Cancelled Remembrance Day Service in Ottawa School?!!!!

If it wasn’t for Facebook or Twitter, I wouldn’t have any idea what is going on in the world!  Having said that, I read about a Remembrance Day Service being cancelled in Catholic school in Ottawa.

 

The reason given is because replicas of war-items are brought in from the local museum.  From what I can gather, the event has been happening for 20 years and the students look forward to it every year.  Can you imagine being able to look at and touch replica items, and interact with and learn directly from veterans about their experiences and the tools they had at their disposal, while defending our Rights? 

 

I was fortunate to get both of my grandfathers back from WWII…some of my friends weren’t so lucky.  One of my grandfathers retired at the age of 75, moved across England and went to university.  One of his courses was History of War, and he happened to be taking it on the 50^th anniversary of WWII.  Basically, the professor (who was about 40 years old) just sat back and let my grandfather talk about his experiences in WWII…can you imagine the learnings those university students took from that class, hearing it first-hand??!!! 

 

Thankfully the reporter included part of the School Board Weapons Policy in the article as well.  Some questions are circling around in my brain after reading this article and the Policy.

 

• If “any knife” is not allowed on school property, are there cafeterias in any of the schools in this school board?  Are knives available in these cafeterias?

 

• “Any device which can propel a projectile, i.e., slingshot, compound bow, crossbow, paintball gun, etc.;”  Does this include elastic bands, hair elastics, bras (you have to get creative with this but it can be used as a slingshot), etc?  I remember other kids using elastic bands to shoot paper across rooms, when I was a kid.

 

• “Any explosive device or the materials used for making an explosive device.” Does this include fertilizer that may be stored onsite by Maintenance? If I’ve learnt anything from CSI, one can use fertilizer to create a bomb.

 

• Is this a brand new Policy?  If not, why is this event an issue now?

 

• I wonder if all the textbooks and library books in the school have also been checked for war-items because perhaps a picture might not be acceptable either. 

 

• Do any schools in this school board go on field trips to the museums that have any of these war-items on display, including the museums they receive the replicas from for this event?

 

It seems to me that the School Board has covered their due diligence by stating “any unauthorized person…” in the beginning of the Policy:

“The Board shall not tolerate the use, threat of use, or possession of weapons or replicas thereof by any unauthorized person on its property or in buildings or at Board-sponsored activities. The Board shall not tolerate the presence of weapons or replicas thereof in lockers, schoolbags, handbags, vehicles,or in any other place on its property.”

 

Give these amazing Veterans written “authorization”, send home permission forms for each student, and let these kids learn about something they hopefully NEVER HAVE TO EXPERIENCE FIRST HAND.

 

Must be nice to have the freedom to discuss this type of issue, rather than have to worry about whether we’ll be killed by a landmine on our way home from school or work. 

 

Lest We Forget

Speak Up For Special Needs!

 

 

 

Was at the Early Years Centre this morning with my soon-to-be (next Wednesday!) 6 year old DS for its “Something Special” program offered every Thursday morning.  It’s a program where parents of kids with special needs and their children can come and play.  The toys put out are more sensory-based than when we regularly go there.

 

I was speaking with another mom whom I met last week.  Her son is entering Kindergarten this September and we have been chatting about how to advocate for your child.  She’s having an issue with her son playing soccer.  The coach’s son is bullying her child a bit, and instigating bad behaviour in her child.  I was offering suggestions of the type of language she can use with the assistant coach as she’s pretty sure the assistant coach is aware of the issue, based on comments he’s made in the past. 

 

She’s a very calm and quiet woman so I was trying to encourage her that this situation she’s encountered with soccer will be great practice for her in advocating for her son in Kindergarten in the fall.  The big difference she and I had walking into Kindergarten was that my son has an official diagnosis (of Autism) whereas her son doesn’t yet have a diagnosis. 

 

My kids had been in daycare prior to Kindergarten so we didn’t have to work on transitioning to school at all…especially since their former daycare centre was located in a school.  That made it a bit easier for my son.  In Grade 1 this September however, he will be attending a special needs class at school AND (hopefully) IBI will have started/be starting. 

 

My biggest advice to parents of children with special needs, diagnosed or not, is learn how to be assertive with the school system.  If your child can/may/will benefit from something, ask for it to be implemented.  If you work with the school, they will usually try to do as much to accommodate HOWEVER, also empower yourself with your school board’s policies related to special needs and special needs accommodation in the classroom.  Request a meeting with your principal (and teacher and Educational Assistant) prior to school starting, and continue to follow up until you get that meeting.  Be the “squeaky wheel” but please be nice about it. 

 

Arm yourself with information and knowledge because YOU are your child’s best

and sometimes ONLY advocate!