C.D. Howe who has down syndrome.
“Having a student in our class that has down syndrome has made our class realize that yes their brain may work a little bit differently in ways, but it doesn't mean that they're different as a human being,” Kangasahl said.
The Grade 7 students said Bopp has taught the entire class to accept all people.
“We feel that everyone should be accepted in our community, no matter what they look like or how their brain works, because everybody is human and that they should be treated fairly,” Lowery said.
