Westview Secondary and Laity View Elementary are getting into the festive spirit with bulletin board displays celebrating different holidays around the world at this time of the year.
Indigenous Education support worker Jessica Green and helping teacher Jessica Bedard put together a bulletin board at Westview Secondary with some students. In the middle of the board are the words, “híləkʷ kəlísməs,” which means “Merry Christmas” in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓. The display features winter scenery, with snow-covered hills, trees, and silhouettes of animals. Each animal is labelled with its hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ name:
- Bear: speʔəθ
- Wolf: stqayeʔ
- Deer: sməyəθ
- Eagle: yəxʷəleʔ
- Raccoon: məlləs
- Beaver: sqəl̓éw̓
Meanwhile, students in Victoria Csillag’s Grade 1/2 class at Laity View Elementary have spent the last seven weeks learning about different fall and winter celebrations around the world. Each week, they focused on a different celebration and made a related craft or art project to add to their bulletin board.
“They are so proud of their learning and multicultural display,” said Csillag.
Students learned about Diwali, Ramadan, Hanukkah, St. Lucia’s Day, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas, and Christmas.
