Diversity and Pride

We are proud of the diversity in the student body at Greenwood, and we embrace the challenge of providing a safe and welcoming space to all who pass our threshold. This is why it is so important that we host events like Pride Week - to visibly illustrate our support for the diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions at Greenwood.

The 2017 Pride Week events were colourful and fun expressions of our support, organized by the tireless Diversity Committee. They arrived at school bright and early all week to encourage participation in a thought activity, which asked students to note down the things that make them proud and post the notes on pride flags in the lobby. Each day filled one stripe on the flag, until the whole flag was filled with tokens of pride on Friday. It was a beautiful way of showing how much stronger we are when we express our pride together.

The whole week included activities to help students express support for one another. On Monday, the Diversity Committee announced in assembly that the GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) has been renamed QSA (Queer-Straight Alliance) to be more inclusive and reflective of the diversity of Greenwood. On Tuesday there was fingernail painting, pride crafts and the grand unveiling of the gender-neutral washrooms. From there we had a party and game of Kahoots, special Pride seminars and an all-school pride flag photo in the gym.

The intention of Pride Week is to re-emphasize our commitment to inclusivity at Greenwood, and to provide space for our teenage students to safely explore their identities. We hope that this Pride Week proved comforting to anyone that feels marginalized for their sexuality or gender identity, and we commend the Diversity Committee for organizing the week: You should be proud.