WINDSOR –– St. Joseph’s Catholic High School held a week-long celebration to commemorate Canada’s 150 year since the Confederation. It was undoubtedly a huge success due to the faculty and students’ involvement. The informative, fun-filled, and jam-packed week consisted of Canadian themed activities for students to enjoy and to remember even after their time in high school.
Ms. Isabella, a Social Sciences teacher at St. Joseph’s, was part of the planning committee for the celebratory week, and most of her contributions were allotted to the Canadian Citizenship Ceremony. The event was held at the school on September 27th, supervised by a phenomenal teacher, Charlie Sylvestre, and his Grade 11 History class. Thirty new Canadians were sworn in from seventeen different countries, and seeing their excitement after getting their certificates was Ms. Isabella’s favourite part.
Grade 10 Civics classes were invited to come and witness the special event as well.
In an interview with Laser News, Ms. Isabella provided details on the history of the ceremony at St. Joseph’s, “[We] used to host this ceremony in the past and I thought it would be a good addition to our Canada 150 week. One of the themes for the week was citizenship and stewardship––I felt that [the ceremony] would be an excellent fit. It is an authentic learning opportunity for our students, especially our Civics students.”
According to Ms. Isabella, the ceremony would be the ultimate symbol of unity for new Canadians. She believes that whether the new Canadian may have lived here as a landed immigrant for decades or whether they landed here as a refugee a few years ago, they must feel a sense of belonging and security.
Ms. Isabella advises newly sworn Canadians to become active citizens. She feels that having the ability to have a voice, being engaged in community, volunteering, and learning about local, provincial, and national government could impact and inform their decisions regarding important familial issues.
Ms. Isabella firmly believes in diversity being Canada’s greatest strength. “It is what connects us to one another... Canada encourages us to never forget our roots and to further integrate that into Canadian society. This allows us to embrace our neighborhoods and appreciate the contributions they have made to this great nation.”