Reflection on Black History Month

This February, Greenwood held our annual Black History Month celebration. We opened the month with powerful thought activities relating to African American and Black Canadians who have inspired us. We displayed words of impactful poetry throughout the school for students to read along with a picture of the author. We looked thoughtfully at the impact that these Canadians have had on our history and how we can honour them and all of their accomplishments. 

Next, we looked at ways prejudice and racism have affected people across the world. We held a Thursday morning thought activity where we asked the question: how could we eliminate prejudice in our Greenwood community? Many of the answers consisted of listening to other people's perspectives and being kind to one another. This taught us valuable lessons about how we can listen to other people's perspectives to better understand how we can make Greenwood a more inclusive place.

To end our month we held a Poetry Cafe where students from every grade presented a poem written by a Black poet. Each grade explored the power of poetry in their English classes, and displayed their learning through the Cafe. The choir opened with a powerful performance of Rise Up by Andra Day. The presenters chose poets such as Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes and Audre Lorde. Students and staff had the opportunity to listen to the beautiful poetry being shared and learn about the poets' early life and the obstacles they faced. 

As well, we had two students in Grades 7 and 8 present their own works of poetry. Evan Edgell ‘24 and Lucy Lapowich ‘25 presented poems which showed their perspectives on the future. Both of them spoke with confidence and Evan delivered the powerful message that kindness can change the world.

Finally, we celebrated the life of revolutionary mathematician Katherine Johnson while screening Hidden Figures. Our celebration of Black History Month was filled with opportunities to educate ourselves about injustices and inclusivity. The Diversity Committee hopes that everyone had a fantastic week, and that everyone learned something new, or had the opportunity to see a new perspective!