At our Learning @ Montcrest evening in September, we articulated our commitment to ongoing Equity and Inclusion work. We’d like to take this opportunity to highlight some of our work to date this year.
We have engaged Peacebuilders Canada, a local organization which provides meaningful support in Restorative Justice Practices. Our recent Professional Learning Day on January 23rd included a faculty-wide presentation. A team of Montcrest faculty, staff, and leaders will be trained by Peacebuilders, and we look forward to strengthening our relationship with Peacebuilders as we offer coaching, training, and parent information sessions for our wider community that relate to restorative conversations.
Our Equity & Inclusion Lead teachers (Liz Kingstone, K-4, Priya Jindal,Gr 5-8) have been working hard as part of our core Equity & Inclusion Group (Mara Berzins and Patti MacDonald) to build teacher confidence, advise on school matters and improve our internal practices and school-wide systems. Part of that work included an hour-long faculty session this past Monday, February 2nd, discussing our Standing for Character Values through an equity lens, integrating what we learned in January about restorative conversations, and considering complex, relevant case studies across divisions.
The Equity & Inclusion Collaborative, a group of dedicated faculty, staff, families, and now students continue to meet monthly. Sustaining this work is crucial to continuing our momentum. As part of this work, the school and parent volunteers have been refining policies and procedures, analyzing our demographic survey data, and working in subgroups to address different aspects of our community. All community members are welcome. Look out for invitations here, in The Mirror! Our next meeting takes place on February 25 from 5:00-6:00 pm.
Along with supportive faculty, our Equity & Inclusion Club is a group of passionate students who contribute their voices to many school initiatives, including how we honour and engage with times of significance. Our Equity & Inclusion Club’s efforts were evident in our Black History Month assembly on Wednesday and in their daily February announcements celebrating Black Excellence across generations (this year's national theme). We look forward to sharing more details about Black History in The Mirror on February 19th.
All of this work seeks to advance our goals of simultaneously building connection and accountability within our school community. We welcome open communication and feedback. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to discuss our Equity & Inclusion work.
