UPPER CANADA DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

The last Wednesday of February is widely known as Pink Shirt Day, and one that students and staff across the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) recognize each year.
The intent of Pink Shirt Day is to raise awareness and promote conversations about anti-bullying to foster a more kind, caring, and inclusive world. Pink Shirt Day began in 2007 after two Nova Scotia high school students took a stand against bullying when their classmate was bullied for wearing a pink shirt.
The UCDSB is committed to preparing all of our students for a successful life. We are actively working towards reducing achievement gaps and improving learning outcomes for all students, regardless of class, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, and other historical forms of marginalization. Through awareness, education, and policies, we can all help to make our schools safer and more inclusive places for all.

In addition to wearing pink shirts, schools are participating in virtual assemblies, initiatives, and other activities over the next week to show how students are anti-bully advocates, celebrate each other’s differences, and understand the impacts of bullying. 

Some of the school events, initiatives, and educational pieces include:  

Iroquois Public School: Students and staff wore pink and participated in a story walk with a book by Monique Gray Smith. Students also received a special visit from TUSK, the kindness elephant, to promote inclusivity.  

Bridgewood Public School: Grade 6 students created messages about kindness, anti-bullying, and inclusion on paper pink-shirt cutouts. The cutouts were then placed throughout the school’s hallways and classroom doors. This allowed students a chance to show their leadership skills, inspire acts of kindness, and inclusion.  

Toniata Public School: Conversations about anti-bullying and kindness are taking place with students. Additionally, students are creating anti-bullying messages to broaden their understanding.  

Maynard Public School: Students created kindness messages for a mini pink shirt school-wide activity followed by a virtual assembly that included the Grade 5/6 class singing One Love by Bob Marley and their teacher playing the ukulele.  

Montague Public School: Students participated in a Pink Shirt Day online seminar directed towards reducing bullying and conflict while increasing inclusion and positivity. Following the online seminar, activities and thought-provoking discussions with students continued.  

Secondary school student councils and administration developed their own initiatives and activities to acknowledge the day. Char-Lan District High School’s student council created a virtual presentation to each class about how Pink Shirt Day originated. Next week, students in each class will create a ‘Quilt of Belonging,’ designed as a promise to stand up to bullying. Each quilt puzzle will then be displayed in the hallways for all to see. 

We are so proud of our students!