Elsie Urquhart is observing Truth and Reconciliation Day by setting up a colouring contest for children up to 13 years old.
She wanted to do something to acknowledge the day and settled on the idea of getting five t-shirts printed and holding a colouring contest with the shirts as the prizes.
She sent letters out to all the schools in the district outlining her idea.
“I sent it to the three little preschools, too,” she said.
The letter explained her idea to have the children colour a poster supplied by Urquhart.
The schools were broken down into five different age groups up to 13 years of age.
Urquhart said the closing date for the contest was the afternoon of Sept. 28, giving her time to go through the entries that evening. Winners will be chosen by a raffle with one winner in each age group, and each winning entry will be notified by a call to their school.
Urquhart said she is looking forward to getting a group photo of the five winners.
Schools in the area will be marking the day in their own way.
100 Mile House Elementary school said they would observe the day by inviting storytellers in to talk to the students in the morning and teaching them a song to be sung in the afternoon’s ceremonies with students taking part in a Truth and Reconciliation procession.
Each student will also be given an orange t-shirt to be worn throughout the year.
READ MORE: PHOTOS: B.C. marks 1st National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Students at Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School have been learning about Truth and Reconciliation in the classroom. One long-term project involves the idea of being inclusive in the rooms and areas that people share such as knowing the word for biology lab in English, French and the Shuswap language.
The ceremonies on Thursday afternoon include drumming, songs and speakers sharing their stories.
fiona.grisswell@100milefreepress.net
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter